By Robert Bondy rbondy@statenews.com THE STATE NEWSnnThis is the one everyone has been circling on their calendars for months.
Autzen Stadium will see a true strength vs. strength situation on Saturday when No. 7 MSU puts its hard-nosed defense up against No. 3 Oregon’s explosive offense in one of the season’s best non-conference matchups. “You look at Oregon, certainly you see what they’ve done offensively, and they are different from other spread teams,” head coach Mark Dantonio said during Tuesday’s press conference. “I think they’ve had so much success, a lot of people are taking some of the things and imitating them or not copying, but using their concepts and trying to adapt it into their offenses.
Head Coach Mark Dantonio was at the podium again Tuesday morning for his weekly press conference. In preparation for what is surely one of the most important games for MSU football in recent history, Dantonio addressed several topics, including the upcoming game against Oregon and his team’s 45-7 win against Jacksonville State Friday night.
MSU football rolled its way to a 45-7 victory over Jacksonville State and caught the eye of pollsters during the process, moving up one spot to No. 7 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll and two spots to No. 6 in the Amway Coaches Poll released on Monday.
There’s nothing like a chip on your shoulder. Despite winning the Rose Bowl last season, the pressure is still on for an MSU program that historically has had the tendency to fuel their doubters with disappointing encores to great seasons.
Junior quarterback Connor Cook led the way on Friday as No. 8 MSU made quick work of Jacksonville State and cruised to 45-7 victory at Spartan Stadium. MSU took the life out of the Gamecocks early and were able to impose its will through long scoring drives and stout defense.
Statements are made every day on the football field. They can be as small as getting off a block at the right time or as big as winning the Rose Bowl.
The last image many students and fans have of the MSU football program was Kyler Elsworth making that diving stop to capture the Spartan’s first Rose Bowl victory since 1988.However, Elsworth is no longer a member of the Spartans, and it’s finally a brand new year for No. 8 MSU. And with the season starting today, it’s time to put Rose Bowl talk on the back burner and take a look ahead at this year’s bunch.
When the most recent depth chart came out Tuesday morning, there was a surprising addition to the defensive backfield — sophomore wide receiver R.J. Shelton. “He’s too good for us not to have on the field more,” Head Coach Mark Dantonio said when the depth chart was released.
MSU football released its first post preseason depth chart Tuesday, and there were a few unexpected changes, including a few fresh faces cracking the starting lineup.One of the biggest surprises found on the depth chart was senior Mylan Hicks as a starter at the star, or weakside, linebacker position.
For months, students and staff have seen the Northern End Zone entrance at Spartan Stadium as a pile of construction equipment and hard hats.
When Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller went down for the season with a shoulder injury, many experts put MSU in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten championship. According to ESPN analyst David Pollack, MSU was in that seat all along. The commentator and former Georgia standout said he had MSU as the favorite in his preseason predictions when he spoke to reporters via conference call Thursday.
With opening kickoff only eight days away, MSU football wrapped up fall preseason camp on Thursday with one final scrimmage. No. 8 MSU is now setting its sights on opening night against Jacksonville State, with Head Coach Mark Dantonio giving the players the rest of the week off to relax. However, before the players break away for a small break, Dantonio announced the 2014 team captains along with weighing in on the current depth chart and season-ending injury to a star Big Ten quarterback.
When MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio announced that junior wide receiver Macgarrett Kings was suspended from spring football, the reason was unknown.
MSU football has once again been bit by the injury bug, this time coming on the offensive side of the ball with senior offensive lineman Connor Kruse going down in Friday’s scrimmage.Kruse is expected to miss an indefinite amount of time with the injury currently undisclosed.
MSU football will kickoff the 2014 season with its highest AP preseason poll ranking since 1967, coming in at No.
After a week of praising the offense, it was the MSU defense that stole the show with a 33-27 victory in the second jersey scrimmage on Friday.The scrimmage went 124 plays with a modified scoring system that gave the defense 27 points to start the scrimmage.
Head Football Coach Mark Dantonio and the football team signed autographs for fans and other activities occurred at Spartan Stadium during the 12th annual “Meet The Spartans” event on Monday evening."Meet the Spartans" once took place at Meridian Mall in Okemos, but returned to Spartan Stadium for the second year.
Despite missing the entire spring with a shoulder injury, junior linebacker Ed Davis is back in action with the task of replacing three-year starter Denicos Allen at the Sam, or outside linebacker, position this upcoming fall.
The offense topped the defense on Saturday in MSU football’s first jersey scrimmage of the fall, winning, 47-30.The Spartans went a full three hours and got in 183 total plays, including special teams.