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8 - Friday, October 2, 2009

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Sibling Rivalry
In the week leading up to the Michigan-Michigan State football game each year, football writers from the Daily and the student newspaper at Michigan State
exchange columns. You can find this year's installment below, starting with the Daily and followed by the State News.
Spartanfans are plain adorable A page from Michigan's diary

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On a cold October evening in
2004, I sat in the Big H ouse and
watched De Andra Cob brcAk free
for a 60--plus yard toichdo n run,
presumably seaiug the fate of the
Michigan-Michigan State game that
season.
Two Sparties in front of me were
obviously ecstat-
ic aboutthe
play. Sothey did
what anytypi-
cal, blind-drunk,
semi-literate,
couch-burning,
Michigan-
loathing,
I-could-have- ANDY REID
gotten-into-
your-school-if-
I-took-high-school-more-seriously-
pouting Michigan State studentwho
has an obvious, shall we say, "Little
Brother" complex when it comes to
anything Maize and Blue would do
in that situation.
They left the game to go to the
bar.
Seconds later, Braylon Edwards
- currently an NFL receiver who
HASN'T "accidentally discharged"
an illegal firearm into his own thigh
while wearing sweatpants at a night-
club - caught a bomb to spark the
epic comeback.
Go ahead and give me your best
"3-and-9" jokes. And Lord knows
you need more ammunition than
"Appalachian State," which, by the
way, still ranks as one of the greatest
victories in Michigan State Athletics
history.
It doesn't matter. Because at the
end of the day tomorrow (after a cer-
tain freshman quarterback stomps

I thought a lot about ho
ed to describe you foami
mouth Spartan fans in thi
I guess the plethora of
above works, but those h
floating around the ethe
to-EL pipeline since the d
Michigan Agricultural C
wanted somethingmore.
Then I told myself I cou
the inevitable hate mail and
a few qualifying put-ups a
fiercely loyal you are, even i
of yearly gridiron disapp
But the following text n
received from Michigan St
Trisha Langlois threw th,
type outthe window:
"Do any of your housem
a ticket to the game for 80?
* In case you can't follow t
that last point (and we all k
isn't your strong point. Oi
Or math. Or physics, law
etc.), offering to sell a stu
tion ticket to a Michigan fa
exactly scream "THIS ISSI
That's when the perfect
tion of you hit me. One w
eight letters, that sums up y
fan base.
Adorable.
You know, in the samev
toddler puttinghiseyerigh
nozzle of a kinked house o
blindsided by the inevitabl
water is adorable.
It's cute because the kid c
prehend why he got soak
of like it's cute when Mich

you keep witl you i d throws a kink in the
n trophy hose, and then you're flabbergasted
rou'restill when the winged-helmeted warriors
ay. open the floodgates again.
second to You're adorable because you think
wn, con- you're rivals with a program that's
ce. already engaged innthe greatestrival-
ry in sport; has as many Rose Bowl
w I want- appearances in the last 11 years as
ng-at-the- you have all-tine: is the winningest
s column. team in the history of the game; and
adjectives has more tradition in one blade of
ave been green Field Turf than you could ever
real AA- dream of.
ays of the Your red-faced, steam-out-the-
ollege. I ears reaction to the fact that Michi-
gan fans have absolutely no respect
ld lighten for this so-called "rivalry" - aword
lthrow in I use only because "run-of-the-mill,
bout how annual Big Ten game in Michigan's
n the face eyes" is a little too long - is just plain
ointment. cute, too.
nessage I And it's simply cheek-pinching
ate senior adorable that the man you think is
at stereo- going to bring you to prominence,
your personal football savior, Mark
ates want Dantonio, has the same 17-13 record
"11 through 30 games as John L. Smith.
he logic of Sometimes, I just want to give you
now logic a hug, ruffle the hair on your scrappy
r English. lil' head and try and cheer you up.
, biology, Because I can't help but sigh and
[dent sec- shrug when you lose four straight
in doesn't after the Michigan game every year
PARTA!" or your coach loses control of his
t descrip- team, slaps himself or resorts to
ord, with making fun of an opposing player's
our entire height. Aww, Sparty.
But a noogie is probably a better
solution. After all, isn't that what
ray that a you're supposed to do to your little
tuptothe brother?

