friday,september 19,2003
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Tennessee QB: 'Past was past' with Florida
By Gregg Girvan Independent Florida Alligator via U-WIRE University of Florida
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It wasn't Symphony No. 5, but at least Florida offensive lineman Max Starks got the idea.
Players who have been with the Gators long enough remembered Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen doing his best Beethoven impression in front of the band.
The Gators remember how their 2001 national championship hopes were dashed under the cleats of tailback Travis
Stephens, who racked up 226 vards.
In that game, postponed to Dec. 1 because of the Sept. 11 attacks, Clausen was 17-of-25 for 168 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Starks said earlier in the week that it annoyed him to see Clausen celebrating in a way that was "distasteful."
It appears as if Clausen doesn't remember how he had incited the Gators.
He didn't know Florida was still thinking about it, nor did he seem to care.
"I don't really know what [Starks] said," Clausen said. "I'm
going to go on the football field, and we'll see what happens come Tomorrow."
Clausen's tune changed last year, when a bad exchange between him and center Scott Wells gave the Gators good field position in Tennessee territory. That was one of three lost fumbles for the Volunteers.
On their way to a 30-13 win, the Gators scored twice upon recovering Tennessee fumbles.
without the fumbles, the Tennessee quarterback's performance would have been seen as outstanding. He was 30-of-44 for 285 yards and had one touchdown.
He went from an inexperienced sophomore winning on the road to a letdown the next year.
Clausen has experienced a
high and a low point against UF
That was a year when the Volunteers were expected to contend for a spot in the national championship.
According to Clausen, those events no longer have meaning for Tomorrow's game.
"The past was the past. I want to focus on the present," Clausen said. "I said to our team, 'Hey, enjoy it.' It' s a great atmosphere to play in, playing in front of 90,000 people and the crowd and the fans."
The running game could be the
focus, but if the Gators' defensive front can cause problems for Cedric Houston and the other backs, Clausen may have to take over the offensive duties with the pass.
Whatever the mode of Tennessee's offense, if the last two games in the series are any indication, a hostile environment would be better than a soggy one.
For this game, he relishes another opportunity for a victory on Florida turf.
“It’s definitely exciting to go and play in a hostile environment,” he said. “I enjoy it. I guess most quarterbacks get timid, but I'm a competitive type of person.”
Last week's UNLV mistakes badger Wisconsin
By Jerry Weil
The Daily Cardinal via U-WIRE
University of Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — A lot went wrong for Wisconsin last weekend against UNLV.
It turned the ball over numerous times and the offense seemed out of sync all game. However, if there was one bright spot on that miserable rainy tomorrow afternoon, it was the defense.
The Badger defense held the Rebels to only 197 total yards on offense. This comes as a huge improvement compared to two weeks ago when Wisconsin gave up 591 yards to Akron.
"For the most part our defense played pretty well ... we did improve from the Akron game, but we still have a long way to go," freshman Joe Stellmacher said.
Perhaps the greatest area of
"We're pushing each other every day in practice, so each of us has to be on top of our game."
Joe Stellmacher
Wisconsin cornerback
improvement was in the Badger secondary.
The Badgers gave up only 93 yards passing. Sophomore defensive back Levonne Rowan and Stellmacher each started in the secondary, and took the starting cornerback positions from junior Scott Starks and senior safety Ryan Aiello.
This decision was made in practice, as defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove hopes to encourage competition among all players in the secondary.
"Sometimes guys get in a
comfort zone, and maybe they don't have as much urgency as they need to have.
"When you have more competition, there will be more urgency between the starter and the guy trying to get his job. A guy has to earn his way to be a starter." Cosgrove said.
Stellmacher and Rowan found out Friday that they were going to be rewarded for their good week of practice by starting the game tomorrow.
Ready for the challenge, Stellmacher and Rowan prepared mentally for the start. Part of that preparation included reconciling with Starks and Aiello, whom Stellmacher and Rowan would start over; however, as Rowan explains, Starks and Aiello proved to be strong leaders.
"If I had a problem I knew I could always go to Starks and he would help me out," Rowan said.
Just because Rowan and Stellmacher started this past week against UNLV does not necessarily guarantee them a start this upcoming week.
A hard week of practice and critical evaluation by the Badger coaching staff will determine who gets the starting nod for tomorrow's game against North Carolina. Stellmacher is comfortable with the situation.
"We're pushing each other every day in practice, so each of us has to be on top of our game," Stellmacher said. "The competition will definitely help all of us out."
This new competition in the secondary provides great depth to a Wisconsin secondary that in the past has been marred by injuries and inconsistent play.
