Thursday, October 30, 2003

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Michigan's chief rival is Ohio State. But Michigan State has been giving Michigan fits in recent years, especially when the Spartans play host to Michigan at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

That's where they meet Saturday in a showdown for first place that will help determine the conference championship. No. 9 Michigan State (7-1, 4-0) enters the game in sole possession of first place. No. 11 Michigan (7-2, 4-1) enters in second place, a half-game in front of Ohio State (7-1, 3-1) and Purdue (6-2, 3-1).

Michigan State has won four of the past five at Spartan Stadium. On three of those occasions, the Spartans were unranked and upset a ranked Michigan squad. On two of those occasions, the loss ended up costing Michigan a share of the conference championship.

In 2001, Michigan State beat No. 6 Michigan on the final play of the game when Jeff Smoker found T.J. Duckett in the end zone as time expired for a 26-24 victory. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr is still fuming about that game because the timekeeper at Spartan Stadium had a slow trigger finger that allowed that final play to get off.

Michigan ended up finishing one game behind champion Illinois.

In 1999, the previous time these two teams were this high in the rankings, No. 11 Michigan State knocked off No. 3 Michigan, 34-31. They shared second place that season behind champion Wisconsin.

In '95, Michigan State beat No. 7 Michigan, 28-25. And in '93, Michigan State beat No. 9 Michigan, 17-7.

But the main topic of conversation this week in East Lansing was the 49-3 drubbing the Wolverines put on the Spartans last year in Ann Arbor. It was the worst loss to Michigan in more than 50 years.

"I still have the news clipping from that game hanging on my door," Michigan State defensive tackle Matthias Askew told the Detroit News. "You don't want to feel that again. I've got the quote in my head. Michigan crushes MSU. Crushes. That stays with you. It's not something you can get out of the bottom of your stomach."

If Michigan can get over its problems at Spartan Stadium and beat Michigan State, the Wolverines would have inside track to the conference championship. The Wolverines have an off week after this game, then play at Northwestern before coming home for the season finale against Ohio State.

Even if it wins, Michigan State would still have to face Ohio State and Wisconsin on the road in consecutive weeks before finishing the season at home against Penn State.

"Our goal was the Big Ten championship at the beginning of the season," Michigan quarterback John Navarre said after Michigan's 31-3 home victory Saturday against Purdue. "It means everything. That was in our minds coming into this week -- that we had control. That if we were able to run the show we could have the goal in our hand to go to the Rose Bowl. Our goal was to win the Big Ten championship, and we knew that we controlled our own destiny."

Purple power

Northwestern pulled one of the biggest upsets of the conference season Saturday when it upended then-No. 17 Wisconsin at Ryan Field. The Wildcats (4-4, 2-2) did it by outplaying the Wisconsin offensive line. They limited one of the top rushing offenses in Division I-A to 135 yards.

"I remember looking over at the [Wisconsin] sideline in the third quarter and they were lifeless, no emotion over there," Northwestern defensive end Loren Howard told the Chicago Tribune. "I knew at that point that they'd thrown in the towel pretty much. They weren't responding to what we were bringing at them."

PSU is No. 1

No, not that No. 1. The Nittany Lions are No. 1 in NCAA Division I-A in pass defense, allowing 127 yards per game. But really, is there are more misleading or less important statistic kept by the NCAA?

Of the top 20 pass defenses in Division I-A, three others do not own winning records. The No. 3 team is Navy, which is 5-3.

Here's why the statistic is irrelevant. Teams such as Penn State are so bad against the run that teams don't have to pass. Penn State is 107 of 117 Division I-A teams against the rush. Tulsa, No. 12 in pass defense, is No. 105. Navy is No. 82.

The most telling statistic is rush defense. Of the top 32 teams in Division I-A against the run, 31 have winning records.

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