Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 31

The Detroit News High schools Section BOB del In regional VOJKCYSKI Tht Detroit Nm Mm Sports Malcom Arlington and Orchard Lake St. Mary's were among the winners that advanced to semifinals Pages 8-9C All day, every day httpdet news com NnL MA. I Baseball UC Outdcxxs 15C Ml Sunday, November 14, 2004 nnnn IWHi 3 nn mm Wisconsin falls out of the Big Ten lead as defense can't stop Spartans' rushers. By Dave Dye The Detroit News EAST LANSING Michigan State has two words for Michigan: "You're welcome." The Spartans upset No. 4 Wisconsin, 49-14, Saturday, opening the d(xr for the Wolverines to go to the Rose Bowl with an outright Big Ten championship.

This game helped ease some of the pain for MSU after back-to-back demoral B3 Wolverines pummel Northwestern; have chance to take second straight Rose Bowl bid. By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News ANN ARBOR They have played 10 games to get to this point, with everything at stake. It's officially Michigan-Ohio State week and the ninth-ranked Wolverines can win a second straight Big Ten title outright and a trip to the Rose Bowl with a victory in one of the nation's most hostile environments, Ohio Stadium. MSU49 U-M 42 izing losses to U-M and Ohio State.

On the other hand, it also left the Spartans with the realization that they could be the Thanks to Michigan State's upset of previously unbeaten and fourth-ranked Wisconsin on Saturday, Michigan is guaranteed at WIS. 14 NWES120 "jffi --f J- Dale G. young The Detroit News Michigan State's Jason Teague escapes Wisconsin's Brett Bell and scores on a 30-yard pass from Damon Dowdell. 1 mm -y fim hjjii ii iiiii iiiii hi Freshman Hart is key for U-M's resurgence, ride to the top of Big Ten ANN ARBOR There are better teams around the country, admittedly. There are more consistent teams, absolutely Is there a team expanding more rapidly, growing more surprisingly, than Michigan? If hard to imagine.

It's just as hard to imagine a team more emotionally frenetic than Michigan State, which wrapped up a wild Saturday with an impressive pasting of fraudulent Wisconsin. MSLTs season is saved, and U-M's is nearly made. Here the Wolverines sit, on the verge of something big, with a 9-1 record and one tidy little exercise remaining down in Ohio. You know things are going well when your in-state rival chips in with a monstrous victory, helping you clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title. U-M's 42-20 victory over Northwestern summed up the season, so far.

The Wolverines were morbid for a half, then unstoppable. We'd like to tell you we saw all this coming, way back when U-M was 1-1 after falling apart at Notre Dame. We didn't know any better and Lloyd Carr didn't know any better. The only guy who really seemed to know, quietly awaiting his chance, was freshman Michael Hart, merely the most-intriguing young player we've seen in years. The Wolverines are one victory from a BCS bowl, and they're there for reasons large and small.

Hart is both, large and small. He's 5-foot-o, and after his 151-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Wildcats, he's the Big Ten's top rusher, with 1,311 yards. For all of Braylon Edwards' brilliance, and freshman Chad Henne's development, no one has dominated like Hart. All he has done is top 150 yards in four straight games (the first U-M runner to do that) and set a school freshman rushing record, while fumbling exactly once. The kid is a freak, and we mean that in a nice way.

"I told Mike, after next week, we'll know whether he's a Big Ten back," Carr said, smiling. "He's one tough kid. He'll hear a lot about (playing at OSU), but the truth is, you have to experience it for yourself." Same goes for Henne, whose job will be even tougher against the desperate Buckeyes. But when U-M wins, it generally leans on its mashing line and Hart. So we figured we'd see if he was intimidated, contemplating the hostile setting in Columbus.

"Nab, not at all" Hart said. "I look at every game the same." What about the noise, and the boos? "I love being booed," he said. "I can't wait for that I like being the underdog and going out and proving the critics wrong. I've always been that way. Probably because of my size." He said it matter-of-factly, not in a cocky way.

Ask Hart about Heisman consideration and he laughs and says Edwards deserves it "1,000 times more." It's easy for these Wolverines to stay humble because they're always one mistake from trouble. They've trailed in eight of 10 games, although you see tight contests all around the country. U-M's rise has been unique. If you recall, the season was set to begin with Matt Gutierrez at quarterback and David Underwood at tailback. It's ending with Hart and Henne and plenty of help.

With freshmen, you don't know what you don't know. In a crazy seasoa the only thing we know for sure is that wherever there's an opening, Hart finds it Bob Wojnowski's column appears regularly on Tbesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. You can reach him at wojofanaol.com. Big Ten standings aii ones in line for that Rose Bow) bid if they hadn't collapsed in the final minutes the last two weeks. Nevertheless, it was a crucial victory for MSU (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten), which will become bowl-eligible if it wins its final two games on the road against Penn State and Hawaii.

Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1) had its Big Ten title Rose Bowl hopes crushed, unless Ohio State can beat the Wolverines next week. Michigan State made a goal-line stand in the final seconds of the first half to maintain a 21-14 lead after Wisconsin had a first down inside the MSU 1. That sequence completer)' changed the game. "It was a classic moment," safety Jason Harmon said. "It took the fire out of them and gave us more fire" MSU Coach John Smith was determined to build on the momentum by being aggressive.

The Spartans opened the second half with Dave RaTier's onside kick that was reciAered by K1i' Brown. Please see MSU. Page nC least a share of the conference championship, even if it loses at Ohio State. If both Michigan and Wisconsin lose on Saturday, U-M and Iowa would be the only one-loss teams in the Big Ten and Michigan would go to the Rose Bowl, because it defeated Iowa. Should Michigan lose and Wisconsin win, the Badgers would go to the Rose Bowl.

That scenario likely would send the Wolverines to the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day in Orlando. The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0) are the only undefeated team in the Big Ten after a second-half flourish overshadowed a first-half sleepwalk. They defeated unranked Northwestern, 42-20, on Saturday in the final game of the season at Michigan Stadium. "Coming off a bye, you never know what you are going to get," said Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr, whose team had not played since a triple-overtime victory over Michigan State two weeks ago." Please see U-M, Page 14C Breaston returns Receiver scores two touchdowns to stop sophomore slump. Pagel4C iWichiganlLO, 9.1.1 Wisconsin 6 19 1 Jowa JL, 8, J3 Michigan St.

4 3 5 5 NortrfiernCSII53 Ohio St 3 4 6 4 Minnesota 3 5 6 5 Illinois 16 3 7 Next Saturday's games Michigan St at Penn St, Noon Michigan at Ohio St, 1 Illinois at Northwestern, Noon Indiana at Purdue, Noon Wisconsin at Iowa, 3:30 In defense Love, Campbell play; MSU Coach Smith says they are good kids. -Page 13C hn T. Greilick The Drtroit News Freshman back Michael Hart, who ran for 151 yards, leaps through a hole in the third quarter. fJJ BIG TEN Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel THUMPINGS Carnell Williams helps power No. 3 Auburn by No.

8 Georgia, and No. 5 California dominates. CLOSE CALL Sixth-rated Texas and quarterback Vince Young pull out a narrow victory over Kansas. Page 12C watches his team fall at Purdue, Jrf and Iowa wins at Minnesota. Page 12C Page 12C I.J...

mmw Jazz trounce Pistons Lions vs. Jaguars: 1 o'clock today at Alltel Stadium Lions set sights on division lead Whistle stop Pistons give up more points because officials call games tighter. Page 7C DOkur scores 19 against former team, which falls behind by 20 points in first half. By Chris McCosky The Detroit News SALT LAKE CITY Come back Ben Wallace. Come back Chauncey Billups.

Come back Larry Brown The Pistons, as they proved got, all the things we did wning on pick-and-roll, Ben Wallace makes all that easier." The good news is all three are expected to be back Wednesday night when the Pistons play host to the Minnesota Timherwolves. The bad news: The Pistons are now .500 on the season (3-3) and have some serious regrouping to do. After giving up 117 points in Denver on Thursday, they were even more accommodating Saturday. They put up little resistance against an assertive Jazz offense, allowing 62 points and 64 percent shooting in the first half. The Pistons made four stops total in the second quarter, as the Jazz built up a 20-point lead and never looked back.

"That was not Detroit Pistons basketball," Coach Gar Heard said here Saturday night with a humbling 108-93 loss to the Utah We have to get back to that." The Ilstoas didn't even bother to compete until the fourth quarter. Behind Richard Hamilton (21 points before fouling out tor the third straight game) and Antonio McDyess (18 points, 12 rebounds), they got within nine points, 95-86. with 6:36 k-ft. But the Jazz ended the threat with a 102 run In his first game against his former teammates. Mehmet Okur scored 19 points, 11 in the first half when tht' Jazz built their lead.

He also playfully tossed Tayshaun Prince to the floor and glared at him. earning a technical foul for taunting Detroit can tie for first with victory today, coupled with Minnesota loss. By Mike O'Hara The Detroit News JACKSONVILLE Coul-da, woulda gotta. Any recriminations or self-criticisms the Lions have about their performance the last two weeks in losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins won't get them anywhere today against the Jacksonv ille Jaguars. They could have built a cushion for the second half of the seasoa Instead, they're flat even with a 4-4 record and tied with Green Bay for second place in the tight NFC North race.

There is the possibility for a three-way at the top of the division after today's games if the Lions beat the Jaguars and Green Bay beats the first-place Minnesota Vikings (5-3) at Lambeau Field. All three teams would be 5-4 with seven games left Please see LIONS. Page 5C Jazz, are an ordinary basketball team without you. "Every question you can ask about anything today," said Tayshaun Prince, "the answer is, it shows how much we miss Ben Wallace. All the easy baskets they Associated Press Richard Hamilton, who led the Pistons with 21 points, drives past the Jazz's Andrei Kirilenko.

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