22 - The Michig'an Daily -Kicof '95- Thursday, Sepember i, 195 Rice gives running backs something to think about By Scott Burton Let's say you're a Division I run- ning back. Your quarterback hands you the ball and you bust through the line thinking you're one man away from slipping into the endzone. Then you notice this 6-foot-5 line- backer standing in your way, a man named Simeon Rice. What do you do? A) Drop your shoulder and try to pop through him B) Do your little shake and bake thing7 C) Turn around and run 1111 away really, really fast For any sane soul who wishes to keep their esopha-1 gus after a run-in with the Il- linois linebacker, the answer is C. For those who have a 1994:z little more bravado, the an- Sep swer is A or B, though you Michig should know that it probably __ ino won't make a difference - - what you do - you're gonna get tackled either way. "Rice can make plays that very few players can make," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He can run, he's a big guy, he's a great pass rusher and creates all sort of problems for you." Indeed, Rice has proven to be such a dominating force in his three years of collegiate ball that many felt that he would have been a early first-round pick had he entered last year's NFL draft. As it is, he and fellow linebacker Kevin Hardy form one of the most dominating linebacker corps in the na- tion. Rice had 16 sacks last year while Tepper calls Hardy the most complete linebacker he has ever seen. Tepper warns however that the rest of the defense may not be as solid as everyone assumes it is. Yes, the Illini were the top-ranked defense in the Big Ten last season, but they return only five starters and they are not as big and physical as Tepper would like. ented tailbacks in Ty Douthard, the Illini's feading rusher in 1994, and sophomore Robert Holcombe. "I don't know if you would say we have alarming running backs, but we are going to have two guys who are very competitive," Tepper said. The question marks start with an offensive line decimated by gradua- tion. The Illini do return Chris Koerwitz and Ken Blackman, two of the meatiest lineman around, but Tepper will have to find some other live bodies to make the offense pro- ductive. noIs 4-4, 7-5 pt. 2: gan 38, ois 14 "We will be the smallest defense perhaps in the league," Tepper said. The offense doesn't have the same reputation as the defense and finished last in the Big Ten in rush- ing yards and eighth in points per game last sea- son. Even more telling to the problems, Tepper hired his third offensive coordinator in four years with the addi- tion of Paul Schudel. However, Illinois returns more le- gitimate stars to its skill positions than they have in years, starting with quar- terback Johnny Johnson. The senior fi- nally found some consistency in his game and finished third in the confer- ence in total offense. "I have a lot more experience. I'll probably be a lot calmer," Johnson said. "There were times before when I was worried about other outside fac- tors that I couldn't control. This year I'm not at all worried about that. I'm just going to go out and do my best." Illinois also features a pair of tal- BIG TEN COMMUNICATIONS While other college football teams are fighting for their spots in the bowl alliance, the Big Ten champion will appear in the Rose Bowl for the 50th consecutive year. The conference has other tie-ins with the Florida Citrus, Outback, Alamo and Sun Bowls. Big Ten marks 50th straightyear of roses, stays out of new alliance The Michigi D* KICKOFF '95 A season of c Fi > B8g Ten Ce Team Previ w .4 .. i TnC The Wolverin have The coneren a ne coah aseason of c carte BY ANTOINEI new quart trying to lead tx>+w> team to its fi a. Ten title sin 4 BY SCOTT BU MI~hI but U BYD White On The Daily ofeniv ttckTeti Twh e Wo petyes nan lw ll hp t, pEv'd kopponenyJ i ts' . ::m 3#gAl B g, $ { 2£R S kfR3 f .$ B y. ff$ S k 2 $3 x . ring tnem to1 big game! I zt By Antoine Pitts There is a new bowl alliance de- signed to decide the national champi- onship, but in the long run it could be just as confusing and useless as the old version. The Rose Bowl could still come in the way of any No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup as it did last year. For the next six seasons the na- tional championship game will be ro- tated between the Fiesta, Sugar and Orange Bowls, beginning with this year's Fiesta Bowl. What it means is that all of the con- ferences have given up their traditional bowl tie-ins, except for the Big Ten and Pac-10. Those two conferences are secondary alliance members. Here's how it works: The Fiesta will host the two top- ranked teams from the conference champions pool which are the Big East, Big Eight, Southwest, Southeast- ern and Atlantic Coast conferences plus Notre Dame. If the champion of one of these leagues or Notre Dame does not have eight wins and at least a top-12 rank- ing, they will be replaced by a second place team from one of the other con- ferences. Those other conferences include the Big Ten and Pac-10. For instance, the No. 2 Big Ten team can qualify for, the No. 2 and 3 alliance bowls if it meets the qualifications, but the con- ference champion still must go to the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl agreement, cel- ebrating its 50th anniversary, conse- quently could keep the two confer- ences on the outside looking in once again. There could be a repeat of last year's situation - a undefeated team not being able to play for the national championship because it has to play in the Rose Bowl. "I think the alliance is good for col- lege football," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I think in the long run the alliance is a good thing. "I think as long as we in the Big Ten keep an open mind and understand that we would like to eventually come to where the alliance can match one and two consistently. "If the Big Ten feels left out then we better start thinking about what we can do to accommodate the best inter- est of the conference. " The Big Ten has been insistent in opposing any alteration to the conference's Rose Bowl deal. The league also has tie-ins to the Florida Citrus, Outback, Alamo and Sun Bowls could net more than $6 million. With the Rose Bowl now paying out $8.1 million per team - the Pasadena Tournament of Roses rais'd ticket prices from $47 to $79 - opting for another deal may not be as lucrative. "This conference has opposed an NFL-style college football playoff," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. "This conference supports and will do everything in its power to maintain a healthy bowl environment. "Also, the Big Ten-Pac 10 Rose Bowl has been an important game in the bowl constellation." The second Big Ten selection will appear in the Citrus Bowl against the No. 2 selection from the SEC on Jan. 1 in Orlando. The Outback Bowl - formerly known as the Hall of Fame Bowl - will host the Big Ten's No. 3 and the SEC's No. 3 selections Jan. 2 in Tampa, Fla. New in the Big Ten alliance this year are the Alamo and Sun Bowls. The No. 4 teams of the Big Ten and Big Eight/Southwest Conference (in- cludes members of the future Big 12 conference) meet Dec. 28 in San Anto- nio, Tex. The Sun Bowl features No. 5 from the Big Ten and No. 3 from the Pac-10 Dec. 29 in El Paso. The national bowl alliance and Rose Bowl agreements are scheduled to expire following the 2000 season. The interested parties will then havetto decide which road to follow. 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