Jehuu Caulcrick ran through Notre Dame's defense like it didn't exist on Saturday. He may as well have had a list of Notre Dame defensive backs in his pocket so he could cross off the names of players he ran over.
Tom Zbikowski: Check. The junior running back bowled over Notre Dame's senior safety on MSU's first play from scrimmage and continued to rumble downfield for a 29-yard gain.
Chinedum Ndukwe: Check.
Mike Richardson: Check.
By the time the third quarter rolled around, Notre Dame defenders showed no interest in taking on the hefty 260-pound junior running back. Caulcrick took a handoff up the middle, then stiff-armed his way to the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.
But he only carried twice the rest of the game.
Why wasn't Caulcrick on the field in the final minutes of the game, when Drew Stanton and Javon Ringer were struggling to move the chains and kill the clock?
Caulcrick wasn't sure why he wasn't used in the fourth quarter, but he was not critical of the coaching staff.
"It's just the plays we were calling — I'm not sitting here complaining about it," Caulcrick said. "I don't know why that happened. I don't have a headset on, so I can't hear what's going on upstairs."
Caulcrick finished the day with 111 yards on eight carries — an average of 13.9 yards per touch. Most of his yardage came after contact, as Caulcrick ripped through arm tackles and kept his legs churning once he was finally wrapped up.
The crowd responded to his excellent play, yelling "Jehuuuuuu" every time he took a handoff.
Meanwhile, Stanton struggled to turn the corner on option plays, but carried 19 times for 89 net yards — a 2.8 yard average. Most of his yardage came on a 37-yard scramble in the first half. Ringer finished with 14 carries for 80 yards. Both were far less effective than Caulcrick in shedding tackles.
"It's just frustrating," Caulcrick said. "Everything's frustrating. It's a game we should have won."
A bad trend
The Spartans' collapse was a familiar sight. Late-game miscues have been common in the John L. Smith era.
The loss was particularly reminiscent of a game against Michigan on Oct. 30, 2004. MSU led the Wolverines by 17 points midway through the fourth quarter, but ended up losing the in triple overtime, 45-37.
Then, on Sept. 17, 2005, the Spartans allowed Notre Dame to overcome a 21-point second-half deficit to force overtime. The Spartans pulled out the win, 44-41.
Much like those losses, it was poor tackling, poor decision-making, and poor special teams play that allowed the Fighting Irish to stage a comeback.
When asked about the trend of blowing big leads against top-shelf opponents, Smith declined to comment.
"You and I will have a personal conversation about that some day, and I'll tell you what I think," Smith told a reporter.
Costly calls
The Spartans were penalized often during Saturday night's loss. Several were the result of a simple loss of focus — false starts, delay of game penalties and illegal procedure. Two consecutive holding penalties also were called in the third quarter, backing the Spartans out of field-goal range, into their own territory and setting up third-and-42. A third holding penalty was declined.
By the end of the game, the Spartans had been penalized nine times for 75 yards.
"We can't have three holding penalties in a row that send us back to who knows where," Smith said.
