The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, October 22, 2010 - 5 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October 22, 2010 - 5 Iowa and Wisco clash in throwback Big Ten game ARIEL BOND/Daily Seniorforward Louie Caporusso was the Wolverines' leading goal-scorer last year. This season, he has yet 'M'faces off with high-octane UNO By TIM ROHAN camera focused on the trenches, Daily Sports Editor it would be this one. Iowa boasts one of the best defensive lines in Those Midwesterners certainly the nation led by senior defensive know how to feed a kid. Big coun- end Adrian Clayborn and senior try boys from Wisconsin and Iowa defensive tackles Karl Klug and have long fueled the tradition of the Christian Ballard - all of whom rough-and-tumble Big Ten play. could play in the NFL next year. The Badgers and the Hawkeyes And the Badgers' offensive line has might be the only two teams left paved the way for the nation's No. in the conference that still feature 12 rushing attack, led by monster power run offenses - the good ol' tackle Gabe Carimi. days, three yards and a cloud of Though both teams have physi- dust, with the hogmollies up front cal defenses and offensive lines, leading the way. there are differences in their phi- The rest of the country is trend- losophies. Wisconsin relies on ing toward the spread offense and senior running back John Clay the Big Ten is no exception. Michi- and freshman running back James gan, Ohio State and Penn State all White to move the chains in the employ some sort of spread. running game and Iowa might be But you have the chance to jump considered more pass-oriented in the Delorean Saturday afternoon with its talented receivingcore fea- and watch some quality old-fash- turing Derrell Johnson-Koulianos ioned football - the way it used to and Marvin McNutt. be. Don't be mistaken though, you're going to get a bruise just NO.10 WISCONSIN watching this one. VS. NO.13 IOWA Just a week ago, Wisconsin was NO.8 MICHIGAN STATE on top of the world celebrating a VS. NORTHWESTERN 31-18 win over Ohio State, the for- Michigan State can run you mer top team in the land. Iowa over and then throw over the top. was in Ann Arbor, and though the Northwestern might have its hands Hawkeye defense allowed more full with Edwin Baker, Le'Veon than 500 yards to the Wolverines, Bell, and Larry Caper - not to Iowa won by 10 points. mention quarterback Kirk Cousins The popular belief before the and the host of receivers he has to season was that these were the two work with in the passing game. teams that had a slim chance to The Wildcats haven't had a true knock the Buckeyes off as the Big test yet this season, and now the Ten's king of the hill. Thanks to the supposed cream of the Big Ten Badgers, that's already done. crop comes to town with a potent Now, the Big Ten is wide open offense and a stingy defense that and Saturday's game could ulti- allows fewer than 17 points per mately decide whether Wisconsin game. is worthy of winning the confer- That's a reality that Northwest- ence title in the Big Ten's final year ern hasn't experienced against without a championship game. Rice, Central Michigan and Pur- If there was ever a game which due. true football fans might want a If Michigan State doesn't run away with this one it will be because of Wildcat quarterback Dan Persa. The senior is the main cog in the Northwestern offense. Not only does he spread the ball around the field through the air, but his 295 rushing yards lead the team. The Spartans have proved they can stop a one-man show, though. INDIANA VS. ILLINOIS The list of teams that Illinois and Indiana have lost to so far this season is quite impressive: Mis- souri, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan. But neither has proven itself in a victory - with the Fight- ing Illini's 33-13 win over Penn State serving as the only excep- tion. Based on how well each team played against inferior competi- tion, this one could be a shootout. The Hoosiers have senior quarter- back Ben Chappell and the nation's fifth-best passing game, which highlights veteran receivers Dam- arlo Belcher, Tandon Doss and Ter- rence Turner. And Illinois's run game will have to counter each Indiana blow, because the Fighting Illini's pass- ing game just won't cut it. Only six FBS teams have a worse aerial attack. That's okay, though. Junior run- ning back Mikel LeShoure slashed and sprinted his way past defend- ers in the first six weeks of the sea- son - running for 680 yards and three touchdowns. This one is going to come down to the play of the defenses. Indiana has allowed at least 34 points in each of the past three weeks. And Illinois slowed down Ohio State and stuffed Penn State, so that has to carry some weight - but the choice is a lesser of two evils. By CASANDRA PAGNI Daily Sports Writer After leaving New Hampshire last weekend with a 3-3 overtime tie to the ninth-ranked Wildcats, Michigan coach Red Berenson and the fourth- ranked Wol- verines have an UNO at opportunity to Michigan make a statement on their home Matchup: ice with another UNO 4-0-0; chance at defeat- 2Michgan ing a top-10 team. Michigan (2-0- When: Fri- 0 CCHA, 2-0-2 day 7 P.M. overall) takes on Where: Yost No. 10 Nebraska- Ice Arena Omaha in its first home series of the year this Friday and Saturday. The Mavericks (2-0- O WCHA, 4-0-0 overall) walk into Ann Arbor with their heads held high, coming off a weekend sweep of then-No. 13 Minnesota in