Stanford visits USC
in hopes of shocking
ninth-ranked Trojans
USC looks forward to its
only home game of the
month as Stanford brings
its vaunted ‘D’into LA
By Scott Archer
Freelance Reporter
Stanford and USC are two of the
hotter teams in the Pacific-10 Confer
ence, and on Saturday, they're set to
butt heads in the game of the week.
While both teams only have one
blemish to their names, it's Stanford
that remains largely untested. The
Cardinal ride into L A. Coliseum
having played only three games.
However, the Cardinal defense
ranks No. 1 in rushing defense in
the conference, allowing opposing
teams only 56.3 yards per game.
"Guys have responded well and
tackled well," Stanford head coach
Buddy Teevens said. USC looks to
take advantage of its lone home
contest in October, lhe Trojans hold
the Pac-10's longest home winning
streak at 11 games. USC is also look
ing to become just the 10th team in
Division 1 to collect 700 victories.
"We are really excited to be com
ing back to the Coliseum," USC
head coach Pete Carroll said. "It's
been a while since we have been
there, and we know it's going to be
a while until we come back, so we
have to make the most of this op
portunity."
While USC is renowned for its
stingy defense, the Trojans have
scored 30 or more points in 12 of the
last 13 games and lead the Pac-10
with 37.4 points per game. Stanford
is riding a pair of streaks heading
into the contest. The Cardinal have
won three of the last four games j
against USC and the last two games
played in Los Angeles. 1 lowever, last
year, USC dominated the game, win- j
ning49-17.
"(Stanford) has only lost to Wash
ington in Seattle," Carroll said. "I'm j
sure they are going to have new
things prepared for us in an attempt
to keep us off balance. We are going
to go in expecting the unexpected."
Scott Archer is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
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Wolverines’ season critical
as second half approaches
Despite scoring at least
27 points every game
this season, Michigan
finds itself with a 4-2 record
By Michael Rosenberg
Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — John
Navarre called it "confusing."
Michigan is No. 3 in the nation in
total defense and has scored at least
27 points in every game it has
played. Yet somehow the Wolverines
are 4-2 and out of the national
championship picture.
When we say "somehow" we mean
"because of special teams."
At Oregon, Michigan gave up a
blocked punt for a touchdown, a punt
return for a touchdown and missed
two extra points. Oregon won, 31-27.
At Iowa, Michigan's punt and kickoff
teams were badly outplayed, giving
the Hawkeyes great field position, and
Iowa blocked a punt. Michigan out
gained the Hawkeyes, 463 yards to
295, but lost, 30-27.
Michigan has other flaws — Navarre
has made some poor passes in clutch
situations, and the defense hasn't
forced many turnovers — but if the
Wolverines had average special teams
they probably would be undefeated.
Instead, they probably need to
win the rest of their games just to
win the Big Ten.
"You almost can't look at the big
picture," defensive tackle Grant Bow
man said on Monday. "You have to
take it day-to-day."
Michigan doesn't have time to
dwell on what has been lost — a Fri
day night game at No. 17 Minnesota
looms. The short workweek means
Michigan held a light practice on
Monday when the Wolverines nor
mally don't practice. Michigan also
will practice on Thursday before fly
ing to Minnesota. Michigan usually
doesn't practice the day before games.
The busy schedule means the
Wolverines barely have time to listen to
critics. Bowman said he is familiar with
"all those armchair quarterbacks. They
know how to do it better than you do."
As Bowman well knows, there
aren't too many armchair defensive
tackles, which is why most of the criti
cism has been directed at Navarre. The
quarterback is taking heat for some er
rant passes in the second half on Sat
urday against Iowa. *
Navarre's numbers at Iowa — 26
for-49, a school-record 389 yards, two
touchdowns and one interception —
were actually quite good.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has spe
cial feelings for his quarterback's critics.
"I don't give a damn," Carr said.
"John Navarre played extremely well.
Anybody who thinks he didn't... does
n't know anything about the game."
(c) 2003, Detroit Free Press. Distributed
by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information
Services.
OFFENSE
continued from page 9B
need to do to protect the quarterback
and to run the football," offensive
line coach Neal Zoumboukos said.
"Obviously, as a coaching staff we
need to get back to those things to be
able to achieve that high level again."
Zoumboukos said those funda
mental things include pad level,
proper posture in pass protection,
moving the feet and using the eyes.
Injuries have made it difficult on the
offensive line, forcing the Ducks to
change some players' positions. Ore
gon lost senior Joey Forster early on.
DeLaGrange has been dealing with a
shoulder injury and sophomore Ian
Reynoso has played with a knee injury.
"Injuries are no excuse for poor
performance, and we have not per
formed well the past two weeks, peri
od," Zoumboukos said.
DeLaGrange said that the blitzes
the offensive line has seen in the past
two weeks have been contributing
factor to the line's play.
"They were bringing blitzes like
nothing else," he said. "Obviously
that affected us and we're obviously
working on it a lot more now so we're
going to be able to pick those up."
DeLaGrange is expecting the Sun
Devils to blitz if Oregon becomes
stuck in passing mode again. Arizona
State saw it work for Washington
State and Utah, so DeLaGrange is ex
pecting the Sun Devils to "bring
everybody they got."
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemeraid.com.
Wide receiver Kellen
Taylor has caught 16
passes for 158 yards
this season. The junior
is one of four captains*
for Saturday’s game
I at Arizona State.
Adam Amato Photo Editor
OREGON
continued from page 2B
business for."
The Ducks don't want to dwell on
that game but need to remember it to
make sure it doesn't happen again.
The Sun Devils weren't supposed to
be able to come into Autzen Stadium
that game and do what they did.
Now, however, neither team can
sneak up on one another.
"I think you've got to look at it,"
Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti said
of last season. "We, as a team, will
look at that game. We will say, 'OK,
what did we do right, and what did
we do wrong?'"
For the Ducks, the game in Tempe
represents a chance to get back onto
the right foot.
Oregon has sunk into the depths of
despair after the losses to the Cougars
and the lltes. The Ducks have been
outscored 72-29 in those games.
The 4-0 start that gave way to two
straight upsets conjures up memories
of last season's demise.
The Ducks say it is a different team
this year, and there won't be the same
kind of slide. Oregon, after all, knows
what it takes to pull out of the depths
of a losing streak now.
But the question is, will the Ducks
be able to?
According to Matson, it's going to
take a total team effort to get Oregon
back on track.
"It's more like all pistons firing at
once," he said. "If you do one single
thing, it will never get done. You've got
to be close to perfect in a lot of things at
the same time. You can't really isolate
the problem. Everyone has to carry the
weight at the same time Run hand-in
hand with your teammates, and the
job can get done"
The Ducks will have to do that
with little depth at many of the
skilled positions.
Cornerback Justin Phinisee is not
expected to play because of an injury.
The same goes for safety Stephen
Clayton, who suffered a concussion
several weeks ago. Since it isn't his
first concussion, the Ducks are being
careful with his status.
Chris Vincent will return to bolster
Oregon's running game. The Ducks
have been slowed in that category
during their losing streak. They've
rushed for almost two-thirds less
yards per game than in their first four
games of the season.
Still, the Ducks, as Matson said,
need their pistons to be firing at the
right time and speed for the losing
streak to be squashed.
"Everybody's backs are against the
wall," Matson said. "We all have a
loss already. Everybody is fighting
tooth and nail because (the Pac-10)
has to be separated some time.
"Everybody is kind of feeling the
pressure."
Contact the sports editor
at hankhager@daiiyemerald.com.