Ray Jackson in Detroit's camp Former Michigan basketball star Ray Jackson is in the Detroit Pistons camp, trying to make the team as a free agent. Jackson had previously been in the New York Knicks camp before making the jump to Detroit. Jackson is trying to become the fifth of the Fab Five to make it on an NBA roster. Juwan Howard and Chris Webber play for Washington, Jalen Rose plays for Denver and Jimmy King will likely make it on Toronto's squad. Page 1 Friday, October 6, 1995 m ormer M' tar Carter ndscareer Darren Everson Sports Editor PONTIAC, Mich. - Anthony arter. s pain has started to become so eat, he has to put a stop to it- and his ootball career. The former Michigan football star nd current Detroit Lions wide receiver etiredyesterday; teary-eyed and weary f a pro career spanning 13 years. He id that a collarbone injury suffered in e second game of the '94 season just on't heal, forcing this decision. "The pain has just been unbearable," aid Carter at a news conference at the ontiac Silverdome. "I feel like if I take nother hit ... I could be paralyzed." Carter, 34, said that he hopes to coach ootball one day, preferably at the high school level. He also said that "there is o doubt" that he can still perform, and hat he had hoped to finish the season and then retire. "I didn't see him slowing down at all," Detroit coach Wayne Fontes said. "(But) every time he'd get up, he'd get up a little slower." Although Carter had an undistin- guished career with Detroit, he attained national stardom over a decade earlier while he was a Wolverine. Carter was a three-time All-American (1980-82) and broke numerous school records, includ- ing touchdowns (40), receptions (156) and yards (3,017). AfterMichigan,Carterplayedthreesea- sonsinthe now-defunct United States Foot- ball League with the Michigan Panthers. Carter's best years in the NFL were with the Minnesota Vikings. There, he made the Pro Bowl in 1987 and 1988. That's Wildcats, not Mildcats Northwestern makes a stride for true respectability in 1995 By Scott Burton Daily Sports Writer What do birds falling from the sky, an invasion of locusts and a winning Northwestern football team have in common? They are all signs of an impending apocalypse, which means that when the No.25 Wildcats (1-0 Big Ten, 3-1 over- all) invade Michigan Stadium tomor- row at 12:30 p.m. (ESPN), you may want to stock up on a few extra cans of baked beans. "You know as a Michigan player that they're on a roll ..." Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "They have confidence that they can win. That adds an inten- sity to it on both sides that makes it fun." To give you just a small idea of what it means for a Northwestern team to be two games over .500 going into its game with Michigan (1-0, 5-0), con- sider the following bits of trivia: * The last time Northwestern had a winning season: 1971. The last time Northwestern went to a Rose Bowl: 1948. * The last time Northwestern beat Michigan: 1965. * Northwestern's record 1990-94: 13-41. That's a lot of negative history to overcome. And, given that Northwest- ern finished 3-7-1 last season and lost many of its top players, there was no reason to suspect that the program was ready to turn itself around in 1995. So what happened? The unlikely emergence of sophomore running back Darnell Autry and quarterback Steve Schnur is a good place to start. Autry looked to be an adequate re- placement for star tailback Dennis Lundy in the starting lineup. Lundy graduated as the Wildcats' career leader in rushing yards (3062). Autry, going into 1995, had a total of 556 rushing yards but showed some promise in his rookie campaign. However, Autry has gone beyond just being an 'adequate replacement' -he has proven tobe apremiertailback talent. He is second in the nation in rushing yards per game (166.0) and has five straight 100-yard plus games going into tomorrow. "Darnell Autry is an exceptional foot- ball player," Northwestern coach Gary Barnett said. "He is exciting, and he is also energetic and enthusiastic, and brings that to the huddle." Schnur, unlike Autry, was not a natural choice to fill-out the Wild- cats' starting lineup. Initially, Barnett had a roster of three quarterbacks that he was looking at to be the starter. Schnur 1994's performance hardly made him a standout candidate; he threw 10 interceptions and tossed only four touchdowns. Yet, Schnur has been solid this sea- son - he's thrown only one intercep- tion and has completed 56 percent of his passes. He won't bomb opposing defenses (he's never thrown for more than 204 yards in one game) but he can steadily pick apart the secondary. "He is exacting, sort of like a sur- geon," Barnett said. "He doesn't get too excited about the good things or the bad things. That's the kind of guy you want leading your offense." Northwestern's defense is as much a part of the Wildcats' improvement as Autry and Schnur. Even though top talents Hugh Williams, Korey Single- ton and Bill Koziel graduated, they have allowed only 14.5 points per game against some decent offenses. The most sparkling effort came in 17-15 victory over Notre Dame, which features such standouts as quarterback Ron Powlus and flanker Derrick Mayes. Although the Irish did move the ball with some consistency, they stalled when it counted the most. "Anytime a team can go into South Bend and hold Notre Dame to 15 points, that says something about the team," Carr said.. "When they had to make crucial third-down stops, they made them." Perhaps the biggest key to the Wild- cats' turnaround is Barnett. Many a prominent coach have taken over the Wildcats' program with hopes of turn- ing it around, e.g. Rick Venturi, Dennis Green. Sadly, just as many coaches have left Northwestern without making so much of a dent. But