Arrington's goal: beat the Michigan mystique

Every snap he watches, every hit he makes, every play of Saturday's game, LaVar Arrington will know that he has never beaten Michigan. Neither have most of his teammates. Arrington was a freshman the last time Penn State even scored on Michigan.

"Michigan has beaten us pretty good since I've been here," Arrington said. "And I think it weighs on you a little bit." In the junior linebacker's two games against Michigan, which the Lions have lost 34-8 and 27-0, Arrington has just seven tackles.

Which might just be part of Michigan's mystique. So far this season, Michigan's defense has made bad things happen to good players. They've also done just the opposite, but that's another story.

Ron Dayne? Zero yards in the second half. Drew Brees? His receivers dropped nearly everything. Rocky Harvey? Um, next question.

Which should be: Is he that _____ ?

Good? Fantastic? Deadly? Astonishing? Sick? Mean? Bleeping unbelievable? Ridiculous?

Doesn't matter what word you use to fill in the blank, that question has been asked about Arrington too many times to count.

And each time, it's valid. Usually accompanied by a very valid 'yes - and then some' as the answer.

The junior Butkus Award semifinalist has an uncanny ability to create big plays. His coach, Joe Paterno said before the season that Arrington wasn't the best linebacker on the team, but he was the best athlete.

Brandon Short gets that nod from Paterno, but Elmer Hickman might disagree.

The Illinois tailback, who might forever be Vic Wertz to Arrington's Willie Mays, was on the business end of Arrington's biggest play last year.

It unfolded like this: Illinois faced fourth-and-one at Beaver Stadium. The Illini decided to go for it. As the quarterback turned to his right to hand off to Hickman, he appears to have felt something brush his left shoulder. He spun his head around quickly, for a full view of Arrington, horizontal and at waist level.

He already had his hands on Hickman. It wasn't the hardest hit Arrington even delivered. Hickman has probably been tackled harder in practice. But at that point in the play, Arrington simply was not supposed to be there. He had timed the snapcount perfectly, accelerated, and leapt over an offensive lineman to reach his target.

Not the best linebacker? Well it's tough to argue with Paterno, but the Wolverines' are still concerned with stopping Arrington.

"I don't think you can do that," Michigan captain and left tackle Steve Hutchinson said. "I know you can get on him and block him - he's not very big - but he's one of the quickest guys I've seen at the linebacker position."

See, all those other guys Michigan's defense made look so bad (and good), they played offense. This will be the first time Michigan's offense will have to stop a good defensive player.

Arrington knows he's been shut down before. He explained that Michigan Stadium's slippery grass may have helped last year.

"They come with a certain attitude when they play us, and it seems like eventually it overwhelms us," he said. "I think at some point, we expected to lose to them when we were playing them. Certain things happen that are dead giveaways as to how certain people feel about the game."

Which means more work for Arrington. Now that he's a leader, he has to make sure that his teammates know they can beat Michigan. Only the seniors know what beating Michigan is like. Only the fifth-year seniors can tell others what it's like to beat Michigan in Beaver Stadium. But Arrington still thinks it's his job to make sure it happens again.

"I'm not putting added pressure on myself, but I'm gonna shoulder some of the weight," Arrington said. "What scares me is I can say 'we're over this loss and we're ready,' but you can never tell until game day."

So even before Saturday's game against Michigan - Arrington's last one in Beaver Stadium even if he stays for his senior season - Arrington thinks he'll know if he's finally beaten the Wolverines.

11-11-99