Can the cappuccino and hold off on the P-word

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA The Greek Speaks

Stop it. Please. If there is anything Michigan fans should know from experience, it's that cappuccino stands don't belong at a football stadium and that a couple of early-season victories - no matter how big or impressive - do little more than make SportsCenter fun to watch.

This is not the time to be looking at the polls, and it's surely not the time to be talking about Rose Bowls and Pasadena and - gulp! - contending for the national championship. Whoever held up that sign in the stands Saturday that had the P-word on it ought to put down his mocha and have the frappe kicked out of him.

For a school so steeped in tradition, it is amazing how poor people's memories are around here.

Last year, the Wolverines began the season ranked 12th. They beat Colorado, which was ranked fifth at the time, and jumped to eighth afterward. A few weeks later, they were 4-0 and ranked sixth entering a game against Northwestern no one thought they could lose. Then came the P-word.

And they lost.

We all know what happened after that. They bounced around, the bandwagon got square wheels, the cappuccino got cold, and after they crept back into the top 10, pesky Purdue stung them to expedite the slide to another four-loss season.

So here we are again. The Wolverines began the season ranked 14th. They beat Colorado, which was ranked eighth at the time, and jumped to eighth themselves afterward. Then they beat Baylor on Saturday, and now find themselves ranked sixth in the nation. Here comes the P-word.

Cornerback Charles Woodson said Saturday that the Wolverines "will be up - way up - to play" a downtrodden Notre Dame team this weekend. And if they do play well and win, it is possible that this whole thing could get out of hand. Again. And it is possible all the hype could collapse on itself. Again.

Here's the deal: A month ago, the consensus across Ann Arbor was that the Wolverines' played far too difficult a schedule to be successful this season, no matter how much they had improved as a team. Now, that talk has been twisted, and people are saying Michigan is the toughest team on its schedule, as if only the Wolverines can beat themselves.

There is some truth to that. The Wolverines are sometimes their own worst enemies, as they were last year in their losses to Northwestern and Purdue. But at least for one game, they seemed to have learned their lesson. After the game Saturday, coach Lloyd Carr and his players supported with words what they have shown on the field.

So far, they haven't given up a touchdown, have allowed their opponent in the red zone once (once!), haven't made any costly errors, have been able to cover up problems (kicking game) by being so dominant, three points don't make a difference. And the best part, the greatest improvement, has been attitude.

This is a methodical, machine-like football team that has not stopped rolling. There was no letdown against Baylor, and that killer instinct the Wolverines said they lacked last year seems to be back. There is almost a champion's serenity about them, an even-keel confidence that will be critical to keep if they are to survive the weeks to come and finish the season with a better record than 8-4.

Carr acknowledged that his players' emotions will fluctuate this year like the hormones of a 20-year-old. But he also said they've worked to make sure their performance does not, unlike in the past, and is speaking freely for perhaps the first time about old shortcomings in that department. "Hopefully, we'll be better at that," Carr said, "but actions speak louder than words."

What must be remembered amidst all of this is that the murderous schedule the Wolverines are playing is only going to get tougher. The non-conference portion could close with Michigan at 3-0. But the Big Ten has five teams in the top 15 this week, and the Wolverines play all of them but themselves. That's going to be tougher than getting a beer at an espresso stand (which needs to start happening, too, if there will ever be complete success at Michigan Stadium).

Michigan is a good team at the moment. Better than last year's. Better than most of us expected or imagined. But Carr, whose job is to be more optimistic than anyone, put it best. "I don't know where we'll end up," Carr said. "But I think, right now, we have the kind of attitude and work ethic we need to win."

As hopeful and supportive and driven as he is, he is being realistic and honest about his team's chances, and he's keeping his focus on the here-and-now. If Michigan's fans would, too, instead of setting themselves up naively for a disappointment and putting undue pressure on their favorite team, now that would be something to get excited about.

The P-word should be patience.

- Nicholas J. Cotsonika can be reached via e-mail at cotsonik@umich.edu.

SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Freshman running back Anthony Thomas found his away around Baylor linebacker Nikia Codie on his way to 122 yards rushing on 21 carries in only his second collegiate game.

09-22-97