8 - Friday, November 12, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.comI FOOTBALL PREVIEW Blue prepared for injury-plagued Boilermakers ByRYANKARTJE quarterback Sean RobinsonAagainst Daily SportsEditor Michigan's anemic secondary this Saturday. But the Wolverines know There's no doubt that the Wol- verines' defense, and especially their secondary, has been ravaged by injuries this season. But when looking at Purdue's offense, another injury-depleted corps, Michigan's defense should definitely be counting its blessings. The Boilermakers lost their No. 1 quarterback, Robert Marve; No. 1 running back Ralph Bolden; and No. I wide receiver, Keith Smith, all to ACL tears this season. Then, after mobile quarterback Rob Henry took over for Marve, he suffered an inju- ry himself and is still dealing with a hand laceration that has bothered him for more than two weeks. So Purdue coach Danny Hope will test third-string, true freshman their track record with young, unheralded quar- terbacks after a certain loss to a walk-on quar- terback on a dif- ferent team hurt by injuries (Penn State). "They've had some injuries at quarterback," Rodriguez said in his Monday press conference. "But Michigan at Purdue Matchup: Michigan 6-3; Purdue 4-5 When: Satur- day 12 P.M. Where: Ross- Ade Stadium TV/Radio: BTN due's offense hasstruggled mightily after last week's 67-65 marathon this season, often unable to move win. They remember how last sea- the ball, especially against tough son's hopes of a postseason basi- Big Ten defenses. The Boilermakers cally went outthe window with last (2-3 Big Ten, 4-5 overall) are dead year's loss to the Boilermakers. last in the Big Ten and 104th over- "Everybody's just clueless," all in the NCAA for total offense. then-junior cornerback Troy Wool- Compared to the Wolverines' fifth- folk told the Daily after last year's ranked offense, Purdue probably 38-36 loss. "We're trying out there. won't make similar fireworks on We still go back every Monday and that side of the ball, even with Mich- study. But game day, we just seem to igan's weak secondary. forget stuff. I'm not sure what it is. But Rodriguez refuses to count We're gonna get it fixed." out Purdue because the Boiler- The Wolverines have had some makers have upset the Wolverines similar problems this season, espe- in their past two meetings. Pur- cially on defense, but after Rodri- due also knocked Ohio State out of guez clinched his first six-win, national title contention last year. bowl-eligible season last week And after Michigan (2-3, 6-3) against the Illini, the problems blew a 24-10 second-half lead last don't seem as serious for Michigan's season in embarrassing fashion, coach. Rodriguez said Monday that his And with sophomore quarter- players won't be riding too high back Denard Robinson back and Ryan Tim Kartje Rohan healthy this weekend, some of the problems on defense might not mat- ter much. Robinson is averaging 41 more yards per gamethan the entire Purdue offense this season. Rodriguez said this week that Robinson had experienced symp- tomsofa concussionagainsttIllinois, and that was why the Wolverines held him out. I "He had some signs or symp- toms of not being completely there," Rodriguez said Monday. "Certainly for precautionary reasons, the trainers wanted to hold him out." But he'll be OK for this week- end's matchup, and with Michigan focused on improving their bowl standing, this matchup with Purdue may be its best chance to put anoth- er 'W' on its resume before the sea- son ends. INJURY UPDATE: Rodriguez said during Wednesday's teleconfer- ence that the Wolverines could be without senior linebacker and Big Ten tackling leader Jonas Mouton, who's dealing with a chest injury. He's listed as questionable on this week's injury report. "I don't think there's structural damage," Rodriguez said. "But there's muscular issues that are causing some pain, and it's kind of a day-to-day thing. He's -a tough guy, and if he can play and is cleared by the trainers, he'll be ready to go." Redshirt freshman running back Fitz Toussaint may also get his first action in a while after he practiced this week, despite his ailing shoulder. He's listed as probable ... Junior nose tackle Mike Martin has been hobbled by injuries and limited this week but should play on Saturday. they've got some fast, skilled kids on their perimeter and they play extremely hard, espe- cially at home." With that many injuries, Pur- STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers do their best to predict, against the spread, what Nicole happens in the 2010 football season. Auerbach* I Lee Quackenbush Joe Men's Glee Club Stapleton President Michigan (-13) at Purdue No.1 Oregon (-20) at California No. 2 Auburn (-8.5) vs. Georgia No. 3 TCU (-25) vs. San Diego State No. 4 Boise State. (-30) at. Idaho No. 5 LSU (-31) vs. UL-Monroe No. 6 Stanford (-7) at Arizona State No. 7 Wisconsin (-23) at Indiana No. 8 Nebraska (-32) vs. Kansas No.9 Ohio State (-17) vs. Penn State No.10 Oklahoma State (-6.5) at Texas No.12 Alabama (-14.5) vs. No.19 Mississippi State No.13 Iowa (-10) at Northwestern No.14 Utah (-4) at Notre Dame No.15 Arkansas (-28) vs. UTEP No.16 Oklahoma (-14) vs. Texas Tech No.17 Missouri (-14) vs. No. 24 Kansas State No.18 Arizona (-4.5) vs. USC No. 20 Virginia Tech (-3.5) at North Carolina No. 21 Nevada (-7) at Fresno State No. 22 Florida (-7) vs. No. 23 South Carolina No. 25 Texas A&M (-3) at Baylor Last week Overall Michigan Oregon Auburn TCU Boise State LSU Stanford Indiana Kansas Ohio State Oklahoma State Mississippi State Iowa Utah UTEP Oklahoma Missouri Arizona North Carolina Nevada Florida Texas A&M 8-11-1 109-77-8 Michigan Oregon Auburn TCU Boise State LSU Stanford Wisconsin Kansas Penn State Oklahoma State Alabama Iowa Utah UTEP Texas Tech Kansas State USC Virginia Tech Nevada South Carolina Texas A&M 11-8-1 100 -86-8 Michigan Oregon Auburn TCU Boise State UL-Monroe Stanford Wisconsin Kansas Penn State Oklahoma State Alabama Iowa Utah Arkansas Oklahoma Kansas State USC North Carolina Nevada South Carolina Baylor 13-6-1 101-85-8 Michigan Oregon Auburn TCU Idaho LSU Stanford Wisconsin Nebraska Ohio State Oklahoma State Alabama Iowa Utah Arkansas Oklahoma Missouri Arizona Virginia Tech Nevada Florida Texas A&M 8-11-1 103-83-8 Michigan Oregon Auburn TCU Boise State LSU Stanford Wisconsin Nebraska Ohio State Oklahoma State Mississippi State Iowa Utah Arkansas Oklahoma Missouri Arizona Virginia Tech Nevada Florida Baylor 9-10-1 55-41-6