Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez usually allows reporters to watch parts of practice on Wednesdays, including a pre-workout period in which the offense shows plays – including trick ones – it might use in the next game.
Not this week.
The 23rd-ranked Wolverines (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) play one of their rivals – Michigan State (1-3, 0-1) – and Rodriguez cut down the access.
“You never know who is going to be standing on the bridge trying to watch practice,” he said. “I trust you all, but there might be someone that snuck in there from Lansing.”
Rodriguez was joking – sort of.
Meanwhile, Michigan State closed its practices to the media for the third straight week. For the first time this season, it didn’t allow reporters to request specific players to interview after Tuesday’s practice. Instead, the school chose players to make available at its weekly news conference and did not allow interviews away from the podium.
“It’s Michigan week,” coach Mark Dantonio said. “You want the focus to be there.”
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eir red-clad fans from across the border, the Wisconsin Badgers won’t be able to enjoy as much support when they play rival Minnesota on Saturday. That’s because the Gophers have moved into TCF Bank Stadium, a 50,000-seat jewel on campus that’s the hottest ticket in town.
“We know we have great fans, too, and now we have the platform to show it,” Gophers QB Adam Weber said. “I think Wisconsin is going to be in for a little bit of a surprise with how great of an atmosphere it is, and how much different it is than the Metrodome.”
The Gophers haven’t taken Paul Bunyan’s Axe since 2003 and were 6-7 against the Badgers at the Metrodome. The series is the most-played in college football history: Wisconsin and Minnesota have played 118 times, beginning in 1890, and have met every year since 1907.
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TOUGH LOVE: Joe Paterno is trying to lift his team’s spirits after a disappointing loss to Iowa, but he’s not coddling them.
Penn State’s head coach was taken aback when asked Tuesday whether FB Joe Suhey was excited about returning to his home state of Illinois for Saturday’s game against the Illini.
“Really, you guys. We’ve got a football team that just got licked. If you think I’m going around saying, ‘Are you happy? Are you happy? Are you happy? What would you like to do?”’ Paterno said as snickers filled the media room.
omorrow morning because you’re going to be going home?”’ Paterno continued in a mocking tone. “No, come on, knock it off, will you?”
Paterno did have some kind words for Suhey, who comes from what’s deemed as the “First Family” of Penn State football.
Suhey’s father, Matt, was a running back for Paterno in the late 1970s and went on to play for the Chicago Bears. His grandfather, Steve, starred at guard in the mid-1940s, playing under his father – and Joe Suhey’s great-grandfather, Bob Higgins, who was Penn State coach from 1930-48.
“He’s playing tough. He’s a good football player,” Paterno said of Joe Suhey. “Well, I can’t compare him with his grandfather or his father. That’s not fair to the kid.”
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YOUNG HAWKS EMERGE: Iowa has had to insert youngsters in key spots on both sides of the ball, but their emergence has played a critical role in the Hawkeyes’ 4-0 start.
Freshman RBs Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher have combined to average 135.2 yards per game. Sophomore CB Shaun Prater has solidified his spot as a starter opposite Amari Spievey, and freshman LT Riley Reiff more than held his own while Bryan Bulaga missed three games with a thyroid condition.
Coach Kirk Ferentz was especially impressed with how his youngsters reacted to their first high-profile Big Ten game, a 21-10 win at then-No. 5 Penn State.
s have really done a great job,” Ferentz said.
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NO OFFENSE: Under new coordinator Mike Schultz, Illinois’ offense has fallen from one of the most productive in the Big Ten to one of the worst.
Head coach Ron Zook and QB Juice Williams say the switch from former coordinator Mike Locksley, who left for the head coaching spot at New Mexico, to Schultz, who came from high-scoring TCU, is the reason for the trouble.
“Obviously that’s the thing that’s different so that’s the thing everyone is going to point to,” Zook said.
Illinois was third in scoring offense in the Big Ten last year at 28.7 points a game, tops in pass offense with 269.3 yards and fifth in rushing, averaging just shy of 170 yards every time they played.
This fall they’re third in rushing offense but last in scoring and passing.
In spite of a stable of receivers thought to be among the best in the conference, Williams isn’t throwing the ball downfield.
Williams says the Illini haven’t forgotten about the stretch pass. Defenses, he said, are just forcing them to throw short.
“We try to take advantage of the short things that we have and I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job at it so far,” he said.
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a skill position.
“It’s nothing new to the game, but it’s a great edge in some ways and people are looking at it saying, ‘I’ve got another great player on my football team that I can put the ball in his hand without having to throw it to him,”’ Hope said. “It’s a way to spread the wealth.”
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QUICK-HITTERS: If Michigan State beats Michigan on Saturday at home, it will mark the first time it has won two straight in the rivalry since winning three in a row from 1965-67. … The rest of Saturday’s schedule: Northwestern at Purdue, No. 9 Ohio State at Indiana and Arkansas State at No. 13 Iowa. … Illinois preseason All-America WR Arrelious Benn hasn’t caught a touchdown pass since last Oct. 18 in a win over Indiana. … Players of the week: Wisconsin QB Scott Tolzien, Iowa LB Pat Angerer, Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn.
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AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell in Minneapolis; Luke Meredith in Iowa City, Iowa; and Larry Lage in Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Associated Press Writers Cliff Brunt in West Lafayette, Ind.; Genaro Armas in State College, Pa.; and David Mercer in Champaign, Ill.; contributed to this report.
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