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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The unranked University of Michigan football team will be without quarterback Steven Threet and right tackle Steve Schilling for Saturday's matchup with No. 10 Ohio State, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said Friday.

Threet will miss the game because of a shoulder injury he suffered last week. Schilling sprained a knee in practice Tuesday, and will be replaced in the starting lineup by redshirt sophomore Perry Dorrestein.

When the Ohio State-Michigan football game arrived each year, Greg Mathews would find himself in front of the TV.

Or rather, his mother made certain he was watching.

Mathews' mom, Lesia, was raised in Columbus, Ohio, and did her best to steep him in Ohio State tradition.

As Mathews admitted Monday, however, he didn't pay much attention to the rivalry until Michigan's Tim Biakabutuka caught his eye in 1995.

After suffering through the Michigan series during the John Cooper era, Ohio State has firmly established itself as the dominant program under Cooper's successor, Jim Tressel.

Now that there has been a change of coaches at Michigan - from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez - perhaps the rivalry will regain its balance. Some day.

For now, No. 10-ranked Ohio State (9-2, 6-1 Big Ten) will roll into its Ohio Stadium date with the slumping Wolverines (3-8, 2-5) with nearly every advantage.

Greg Mathews admitted being to partial to sports video games.

And when the University of Michigan wide receiver plays "EA Sports NCAA Football" editions, he said he's partial to teams from Florida, the state in which he grew up. After all, the Orlando native strongly considered Florida State as a high school recruit.

And the Wolverines teammate he likes to make mad when he beats him? Read on to see who is that video game foe:

ANN ARBOR -- Did you hear they had to cancel Saturday's 105th game of the storied Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry?

Because Michigan can't get past Toledo.

That's what this historic Wolverines season has been reduced to. Jokes.

NEW YORK - Two days earlier, John Beilein had downplayed the significance of a possible early-season upset.

Even if Michigan could beat No. 4-ranked UCLA, the second-year University of Michigan basketball coach said on Tuesday, it would be too early to chalk it up as anything but a "measuring stick."

And Thursday night, as Beilein sat flanked by his two best players in front of a roomful of reporters following the Wolverines' stunning 55-52 win over the favored Bruins, Beilein didn't stray far from his original sentiment.

The problem is the offense.

That much was essentially acknowledged Wednesday when University of Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson talked about his goaltender situation and the fact that he hasn't yet discovered a clear-cut No. 1 netminder because Billy Sauer and Bryan Hogan continue to excel.

And, that can be gleaned from the team's statistics. On Friday in two-game, same-team series this season, the ninth-ranked Wolverines are 2-3 and are scoring half as much (2.33 goals) as they do on Saturday (4.33), where they are 5-0. Their goals-against average on both days, however, stands at 2.67.

The inconsistency was an issue last weekend, when the Wolverines fell 2-1 to lowly Western Michigan at home, then scored in the first 14 seconds en route to a 5-0 rout of the Broncos on Saturday.

That's part of the reason why Berenson continues to tweak his scoring lines - senior right wing Travis Turnbull got time at center during practice this week - with a two-game set on tap this weekend at No. 7-ranked Miami in Oxford, Ohio.

The RedHawks (6-3-3, 6-2-2 Central Collegiate Hockey Association)will provide a stiff challenge tonight and Saturday. They own the league's top power-play unit (16-of-70 for a .229 percentage) and the top penalty-killing crew with a .961 kill percentage, and are arguably the deepest scoring team the Wolverines have faced this season.

That means the Wolverines (8-4, 5-3 CCHA) must find a way to produce on offense tonight if they wants a good start in what shapes up as a crucial early league series.

"I think we just have to be a little more consistent," sophomore center Louie Caporusso said after practice Wednesday, adding that it doesn't feel like the team is playing worse on Friday. "It's just, I think, we've been a little bit more lucky on Saturdays and a little more unlucky on Fridays."

Perhaps nobody moreso than Caporusso against Western Michigan. He had just two shots and no points in the Friday loss, then scored on three of four shots for a natural hat trick and finished with four points on Saturday.

Scoring leaders
With 12 goals this season, Caporusso is practically assured of surpassing last season's total (12). His goals also tie him with Boston College's Brock Bradford for first in the nation.

Meanwhile, Michigan sophomore right wing Aaron Palushaj leads the country with 20 points after amassing five assists in the Western Michigan series. He has seven goals and 13 assists.

