Section B · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, August 21, 1997
Penn State highly favored in talented Big 10
The Associated Press
Not only is Penn State favored to win the Big 10 Conference, the Nittany Lions find themselves ranked No.1 in The Associated Press preseason poll.
Yet when Coach Joe Paterno is asked about the expectations, he simply shrugs.
"Whether or not we should be favored in this conference doesn't impress me and it doesn't make me despondent, either," Paterno said.
"It's nice to have people looking at you, but I have no idea whether we should be picked first or sixth," he said. "There are too many ifs, and buts. We still have too many question marks."
The Buckeyes were picked second and Michigan third. Penn State, meanwhile, starts the season No. 1 for the first time in its history.
local hero Mike McQeary step in at quarterback and direct an offense featuring Heisman Trophy contender Curtis Enis? Paterno thinks so.
There is one big question: Can fifth-year.
"Mike has great leadership qualities, and he's got all the intangibles," Paterno said. "He doesn't have much experience, but he's paid his dues. We've had some luck with kids like him who are physically and mentally tough."
Enis (1,210 yards, 12 touchdowns) is one of 13 starters returning from last year's team.
The schedule is favorable, too. The two toughest games — against Ohio State (Oct.
11) and Michigan (Nov. 8) — are at home.
Northwestern, coming off a co-Big 10 title.
Five other Big 10 teams — Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State — are ranked in the Top 25, so it won't be easy getting through the season without a loss. And then there's unranked
For the four schools with new coaches Illinois (Ron Turner), Indiana (Cam Cameron), Minnesota (Glen Mason) and Purdue (Joe Tiller) — any conference win will be cherished.
The Big 10 is loaded with stars, beginning with Ron Dayne, Wisconsin's Heisman hopeful who ran for 1,863 yards and 18 TDs as a freshman.
Other stars to watch: Ohio State linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer, Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, Iowa wide receiver-return specialist Tim Dwight, Northwestern wide receiver D'Wayne Bates and Michigan State's Sedrick Irvin.
"With all the rivaries, and all the intensity and all the great players in the Big 10, it's difficult to get through the season unscathed," said Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr.
For two straight years, the Wolverines ended rival Ohio State's national title hopes by beating undefeated Buckeye teams.
But the Buckeyes' last-minute victory against Arizona State in the Rose Bowl revitalized Coach John Cooper, who has only nine starters returning.
Michigan, which has lost four games in each of the last four seasons, may have the Big 10's toughest schedule. In addition to ending the season with games against Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State, non-conference opponents include Colorado and Notre Dame.
Iowa Coach Hayden Fry, entering his 19th season, is optimistic despite road games against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Northwestern.
With a big-play guy like Dwight, second in the nation in punt returns with an 18.95-yard average and two TDs, and quarterback
Matt Sherman (1,918 yards and 10 TDs), the Hawkeyes won't be pushovers.
Wisconsin's season depends on Dayne, all 5-10, 261 pounds of him. Last season, he ran over opponents as a freshman, and while Alvarez says he plans to pass more, don't read much into it. As the Great Dayne goes, so go the Badgers.
If Michigan State can learn to stop the opposition, the Spartans have a chance to surprise. With Irvin, quarterback Todd Schultz and 330-pound tackle Flozell Adams, the offense is in good hands. The defense, with 10 starters returning, can only improve after allowing 25.2 points per game.
Fame is fleeting for Northwestern and Coach Gary Barnett. Even though the Wildcats grabbed a piece of the Big 10 title after winning it in '95, the team hasn't received much fanfare for '97.
Washington top pick in Pac-10 after rebounding from probation
The Associated Press
After years of trying to recover from NCAA probation, Washington is back — in a big way.
Last season, the Huskies flexed their muscles by winning six in a row to close the regular season before a loss to Colorado in the Holiday Bowl left them at 9-3 — their best record since Jim Lambright replaced Don James four years ago.
"What a difference a few years make," said Lambright, whose Huskies are favored to win the Pac-10 Conference and start the season ranked fourth in The Associated Press preseason poll.
"It feels great to have all these positive things said about you when just a few years ago people couldn't even mention you because you were ineligible for the conference race."
When the Huskies were found guilty of numerous NCAA violations, James, their longtime coach, resigned and Washington was placed on two years' probation — ineligible for bowl games or the Pac-10 title.
