After Saturday’s game between Purdue and Central Michigan, the third meeting between the teams in 370 days, both sides will probably know each other like brothers.
In his less than two years at the helm of the MSU football program, Mark Dantonio has said two characteristics he wanted to see his football team embody are toughness and overcoming adversity.
The Big Ten Players of the Week were announced Monday and three Spartans made the list. For the second straight week, football senior running back Javon Ringer was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Ringer ran the ball 43 times and had 282 yards during Saturday’s game — both were career highs.
The wind and rain that engulfed Spartan Stadium on Saturday during MSU’s 17-0 win over Florida Atlantic had many people ringing out their shirts and cursing the weather. Although that sentiment was shared by more than a few fans and players, MSU redshirt freshman guard Joel Foreman was more than happy with the weather conditions.
On many occasions, inclement weather levels the playing field and gives an underdog a better chance to win. That was hardly the case Saturday, as pass-happy Florida Atlantic had trouble moving the ball through heavy rain at Spartan Stadium.
Saturday was the kind of day when nature is trying to tell you to stay inside, take a nap and not play football. The kind of day when the only person smiling because of nonstop rain is an umbrella salesman. The kind of day when even Sparty, the most macho of mascots, had to don a poncho to stay dry.
MSU running back Javon Ringer picked up where he left off last week with 282 yards on 43 carries — both career highs — to go with two touchdowns as the Spartans beat Florida Atlantic 17-0 on Saturday.
If MSU linebackers/special teams coach Mike Tressel was given a blank sheet of paper and asked to draw up the prototypical special teams player, chances are he could do it pretty quickly.
Smith is no pushover — he’s a legitimate Division I quarterback who has garnered the attention of NFL scouts.
Jesse Johnson remembers the day vividly. He was 5 years old and sitting with his grandfather in section eight, row 142, seats one and two of Spartan Stadium, when he let everybody in the row know they were sitting with a future MSU football player.
Every now and then, a TV analyst or newspaper columnist makes a wise-crack about kickers. By noting that kickers don’t hit, don’t get hit and simply stand on the sidelines kicking footballs into a net, they try to make a point by saying kickers aren’t football players.
In a secondary filled with veteran cornerbacks and safeties, freshman Johnny Adams knows he’s low on the pecking order — and his teammates aren’t afraid to remind him either.
After two weeks of nagging injuries, the MSU football team’s defensive line is back to full health and ready to take on another stout opposing offensive line this week.
After putting two seconds of thought into the Detroit Lions’ 34-21 embarrassment against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, I have decided to rescind my fanship from the only NFL team I have ever known.
MSU head coach Mark Dantonio wanted his team to make a statement in the home opener Saturday. He wanted the Spartans to run the ball effectively, block up front and display the toughness he hopes will come to define the program.
In case you didn’t get the message, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio wants to run the ball this season. Dantonio made that point abundantly clear once again Saturday, when he opted to run the ball on 52 of his team’s 68 plays from scrimmage.
MSU’s string of dominance over the Eastern Michigan football team continued Saturday, when the Spartans topped the Eagles 42-10 at Spartan Stadium. MSU holds an 8-0 lead all-time in the series. With an eye on the Eagles, here are a few more notes stemming from the game.
Games like Saturday’s football home opener against Eastern Michigan are the reason junior defensive end Trevor Anderson joined head coach Mark Dantonio in transferring to MSU two years ago.
Javon Ringer said he felt fine after MSU’s home opener. He might have a different feeling come Sunday morning.