The No. 25 MSU football team maintained discipline late in Saturday’s 34-31 overtime win against Notre Dame, but for most of the game, that discipline wasn’t there. The Spartans were flagged 11 times for 79 yards, most of which were offsides or holding infractions.
Saturday night’s 34-31 overtime win against Notre Dame at Spartan Stadium was as improbable as it was unthinkable. Spartan fans have seen a different outcome too many times before. Nearly every year they witness their team give itself a chance to win late in an important game only to hand it all away in the final moments. Saturday night, it appeared it was about to be the same story but only a different season for MSU and its fans.
Notre Dame’s game plan for Saturday’s game against MSU was clear: pass, pass and pass some more. The Fighting Irish attacked MSU’s secondary, which ranked last in the Big Ten last year, early and often, gaining 369 yards and allowing their athletic receivers to make plays in MSU’s 34-31 overtime win.
MSU senior punter Aaron Bates hit senior tight end Charlie Gantt for a 29-yard touchdown on a fake field goal in overtime Saturday at Spartan Stadium to give the Spartans a 34-31 win over Notre Dame.
When the MSU football team takes the field Saturday night at Spartan Stadium, the implications of its game will reach much farther than the 75,000-plus in attendance.
Although the game against Notre Dame doesn’t get as much recognition as the Spartans’ annual matchup with Michigan, senior tight end Charlie Gantt knows more than anyone that the battle for the Megaphone Trophy ranks right at the top as far as rivalries go.
Last season, the MSU secondary was shredded apart by Notre Dame. Then-junior cornerback Chris L. Rucker dropped an interception late in the game that could have sealed the win for MSU. Saturday, MSU’s defensive backs will look for revenge.
Records, rankings and statistics are worthless when it comes to the rivalry between MSU and Notre Dame. With nine of the last 11 meetings decided by 10 points or less, it is a safe bet this year’s game will be just the latest exciting matchup in the series.
With Saturday’s matchup against Notre Dame looming, MSU will look to junior quarterback Kirk Cousins to leave last year’s loss in the past and take his game to the next level. Game time is set for 8 p.m. on ABC.
MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio wants his team to lay it on. For the second straight game Saturday, MSU executed well on its first two drives and took an early lead, but watched its opponent climb back in the game.
After making all three of his field goal tries in MSU’s 30-17 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, sophomore kicker Dan Conroy was awarded Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
MSU’s 30-17 win Saturday against Florida Atlantic felt more like an escape than one of those feel-good wins where the fifth-string running back sees the field, but MSU earned the win and did what it had to do.
With 151 total yards on seven returns to go along with his 53 receiving yards, junior wide receiver Keshawn Martin bounced back in a big way in the Spartans’ 30-17 win over the Owls.
MSU rushed for 225 yards in Saturday’s 30-17 win against Florida Atlantic and ripped off big gains all afternoon as they eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark for the second straight week.
The oppopnent was new and the venue was different, but the story behind the MSU football team’s week-two victory over Florida Atlantic was no different than its win the week before. The Spartans defeated Florida Atlantic, 30-17, Saturday at Ford Field.
Mark Dell is familiar with playing at Ford Field in Detroit. Four years ago, Dell led Farmington Hills Harrison High School to the state championship game where his team ultimately lost. Now a senior receiver for the MSU football team, he will get another chance to play at Ford Field this Saturday when the Spartans travel there to take on Florida Atlantic.
After struggling to create a pass rush from its front four last season, the MSU defensive line hopes its depth will provide a change this season.
Traveling 1,300 miles to play a Big Ten team in front of its local fans might not sound like ideal winning conditions for Florida Atlantic, but that will be the challenge for the Owls on Saturday in Detroit.
Maurice Ager began playing around with the idea of making music when he was 15 years old, and back then, he saw it as just something for him to do in his free time. But after creating his own music company in April, what began as producing just a few tracks for a website turned into a much larger project.
Perhaps the most competitive position battle for the MSU football team heading into this season was between sophomore running backs Edwin Baker and Larry Caper. Just one game into the Spartans’ 2010 campaign, another name can be thrown into the mix.