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Sports | Football

FOOTBALL

Izzo: I let Smith down

Steve Highfield
November 7, 2006

After MSU football head coach John L. Smith was fired Wednesday, his basketball counterpart, Tom Izzo, said he wanted to be involved in the hiring of Smith's replacement. On Monday, Izzo reiterated those statements and took some personal blame for the way Smith's tenure at MSU played out. "I think I let (Smith) down because I didn't know him as well, I didn't jump in there with the help I could give him," Izzo said.

FOOTBALL

Reader mail Next MSU coach should only be paid for wins

Has anyone considered changing the football coaches' salaries paradigm? Instead of paying these coaches large guaranteed contracts and for a guaranteed number of years, why do we not offer them a set salary and then for each game they win, they get a guaranteed payment? This would force coaches to actually coach and tie their paycheck to their success, instead of the current system in which these coaches get paid if they win or lose and then the universities have to buy out the large contracts for coaches who failed to produce. For instance, a football coach could have a base salary of $500,000 and then get $100,000 for each game won.

FOOTBALL

Wiley: Smith's ouster 'unprofessional'

Ethan Conley
November 6, 2006

The Spartans had enough trouble winning games without any extra distractions looming overhead. On Saturday, they played their first game after being hit with a midweek knockout punch — they learned they would finish the season under the direction of a coach whose days were numbered. Athletics Director Ron Mason announced the firing of John L.

FOOTBALL

A step behind

Steve Highfield
November 6, 2006

Something unusual happened Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The MSU defense came to play. It forced a turnover and brought pressure on the quarterback.

FOOTBALL

Word from the podium

"I've learned from him, not just as a football player, but as a man." senior center Kyle Cook "There was no real tipping point." Athletics Director Ron Mason "You can't simply win on X's and O's.

FOOTBALL

Word on the street

"I hope we get a winning program from a new coach since we had so much talent on the team as it was.

FOOTBALL

No comeback this time

Ethan Conley
October 30, 2006

Bloomington, Ind. — First, it was Illinois' Juice Williams. Then, Ohio State's Troy Smith. On Saturday, the MSU football team made another opposing quarterback look like a transcendent talent, allowing Indiana's Kellen Lewis to pass for five touchdowns and run for a sixth in a 46-21 defeat at Memorial Field. "He's a great athlete — running and passing," said junior defensive end Ervin Baldwin.

FOOTBALL

Spartans Stalled

Steve Highfield
October 30, 2006

Bloomington, Ind. — The question all week was whether the momentum from MSU's 35-point comeback last week would carry over to Saturday's game at Indiana. It looked like the Spartans had delivered a decisive answer on the game's opening possession.

FOOTBALL

Beyond Belief

Steve Highfield
October 23, 2006

Evanston, Ill. — When MSU was down 38-3 against Northwestern midway through the third quarter, things looked hopeless. It looked like it could be John L.

FOOTBALL

Fall from grace

Ethan Conley
October 18, 2006

Drew Stanton entered this season with a career completion rate of 65.7 percent — the highest all-time for an MSU quarterback.

FOOTBALL

Spartans secure Ohio offensive line recruit

Matt Bishop
October 17, 2006

The MSU football team has received another verbal commitment from the class of 2007, this one from Mark Wetterer, an offensive lineman from Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to the season, Wetterer had offers from 12 Division-1 schools, including West Virginia and Maryland, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. He is ranked 28th in the state of Ohio by recruiting service Rivals.com. The Web site also ranks him as a three-star recruit out of five.

FOOTBALL

MSU squanders opportunities

Steve Highfield
October 16, 2006

If MSU had scripted the beginning of Saturday's game against Ohio State, it probably couldn't have turned out any better than what actually happened. After forcing the Buckeyes to start at the 20-yard line, the Spartans defense caused a turnover, giving the offense the ball deep in Ohio State territory. On MSU's first offensive play, junior running back Jehuu Caulcrick caught a screen pass and rumbled just short of the goal line.

FOOTBALL

Sea of red

Steve Highfield
October 16, 2006

Despite being more than 250 miles from home, Ohio State's football team almost had home-field advantage Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Fans clothed in scarlet and gray dominated the stadium's north end and dotted virtually every other section. "They're the No.

FOOTBALL

MSU might not win again this season

Confidence. It can make all the difference in the world in football, and MSU is no exception. The team always seems to need only one big play — be it a long pass, a broken tackle, a fumble recovery or a vicious hit — to get the wheels turning. But the team has had such a horrendous stretch of games that every last bit of confidence has disappeared, and you have to wonder if the players can get it back this season.