For a defensive-minded leader with roots in the secondary, last season’s double-overtime loss to Northwestern couldn’t have sat well with MSU head coach Mark Dantonio. Northwestern’s then-junior gunslinger, quarterback C.J.
When the Spartans scored three unanswered goals in the first period, it seemed to be time for the Western Ontario Mustangs to start warming the bus. The Mustangs weren’t ready to call it a game yet though, as they exploded in the second period and scored three unanswered goals to tie the game.
Field hockey junior midfielder Floor Rijpma was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for her performance against Indiana and Temple last weekend. Rijpma scored five goals in two games, including four against Indiana on Friday, to lead the Spartans to two victories. She leads the team with 13 goals this season.
When the athletics department scheduled the MSU volleyball team for two games at Breslin Center, it called it an experiment. The experiment was a success as more than 9,000 fans filled the arena for two games against Ohio State and Michigan.
Football junior kicker Brett Swenson was named co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week last week after he was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goal attempts in MSU’s 16-13 win over Iowa.
Smurfs are normally regarded as tiny blue creatures from a place called Smurf Village — a fictional land described in comics and cartoons since the 1980s. But in the land of Green and White, the name “Smurf” refers to one very specific individual — 5-foot-3 women’s soccer junior midfielder Lauren Sinacola.
The struggles of last year’s MSU football team are well documented. The Spartans went 7-6, with all six losses coming by seven points or less. That trend continued in the 2008 season opener against California, where the Spartans once again found themselves staring at another loss by seven points, with a 38-31 outcome.
The hot seat just got a little warmer for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. Ferentz, whose contract runs through 2012, made one of those questionable coaching decisions Saturday that leaves fans at home thinking they’d do a better job making the calls.
The No. 8 MSU field hockey team mowed through its competition this weekend, scoring 18 goals in two games. The Spartans, who have won eight straight, recorded their second shutout of the season Sunday by beating Temple 9-0.
Be it rushing or protecting the quarterback, MSU’s offensive and defensive lines were pass-happy against Iowa. With the ball in their hands, the Spartans’ offensive line has given up two sacks through six games, one of which came Saturday when Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King brought MSU senior quarterback Brian Hoyer down in the third quarter.
When MSU alumnus Doug DeMartin sat back and wondered where a donation would best suit MSU’s athletic needs, he turned his head to the soccer field. He noticed the caliber of Spartans soccer and the space they competed on were at complete opposite ends of the spectrum — the playing field not doing the Green and White justice as to how great of a program they’ve always been and what they strive to be.
As the game went on, the intensity only escalated — higher and higher every second. Bodies thrown to the field, whistles blowing, cards being raised and the clock only stopping for minor injuries.
During the MSU hockey team’s annual Green and White game, both teams got a little taste of victory. After two 25-minute periods, the White team prevailed 5-1, but the Green team won the practice shootout afterward. MSU head coach Rick Comley saw progress on both sides of the puck in the team’s first time playing a game together.
After nearly 58 minutes of grind-it-out, pound-it-home football Saturday, Iowa turned the game against MSU into a game of inches. Trailing the Spartans 16-13 with 2:13 remaining, the Hawkeyes faced a fourth-and-inches situation at MSU’s 20-yard line. Instead of attempting a 37-yard field goal for the tie, Iowa opted to keep its offense on the field and go for the first down. Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi handed the ball to 5-foot-11, 235 bruising running back Shonn Greene, who ran to his left in search of an opening.
The No. 8 MSU field hockey team got off to a fast start and never looked back in its 9-1 victory over Indiana on Friday at Ralph Young Field.
Feb. 7, 2007, was supposed to be the opening sentence in the next chapter of Arthur Ray Jr.‘s life. Not only was the 17-year-old set to graduate from Chicago’s Mount Carmel High in a few months, but he was about to announce his intentions to play football at MSU.
A breakdown of Saturday’s football game against Iowa.
Wherever coaches have wanted Dwayne Holmes to play in his five years at MSU, he’s been more than willing to make the position audible.
The weather outside is frightful; but these prognosticators are so delightful. And since we don’t actually want to endure the rain and watch the games, let them prog, let them prog, let them prog!
With spotlights pointed straight on the MSU women’s soccer team and shining brighter than ever, the 10-1 Spartans can’t help but look away. They aren’t giving into all the hype — not until the unsolved business is taken care of.