Football is a serious, physical and intense game. Especially at a high competitive level like in the Big Ten.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Head coach Mark Dantonio made it fun for MSU Saturday with some unconventional play calling that led to a number of smiles following the 45-3 victory over Rutgers in the Spartans’ final home game of the season.
Dantonio mixed it up a little bit Saturday when the game was in hand, giving a couple of guys who weren’t used to getting their hands on the ball a chance to shine. This included an end around run from senior offensive lineman Connor Kruse and a fake field goal run by sophomore kicker Michael Geiger — one going for a big gain and the other not so much.
The first of the trick plays came on a 23-yard fake field goal run by Geiger in the third quarter. Geiger was tossed the ball from senior punter and holder Mike Sadler and he sprinted toward the left touchdown pylon but stepped out of bounds right before getting into the endzone.
Following the game, Dantonio said he probably should have challenged the play to see if Geiger actually scored, but in the end the speedy kicker was happy with the run. Geiger said he used to play defensive back in high school and that helped play a role in the speed he showed off Saturday.
“I had to break out the wheels today,” Geiger said. “I’ve been hiding them for a little while and kind of have been waiting to rev the engine, but it’s just unfortunate I got out at the one.”
Even more out of the norm was the run by Kruse. In the past, Dantonio has looked to reward the offensive linemen by giving them the chance to run the ball instead of blocking for a change, and Kruse was the lucky one who got the carry Saturday.
“I don’t mean to throw it as an insult towards anybody, but there is nothing like letting an offensive lineman run the football,” Dantonio said. “You know what it means to those guys. If you have ever been an offensive lineman, you know that touching the football is like finding gold out there.”
The play had originally been planned for fellow senior offensive lineman and team captain Travis Jackson , but he went down with a left foot or leg injury during the first half. Kruse only picked up one yard on the run, and he was the first to say afterward that it was a generous spot on the run, but he was happy with simply getting the opportunity to run the ball.
Kruse said these types of fun opportunities is one of the many factors that has made his time at MSU so special and something he’ll never forget.
“I love seeing other guys do things like that too, I mean it’s fun for the whole team to have something great to talk about like that,” Kruse said. “I’m going to take a ton of crap from the guys for not getting any yards or how they gave me one yard and things like that, but that’s fine with me. I just got the opportunity to run the ball and it’s something special that I’ll never forget.”
