UfIE £kIdI U NTyson-Mathis back on Pending the approval of boxing promoter Don King, the Mike Tyson- Buster Mathis Jr. bout, previously scheduled for Nov. 4, will take place December 16 in Atlantic City. King was banned from doing business in New Jersey after implications of wire fraud by New Jersey gambling authorities. Page 8 Wednesday, November 22, 1995 dolt X{ X Rankings: Ohio State is No. 2, Michigan is No. 18. The coaches: John cooper, 65-26.4 in eighth year at Ohlo State, 147-66-6 in 19th season overall, 2-5-1 against Michigan (1-0 at Arizona State). - Uoyd Carr, 8-3 in first season. y e Series: Michigan leads 51-34-6, including wins in seven of the last 10 matchups, in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines have a 26-16-4 edge. : The lst 10 meetings, g 1994 Ohio State 22, Michigan 6 1993 Michigan 28, Ohio State 0 1992 Ohio State 13, Michigan 13 .1991 Michigan 31, Oho State 3 1990 Michigan 16, Ohio State 13 1989 Michigan 28, Ohio State 18 r 1988 Michigan 34, Ohio State 31 1987 Ohio State 23, Michigan 20 1986 Michigan 26, Ohio State 24- 1985 Michigan 27, Ohio State 17 x A statistical comparison: First downs 225 263 Rushing per game 191.9 230.6 Passing per game 203.1 268.9 Total offense 395 499.5 Total defense 216.7 315 Points for 26.1 39.8 $ Points against 16.2 15.2 3rd down efficiency 61-170 .359 70-144 .486 4th down efficiency 7-12 .583 11-22 .550 Time of possesion per game 31:25 32:05 Quick facts. --As it will this year, the Michigan-Ohio State game l has decided the Big Ten championship 32 times since the game was moved to the last weekend of the season ..The Wolverines will bethe Buckeyes'- seventh top 25 opponent this season ... This will be the 11th time since 1944 that Ohio State has l' taken anundefeated mark into the Michigan game. The Buckeyes are 7-2-1 in those games last losing in 1993, 28-0 .., Ohio State last defeated the Wolverines two years in a row in 1981 and 1982 -: The only Michigan coach to Ipse his first game against the Buckeyes was Harry Kipke in 1929 .. d The teams played 15 games from 1897 to 1918 with Michigan winning 13 and tying two ... During s r the 1970's the game decided the Big Ten championship eight times. JOE WESTRATE/Dai THE MATCHUPS: Jason Horn and the rest of the Wolverines are hoping to get pressure on Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying Saturday when the Wolverines face the No. 2 Buckeyes. Buck S frower too much for Mic to handle Don'tput anyth og past tese Wolvernes here was one thing Amani Toomer wanted to accomplish more than anything else this season. More than hauling in dozens of touchdowns or piling up thousands of yards in receiving, Toomer wanted to return to the Rose Bowl. That was one of the biggest reasons he came back to Ann Arbor for his senior year instead of heading for professional riches. Toomer made the trip to Pasadena his freshman year. He hasn't vlaved a name RYAN WHITE White on Target By Antoine Pitts Daily, Sports Editor It's that time of the year again. The annual Michigan-Ohio State match-up to conclude the conference schedule takes place Saturday at Michigan Stadium. Forthe 33rd time, this match-up will decide the Big Ten's representative in the: Rose Bowl. A Michigan win will send Northwestern to Pasadena while an Ohio State victory will seal the trip for the Buckeyes. Ann Arbor florists better order an extra supply of roses for this weekend. Ohio State will give the Wolverines all they can handle with the conference's leading passer, receiver, running back and quarterback sacker. This year'steam has made Ohio State coach John Coo- per look like a genius. Michigan captain ofayearago, Walter Smith, was quoted as saying, "We want to get coach Cooper fired (rather than lose to Ohio State)." The Wolverines caine up a bit short, 22-6, in Columbus. LeAding up to the game, Michigan State, Police troopers will be licking their chops out on U.S. 23. It was last year that their Ohio coun- terparts nabbed everyone from fans, joumalists and even the band for speed- ing on the trail to Ohio State. Michigan's only hope this weekend is that someone will detain the Ohio State team buses on their way to the stadium. Here are the matchups: Michigan rushing offense vs. Ohio State rushing defense: This is the one place the Wolverines may have an advantage. Tshimanga Biakabutuka recorded his seventh 100- plus rushing game of the season against Penn State with 139 yards. With 1,411 yards on the year, Biakabutuka already has the fourth-best single season mark in Michigan history. Defense may be the one area of Ohio State's game that is suspect. Even so, the Buckeyes have the second-best rush- ing defense in the conference behind Michigan at 114.7 yards per game. For the running game to be effective for the Wolverines, though, they have also got to be able to throw the ball. Advantage: Michigan Michigan passing offense vs. Ohio State passing defense: Quarterback Brian Griese posted a near-record passing performance against Penn State last week with 323 yards on 24-of -46 passes. Most of that effort came in the second half. Griese's passing has been nearly nonex- istent in the first half for most of the year. H is main targets, Amani Toomer and Mercury Hayes, continue to move up the Michigan career receiving lists. Toomer is now second and Hayes sixth in all-time receptions. Ohio State has the conference's lead- ing quarterback sacker in Mike Vrabel. He has gotten to opposing quarterbacks 10 times this season. As a team, the Buckeyes have given up 268.9 yards passing, but the inexpe- rienced Griese shouldn't come anywhere near that in his first Ohio State game. Advantage: Ohio.State Ohio State rushing offense vs. Michigan rushing defense: The Wolverines have the top-rated defense against the rush but it won't be enough to stop Heisman-hopeful Eddie George. With just 43 more yards, George will become the single-season leading rusher in Ohio State history. George blitzed Illinois two weeks ago for a Buckeye-record 314 yards. He had 130 last week against Indiana to make