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Thursday, October 17, 2002

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Terrell Owens' signature celebration in Seattle Monday night is making waves around the sporting world. But it's not the only controversial signature that is rousing an opponent and a fan base this week.

Wisconsin senior quarterback Brooks Bollinger put his signature and a few more words onto a picture, and it has sparked tensions for Saturday's Ohio-State-Wisconsin game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.

Bollinger wrote the words "The Horseshoe. ... They built it. We own it" on a publicity picture he sent to a Wisconsin fan living in Ohio. The only problem was the fan's husband is an Ohio State fan, who quickly made the photo available to friends. It eventually wound up in the hands of former Ohio State quarterback and ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit.

Bollinger had some signature moments in the Horseshoe last year and 1999, when he led the Badgers to come-from-behind victories. In 2000, Ohio State won at Camp Randall and celebrated by dancing on the "W" at the center of the field. The favor was returned last year, when the Badgers won at Ohio Stadium.

"I don't think we care a whole lot for each other because of some incidents that have happened in the past," Ohio State linebacker Matt Wilhelm told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

If the Buckeyes win Saturday, don't expect another jig at midfield. Coach Jim Tressel tried to instill more discipline in his players since taking over for John Cooper before last season.

"Our feeling about celebration, whether it is after a touchdown or a big win, is the celebration has to be contained within those who are celebrating," he said. "In no way shape or form should it be pointed in another direction. From a conceptual standpoint, our celebration has to be positive."

Contender or pretender?

Minnesota is 6-1 for the first time since 1967 and can improve to 7-1 for the first time since 1961 with a victory at Michigan State Saturday. The Gophers, who became bowl-eligible after beating Northwestern last week, might want to take advantage of the reeling Spartans. Because if they don't they might have won for the final time this season.

Minnesota has a brutal stretch of games ahead. After facing a struggling Michigan State team, the Gophers play at Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa and at Wisconsin.

Minnesota is the only unranked, one-loss team from the conference. The pollsters don't have much respect for the Gophers' schedule. Their victories have come against Southwest Texas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Toledo, Buffalo and Northwestern. They lost at Purdue. The combined record of their six opponents is 14-25 and only Toledo (4-2) has a winning record.

Shaky no longer

Last season, there were times when Ohio State place-kicker Mike Nugent had trouble taking his appropriate stance for kicks because his legs were shaking so much. He finished his freshman season 7 for 14 on field-goal attempts.

This season, Nugent's legs are as steady as his kicks are straight. He tied a school record Saturday in a 50-7 victory against San Jose State, when he made his 15th consecutive field-goal attempt without a miss.

"You can have an amazing kicker with a great leg, but if you don't get it done mentally, it just won't happen," Nugent told the Dayton Daily News.

Nugent tied the record held by Vlade Janakievski, who connected on 15 consecutive attempts in the 1979 and '80 seasons. Janakievski runs a deli in Columbus and Nugent has lunch at the establishment every Friday.

"When I was 9 for 9, Vlade told me he wanted me to break his record," Nugent said. "I told him, 'Oh my God, I will never get close to that.' He told me I would, and here I am. Usually, you would think a guy would hassle you a little about his record, but not him. We've got a bond and that means something when you're a kicker."

Smoker struggles

Michigan State junior quarterback Jeff Smoker led the conference in pass efficiency last season when he completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 2,579 yards and threw 21 touchdown passes against eight interceptions. With Heisman Trophy candidate Charles Rogers at his disposal for another season, Smoker was expected to become an established star.

But thus far, at the midway point of the season, 2002 has been a season to forget for Smoker. He has completed 55.7 percent of his passes for 1,364 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Things hit the bottom last week against Iowa. Spartans Coach Bobby Williams benched him in the third quarter of a 44-16 loss. Smoker was 17 for 33 for 169 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and lost a fumble on his own 21.

"Jeff is not playing with that same amount of confidence [as last season]," Williams told the Detroit News. "He wasn't real sharp."