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Sports | 1000

FOOTBALL

Dowdell struggles at start, rallies in second half

Eric Mckinney
October 28, 2002

It was a different quarterback taking the snaps, but the result was the same for MSU. The Spartans (3-5 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) dropped their third consecutive game 42-24 against the Wisconsin Badgers (6-3, 1-3) in front of a national television audience Saturday night. And Saturday’s spotlight was firmly fixed upon sophomore signal caller Damon Dowdell following Thursday’s announcement that junior quarterback Jeff Smoker was indefinitely suspended for violating unspecified team rules. “I thought he came in and stepped up to the challenge,” senior strong safety Thomas Wright said of Dowdell.

FOOTBALL

Downward spiral

Andrew Fifer
October 28, 2002

The MSU football team practiced differently, had a new quarterback under center, and preached about showing toughness, but nothing changed. In an attempt to separate itself from the Big Ten’s cellar, the Spartans (3-5 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) turned in another dismal performance in a 42-24 loss to Wisconsin at Spartan Stadium on Saturday night.

SOCCER

Mens soccer comes up short against Wisconsin

As six men’s soccer seniors stepped off of Old College Field after a tough 2-1 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday there were no regrets. “To me it was kind of an honor to go out with everybody playing as hard as they could for the seniors,” senior goalkeeper Tyler Robinson said.

SPORTS

Heisman watch

Eric Mckinney
October 25, 2002

This year’s Heisman Trophy race has become a strange one.Every time someone is labeled the front-runner he seems to fall on his face that very weekend.

BASKETBALL

Spartans ready for action

Andrew Fifer
October 25, 2002

After two weeks of practicing, the MSU men’s basketball team will have a chance to perform in a game situation Saturday at Breslin Center in the team’s Green and White game. It’s the first Green and White game in two years.

SPORTS

Running game suffers from Ducketts departure

Andrew Fifer
October 25, 2002

When former Spartan star T.J. Duckett declared for the NFL Draft, many knew it would have an impact on the Spartans’ offense. But no one knew how much. With Duckett in the backfield, the Spartans forced most teams to put eight defenders near the line of scrimmage to stop him from running wild, which opened up the passing attack. Last season, Duckett accounted for 77 percent of MSU’s rushing offense and finished third in the Big Ten in rushing. But many seemed to overlook his absence as the season neared.

SPORTS

Penn State pairs up with Ohio State in showdown

No. 21 Penn State at No. 4 Ohio StateThe biggest part of this game may be last year’s memories, but mixed in with those are this year’s ramifications.Last year, the Nittany Lions rallied from an 18-point third quarter deficit to stun the Buckeyes 29-27.

SPORTS

Spartans hope for win under stadium lights

Andrew Fifer
October 25, 2002

The MSU football team enters the eighth game of the season looking to gain some respect and pick up a win after two consecutive blowout losses to conference foes.The Spartans (3-4 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) were pummeled at Spartan Stadium last week in a 28-7 loss to Minnesota and two weeks ago were embarrassed by Iowa 44-16 in Kinnick Stadium.After the games, Golden Gopher (7-1, 3-1) and Hawkeye (7-1, 4-0) players questioned the Spartans’ toughness; and head coach Bobby Williams admitted his team needs to be tougher offensively and defensively in the running game.In last week’s defeat, the Golden Gophers’ running attack racked up 390 yards, while their defense held MSU to 51 yards on the ground.The Spartans face the prospect of losing their fifth game of the season - which would be as many as they had all of last year - and falling two games below .500.MSU has dropped four of its last five games - three of them lopsided defeats - and another loss would put its bowl hopes in serious jeopardy.The Spartans will try to turn things around against Wisconsin at 7:05 p.m.

SPORTS

Say farewell to polls, BCS ranking is back

So far this season there have been two predominant sources for finding where your favorite college football team stacks up in the country, the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Poll and The Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

BASKETBALL

Taylor cut by Wolves

Chris Mackinder
October 25, 2002

After jetting from MSU following his sophomore season to taste the NBA’s glory, Marcus Taylor was released by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. Taylor was selected by the Timberwolves with the 52nd overall pick in the draft.

SPORTS

Womens tennis looks to continue progress in regional

As the MSU women’s tennis team gets set to host the Omni Hotels/ITA Midwest Regional Championship this weekend, the team is looking to build on its experience and success for the spring season. The tournament begins today at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility, 3571 E.

SOCCER

Mens soccer finishes road trip with a victory

Dawn Klemish
October 24, 2002

The men’s soccer team (10-5 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) rose to .500 on its month-long road trip with a 4-1 defeat of Western Michigan on Wednesday. Junior midfielder Nick DeGraw scored the Spartan’s first two goals just 1:31 apart for the only offense in the first half. In the second half, senior defender Scott Babinski found net for the first time this season to provide MSU with an insurance goal at 60:35. The Broncos aided the Spartans’ cause in the 77th minute, scoring on themselves to stretch the lead to four. Western managed to avoid a shutout thanks to forward Chad Wiseman, who booted one past senior goalkeeper Tyler Robinson at 80:44. The Spartans went 3-3 on the road for the month of October. MSU returns for its home finale at 1 p.m.

FOOTBALL

First-teams battle it out during practice

Eric Mckinney
October 24, 2002

After two straight losses and countless questions regarding a lack of toughness, MSU head coach Bobby Williams decided this week was the time to mix things up in practice.So for the first time all season, the Spartans’ first-team offense squared off against the first-team defense on the practice field.“We get real excited when we get to go against the first-team offense,” sophomore linebacker Ronald Stanley said.

SPORTS

Youth on display at Munn as Spartans face off with Lakers

James Jahnke
October 24, 2002

For one of the only times this season, MSU will be more experienced than its opponent this week.The youthful Lake Superior State Lakers are in town for a CCHA series at Munn Ice Arena on Thursday and Friday, and they almost make the green Spartans look like fossils.Laker head coach Frank Anzalone has a whopping 15 freshmen on his team, while MSU only has eight rookies.