Even when Notre Dame stacked the box with eight defenders, they still couldn’t hinder Ringer. With the exception of a first-quarter fumble, Ringer’s game was mostly flawless. He scampered for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns. More importantly, Ringer controlled the clock in the fourth quarter when Notre Dame was threatening.

“When you go against a back like Javon Ringer, you already know it’s going to be a smash football game,” Notre Dame linebacker Brian Smith said. “He did a good job running between the tackles. Our job coming into the game was to make him run east and west; north and south and he did a good job.”

More running woes

As much as the Irish struggled to stop the run, their inefficient offensive running attack was just as influential in the game’s outcome. MSU’s defensive line dominated Notre Dame in the trenches, allowing very few holes for its tailbacks.

“They were winning the line of scrimmage,” Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis said. “It wasn’t like some exotic defense they were playing.”

Notre Dame running backs James Aldridge, Robert Hughes and Armando Allen labored for 30 combined yards as the Irish netted just 16 total rushing yards for the game.

Applying pressure

In its first two games of the season, Notre Dame’s offensive line didn’t allow a single sack, while MSU’s defense recorded three sacks through its first three games. MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said before the game that one of the keys to victory would be wreaking havoc on sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who has a history of making mistakes under pressure.

MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi attacked Clausen with several blitz packages and senior defensive end Brandon Long dominated Notre Dame’s offensive line in nonblitzing situations, recording two sacks. Clausen faltered under the pressure, throwing two interceptions in Irish territory.

“They were coming from all over the place — corners, safeties,” Clausen said. “The front four are pretty good and you have to give those guys credit. They’re a really good team and they battled today.”