Road to Roses runs through State College

Injuries a concern for Blue; Sword honored

Still five days before the game, nobody has to tell the Michigan Wolverines just how big Saturday's matchup with No. 2 Penn State is. Not only is the game a marquee showdown between two of the nation's elite teams, but a conference championship and Rose Bowl berth is at stake.

KELLY McKINNELL/Daily Running back Chris Howard has played with a rib injury the past two weeks. Chris Floyd and Clarence Williams are also nursing injuries.

It's almost ironic that the last year Michigan won the Big Ten championship was the last year Penn State wasn't in the Big Ten. Since then, the Nittany Lions have been a thorn in Michigan's side. The Wolverines defeated Penn State, 21-13, in 1993, the first meeting between the two squads, but since then, Penn State has had Michigan's number.

So, you might be surprised to hear that the fourth-ranked Wolverines are eager - not scared - to play Penn State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.

"It should be a tremendous matchup," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said at his weekly press conference yesterday. "Penn State presents us with a challenge because we haven't faced a team that is as good or as balanced.

"They've given us trouble in the past, but to win the conference title, you have to beat the best, and we're ready to do so."

That's something the Wolverines haven't done in the past few seasons. Losses to Penn State have knocked Michigan out of the running for the Big Ten title. And the Wolverines have dropped other games as well, culminating in a streak of four-loss seasons that will end this year if Michigan wins one more game.

But more important are the Bowl implications that arise out of this matchup. The winner has a meal ticket to the Rose Bowl. If the Lions prevail, they'd have to lose two of their last three games - at Purdue, Wisconsin at home and at Michigan State - to erase their free ride to Pasadena.

If the Wolverines win, they likely need just one win in their next two games to make their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1992 season, the year before Penn State joined the conference.

"We all know what the game means and the ramifications of winning and losing," said senior linebacker Rob Swett, who grew up in Chalfont, Pa., and said the hardest thing he's ever had to do was "to sit in my living room and tell Joe Paterno, 'No.'"

"If we win, our chances of going to the Rose Bowl are pretty good."

That is, without question, Michigan's goal. Swett, quarterback Brian Griese and defensive end Glen Steele might remember the last time the Wolverines beat Penn State - they were all redshirt freshmen who didn't make the trip to Happy Valley - but none of them remember a Rose Bowl, because no current Wolverine has played in one or even watched from the sidelines.

Admittedly, the Wolverines have been peeking ahead to this game - it's difficult not to. The Lions have somewhat become Michigan's nemesis. And while the rivalry between the two teams hasn't reached Michigan-Ohio State proportions, nobody can argue that it has intensified since the teams first met in 1993.

Many people attribute Michigan's fall from dominance directly to Penn State. Obviously the Wolverines have had other hurdles to leap, but there's no question that Michigan has suffered since Penn State joined the Big Ten.

Between 1988 and 1992, the Wolverines went to four Rose Bowls. Those days have vanished, replaced by four-loss seasons. But Michigan has a chance to reverse that trend Saturday, and everybody knows it.

"When you create a dynasty like Michigan did, teams like Penn State came in and recruited those athletes," Michigan tailback Chris Howard said. "Today it's ridiculous to think that one team can dominate a conference.

"We just want to beat them this year."

Injury update: No time is a good time for an injury, but the week before Michigan's biggest game of the year is the worst time. Cornerback Dwayne Patmon, however, has fallen prey to the injury bug after breaking his leg against Minnesota. He'll definitely miss this week's game and probably won't be back until the bowl game.

But Carr said he does expect the other "banged up" Wolverines to make the trip to State College, most notably tailback Clarence Williams, who pulled his hamstring in the first half of Saturday's game, and starting fullback Chris Floyd, who injured his shoulder in the same game.

Carr said he'll find out today the extent of those players' injuries and how much they'll be able to play against the Lions.

Sword honored: Junior linebacker Sam Sword was awarded the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after recording 11 tackles and a career-best five tackles-for-losses, two of which were quarterback sacks in the Wolverines' 24-3 victory over Minnesota.

Sword leads Michigan in tackles with 72 (54 solo, 18 assists) and shares the team lead in tackles-for-loss (nine) with Steele.

11-04-97