it 10 consecutive games over 100 yards. George averages 6.1 yards a carry and has had runs which have reached the end zone 23 times this season. He is aided by a strong offensive line that includes Lombardi Award candidate Orlando Pace. Michigan will rely on its defensive front, which includes William Carr, the conference's leader in tackles for loss with 16, to try to slow George up. Not many teams have had any suc- cess containing George this year, and Penn State's 245 yards on the ground last week shows how susceptible the Michigan defense can be. The one question that remains is whether or not George will show off his Heisman Trophy pose all four times he reaches end zone. Advantage: Ohio State. Ohio State passing offense vs. Michigan passing defense:. Buckeye quarterback Bobby Hoying is also having a career season. Hoying has already topped the Ohio State single- season passing mark with 2,737 yards. Hoying has thrown a Buckeye single- season record 27 touchdown passes - 17 of those going to wide receiver Terry Glenn. For the season, Glenn has 1,244 yards, good enough for third in the nation and a school record as well. Hoying has the best quarterback rat- ing in the nation at 182.6. The Wolverines have been unable to mount a successful pass rush, and letting Hoying have all day to throw the ball isn't going to help the Michigan cause. Advantage: Ohio State Special teams: Both teams possess excellent spe- cialists. Toomer and Hayes are the main returners on kicks for the Wolverines while Glenn and Shawn Springs handle the chores for Ohio State. Dimitrious Stanley averages 9.5 yards on punt re- turns for the Buckeyes. - The potent Buckeye offense hasn't required the services ofplacekicker Josh Jackson that often. Nevertheless, he has hit seven of 12 attempts. Remy Hamilton has hit 16 of 23 at- tempts for the Wolverines. Ohio State punter Brent Bartholemew averages 35.4 per chance and Paul Peristeris 35.1 for Michigan. Advantage: Even Overall: This is Ohio State's year. If it were not for the fact that Nebraska has not lost since the 1994 Orange Bowl, the Buckeyes would be No. 1 in the nation. They have earned their high ranking by playing a tough schedule - one in which Ohio State will go undefeated. Michigan struggled in the portion of the schedule in which it needed to come up big. Saturday will certainly be no different than what the team has already shown in the month of November. Things could get ugly if you're a Wolverine fan. Michigan won't be get- ting coach Cooper fired this year, ei- ther. Prediction: Ohio State 41, Michigan 10. in his home state of California since. And the drought will continue this season. The Wolverines' loss to Michigan State Nov. 4 guaranteed that. If Toomer and his teammates are- lucky, they'll return to Tampa, where they played two bowls ago, for the Outback Bowl. Most likely, though, Michigan will be in San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl. For the Wolverines, neither compares to Pasadena. So Toomer has putaa new spin 6n'" his preseason goal. "(Who goes to the Rose Bowl) doesn't matter to me - I just don't want Ohio State to go," Toomer said Monday. "It's a big rivalry and I'. figure if we can't go then Ohio State shouldn't go either." A Wolverine win Saturday would send Ohio State to the Citrus Bowl and Northwestern would be Rose Bowl-bound. It wouldn't be the first time Michigan has forced the Buckeye s tc make a last minute change in travel plans.. In 1993 Ohio State came to Michigan Stadium with a 9-0-1 record in tow. The Buckeyes left with a 28-0 loss that knocked them out of the Rose Bowl Unfortunately for Toomer, however, Saturday's game is going to be out of his control. No matter how big a day he, or'aiy other member of the Wolverines offense has, Saturday's continuation of one of college football's greatest rivalries is going to come down to defense. In particular Michigan's defense- the defense that was mauled by Penn State last weekend. Against the Spread the news: Blue heads to New York for NIT matchup with Arizona See WHITE, Page 10 By Paul Barger Daily SportsWriter Early-season college basketball just doesn't get any better than this. It may only be November, but tonight's matchup between the Michi- gan men's basketball team and Arizona in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT has a great deal riding on it. Madison Square Garden is soldout for the doubleheader, which includes a clash between Georgia Tech and Georgetown. The winners meet for the NIT title Friday. There will be a conso- lation game Friday as well. The young Wolverines are under- standably excited about the opportu- streak against the Wolverines. Arizona, No. 19 in the latest Associ- ated Press poll, is coming off an impres- sive 10-point victory at Arkansas Friday. That effort, combined with their past suc- cess against Michigan, has made the Wild- cats a four-and-1/2 point favorite. The Wolverines are trying to play down any notion of revenge. "We can't be too anxious thinking about last year," sophomore Willie Mitchell said. "But we're looking for- ward to the chance to play them again." Arizona is led by seniors Joseph Blair, Ben Davis and Reggie Geary. Geary has the rather difficult task of replacing All-American Damon Stoudamire. The 6-foot-2 Geary averaged 6.2 points per game last year. Davis is playing in his second season for coach Lute Olson since transferring from the junior college ranks. In his initial campaign, the six-foot-eight for- wardtallied 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. This is an extremely important game for two teams because both are trying to gain respect nationwide. "WP havenPt howt , wrl NIT SOMIfnals Who: Michigan, Arizona, Georgetown and Georgia Tech Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. When: Tonight. Michigan plays Arizona at 6 p.m. Georgetown and Georgia Tech face off at 8:30 p.m. What's next: The winners move on to the championship game at 9:30 p.m. Friday. The losers will play the consolation game at 6:30 p.m. Friday. I ,-m e ! WOW !