Home away from home
It’s a place full of college football lore — Touchdown Jesus in the background, the Golden Dome highlighting the university’s illustrious campus.
It’s a place full of college football lore — Touchdown Jesus in the background, the Golden Dome highlighting the university’s illustrious campus.
MSU vs. Notre Dame 3:30 p.m., NBC MB: Well, this isn’t exactly the battle of the titans it was looking like last Friday, but it still should be a solid game nonetheless.
After an injury to reigning Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, one member of the holy trinity of Heisman hopeful quarterbacks might be lost, but the other two are right where everyone expected them to be.
The MSU football team will play its second game of 2010 in an NFL stadium in the Midwest because of delayed construction of Florida Atlantic’s new stadium.
MSU head coach Mark Dantonio grew up as a Notre Dame fan. Kind of. Living in Zanesville, Ohio, in the ’60s and ’70s, the choices were limited as to what football teams received national exposure.
The series between MSU and Notre Dame has been electric in recent years. In 2005, the Spartans survived a big comeback to win in overtime. In 2006, Notre Dame returned the favor at Spartan Stadium, stunning the Green and White and sending their season spiraling downward.
Since MSU’s loss to Central Michigan last week, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said his team will get back to basics.
To MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio, Saturday’s 29-27 upset loss to Central Michigan presented an unfortunate feeling of déja vú from his first year leading the Spartans.
The Detroit Lions’ season opener against New Orleans was full of positives. Quarterback Matthew Stafford slung the ball across the field, the defense came up with a touchdown and cornerback Anthony Henry racked up 11 tackles and an interception.
Two games into a season filled with high expectations, the MSU football team already is at a crossroads.
Saturday’s game had many MSU fans bringing a phrase that many thought was dead and buried back to life — “Same Old Spartans.” The 29-27 loss to Central Michigan, which featured eight MSU penalties and included a crucial offsides call in the final seconds, was too eerily reminiscent of the days of Bobby Williams and John L. Smith, where the team lacked discipline and frequently melted down in crucial situations.
Sophomore Kirk Cousins appeared to emerge as the front-runner in MSU’s ongoing quarterback competition Saturday, completing 13-of-18 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown.
For junior linebacker Greg Jones, something wasn’t right before the game started.
The MSU football team’s defense couldn’t find an answer for Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour when it mattered most, as LeFevour led his team on two big drives in the final minutes, the first earning the Chippewas a touchdown and the final resulting in a 42-yard field goal with three seconds left, leading Central Michigan to a 29-27 win over the Spartans on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
In-state rival Central Michigan rolls into Spartan Stadium this Saturday, where they have beaten MSU twice in the last 20 years.
This is an interesting game for the Spartans. Central Michigan brings a talented team into Spartan Stadium but struggled in its season opener against Arizona, losing 19-6. Quarterback Dan LeFevour has proven himself to be the real deal for the Chippewas, but MSU’s defense is hungry and ready to go following last week’s game against Montana State in which it only allowed three points.
It’s a fan’s worst nightmare: Seeing a starter go down and having an unproven backup take the field. But for coaches and players, it’s business as usual. Coaches constantly tell players to practice as if they are going to start for that exact reason.
What stands out to MSU head coach Mark Dantonio about Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour is his experience, mobility and toughness.
It was the complete opposite of what typically goes on behind the scenes of the MSU athletics department. Mark Hollis — MSU athletics director, mastermind behind the “Basketbowl” and “Cold War” and the man who wants to play basketball on an aircraft carrier — raised his eyebrows at an unconventional idea.
For the first time in more than three decades, “Hockey Cheer” is gone from the Spartan Marching Band’s song sheet. Traditionally a fixture in its pregame show and on third downs during football games, the band did not play the cheer during this past week’s pregame show, but it did play it sparingly in the game.