Min- neapolis. "We don't know yet what kind of a home team we're going to be," Berenson said after practice on Thursday. "But you're seeing some of these good teams now win on the road. We hope to win on the road too, but one of our goals is to win at home. We've got to take advan- tage of home ice, that's huge and it's going to be a good challenge." The Wolverine offense was strong last Saturday, as the power play was a perfect 3-for-3 against New Hampshire. But the Wol- verines couldn't put New Hamp- shire away, despite having the lead three times in the road matchup. Defensive improvement is key for the Wolverines this weekend, as Nebraska-Omaha is tied for first in the nation in total offense, averag- ing 5.50 goals per game. The Mavericks have two senior forwards who are atop the nation statistically in goal scoring and assists. Rich Purslow is in a three- way tie for nation's top scorer, net- ting three goals and six assists in four games for Nebraska-Omaha, while teammate Joey Martin leads the country with seven assists. "It all depends on you coming out of your zone quick and clean and keeping the puck in their zone," Berenson said. "If you look at their goals, they're leading the country in offense, but most of it is 5-on-5 goals. It's not like their power play is lighting it up more than anyone else, but it's the 5-on-5 game." To combat the prolific Maverick offense, Berenson will send senior netminder Shawn Hunwick out to start between the pipes on Fri- day and senior Bryan Hogan on Saturday. Hunwick is coming off a career-high 45 saves against New Hampshire, including eight in over- time. Hunwick was a vital compo- nent of Michigan's penalty kill unit against the Wildcats, and his play Saturday kept the Wolverines in the game, as Michigan found itself in penalty trouble late in the game - taking a total of six penalties for 12 minutes. The Wolverines held the New Hampshire power play unit to one conversion in five attempts. But the defensive play will be especially critical this series to give the goaltenders a shot at keeping the Wolverines in the game and the offense an opportunity to sustain pressure in the Maverick zone. "We have pretty good forwards," senior center Louie Caporusso said. "It's always great for our defense- men to practice against our own forwards. The passing is the biggest thing, not messing up on the pass- ing. The things that we should be doing correctly every single time are what we have to concentrate on (this weekend)." After being swept on the road by Nebraska-Omaha last February, Caporusso and some of the Wolver- ines carry some extra incentive into this weekend's matchup. But Beren- son prefers to look at the future - knowing that beating top-ranked teams is the only way for his Wol- verines to show what they're made of, starting with the home series this weekend. "You're as good as your last game," Berenson said. "We tied a team that outshot us, and they beat a team in their own building, con- vincingly. "This team is the real deal." Senior running back John Clay leads a potent Wisconsin running attack, along with freshman James White. STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers do their best to predict, against the spread, what happens in the 2010 football season. Nicole Ryan, Auerbach Kartje Lee Quackenbush Joe Men's Glee Club Stapleton President Tim Rohan i u ' r _ No.1 Oregon (-21.5) vs. UCLA No. 3 Oklahoma (-3) at No.18 Missouri No. 4 TCU (-20) vs. Air Force No. 5 Auburn (-6.5) vs. No.6 LSU No.7 Alabama (-6.5) at Tennessee No. 8 Michigan State (-7) at Northwestern No. 9 Utah (-31) vs. Colorado State No.10 Wisconsin (+5.5) at No.13 Iowa No.11 Ohio State (-23) vs. Purdue No.12 Stanford (-34.5) vs. Washington St. No.14 Nebraska (+6) at No.17 Oklahoma St. No.15 Arizona (-7.5) vs. Washington No.19 South Carolina (-12.5) at Vanderbilt No. 20 West Virginia (-16) vs. Syracuse No.21 Arkansas (-9.5) vs. Mississippi No. 22 Texas (-22) vs. Iowa State No. 23 Virginia Tech (-26) vs. Duke No. 24 Mississippi St. (-20) vs. UAB No. 25 Miami (Fla.) (-6.5) vs. North Carolina Penn State (-9.5) at Minnesota Illinois (-14) vs. Indiana Overall Oregon Oklahoma TCU Auburn Alabama Michigan State Utah Wisconsin Ohio State Washington St. Nebraska Washington South Carolina West Virginia Oregon Oklahoma TCU Auburn Alabama Michigan State Utah Iowa Ohio State Washington St. Oklahoma St. Washington South Carolina West Virginia Arkansas Texas Virginia Tech Mississippi St. North Carolina Penn State Indiana 68-62-4 Oregon Oklahoma TCU Auburn Alabama Northwestern Utah lowa Ohio State Stanford Nebraska Washington South Carolina West Virginia Arkansas Texas Duke UAB Miami (Fla.) Penn State Illinois 67-63-4 Oregon Oklahoma Air Force Auburn Alabama Michigan State Utah Wisconsin Ohio State Washington St. Nebraska Washington South Carolina West Virginia Arkansas Iowa State Virginia Tech Mississippi St, Miami (Fla.) Penn State Indiana 71-59-4 Oregon Missouri TCU Auburn Alabama Michigan State Utah Iowa Ohio State Washington St.St. Oklahoma St. Arizona South Carolina West Virginia Arkansas Iowa State Duke Mississippi State Miami (Fla.) Minnesota Illinois 21-19-2 Arkansas Texas Virginia Tech Mississippi State Miami (Fla.) Penn State Illinois 74-56-4 _____________________________________________________________ L iL SAD THERE'S NO FOOTBALL GAME? Don't worry, michigandaily.com has your weekend fix. FOLLOW @MICHDAILYSPORTS ON TWITTER AND CHECK THE HOCKEY LIVEBLOG FOR UPDATES.