By MATT BISHOP
TheState News
Time after time, inside sources
have come through for journalists,
such as when the Detroit Free Press
broke the story about Michigan's
alleged cheating (Spartan Score-
board Bob isn't the only person
without a firm grasp on time). I have
received an entry into an unnamed
U-M football
staff member's
personal diary.
Unfortunately,
the name of
the staff mem-
ber has been
blacked out to
ensure their!
privacy. Enjoy. MATT
Dear diary, BISHOP
I'm sorry
it's been so
long since I last wrote. I finally grew
out of my Live Journal and Xanga
accounts, so I'm in the process of
converting you to paper.
I can't believe my last entry was
dated Oct. 24, 2008. A lot has hap-
pened since that day. Back then, we
were coming off a loss to Toledo
two weeks earlier. It didn't get much
better. The loss to Michigan State
the next day was crushing. Despite
our horrible record, our players had
us convinced our s--- didn't stink
against those guys. I guess most of
them are LSA majors for a reason.
And don't even get me started on
those quarterbacks. We had Nick
Sheridan, who simply is not good.
Then there was that one guy, from
Adrian, what was his name? Came
from Georgia Tech? Thorpe? Thri-
ple? Treat? Well, whatever his name,
he wasn't any good, either. Then
there was McGuffie. Oh, Sam. High

school all-star into Big Ten washout.
Turns out his hype couldn't hold
a candle to Beanie Wells or Javon
Ringer, two backs that shredded us.
Id be shocked if ol' Sam had as many
yards the whole season as those two
had when they played us.
So when we had ithanded tous by,
well, pretty much everybody, I was
so disappointed.
I know The Big House practically
was The Out House last season, but
that's still no excuse to lose to Utah,
Illinois, Toledo, Michigan State and
Nn-ha-ta- 'h-- T th'nlythe-las

And if we're doing worse than a pro-
gram that has to offer its students
incentives to occupy what is prob-
ably the worst student section in the
nation, we've got problems.
But finally, we've gotten to this
season. Time and time again, I say
never judge a staff on its first year.
We're 4-0 and rolling over pow-
erhouses like WMU and Eastern
Michigan. We could win the MAC!
But I'm just not convinced we
have what it takes to win in the Big
Ten. I'll be lucky if Forcier isn't killed
by Greg Jones thisweekend.
He already runs around like
a chicken with its head cut off. I
don't want to send him out there to
get McGuffied. And this defense is
the definition of incompetence. We
should not be giving up 33 points
at home to Indiana. We got Pistol-
whipped. I can't even imagine what
Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol are
going to do with Mark Dell, B.J. Cun-
ningham and Blair White out there.
I scouted Indiana and can't name a
single player on theirteam.What are
players I actually know going to do?
But it's OK. We have Delaware
State coming herein two weeks. And
we can't possibly lose to Purdue at
home, can we? That's six wins right
there. WE'RE GOING BOWLING,
BABY! I hope.
But you know what? If it doesn't
work out this season, I could just go
elsewhere. A buyout's never gotten
in my way before. I'm sure I can take
Brian Kelly's job at Cincinnati when
he bolts after this season.
Oh well.
TTYL,
[Name Redacted]
- Bishop is a State News
football reporter. He can be
reached at bishop20@msu.edu.

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only to be
le rush of
an't com-
:ed. Kind
igan toys

they paid all offseason.
But that's not the worst part. We
actually were shown up by those
losers that inhabit that dump Cris-
ler Arena. John Beilein showed that
we aren't just from the back roads of
West Virginia. We're coaches, too!
But from what I've learned in my
short time here, if the basketball
team is outperforming football by a
large margin, something's wrong.

- Reid, the Managing Sports
Editor and football writer for The
Michigan Daily, is a soon-to-be
Arrogant Michigan Alum. He can be
reached at andyreid@umich.edu.

