In the 2004 Central Michigan football media guide, running back Jerry Seymour lists former Detroit Lion and recently-inducted Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as his sports hero.
The way Seymour danced around the Spartans' defense Saturday, he certainly showed a hint of Sanders' improvisational running style.
The sophomore used his 5-foot-6 frame to hide behind the line of scrimmage and find small running lanes most typically-sized running backs can't exploit.
Seymour slashed and scampered his way to 164 rushing yards and one touchdown on 26 carries against the Spartans on Saturday.
"I kind of underestimated him going into the game because of his size and everything like that," MSU senior safety Jason Harmon said.
"He is a tough guy to tackle once he gets behind his big linemen. He can move, break tackles and get a lot of guys off balance with his moves."
Seymour's biggest play was his 90-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It brought the Chippewas back in the game, narrowing the Spartans' lead to 17-7.
The run tied the record for the longest run by an MSU opponent and the longest run in Spartan Stadium. Frank Aschenbrenner of Great Lakes Naval set the record with a 90-yard touchdown run against MSU at Spartan Stadium in 1945.
"I think for the most part, our defense did pretty good except for giving up the one big one (to Seymour)," MSU head coach John L. Smith said. "That's embarrassing."
Central could never build on the offensive momentum Seymour provided. Central quarterback Kent Smith was 10-of-30 for 93 passing yards.
"The good part is, Jerry is on our team," Central head coach Brian Kelly said. "The bad part is we've only got one of him."
"We need more playmakers on offense, and I think you saw that today."
No. 1
Sophomore punter Brandon Fields hit six punts for a total of 332 yards, an average of 55.3 yards per punt against Central.
Five of the six punts were more than 50 yards, with the longest a 62-yarder. Fields landed only one punt inside the 20 yard line, while three of his six punts resulted in touchbacks.
"What did he do today?" Smith said jokingly. "He does a good job, but he can do a lot better and that's the one thing that bothers me more than anything."
Smith added that Fields just needs to work on his hang time.
Fields ranks as the nation's top punter after two weeks, as he is the only player with an average of more than 50-yards per punt - 50.3 average.
Catching on
Senior tight end Eric Knott had two more receptions this week, after making three catches for 62 yards with a touchdown last week.
Knott caught redshirt freshman quarterback Stephen Reaves' first completion of his career and ran down the sidelines 50-yards.
He is MSU's second leading receiver behind junior captain and wide receiver Kyle Brown.
Knott has five catches for 121 yards on the season. He ranked second on the team in catches in 2002 with 35, behind former wide receiver Charles Rogers.
