One week after No. 16 MSU’s 37-6 loss to No. 15 Iowa, the Spartans have a chance to get back on the winning track Saturday when they welcome Minnesota to Spartan Stadium (noon, Big Ten Network).
MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio said Tuesday he wouldn’t have changed anything about the timing of his reinstatement of senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker.
With recent matchups between MSU and Iowa being dominated by physical play, it seemed the team that rushed for more yards last Saturday would significantly better its chances of winning.
The Spartans couldn’t have been much higher heading into the game with No. 15 Iowa (6-2, 3-1). MSU was undefeated, winning its first eight games of the season for the first time in 44 years. And as the only Big Ten team without a loss, the then-No. 5 Spartans were in the driver’s seat to win an outright conference championship.
After a performance against Northwestern that earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, junior quarterback Kirk Cousins followed up with an outing he’d like to forget.
For the first time all season, the No. 5 MSU football team will wake up Sunday morning with something other than a zero in the loss column.
Falling to No. 18 Iowa, 37-6, Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, No. 5 MSU suffered it’s first loss of 2010 after starting the season 8-0.
MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis announced Friday that the MSU football team added a three-game series with Boise State beginning with a season-opening game at Spartan Stadium in 2012.
Senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker was reinstated to the MSU football team Thursday and will have the option of traveling to Saturday’s game against No. 18 Iowa if he chooses, MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio said Thursday.
Five years since making the decision to become a Spartan, Gordon has put together a career that easily would make him the star player of many defenses throughout the country. But no matter what Gordon has been able to accomplish in his four years as a starter at MSU, he always has played in the shadow of fellow senior linebacker and All-American Greg Jones.
A little more than two weeks ago, when MSU head coach Mark Dantonio suspended senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker for being charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, or OWI, I had an immediate gut reaction: It was nice watching you in a Spartan uniform, Chris, good luck at the next level.
For MSU senior safety Marcus Hyde and junior quarterback Kirk Cousins, Saturday’s highly anticipated game between No. 5 MSU and No. 18 Iowa is even more significant as the two have personal connections to the Hawkeyes.
Ricky Stanzi’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Marvin McNutt as time expired last season lifted undefeated Iowa to a 15-13 victory on Oct. 24 at Spartan Stadium and an appearance in a BCS bowl last year. This year, the No. 5 MSU football team would like to return the favor.
The No. 5 MSU football team will face its toughest remaining challenge and likely its biggest obstacle to an undefeated season when it visits No. 18 Iowa on Saturday. Here’s a look at four individual matchups that will determine Saturday’s game.
Accustomed to being the hunter looking to knock a higher ranked team off its pedestal, the No. 5 MSU football team will be the hunted Saturday when it travels to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the No. 18 Hawkeyes.
Through seven games this season, the MSU defensive line had struggled to generate pressure on the opposing quarterback, accounting for only 7.5 sacks. But in the No. 5 Spartans’ 35-27 victory against Northwestern on Saturday, the defensive front sacked quarterback Dan Persa six times in the unit’s best showing of the season.
Through the first six games of the season, MSU’s fortune was earned on the backs of its linemen and running backs, gritted out in convincing victories against stout opponents. But after back-to-back games where the Spartans looked flat then responded by crushing their opponents, it’s clear there’s some luck on the Spartans’ side, too.
Throughout the early portion of the season, junior quarterback Kirk Cousins took a back seat to a dominant MSU rushing attack that made throwing the ball seemingly unnecessary. On Saturday against Northwestern, the roles were reversed when the running game struggled for the second week in a row, and Cousins responded with one of the best performances of his Spartan career.
Senior punter Aaron Bates took the snap and delivered a 23-yard pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Bennie Fowler, who broke open for a first down at the Northwestern 13-yard line and caught the Northwestern return team off guard for a big gain.