Junior quarterback Kirk Cousins attempts to throw a pass as Minnesota linebacker Gary Tinsley closes in Nov. 5 at Spartan Stadium. Cousins had 131 passing yards in the Spartans’ 31-8 victory over the Golden Gophers.
Two years ago, a nine-win MSU team had a late bye week to prepare for a game against Penn State that carried Big Ten Championship implications.
Despite getting extra rest, the Spartans fell flat on their face in a 49-18 loss to the Nittany Lions that dropped MSU to 9-3 overall and ended the regular season on a sour note.
This year, the No. 11 Spartans (9-1 overall, 5-1 Big Ten) hope their bye week will lead to a different result as they prepare for two games against Purdue and Penn State that will determine the Spartans’ postseason fate.
“I think it will be a good thing for us, but the end result will be what happens in this football game,” MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said. “We had this kind of situation two years ago before the Penn State game, and we kind of came out flat. … This one’s a little different because we’re playing at home.”
The Spartans host Purdue (4-6, 2-4), on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network) before traveling to Penn State for their final game of the season Nov. 27.
Under Dantonio, the Spartans have performed well in bounce-back games, with MSU playing tight or being victorious in all games after a major rout. Saturday’s game gives bounce-back a whole new meaning, as the Spartans fight to stay focused and return to form after last week’s bye week.
The layoff is forcing MSU to treat this game differently.
“The focus is on Purdue, I talked to our players about this like being opening day for us,” Dantonio said. “With two weeks off, our thought process is winning out in November and the good things that can happen for us.”
Gholston out for year
Freshman defensive end William Gholston, who injured his shoulder in the Spartans’ last game against Minnesota, is out for the season, Dantonio announced at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
Gholston underwent surgery to repair his shoulder and might have been able to play in the final game for the Spartans, but the coaches thought it would be better if he was ready for spring practice, which wouldn’t have been likely if Gholston didn’t undergo surgery.
Gholston has 13 tackles and four quarterback hurries in his first season with the team.
“We felt like we could have waited and he could have played in the bowl game, but he would have missed the entire spring practice for that, and we felt, because he’s a true freshman, he has such a big upside to us, we need to have him back for spring ball,” Dantonio said. Overall health
One of the benefits of having a bye week is the ability to rest up and heal players who normally might risk further injury through playing.
Dantonio said several players sat out last Tuesday’s practice, but most of them returned by Sunday and used the weekend to rest, including junior wide receiver Keshawn Martin, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury.
“You’re never going to be healthy going into the 11th week, but we got a chance to heal up a lot of guys,” Dantonio said.
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