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MSU falls short in 'game of inches'

December 4, 2011
Senior wide receiver Keshawn Martin looks for the official ruling after being tackled out of bounds. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Spartans, 42-39, Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Justin Wan/The State News
Senior wide receiver Keshawn Martin looks for the official ruling after being tackled out of bounds. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Spartans, 42-39, Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Justin Wan/The State News —
Photo by Justin Wan | and Justin Wan The State News

INDIANAPOLIS — All season, the No. 11 Spartans have been preaching about how football is a game of inches and how minute details can easily change the pace or outcome of a game.

In their 42-39 last-minute loss to No. 15 Wisconsin, inches are what made the difference, and MSU didn’t gain enough of them.

“As we talk constantly, it’s a game of inches,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “This football game is so close you can’t squeeze two fingers together sometimes it’s that close, and this is very apparent this game was much like that.”

When MSU controlled most of the second and third quarters, the few inches here and there seemed to make all the difference.

After scoring a touchdown on a fourth-and-one play opening the second quarter — a play where the Spartans only needed a number of inches for the first down and turned it into a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver B.J. Cunningham — MSU put together a prime example of how every step counts.

When senior quarterback Kirk Cousins threw the ball laterally to senior wide receiver Keith Nichol, Nichol took a couple strides forward before realizing he was headed out of bounds. Before he fell out, he tossed the ball up for Cunningham — who launched himself forward to get the touchdown.

Giving MSU a 22-21 lead, every inch of that play mattered, including the two-point conversion run by senior wide receiver Brad Sonntag.

Failed blitz
Although that close call worked out in MSU’s favor, several others did not — all contributing to the loss.

On a Wisconsin third-and-17 play in the beginning of the third, junior cornerback Johnny Adams took off for Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson and had a clear shot at him. Adams barely missed the sack and fell behind Wilson, who remained standing.

Wilson then completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, while Adams got a personal foul call for grabbing Wilson’s facemask. Not only did Adams miss the sack by a small number of inches, but he also gave up 15 yards for the penalty on the ensuing kickoff.

“We brought the corner blitz off the edge; we missed them,” Dantonio said. “We were dead-to-right and missed them.”

Tiptoe
Down 42-39 scrambling to make plays, it looked like Cousins would connect with senior wide receiver Keshawn Martin on a third-and-eight play — keeping the Spartans’ hopes alive. Cousins had plenty of room to run — probably enough for the first down — but he hesitated before launching the ball in the air and hoping for the best.

Martin went up for the reception, recognized he might land out of bounds and extended his leg as far as possible to try and get his foot to touch the field. Initially, the officials ruled it a fair catch, but after reviewing it, overturned the call and forced MSU to punt.

“Possibly could have run for the first down — I’ll have to see the film,” Cousins said. “Keshawn opened up, (and it was a) game of inches.”

Just because it came down to the end and the Spartans left the field with a field goal between them and overtime doesn’t make swallowing the loss any easier, Dantonio said, particularly when the team had such high hopes for the Rose Bowl.

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