Rotating goaltenders
Berenson said Wednesday he is no closer to naming an everyday starter in net despite the discrepancy in records. Sauer is 2-4 compared to Hogan's 5-0 mark. But their other statistics remain close: Sauer has 134 saves, a 2.85 goals-against average and .893 save percentage, and Hogan's line is 135-2.22-.906.

"I think Billy has given us a chance," Berenson said. "I mean, we scored one goal at home (last Friday). How are you going to win a game? Doesn't matter who was in goal. ... I know Billy is concerned about it, but right now, I think he's playing pretty well."

Hitting the road
The Miami series comes in the middle of a five-game road trip for the Wolverines. They travel west next weekend for the College Hockey Showcase, in which they play at Minnesota on Friday in a Big Ten Network-televised game, and at Wisconsin on Saturday. Their next home game is Friday, Dec. 5 against Michigan State.

Injury update
Senior forward Danny Fardig (shoulder) is questionable to play.

U-M signs 3 recruits
Michigan received national letters of intent Tuesday from three forwards in the Ann Arbor-based U.S. National Team Development Program: Kevin Lynch of Grosse Pointe; A.J. Treais of Bloomfield Hills; and Chris Brown of Flower Mound, Texas. They are expected to join the team next season.

Brown, a 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pounder, has five goals and seven assists in 19 games this season. He is predicted to be a first- or second-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.

Lynch (6-1, 190) has three goals and four assists in 19 games and is rated as a third- to fifth-round pick.

Treais (5-8, 150) has three goals and four assists in 13 games this season. He is projected as a late-round draft pick.

Berenson characterized Lynch as a grinder, compared Treais to former Michigan standout T.J. Hensick, and classified Brown as a "big, strong, physical winger who can score."

Kevin Ryan can be reached at kryan@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6950.

Up next
Who: No. 9-ranked Michigan Wolverines (8-4, 5-3 CCHA) at No. 7 Miami RedHawks (6-3-3, 6-2-2).
When: 7:35 p.m. today; 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
Radio: WTKA-AM (1050) both games; WXYT-AM (1270) and WLBY-AM (1290) today.
Series history: Michigan leads
66-18-3. Michigan won 2-1 on March 22 in last season's CCHA championship game in their last meeting.

JACKSON - Steve Kampfer took the first step toward a return to the University of Michigan hockey team when he had his neck brace removed Wednesday - just 51⁄2 weeks after he suffered a fractured skull during an apparent assault on campus.

"I'm ecstatic I got it off so quickly," said Kampfer, a Jackson native. "They didn't expect it to be off this fast. It takes the bone six to eight weeks to heal, and I could have been in the brace for 12 weeks."

A return to the Wolverines for Kampfer, a junior defenseman, is not imminent, but he is holding out hope that it can happen this season. Kampfer said the final call on his return will be made by the Michigan trainers and coach Red Berenson.

"Coach told me: 'Until I feel you are 100 percent, you're not going to touch the ice,' " Kampfer said. "It's the coach's call of when he feels I'm ready. I feel I'm capable of playing, but I know I'm not ready."

Kampfer was injured in an incident during the early hours of Oct. 12. According to court records, Mike Milano, a member of the Michigan football team, has been charged with one count of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder and one count of aggravated assault.

Milano was suspended indefinitely from the football team shortly after the incident.
The case is now in the hands of the prosecutors, Kampfer said.

"I'm just a witness for them now," he said.

Kampfer, drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL Draft by the Anaheim Ducks, had career-highs in games played, goals and points scored last season, and he opened this season with two assists in two games prior to the incident.

After being released from the hospital, Kampfer spent about 10 days at home in Jackson before returning to Ann Arbor to resume school and hockey activities.

Although he does not go on the ice, Kampfer is rehabbing with the trainer and watching films, and he keeps up on the road games with teammate and Michigan captain Mark Mitera, who has been sidelined since he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the season opener.

"They say I'll be at full strength in a month or so," Kampfer said. "They want to make sure the bone has healed, and I'm trying to move my neck around to get the muscles loosened up. It's like I'm a baby, and I'm turning my head all the time."

Kampfer is trying to stay positive.

"I've learned that you can't take anything for granted," he said. "My teammates, coaches and the staff have been phenomenal through this ordeal; I can't describe what they have done for me."

The next big hurdle will be a return to the ice in practice, and if all goes well, Kampfer might be able to see action a few months into 2009. And that will help Kampfer put the whole ordeal behind him.

"It's time to move ahead," Kampfer said. "I can't dwell on it, but I can't forget it either."