Lancaster New Era from Lancaster, Pennsylvania • 21

LANCASTER, NEW ERA THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2004 C3 Sports SCOUTING Patterson, Syracuse picked to fall; Iowa seen knocking off Penn State REPORT f7it "1 1 i MICHIGAN 24-20. No. 14 Virginia at Duke: Cavaliers should find the end zone this week VIRGINIA 48-10. Colorado at No. 17 Texas Aggies' turnaround is coming quicker than expected TEXAS 30-14.

Troy at No. 18 LSU: Tigers against Trojans. Wrong year and wrong Trojans LSU 40-13. Fresno State at No. 19 Boise State: Broncos have won three straight against Bulldogs BOISE STATE 37-21.

No. 20 Florida at Mississippi State: Gators lost last game at Starkville 47-35 in 2000 FLORIDA 44-10. UCLA at No. 21 Arizona State: Sun Devils rebound against Pac-10's worst defense ARIZONA STATE 39-24. No.

22 Oklahoma State at Missouri: Missouri defense is tops in Big 12 OKLAHOMA STATE 22-20. Boston College at No. 24 Notre Dame: Last six meetings decided by average of five points; four won by BC NOTRE DAME 20-17. No. 25 Iowa at Penn State: Two solid defenses; Hawkeyes' offense is coming around IOWA 21-17.

Lost week: 11-7 (straight); 9-9 (vs. points) Season: 104-26 (straight); 61-60-2 (vs. points) ers' computer rankings OKLAHOMA 39-10. Kentucky at No. 3 Auburn: How about Auburn QB Jason Campbell for Heisman? AUBURN 47-10.

No. 4 Miami at North Carolina State: No. 1 defense in ACC on display for Wolfpack MIAMI 24-20. No. 5 Florida State at Wake Forest: Seminoles getting better every week FLORIDA STATE 33-13.

Northwestern at No. 6 Wisconsin: Badgers best not overlook Wildcats after big win WISCONSIN 20-12. No. 7 California at Arizona: Is there a more balanced offense in country than Cal's? CAL 40-14. No.

8 Texas at Texas Tech: Tech has won two of three in Lubbock against Longhorns TEXAS TECH 32-28. UNLV at No. 9 Utah: BCS not just pipe dream for Utes UTAH 42-14. No. 10 Georgia at Arkansas: First of four straight away from Athens for Bulldogs GEORGIA 24-20.

Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee: Some Tide fans might want to beat Vols coach Phillip Fulmer more than Auburn this year ALABAMA 19-17. No. 13 Michigan at No. 12 Purdue: Wolverines have won three straight against Boilermakers By RALPH D.

RUSSO AP Sports Writer A week after losing to Wisconsin, Purdue can do the Badgers a favor against Michigan. The 12th-ranked Boilermakers will try to stay in the Big Ten title race when they host the 13th-ranked Wolverines on Saturday. They can also help clear out first place in the conference for Wisconsin by beating Michigan something the Badgers won't be able to do themselves. Thanks to the Big Ten's rotating schedule, the sixth-ranked Badgers (7-0, 4-0) and Wolverines (6-1, 4-0), the only Big Ten teams still unbeaten in conference play, don't meet this season. "I think you're wasting energy and time if you concern yourself with things that you have no control over.

We knew when the season started, just like everybody else, there are two teams we don't Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. It's been a recurring problem for the Big Ten since it expanded to 11 in 1993 with the addition of Penn State. In 2002, Ohio State won the national title, but shared the Big Ten crown with Iowa when the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes both finished with perfect conference records. Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin all finished 7-1 in 1998, but the Badgers and Buckeyes didn't meet and Michigan split its games against the two. Ohio State and Northwestern shared the Big Ten title in 1996, finishing 7-1 without playing each other.

"At some point here when we get to 12 teams, we'll be able to make a lot of money by having a playoff game and that will settle some of this," Carr said, speculating about the future of the Big Ten. Speaking of speculation, the picks: Tonight Syracuse at No. 1 5 West Virginia (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.): Mountaineers are Big East's best rushing team; Orange have worst run defense WEST VIRGINIA 40-20. Friday South Florida at No. 15 Louisville: Stopping this Sunshine State team shouldn't be so tough for Cardinals LOUISVILLE 52-16.

Saturday Washington at No. 1 Southern Cal: USC's remaining opponents are combined 16-21 use 48-12. Kansas at No. 2 Oklahoma: This probably won't do much for Soon- Kutztown (3-4) at MU (3-4), 1:50 p.m THE SERIES: Millersville leads the series, 53-21-3, dating back to 1903. Kutztown blanked MU 17-0 last season at Kutztown, ending the Marauders' school-record 123-game scoring streak.