Barnett's reign has clearly been different. He won only eight games since taking over in 1992, but he has been able to convince top recruits that Northwestern will be a winning pro- gram down the line. With the influx of first-tier talent has come a more positive attitude and di- rection. "When you look at their team, you see a number of guys who are all-Big Ten candidates or who have been all- Big Ten players," Carr said. "They've done a very good coaching job because they are playing with aggressiveness and they don't beat themselves." MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Michigan tailback Tshimanga Biakabutuka said that he feels completely healthy for the first time since the season began. The junior Is the Wolverines' rushing leader with 504 yards and has rushed for seven touchdowns. HE MATCHUPS: Northwestem still has a Ryan White last week when he rushed for 53 yards Sports Editor on 11 carries. Chris Floyd scampered For the sake of perspective, it would for 45 yards on eight carries. nice to give you a few things more Last week the running game finally hocking than-No. 25 Northwestern's got on track for the Wolverines and tart, but there just isn't any way to do nothing will change tomorrow. t. One would be hard-pressed to find Advantage: nything more unexpected. And if you're scratching your head, ing to remember the last time the Wildcats began the season 3-1, you can stop because most of you won't be able o recall the 1963 season. In fact, with only four games under Northwestern rushing offense vs. their belt, this has already been a wild Michigan rushing defense: season for the Wildcats. Northwestern tailback Darnell Autry They began the season by shocking has rushed for over 100 yards in five Notre Dame, 17-15, only to lose the next straight games going back to the end of week to Miami (Ohio). After back-to- last season. Last week, against Indiana, back wins against Air Force and Indiana, he rushed for 162 yards and is de- Northwesternfindsitselfbackinthepolls. scribed in the Wildcats media guide as The key for No. 7 Michigan tomor- "a Barry Sanders type player." row is to figure out what exactly the The Wildcats' experience in the deal is with these Wildcats. backfield, however, drops off signifi- Is Northwestern the team that beat cantly after Autry. the Irish, or the team that lost to Miami? Backup Adrian Autry, no relation to The answeris somewhere inbetween. Darnell, has rushed the ball only 18 times Northwestern hasn't beaten Michi- this season for 81 yards. Faraji Leary has gan in Ann Arbor since 1959 and don't handled the ball only 11 times. expect that to change this year. As for the Michigan defense, it's mad. Michigan rushing offensevs. North- The Wolverines let Miami get back western rushing defense: into a game that was well in hand last Wolverine tailback Tshimanga week and Michigan feels it has some- Biakabutuka feels completely healthy thing to prove. for the first time since the season began. The Wolverines allowed Miami's That's bad news for Northwestern. Deland McCullough to get loose for At times this season Biakabutuka has 141 yards and two touchdowns. looked more explosive than his predeces- Look for a rejuvenated effort after sor,NFLflrst-mundpickTyroneWheatley. last week, and another dominating de- The Wildcats have given up an average fensive showing by Michigan. of 156.8 yards per game on the ground. Advantage: Last week, Miami stacked the line trying to stop the Wolverines rushing attack and they still ran for 232 yards. If Northwestern manages to stop Biakabutuka, it'll still have to deal with his backups. True freshman Clarence Williamshad Michigan passing offense vs. his best game in a Michigan uniform Northwestern passing defense: Don't Panic!! if you think you're pregnant... call us-we listen, we care. PROBLEM PREGNANCY HELP 769-7283 Any time, any day, 24 hours. Fully confidential. Serving Students since 1970. long way t Brian Griese got his first real experi- ence as Michigan's quarterback last weekend, and he looked good. The sophomore threw for 192 yards and completed 14 of his 24 passes with two for touchdowns. He proved that he could throw the ball. Now all he has to do is cut down on the rookie mistakes. Northwestern has allowed an aver- age of 188 yards a game through the air this season. Senior safety William Bennett, along with cornerbacks Rodney Ray and Chris Martin, lead the Wildcats secondary. However, with the exception of Notre Dame's Derrick Mayes, Northwestern I - - - -- oC go netore: hasn't seen receivers like the Wolver- ines' Mercury Hayes and Amani Toomer. I fGriese can get the ball to his receiv- ers - and he should be able to - Michigan will be able to move the ball through the air. Advantage: Northwestern passing offense vs. Michigan passing defense: Wildcat quarterback Steve Schnur appears to have finally settled into it can beat Michigan Northwestern's offense. After being beat out for the starting job last year by a junior college transfer, he's come on to complete more than 50 percent of his passes this season. Schnur's favorite target is sophomore receiver D'Wayne Bates who has caught 16 balls for 258 yards this season. Although this matchup may seem like Schnurand Bates againstthe Michi- gan secondary, it could well be decided on the lines. So far this season, the Michigan front fourhasn'tgiven opposing quarterbacks- enough time to make good throws. As a result, the Wolverines already have one more interception this year (eight) than all of last season. Jason Horn, Trent Zenkewicz, Glen Steele and Juaquin Feazell will be too much forNorthwestern's passing game. Advantage: Special teams: Michigan punter Nate DeLong had his longest punt of the year against Miami, 65 yards. See MATCHUPS, Page 12 ! _. __ U> W ~ ~V~ <~Iy.,