Senior offensive tackle Fou Fonoti announced Sunday night he would return for the 2013 season, according to a press release by the MSU athletics department.
It was an instantly telling indictment. After leading the entire afternoon against Iowa on Oct. 13, the MSU football team (5-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) had lost the lead, was headed to overtime and had now lost the coin toss. With all of the momentum favoring the Hawkeyes, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio made what would normally be a surprising decision. He elected to play the overtime period in the end zone away from the student section because the Spartans needed as much support as possible and looking at a section about a quarter full didn’t inspire intimidation.
Andrew Maxwell did something unusual before his weekly press conference. He woke up and made his way approximately two hours north to open the polls at 6:45 a.m. at Adams Elementary School, 1005 Adams Drive, in Midland, Mich.
Darqueze Dennard played the game of his life Saturday. The junior cornerback finished with two interceptions, four tackles, one called-back touchdown and one controversial pass interference penalty.
Allow me to set the scene. Junior cornerback Darqueze Dennard had just made a miraculous play to keep the ball out of the hands of Nebraska wideout Kenny Bell, forcing the No. 21 Cornhuskers to try a 37-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Spartan Stadium erupted as the ball fell to earth, but hushed just seconds later, as a yellow piece of laundry did too.
It happened again. For the fourth time this year, the MSU football team (5-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) had its heart ripped out in the game’s final minute, with the latest gut-wrenching loss coming at the hands of No. 21 Nebraska (7-2, 4-1). The Cornhuskers stunned the Spartans 28-24 after junior quarterback Taylor Martinez found sophomore receiver Jamal Turner for a 5-yard touchdown pass with six seconds remaining.
An 80-yard touchdown drive with 1:20 remaining helped No. 21 Nebraska (7-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) stun the MSU football team (5-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) 28-24 Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.
After a number of grind-it-out offensive struggles this season, offensive fireworks were on display as the MSU football team (5-4 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) and Nebraska (6-2, 3-1) head into the halftime locker room tied at 14.
It was Sept. 9, 1995, and Mark Dantonio stepped onto the field at Spartan Stadium for his first game in green and white as MSU’s defensive backs coach under Nick Saban.
Last week in Madison, Wis., the MSU football team showed it wasn’t ready to let its season end.
Although the Spartans’ record may not reflect it, Saturday’s matchup against No. 21 Nebraska will feature a battle of two Big Ten giants.
Andrew Maxwell has been no stranger to criticism in the midst of his first season under center as the starter for MSU.
As the month of October comes to a close for the MSU football team, it means more than just turning a page on a calendar. With only three games left in the season, the Spartans (5-4 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) are in the final stretch of the 2012 season, fighting for a chance to extend their season with a sixth win that would make them bowl eligible.
They were never going to be in the ring at the same time, but the heavyweight bout for rushing supremacy between the Big Ten’s top two running backs was expected to go the distance.
The relationship of Andrew Maxwell and Bennie Fowler isn’t one of some quarterback and any receiver.
“I’d rather win than be perfect.” MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio’s words hung in the air, lingering for a minute.
For Bennie Fowler, it couldn’t have been more perfect. It had been a tumultuous season for the junior wide receiver. After entering the season as MSU’s number-one target, Fowler was unseated from the starting lineup three weeks ago, benched in favor of freshman wideout Aaron Burbridge after registering too many dropped passes in the first five games of the season.
When Andrew Maxwell took the field with just over six minutes remaining and Wisconsin leading 10-3, the feeling of déjà vu was unmistakable.
The last time MSU beat Wisconsin on the final play of a regular season game, then-sophomore defensive end William Gholston found himself on the outside looking in as his teammates celebrated a 37-31 victory over the Badgers in East Lansing.