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Report: Narduzzi turns down head coaching offer at UConn
MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi will be around campus at least a bit longer.
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'Burn this Couch' sign post removed from ELPD Facebook page
The East Lansing Police Department has removed a Facebook post looking to identity an MSU fan attending the Big Ten Championship game and holding up a “Burn this Couch” sign.
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MSUFCU offers Rose Bowl loans for fans headed to California
For students who are short on cash but still yearn to visit Pasadena, Calif. to see the Spartans face off in the Rose Bowl, the MSU Federal Credit Union, or MSUFCU, is offering a loan to make that trip possible. The loan has a minimum amount of $1,000 and can be financed over an 18-month period at an annual percentage rate as low as 6.9 percent. Spartan fans who take out a loan of $1,000 will end up paying $58.64 a month for a total of $55.52 in interest.
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Narduzzi named nation's top assistant
After 13 games of commanding one of the nation’s most feared defenses, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was named as Broyles Award winner. Narduzzi is the first MSU coach to win the award that is given to the nation’s top assistant coach in its 18 year history.
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Dozens of supporters welcome Spartans home
Sunday morning, 8-year-old Cody Ream and his 7-year-old brother Dylan Ream couldn’t wait to see sophomore quarterback Connor Cook. However, this time they wouldn’t be seeing him on a football field or on the TV — they would be seeing him step off the team plane on the tarmac of Capital Regional International Airport.
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Spartans upset Ohio State for Big Ten championship, Rose Bowl bid
INDIANAPOLIS — Mark Dantonio told his team they would be “the ones” at his team banquet last offseason, where the book officially closed on a frustrating 7-6 season.
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Column: Spartans make history in Big Ten Championship Game victory
Several weeks into fall camp, head coach Mark Dantonio had a question for his team. “How many of you were alive in 1988?”
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For Lewis, game offers chance at redemption
Ever since 11:52 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2011, Isaiah Lewis has patiently awaited a moment that was never guaranteed to arrive. At that minute, time ran out on MSU’s Big Ten title hopes. Wisconsin finished a second-half comeback against the Kirk Cousins-led Spartans, avenging a regular season loss at Spartan Stadium and claiming the league’s coveted Rose Bowl bid in the process.
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Ready for Battle
As fans were ushered down the steps and out the exit of Lucas Oil Stadium into a chilly Indianapolis night, Denicos Allen witnessed something he’d never seen before. Max Bullough was there, too — he remembers it well. The then-sophomore linebackers were forced to watch several members of the 2011 Spartans, a band of brothers toward the end of a special season, break down in tears.
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Stars aligned
Les Brown is credited with coining the phrase “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” For college football coaching staffs coast to coast, landing stars — as many as possible — is the lifeblood of the business. Not star players per se, although that’s the ultimate goal, but rather players with the most five-sided shapes attached to their online recruiting profile. More stars means better players. Better players means more wins. More wins means more money and job security for said coaches. With the advent and evolution of national recruiting analysis services such as Rivals.com, Scout.com and ESPN’s Recruiting Nation in the past decade, any potential prospect worth a Division 1 coach’s time is promptly listed, evaluated and assigned a “star rating” from one to five based on skill. A five-star-rating represents the most elite high school athletes.
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Ohio State prepares for first Big Ten title game in Meyer era
Staring down a dream, it’s important to note Urban Meyer has been here before. Several times, in fact.
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2011 loss still fresh on MSU football players' minds
Max Bullough will never forget the feeling. In the senior linebacker’s four years at MSU, he’s experienced a wide range of emotions. There were highs, from dramatic late-game miracles such as the “Little Giants” and “Rocket” games of 2010 and 2011, to winning the first bowl game under head coach Mark Dantonio. He felt the lows, too, through a disappointing 2012 season and snapping a four-game winning streak against rival Michigan.
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Dantonio on BCS title: 'Why not us?'
“Why not us?” That is indeed the question following Mark Dantonio’s weekly press conference with the media yesterday afternoon. With only a few days before the No. 10 Spartans (11-1 overall, 8-0 Big Ten) travel to Indianapolis for a date with No. 2 Ohio State (12-0, 8-0) in the Big Ten Championship Game, the MSU head coach briefly entertained a scenario that would send the Spartans to Pasadena — not for the Rose Bowl, but for the BCS National Championship Game.
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Then and now
Regardless of what happens in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game, No. 10 MSU now can be remembered as the only program with multiple Legends Division titles — the Big Ten is switching to an East-West division alignment next season. Before trying to avenge their 2011 loss in the conference championship at the hands of Wisconsin, the then-No. 11 Spartans had to take care of Minnesota on senior day. Now, the sights are set on an undefeated showdown with No. 2 Ohio State.
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Six Spartans earn Big Ten first-team honors
With the nation’s No. 1 defense residing in East Lansing, it was all but guaranteed the Spartans would make their presence known in the Big Ten football awards. Six members of the No. 10 MSU football team earned All-Big Ten first team honors from the coaches, the program’s highest amount since 1966 — the last time the Spartans claimed a national title.
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To Indy And Beyond
History was made on Saturday, clearing the way for significantly more momentous milestones before the book is closed on MSU’s 2013 football season. No.
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Column: Team smelling roses after strong play
Things are looking pretty rosy for Mark Dantonio these days.
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Column: With Minnesota out of the way, real OSU prep can begin
Finally, that’s out of the way. The last hurdle between No. 11 MSU clashing with No. 3 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game has been cleared.
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On To Indy
A season ago, the MSU football team had to beat Minnesota to earn bowl eligibility in hopes to salvage a season.
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Spartans up on Gophers, 7-3, at halftime
While many eyes of the college football world are paying attention to “The Game” in Ann Arbor, fans of the No.