Freak head injury ends
Blue's exhibition game
By ZAK PYZIK and strapped her into a stretcher,
For the Daily raising her into the ambulance
while the crowd and her team-
After the Michigan softball team mates looked on.
scored three consecutive runs in As of 10:40 p.m. last night, a
the bottom of the fourth inning spokesman for the University of
yesterday, the fans suddenly fell Michigan Health System said
silent. Evans was in fair condition.
What started as just a home Led by junior pitcher Jordan
exhibition against Michigan State Taylor, the Wolverines had been
had suddenly turned more serious. locked ina scorelessobattle entering
Sophomore outfielder Bree the fourth inning.
Evans lay on the ground face down. Junior first baseman Dorian
After reaching a base on a triple, Shaw produced the first Michigan
Evans took off toward home plate. tally after sophomore infielder
She dove headfirst in a desperate StephanieKirkpatrickhit a ground-
attempt to score, but Michigan er down the third base line.
State's catcher positioned herself Kirkpatrick was on third and
over the plate with ball in hand. At junior outfielder Alycia Ryan was
the moment of impact, Evans head on first. That was when Evans
collided with the ground and the strode to the plate. She smashed
catcher's cleat. the pitch past the second basemen
Evans was motionless as ah- into mid-right field for the triple
letic trainers rushed to her side. and two more runs to put the Wol-
They nervously took off her cleats verines on top 3-0.
and socks and squeezed her toes to After Evans' injury, the game
check for nerve damage. was cancelled. As the ambulance
Michigan head coach Carol left, the scoreboard turned off and
Hutchins stood over Evans with a the crowd filed out of the stadium.
distraught look, and the team ner- Some of the Wolverines, who ad
vously trembled on the sidelines, been jokingly chuckling just a few
After more than 20 minutes, minutes earlier as Taylor threw her
an ambulance finally arrived and seventh strikeout in the top of the
drove directly to Evans on the field. fourth inning, left the dugout in
Paramedics put a brace on her neck tears.
,St udent Publications
seeks New Member
The University of Michigan Board for Student
Publications is recruiting a member for a one-year
term beginning immediately.
The Board is responsible for three publications:
The Michigan Daily, the Michiganensian Yearbook,
and the Gargoyle.
Because the Board is committed to realizing
diversity's benefits for itself and for the publications
it oversees, the Board is particularly interested in
recruiting members of the University Community
(faculty, staff and students) or the general public
who are members of underrepresented groups and
who have experience and expertise in journalism, law,
finance or development.
Interested persons are encouraged to apply.
For more information and application forms, please
contact Mark Bealafeld, Student Publications General
Manager at (734) 936-7883 or mbealafe@umich.edu.
The deadline for receipt of applications is
Friday, October 16, 2009.

Robinson and Floyd may see more P.T.

ByMICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
So far this season, Denard Rob-
inson and J.T. Floyd have been half
in the shadows, half in the spot-
light.
Robinson, a freshman quarter-
back, has flash- i: n at
ily become the MiIgafl
team's second- MIch. State
leading rusher,
largely due to his Matchup:
three big touch- Michigan 4-0;
down runs. But Mich. St.1-3
he has witnessed When: Saturday,
quarterback 12 p.m.
Tate Forcier's Where: Spartan
late-game hero- Whr:Si r
ics from the side- Sladium
lines. TV:BTN
And Floyd, a Twitter'
redshirt fresh- @michdailysports
man cornerback,
walked onto the Big House turf
after sophomore Boubacar Cissoko
was beatcona 56-yard Indiana pass.
But Floyd spent his previous 15
career games also watching Michi-
gan football from the bench.

Against the Spartans, the two
out-of-staters could be thrown into
the heat of the rivalry. They are not
expected to start in their firstgame
tomorrow at Spartan Stadium, but
both will carry a bigger load than
ever before when No. 22 Michigan
(1-0 Big Ten, 4-0 overall) takes
on Michigan State (0-1, 1-3) in the
Wolverines' road opener.
For Robinson, that's because no
one quite knows how Forcier's sore
shoulder will affect his throwing.
Rodriguez reiterated Wednes-
day that he "fully expect(s) him to
be ready to go and do everything"
against the Spartans. But Rodri-
guez's move to close Wednesday's
practice to the media for the first
time in his 21-month tenure has
some wondering if Forcier isn't
more seriously injured, and it's
not just about keeping the team
focused.
"I don't want to get into specif-
ics because I'm not (medically)
qualified I guess," Rodriguez said
Wednesday. "It's just a sore shoul-
der."
Even if Forcier is at 100 percent,

