Mark Dantonio can be described many ways. He can be called old-school, perhaps a traditionalist. Or he can be defined by any one of his Dantonioisms, such as “Stay the course” and “They all count one.”
The Spartans passed on the cupcakes and traveled out West to open the 2008 season against the Golden Bears, who were ranked as high as No. 2 in 2007. The Spartans made mistakes early and played catch-up from the opening quarter.
State College, Pa. — The last time MSU beat Penn State in Beaver Stadium, the Vietnam War had just started, Lyndon B. Johnson was president and Spartans’ head coach Mark Dantonio had yet to celebrate his 10th birthday.
State College, Pa. —- They came to Penn State following a 4-7 record in 2004, but four years and two Big Ten Championships later, the 17 seniors on the Nittany Lions are leaving as a group that brought Penn State back to national prominence.
State College, Pa. — Sometimes the explanation is as simple as it looks.
State College, Pa. — First came the light snow.
State College, Pa. —- Playing on the program’s biggest stage in 18 years, the No. 17 MSU football team stumbled and came to a crashing fall under the bright lights of Beaver Stadium, losing in convincing fashion to No. 7 Penn State 49-18.
It started out as a vision. Perhaps the idea could be called a pipe dream. But when George Perles, then-MSU’s football coach and Athletics Director, emerged from the Spartan Stadium tunnel for MSU’s regular season finale against Illinois in 1991 and saw a mere 61,721 fans in the crowd, he decided the MSU football program needed a change.
The MSU football team had little to play for against Penn State on Nov. 18, 2006. The Spartans were the bottom of program valley, 4-7 with one game remaining, with head coach John L. Smith orchestrating his final game at MSU.
Williams is one of the premiere return men in the conference, ranking first with 28.6 yards per kick return and sixth in punt returns with an average of 9.4 yards.
Some students go out and party on Thursday nights. Others stay in to refresh the sports page over and over and over again so that they can be first ones to read Prognosticators. Well, it’s go time, sports fans. Prognosticators is here.
For the first time since 1990, the MSU football team will be playing its final game with a Big Ten championship on the line. The differences between 18 years ago and Saturday’s game, though, will be dramatic.
Linebackers get the tackles and defensive ends rack up the sacks, but the two most important players to the MSU rush defense might be the ones who don’t put up gaudy numbers. Defensive tackle Justin Kershaw, a 6-foot-5, 273-pound senior, and nose tackle Oren Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 288-pound sophomore, rarely show up on the stats sheet, but it’s beyond the numbers where their contributions shine.
Like a pendulum, he swings from side to side in one swift motion without skipping a beat.
Football players, especially quarterbacks, are constantly judged by their numbers. On the gridiron, Andrew Maxwell’s numbers speak for themselves.
Every reputable high school football ratings site is in agreement: MSU has one of the top Big Ten recruiting classes of 2009.
As a high school football prospect known for running, Edwin Baker can be defined by his walk. With his broad shoulders square, strong legs beneath him and chiseled upper body, Baker, a star high school senior running back, has no wasted movement in his gait.
A self-proclaimed “gargantuan high schooler” on his Facebook profile, David Barrent will soon be a gargantuan college student when he comes to East Lansing in the summer of 2009.
For Donald Spencer, actions speak louder than words. Spencer, a senior wide receiver at Ypsilanti High and verbal commitment for MSU’s 2009 recruiting class, is not the kind of kid who will get in your face to make a point or dress outlandishly to get attention.
As he trotted on the field for senior night, the crowd exploded with applause, recognizing it could be awhile before they see another player of Blake Treadwell’s caliber.