ABOUT MILLERSVILLE: MU overcame a 14-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Slippery Rock, 17-14, last Saturday on Sean Hughes' 20-yard field goal with 37 seconds left. The win keeps alive MU's hopes of its first winning season since 2000. Behind QB Dan Csencsitz (163-264-10, 1,875 yards, 14 TDs), MU ranks second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in passing (271.4 ypg) but last in rushing (64.7 ypg). Csencsitz, a sophomore, is now second in MU career passing yards per game (236.9) and with a 62.1 percent completion mark is on pace to set a new accuracy record. WR Ryan Clift from Manheim Central (38-554, 4 TDs) leads the conference and was the PSAC's Eastern Division Offensive Player of the Week after hauling in seven passes for 124 yards and 1 TD against Slippery Rock.

MU is 1-2 in the PSAC East. ABOUT KUTZTOWN: Kutztown is 1-3 in the PSAC East after losing its last three games by blowouts: 51-9 to West Chester, 37-12 to Bloomsburg, and 44-25 to East Stroudsburg. Kutztown is fourth in the conference in pass defense (160.6 ypg) but has allowed 30.1 points a game. QB Jeremy Copeland (92-193-10, 1,042 yards, 5 TDs) ranks sixth in the conference in passing. LB Drew Hicks (68 tackles) ranks third in the PSAC.

THE PICK: Csencsitz and Clift should have a field day against Kutz-town's struggling defense. MU wins on Homecoming, 34-17. Dickinson (3-3) at (4-2), Saturday, 1 p.m. THE SERIES: leads the series, 59-33-3, and won last season's game 20-14 in overtime at ABOUT The Diplomats are 1-1 in the Centennial Conference and need this win to keep pace with first-place, unbeaten McDaniel. They are coming off a bye week and had some extra preparation time.

But they've also lost two of their last three games. leads the conference in passing offense (249.7 ypg), is third in total offense (348.0), and third in points per game (25.7). QB Jeff Harner (63-1324, 1,071 yards, 8 TDs) is second in the CC in passing, while WR Derek Boyce (26-519, 6 TDs), from Lampeter-Strasburg, is fourth in receiving. ABOUT DICKINSON: The Red Devils are 1-2 in the Centennial and have fallen from contention because of the last two weekends, when they were crushed by the top two teams, Muhlenberg 23-3 and McDaniel 20-0. Although the Devils upset Johns Hopkins earlier this season, they average just 17.2 points per game, 103.2 yards rushing a game, and 244.2 total yards a game.

They're stronger defensively, allowing just 271.1 yards a game. Dickinson leads the conference in one big statistic and that's a plus-14 turnover ratio. Andrew Ackley has 5 interceptions and MikeO'Donnell3. THE PICK: must win to stay in the race, and here comes a quality opponent that has suddenly lost its confidence. Couldn't be better for the Diplomats, who win, 24-14.

Nagy set to sign 1-year deal with AFL's Force for the Cobras last season but spent the last six games of the season as the No. 2 guy when the team's new coach made a controversial quarterback switch. Carolina finished 6-10 overall. When he was sent to the bench, Nagy was By JEFFREY REINHART New Era Sports Writer Matt Nagy has a new home in the Arena Football League. The former Manheim Central and University of Delaware star agreed to terms on a 1-year contract with the Georgia Force on Wednesday.

Matt Nagy NCAA clears Neuheisel in gambling scandal The 6-2, 220-pound quarterback, who spent all of last season with the Carolina Cobras, is set to sign the contract Friday and will report to training camp in Atlanta in early January. Nagy started the first 10 games who missed the entire 2003 following reconstructive knee surgery. "I think not playing the last six games last year really hurt me. I took a step back last year. But since there were no opportunities for me to get a starting job this year, I decided to go with Georgia, since Jim is coming off a pretty major injury.

"I felt like Georgia was my best opportunity to get on the field." Nagy, who was not drafted after a record-breaking career at Delaware, also liked the fact that Georgia's franchise was recently purchased by Arthur Blank, who owns the Atlanta Falcons. "His mission is to make the Force just like the Falcons," Nagy said. "And to have the Force almost be like a minor-league team for the Falcons. You never know. It could be an opportunity for me to latch on with the Falcons.

So that was appealing to me." Georgia, which plays in the Philips Arena and competes in the Southern Division of the AFL, finished 7-9 overall last season. Doug Plank is the team's head coach. "I was hoping to find a starting job somewhere," Nagy said Wednesday night. "But that probably wasn't going to happen. This is the next best thing." Nagy recently met with officials from the Philadelphia Soul, hoping to sign a deal with the team closest to his home.

But when former Los Angeles Avengers star Tony Graziani signed with the Soul last month, Nagy decided to look elsewhere. He also considered a deal from Denver's AFL franchise. "I visited with Philly three weeks ago and I knew about Graziani's deal," said Nagy, who is 26. "So I knew I wouldn't have a shot to start there, which was disappointing. Philly sells out every game, and there's a lot of pressure to win there and they needed to sign a big name.