Rodriguez said Robinson should
expect even more snaps.
"Denard, every week, he gets a
little bit more comfortability with
our offense and some of the things
we're doing," Rodriguez said Mon-
day. "He's going to do more this
week as well, depending again on
how the game goes. We'll put him
out there. And not just to run, to
throw and run."
Stopping the run will certainly
be Michigan State's focus. The
Wolverines are the only Big Ten
team that averages more than 200
yards on the ground, with 240.2
yards and three rushing touch-
downs per contest.
To prepare Robinson for the
hostile atmosphere, senior run-
ning back Brandon Minor has been
doing everything he can, "mess-
ing with me all day in practice,"
according to Robinson.
"Every time he had like a pass
route or something, anything, I just
yell his name, just kept on bother-
inghim,stayinginhishead," Minor
said in an mgoblue.com video yes-
terday. "Just trying to take him off

his balance, you know."
Compared to Robinson, there's
a bit less speculation about what
Floyd's role will be against Michi-
gan State.
Rodriguez called the second
cornerback position "wide open,"
and choosing the starter "may be a
game-time decision." Floyd looked
very shaky against Western Michi-
gan. But Cissoko, who has started
every game, gave up two touch-
downs against Notre Dame and
was pulled after letting up a deep
bomb against Indiana last week.
Michigan State has the best
passing offense in the conference,
which should further illuminate
the lack of depth in the Wolverines'
secondary. With two quarterbacks
splitting time, the Spartans are
averaging 320.8 yards through the
air - 34 more yards than the next
highest team, Northwestern.
But as coaches and players have
been saying all week, it's going to
be about more than statistics and
records this weekend.
After all, it's Michigan-Michi-
gan State.

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The battle of Best and Barkley could decide Pac-10

Games you should
pay attention to
outside the Big Ten
By BRITTANY SHANNON
For the Daily
No.7 USC at No. 24 California
After losing 16-13 to underdog
Washington in a Week 3 Pac-10
upset, Southern Cal came back
with a vengeance last weekend
against Washington State, holding
the Cougar offense scoreless until
the final 22 seconds of the game
(which ended in a 27-6 Southern
Cal victory).
Up five spots in ESPN's Power
Rankings, the seventh-ranked
Trojans will face No. 24 California
in their third Pac-10 matchup of

the season. With last year's lead-
ing rusher Stafon Johnson out
until further notice after a weight
room accident that left him with a
crushed throat and larynx, South-
ern Cal senior running back Allen
Bradford can expect to see a few
more carries tomorrow. However,
with an offense led by standout
true freshman quarterback Matt
Barkley, the Trojans shouldn't
have much trouble moving the ball
down the field.
Despite this, the Southern Cal
defense has a big task on its hands:
containing Jahvid Best. Having
endured Week 4's42-3 blowout loss
to Oregon, where he was held to
just 55 yards on 16 carries, Bestwill
surely be searching for redemp-
tion this week. Let's see if he can
keep his name circulating around
ESPN's Heisman Watch and keep
his Golden Bears pushing forward

on the road to the Rose Bowl.
No. 3 Alabama at Kentucky
Alabama, (1-0 SEC, 4-0 over-
all) plans to walk away from this
weekend's game in Kentucky
still undefeated - and one step
closer to snatching the No.1 spot
from the Florida Gators. Alabama
boasts Greg McElroy, the third-
best quarterback in the South-
eastern Conference, and one of
the nation's best defenses (plus,
the Crimson Tide hold a 34-2-1
series advantage over Kentucky).
It's looking like 'Bama is well on,
its way to a 5-0 run and possibly
another shot at the Sugar Bowl.
Kentucky lost 41-7 to the Gators
last week, even though it man-
aged to give Heisman Trophy
winner and Florida quarterback
Tim Tebow a concussion. Con-
sidering the fact that all of Ken-
tucky's wins this season have
been against unranked teams, the
chances of a Wildcat redemption
against'Bamaisslimtonone.With
Florida on a bye week and Tebow
recovering, Tide fans may not be
the only ones rooting against the
Wildcats this weekend.

No. 4 LSU @ No.18 Georgia
LSU and Georgia, two
nationally ranked teams, are
both tenacious contenders in one
of the toughest conferences in
college football -- and both are
currently 2-0 in the Southeastern
Conference.
This showdown has the word
"big" written all over it.
But the Tigers' offense has
been a little shaky. Despite their
4-0 record this season, they were
held to a mere 30 yards rushing
last weekend against Mississippi
State. Caleb King, sophomore
running back for the Bulldogs,
rushed for 55 yards on 11 attempts
last weekend in his second game
back from a hamstring injury.
He accumulated 25 more rushing
yards than the entire LSU offense
did last week.
With senior Bulldog
quarterback Joe Cox ranked
second in the SEC in passing
yardage, and sophomore wide
receiver A.J. Green on ESPN's
Heisman Watch, Georgia has
enough offensive potential to
end the LSU win streak at four
games.
But the Tiger defense is not to
be underestimated.
Expect this to be a tight game.

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