In addition to a few other very capable defensive backs on the Badgers,the team will be able to consider utilizing a
nickel package in order to aid in their pass defense.
"We've got some young guys coming around, and whether they're the starter or not we are comfortable with someone else coming into the game," Cosgrove said.
Although the Badgers have significant depth in the secondary, and only allowed 197 yards on defense this past week, everyone believes improvements still must be made before the Badgers head into Big Ten play.
"There are going to be turnovers in a game," Cosgrove said. "However, we need to limit our opponents to field goals in the red zone. We didn't do that [against UNLV]. So that is a point of emphasis for us."
Badger fans hope Cosgrove's defense will continue to improve and keep the North Carolina offense on its heels.
Women's golf makes Michigan tourney debut
The women's golf team returned from its first tournament in Ft. Collins, Colo., last week with a seventh place ranking and a day off.
The team then got back to practice for the Mary Fossum Tournament at Michigan State University, which starts tomorrow.
Coach Megan Menzel said the team was excited about its performance in its first tournament, and was looking forward to its next tournament in Michigan.
The players competing in the Fossom tournament are Jill Womble, Pleasanton, Calif., freshman; Chelsey Pryor, Washington, Pa., sophomore; Tiffany Woods, Escondido, Calif., sophomore; Merideth Winkelmann, St. Louis, sophomore; and Amanda Costner, Claremore, Okla., freshman.
The team is making its first appearance at the tournament and course in East Lansing, Mich.
The tournament is also the first this season in which only freshmen and sophomores are competing for the Jayhawks.
Without the presence of the upperclassmen, Menzel said she was still confident about the team and its performance.
Winkelmann said, "I think we're a young group, but I think it'll be good for us. I think a lot of people don't know what to expect from us."
Edwards said Michigan State could prove to be a challenge because of the home advantage, but it would be a good test for the team.
The tournament will end Sunday afternoon.
Oklahoma State freshman earns invite to Masters tournament
— Mike Bauer
By Jared James Daily O'Collegian via U-wire Oklahoma State University
here."
STILLWATER, Okla. Oklahoma State freshman Casey Wittenberg has been on campus for a couple of weeks.
Sooner or later, he had to find time to squeeze in a round at Karsten Creek.
"I played my first full round of Karsten on Saturday," Wittenberg said. "It's the first time that I'd actually seen the whole entire golf course. It's an unbelievable golf course. I knew it was before I ever even got up
Wittenberg, from Memphis,
Tenn., won't participate for the
Cowboys when they head to the
Ping/Golfweek Preview on
Sept. 22.
Wittenberg has been using the time to play a game of catch-up in his classes, after having missed a large portion of time due to golf duties.
Wittenberg arrived to campus late from the U.S. Amateur Championship — where he finished as runner-up — and then missed another portion of time for the Walker Cup.
Wittenberg said he plans to use the experience as a spring-
But even before he had
stepped foot on campus. Wittenberg wore OSU clothing for a nationally televised audience in the finals of the U.S. Amateur Championship.
"It's nice to him see him do that against some of the best men's amateur golfers in the world," Oklahoma State assistant coach Mike McGraw said about Wittenberg's play. "He represented us well."
Wittenberg fell to Nick Flanagan in 37 holes to become Oklahoma State's second consecutive U.S. Amateur runner-up.
board to his collegiate season.
"it's a lot of golf," Wittenberg said of the U.S. Amateur. "You have to be prepared to be up there. It was a great learning experience for me. Hopefully this year during the college season I'll be able to take some stuff that I learned in the Amateur and have it do good things for me this year."
Wittenberg was one of the youngest players ever named to the Walker Cup team, and he will be considered even younger when he gets the opportunity to compete against the best golfers in the world next spring in the
Masters.
As U.S. Amateur runner-up Wittenberg receives an automatic invitation to The Masters
"The Masters and the trip to the U.S. Open are going to be two really big things for me." Wittenberg said. "It's hard to believe that I'm going to be 19 years old and be playing in the Masters."
For now, Wittenberg has his sights focused on catching up with his classwork and the collegiate game.
He joins an Oklahoma State team that fell just short of a national championship. The
Cowboys are ranked as preseason No. 4 by Golfweek. Wittenberg was picked as a first-team preseason All-American — the only representative for the Cowboys — and is the only freshman to be picked for any team.
"The team was good last year, and they just fell a little short right there at the end." Wittenberg said about the Cowbows
"But it's just one tournament. You build your whole entire year around one tournament, and it's just hard.
"All the breaks have to go your way for you to be able to win that one tournament."
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