Minneapolis - If MSU head coach John L. Smith were a real estate agent, his catch phrase would be, "Turnover, turnover, turnover." Smith not only has turned the No.
After six relatively quiet games, he finally got his chance to make a big hit. And when the opportunity arose, Clifford Dukes left an imprint that Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer won't soon forget, especially when he stands on the sidelines this weekend in Ann Arbor. The junior defensive end fought around the left end and hit Beutjer with enough power to make any spectator cringe. It was his fourth sack of the season, equal to his 2002 total, which led the team.
Last week was an absolute blowout, with Tennessee's Derrick Mason and the Miami defense assisting Stevie E.
Despite an early falter, this season's MSU football team has the opportunity to make history.With a win against Minnesota, this would be the best start for a Spartan team since they finished second in the polls in 1966.But with senior defensive end Greg Taplin questionable (sprained knee) for the game and junior defensive tackle Brandon McKinney out, the No.
Urbana-Champaign, Ill. - On its return from pounding Illinois 49-14 Saturday, MSU left last season's disappointment in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., and leapfrogged Michigan in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. The No.
Urbana-Champaign, Ill. - The trip was three-and-a-half years in the making. And when junior running back Tyrell Dortch reached the end zone for his first career touchdown, that wasn't enough.
Urbana-Champaign, Ill. - Eric Smith might have stepped over the line Saturday, but head coach John L.
With four games in the past, it is all even between The State News homegrown fantasy football gurus. A new season begins in Week Six - known in college football as Separation Saturday - when fantasy players start showing whether they will be consistent forces each week. Look for good football in Week Six as three of the NFL's weakest teams - Cincinnati, Detroit and San Diego - take the week off.
It seems simple enough, but in recent years, MSU has had a problem keeping control of the football.With the re-emergence of quarterback Jeff Smoker and linebacker Mike Labinjo, one of the major reasons for the Spartans' early success is winning the turnover battle.The past two seasons, the Spartans (5-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) gave up the football 52 times and gained it on an opposition turnover 44 times.
In the middle of a recruiting season marred with wavering interest and flip-flopping commitments, the MSU football coaching staff finally got some good news Monday night.Tom Dance, a speedy 6-foot-2 all-around athlete from Erie Cathedral Preparatory School, verbally committed to the Spartans after an official recruiting trip this past weekend.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Charles Rogers broke his right collarbone in practice Tuesday. Rogers, a former Spartan who won the Biletnikoff Award last year at MSU, was taken to a hospital and is still being evaluated, according to Detroit Lions officials. Rogers "got tangled up" with cornerback Dre' Bly in the morning practice on Tuesday, head coach Steve Mariucci said. "(Rogers) went up for a pass and went down on his shoulder," Mariucci said.
For the third straight week, an MSU player was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Spartans senior defensive end Greg Taplin recorded three sacks to lead the MSU defense in shutting down Indiana, 31-3. Taplin moved into second place in the conference in sacks along with teammate and junior defensive tackle Matthias Askew with six for the season.
MSU played its most efficient game of the season on both sides of the ball en route to a Homecoming victory over Indiana, according to head coach John L.
Four MSU football players were charged with alcohol-related violations earlier this year.On June 26, Tyrell Dortch was charged with driving with an open intoxicant and Jeremiah McLaurin was charged with having an open intoxicant in a vehicle in East Lansing.Both charges were reduced to misdemeanor alcohol/stadium violations in 54-B District Court in East Lansing.
He quietly runs his routes, perfect in form without a flashy strut or any trash talk. Fifth-year senior Ziehl Kavanaght goes about his business, out of the spotlight of media attention but in the sight line of special teams gunners looking to make one big play. But, through it all, the language barrier, the lack of passes thrown his way, the time on the sidelines his first four seasons and being hung out to dry as the punt returner, the 26-year-old Quebec native has no complaints. "I'm just trying to help the team," Kavanaght said.
It pays to play players who start. A tough lesson to learn, but the chance that Clinton Portis would play against the Lions was too tempting to pass up.It was another week and another Stevie E.
As subtle as it seems, a win over Indiana this weekend could be historic for No. 25 MSU. The Spartans finished the 1999 regular season on a three-game winning streak, the last time they won three straight. Spartans players and coaches are glad to have beaten Notre Dame and Iowa but know they can't let their excitement and top-25 ranking get the best of them - or else the Hoosiers might on Saturday. "It's kind of too early for that kind of stuff," senior quarterback Jeff Smoker said of the Spartans debuting in the AP poll.
With its captain on the sidelines in street clothes, the MSU defensive line has made a name for itself this season.It has rotated in 10 different players and stands second in the nation in rushing defense behind Ohio State, giving up just 54.4 yards per game.
East Lansing was the capital of bizarro-world Saturday as MSU and then-No. 13 Iowa battled it out, resembling
Two incompletions didn't spoil Jeff Smoker's day. All his receiver wanted was a little attention, so it didn't matter when he dropped the second pass. With a boyish grin on his face, something that seemed so far away during the past year, Smoker tossed a Frisbee with little accuracy to "Zeke the Wonder Dog," the black Labrador that usually is a halftime show but somehow became an invaluable portion of the postgame festivities after MSU's upset win over then-No.