It has taken the program three
The Return of the Purple Storm,
as the cover of the Washington
media guide proclaims, is led by
Brock Huard, a sophomore who
threw for 1,678 yards and 13
touchdowns last season. Although
Corey Dillon left early for the NFL,
Rashaan Sheehe, who ran for 957
yards two years ago, returns after
a foot injury slowed him in '96.
years to get back to where it was during the early 1990s, when Washington went to three straight Rose Bowls (1990-92) and shared a national title with Miami in 1991.
Stanford, Southern California and UCLA could pose the strongest threats to Washington, while Arizona State will have a hard time repeating its undefeated regular-season of '96.
streak, capped by a 38-0 victory over Michigan State in the Sun Bowl, and finished 7-5.
At Southern Cal, where coach John Robinson's job may have been saved by an overtime win against Notre Dame, the Trojans have a lot of experience, except at quarterback, where Brad Otton has departed. John Fox and Quincy Woods are fighting for the starting spot, but redshirt freshman Mike Van Raaphorst could also figure into the mix.
The Stanford Cardinals will rely on quarterback Chad Hutchinson (2,134 yards and 10 TDs) and Mike Mitchell, who ran for 809 yards last season. Stanford, which lost five of its first seven games, finished with a five-game winning
"This team was sobered by last year's lack of success," Robinson said of the Trojans' 6-6 season. "We came off a Rose Bowl win and weren't very experienced, but everybody was very cocky going into last season."
UCLA has 16 returning starters, including quarterback Cade McNown and tailback Skip Hicks, who ran for 1,034 yards last season.
"Last year we had a new team and we put a new offense and defense together," Toledo said. "But now we know what to expect and we know everybody's comfort zone and that makes it a lot easier."
SEC may be Gator country
The Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Florida coach Steve Spurrier can tie former Alabama coach Bear Bryant's record by winning his fifth straight SEC title this season.
It appears LSU and Tennessee will pose formidable threats to the Florida dynasty, which also is trying to join the Crimson Tide as only the second SEC team to win consecutive national titles. Alabama won titles in 1964-65 and 1978-79.
"We don't talk too much about the longevity thing — we talk about winning the Eastern Division first, then hopefully playing for the SEC," said Spurrier.
Florida's hopes for both titles could be decided Sept. 20, when the Gators entertain Tennessee.
Most of the pressure in the game should fall on Peyton Manning, who opted out of the NFL draft to return for his senior year at Tennessee. He is 28-4 as a starter, but winless in three appearances against the Gators, including a disastrous first half last year in which he threw four interceptions in a 35-29 loss.
"People say I'll know if I made the right decision on Sept. 20 ..." Manning said. "But I know I made the right decision on March 5, when I decided what I wanted to do. It came down to personal happiness."
"I would say, yes, we've closed the gap since I got here," Scott said. "But there still is a good gap between us and the elite in this conference."
If anyone in the East is to upset Florida or Tennessee, it could be South Carolina, although fourthyear coach Brad Scott concedes the Gamecocks have a way to go before they can start thinking about a division title.
Elsewhere in the East, Georgia is trying to rebound after a disappointing 5-6 season in coach Jim Donnan's first year. At Vanderbilt, Woody Widenhofer has been hired to turn around a program coming off consecutive 2-9 seasons. New Kentucky coach Hal Mumme has promised to throw the ball 40 times a game, which should be good for Tim Couch, the prized recruit who looked lost in Bill Curry's conservative offense last season.
Alabama has met Florida in four of five SEC title games since the conference went to divisional play in 1992.
LSU went 10-2 last season and made its second consecutive bowl appearance after missing for six straight years.
Coach Gerry DiNardo has quarterback Herb Tyler and running back Kevin Faulk (1,282 yards) for an offense that scored four or more TDs in seven games last year.
Auburn might have the most overall talent on offense in the West, but Terry Bowden — 16-8 the past two years after a 20-1-1 record the first two — is still trying to figure a way to make it blend. Dameyne Craig threw for 2,296 yards and has receivers Karsten Bailey, Tyrone Goodson and Hicks Poor returning.
Linebacker Takeo Spikes and nose guard Jimmy Brumbaugh lead a defense that was ravaged by injuries last year, when Auburn was forced to start nine underclassmen in the Alabama game.
After two years on probation, Mississippi is eligible for the conference title and a bowl game, but the scholarship losses included in the NCAA sanctions will make that difficult.
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