He's a great quarterback." Graziani passed for 4,254 yards and 99 TDs last year for Los Angeles. "I had a great visit with Philly, but it was deflating," said Nagy, sixth in the AFL in passing with 2,371 yards and 47 TD passes. But he never got on the field the rest of the year and left Carolina after the season as a free agent. Nagy, who was traded to Carolina after playing two seasons with the New York Dragons, will be the No. 2 guy for Georgia.

The Force recently signed veteran quarterback Jim Kubiak, a former star for Dallas' AFL franchise who missed all of last season following surgery for a herniated disc in his neck. In 2003, Kubiak, who played for the Colts and the Jets in the NFL, passed for 4,762 yards an AFL single-season record. Pick the winning teams and you could win a $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE The NCAA said in its report it was "very troubled" Neuheisel initially lied, but said that because of the memos, it could find no evidence that he intentionally broke the rules. Neuheisel was never charged with ethical violations for lying because he told the truth later the same day, Yeager said. The outcome could lead to Neuheisel's return to college coaching.

"My hope is that someone will see this as vindication and that they will give me an opportunity. I think that, in the past, I've shown that I can do the job, and do it well," Neuheisel told CSTV. University attorney Lou Peterson said it would likely have no impact on a wrongful termination lawsuit Neuheisel filed against the university, set for trial Jan. 24. The university argues that Neuheisel broke his contract by being dishonest.

"Rick and I are pleased the NCAA found he was not in violation of NCAA rules," said Neuheisel's lawyer, Bob Sulkin. "It's what we've said all along. He is happy and he feels vindicated, because he has been." Washington escaped serious penalties that may have resulted if the NCAA cited the school for lack of institutional control The NCAA did, however, find repeated instances in which the school failed to monitor the football program. In addition to Neuheisel's gambling violations, the NCAA cited pool betting by other members of the athletic department, including former compliance officer Dana Richardson, who wrote the memos that cleared Neuheisel. The NCAA also cited the football program for undercharging recruits and their parents for ndes in a 65-foot yacht and other private boats between 2000 and 2003, and for allowing impermissible contact between a football booster and recruits.

SEATTLE (AP) Former Washington coach Rick Neuheisel was cleared of wrongdoing by the NCAA Wednesday for gambling in a college basketball pool, but the university had its probation extended two years. Washington's NCAA probation initially imposed because of men's basketball recruiting violations now runs until Feb. 9, 2007. The school was also reprimanded for failing to monitor the football program. Thomas E.

Yeager, chair of the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, said that Neuheisel avoided punishment because the school's compliance officer had written memos mistakenly saying that participation in gambling pools was allowed. "Sports wagering is a problem that continues to threaten the well-being of student-athletes and coaches and the integrity of intercollegiate athletics," Yeager said. "If not for unique and unusual mitigating circumstances in this case, the outcome certainly would have been different. This case should not be interpreted in any fashion as a softening of the NCAA's antigambling position." Neuheisel coached four seasons at Colorado before compiling a 33-16 record in four seasons with the Huskies, including a Rose Bowl victory. Neuheisel was fired in June 2003 by then-athletic director Barbara Hedges after he acknowledging taking part in a high-priced NCAA college basketball tournament pool.

Neuheisel twice told Hedges that he had never taken part in gambling pools, when in fact he had won S1U19 in two of them winnings he donated to a local school. "The important thing is to realize that, not only did they not impose any penalties on me but also, they came to the conclusion that I did not violate any rules, which is the way I had felt all along." Neuheisel said in an interview with College Sports Television, with whom he works as an 2 Illinois players facing jail time CHAMPAIGN, DEL (AP) Two University of Illinois football players will serve eight-day jail sentences when the season ends after pleading guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor battery charges stemming from a barroom brawl. Linebacker Matt Sinclair, 22, and defensive tackle Ryan Matha, 21, were accused of tackling and punching Jamaal L. Applewhite of Champaign at a bar near campus this summer. The players had been charged with felony aggravated battery, but pleaded to lesser offenses.

"There was substantial mitigation," Champaign County State's Attorney John Piland said. "Certainly, factors explained some of the conduct." A Champaign County judge sentenced Sinclair and Matha to eight days in the county jail, beginning Nov. 21 the day after the football season ends. They also were sentenced to one year conditional discharge and must attend substance abuse evaluations, Piland said. Applewhite, 19 at the time of the assault, was charged with aggravated battery for allegedly hitting Sinclair on the head with a beer bottle.

His court case is pending. Piland said. Illini coach Ron Turner declined to comment Sinclair and Matha did not start Saturday 's game against Michigan after starting the first six this season to Park City Center Sponsored by 221 N. Prince Lancaster Bk. One $100 prize Plus GRAND PRIZE given every week through the NFL season 34" Sony large-screen TV HOW TO PLAY Pick the teams you thnk wi Flout the entry blank beta Mai the entry or drop it oft at our office at 8 WKmg St.

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