Caulcrick had a lot to be thankful for.

He was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

Caulcrick is the first Spartan to receive such honors since former quarterback Drew Stanton did for his play against Northwestern last October.

While Caulcrick stole the game’s first-half spotlight, he credits his supporting cast for his strong performance.

“We got the win, and to add the Big Ten Player of the Week, that’s the icing on the cake,” Caulcrick said.

“That truly goes out to my offensive line, you know, because without them I wouldn’t have been able to do all the things that I did.”

Although the cards were an inexpensive $6 purchase, it’s the thought that counts.

Plus, that’s all the running backs can really afford.

“I would think proper running back etiquette would be buying them watches or taking them out to dinner,” said Caulcrick, who had difficulty repressing a smile.

“But I’m not at that level yet.”

They fought the law

Maybe this new attitude thing is really catching on inside the MSU football team’s locker room.

The Spartans, who led the Big Ten in penalties last season, recorded four penalties for 35 yards Saturday.

“It was definitely emphasized in camp and it showed (Saturday),” senior linebacker Kaleb Thornhill said.

“The penalties were cut down extremely. I mean, so it’s good for us not to kill ourselves out there like we had been doing in the past, so it’s definitely a good start.”

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio was nothing short of impressed with his team’s lack of yellow flags Saturday.

“As I told our football team (Sunday), that was as big to me as anything,” Dantonio said. “I’ve talked all along about how our first win had to be a win of respect, we had to win the respect of our fans back. I think part of that respect was not turning the ball over, not having a lot of penalties, not coming unglued and keeping our composure.”

Zack Colman can be reached at colmanz1@msu.edu.