Despite entering Big Ten play ranked No. 17 with a perfect 3-0 record, MSU head coach John L. Smith isn't pleased with the mistakes his team made Saturday in a 44-41 overtime win at Notre Dame Stadium.
"As we look at what we did, we're definitely thankful we got a win without a doubt, but we played by no means our best game," Smith said. "We made mistakes - tons and tons and tons.
"It was almost like we took the field and forgot what we had been coached."
Some of the mistakes that Smith addressed were the three turnovers, inconsistency with the punting game, and allowing Notre Dame to march over the Spartans' defense for 594 yards.
"We really didn't take what we had done the previous couple weeks and all of fall camp to the game field," Smith said.
"From that standpoint we were not pleased at all, and we have to make a lot of improvement in a short period of time."
Senior guard Gordon Niebylski acknowledged the wrongdoings that the offense line was guilty of Saturday when the Spartans had a three-score lead.
"Sometimes you lose focus and that was our mistake," Niebylski said. "Hopefully we'll learn from that because the same thing happened last year a couple of times.
Smith anticipates a strong week of practice leading up to the Big Ten opener Saturday at Illinois.
"We need to take the field and understand that we have to win on the practice field and we have to win at getting back to doing the things we were doing," he said.
"It's the Big Ten. This is what you live for, you live for the Big Ten games."
Although Smith said that he expects the conference to be very balanced this season, he likes the chances that his team has of becoming champions.
"I think we've got a chance to compete," he said. "We'll find out this week where we start."
Stanton earns Big Ten honors
Junior quarterback Drew Stanton scored Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for racking up 375 yards in total offense in the Spartans' win over Notre Dame Saturday.
Stanton threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 48 yards and one score. Stanton's passing yards were the most ever by a Spartan against the Irish, and his three passing touchdowns matched his career high.
"It's crucial having that guy," Smith said. "He's really turning into a pretty good player."
