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Thursday, October 03, 2002

By Ray Fittpaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

If it makes Penn State fans feel any better, the team that pushed the Nittany Lions all over the field Saturday could be fighting for a conference championship in the final two months of the season.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have the talent to make a run at a conference title, and they have the schedule.

Iowa has one difficult road game remaining -- Oct. 26 at Michigan. It plays host to Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Northwestern and doesn't play Ohio State this season. The other two road games are at Indiana and Minnesota.

Iowa is 13-7 since beating Penn State Nov. 4, 2000. This season, the Hawkeyes are atop the conference in several offensive categories, including scoring (41.4 points per game), rush offense (259), total offense (485), pass efficiency (153.4) and third-down conversions (51.4 percent). They also have the conference's No. 1 rush defense (48.2).

"We really haven't done anything over the long haul," Coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We have a lot of work to do and we all know that here. There's so much football to be played. Statistics, rankings, the league race, all of that stuff doesn't really mean anything at this stage. When November rolls around all of those things will have much more significance."

In the next two weeks, Iowa plays host to Purdue and Michigan State, two teams that beat the Hawkeyes last season.

Mr. Rogers' neighborhood

Michigan State senior receiver Charles Rogers set an NCAA record against Northwestern when he caught a touchdown pass for a 13th consecutive game. Rogers, who played with bruised ribs against the Wildcats, leads the conference with 137.4 receiving yards per game. He also leads the conference with seven touchdown receptions.

"Charles continues to elevate himself as one of the best players in college football," said Michigan State Coach Bobby Williams. "He continues to amaze everyone. I've been really happy with his production and the exposure that we've gotten with it from the national media. It really puts us in a great limelight with the prospects out there. It's great for recruiting."

Rogers had three catches for 53 yards against Northwestern, snapping a streak of eight consecutive games in which he had at least 100 yards receiving.

Overrated?

Michigan was the preseason conference favorite because it had several starters returning from a defense that had an excellent season last year. But the Wolverines are looking awfully ordinary this season. They allowed 543 yards, including 368 passing yards, Saturday against 1-4 Illinois.

Michigan is eighth in the conference in pass defense (259.4), sixth in total defense (359.8), fifth in scoring defense (20.2) and third in rush defense (100.4).

No Mo' needles

Ohio State freshman running back Maurice Clarett has proven in the first six weeks of the season that not many things on the football field scare him. Off the field is another story.

It seems the rookie phenom has a phobia for needles.

Clarett needed stitches in Ohio State's 45-17 victory against Indiana and got a bit squeamish.

"They told me if I didn't get stitches, I wasn't going back into the game," Clarett told the Columbus Dispatch. "I don't like needles too much. After a while, I laid my head back. The blood isn't your problem. It's when they stick the needle in your skin."

Clarett, who has 575 yards and 10 touchdowns, needed stitches because the old ones from his arthroscopic knee surgery Sept. 17 had come undone.

Quick slants

Illinois will play at Minnesota tonight because the Minnesota Twins have the first right to schedule games at the Metrodome and will play there against the Oakland A's this weekend. ... Wisconsin and Ohio State are two of 12 teams in Division I-A without a loss. ... Michigan defensive back Marlin Jackson had two interceptions Saturday against Illinois. The Sharon High School graduate has three for the season. ... Joe Tiller tied Noble Kizer for second place on Purdue's victories list with his 42nd win. He is 42-24 in six seasons with the Boilermakers.