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Sports | Football

FOOTBALL

Football recruits face off in state title game

Joey Nowak
November 27, 2006

Two MSU football commitments faced each other in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 state football finals on Saturday at Ford Field. Two-way lineman Darrell Davis-Budanauro and his East Grand Rapids team defeated wide receiver Mark Dell's Farmington Hills Harrison squad, 42-17. Davis-Budanauro (6-foot-4, 370 pounds) played both nose guard and offensive tackle, helping East Grand Rapids score five consecutive rushing touchdowns.

FOOTBALL

Fields 1st-team All-Big Ten, Cook 2nd-team

Joey Nowak
November 22, 2006

Senior punter Brandon Fields was named first-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media Tuesday, and senior offensive lineman Kyle Cook was named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches. Fields led the Big Ten in punting yardage average, with 43.3 yards per punt, and also had the longest punt, 73 yards, of All-Big Ten punters. Fields' selection was his third first-team All-Big Ten award.

FOOTBALL

Disciplining of athletes not always balanced

Kris Turner
November 22, 2006

Assaulting someone off the field hasn't always led to a suspension from the MSU football team. But this year was a whole new game. Six players were suspended indefinitely for their involvement in fights or violent incidents. In previous years, players, such as former senior running back Jason Teague and former starting bandit Cole Corey — both of whom were involved in criminal incidents, were allowed to play and practice with the team. MSU head football coach John L.

FOOTBALL

Smith's Swan Song

Ethan Conley
November 20, 2006

State College, Pa. — Since his unceremonious firing Nov. 1, John L. Smith has been understandably guarded about his personal feelings.

FOOTBALL

Season-ending loss

Steve Highfield
November 20, 2006

State College, Pa. — This one had all the makings of a blowout. Penn State was trying to play itself into the best bowl game possible, while MSU was limping to the end of its season without a chance at a bowl game and a coach on his way out. But the Spartans played with pride.

FOOTBALL

Stanton questionable for Saturday's final game

Steve Highfield
November 14, 2006

In the last home game of his career, senior quarterback Drew Stanton was forced to watch most of the action from the sideline after a hit he took in the first quarter led to dizziness. Because of the injury, Stanton might be forced to the sideline again for his final game as a Spartan on Saturday at Penn State. "We'll prepare (sophomore Brian) Hoyer at this point as the starter and see what transpires as the week goes by," head coach John L.

FOOTBALL

Reader mail Next MSU coach should only be paid for wins

Has anyone considered changing the football coaches' salaries paradigm? Instead of paying these coaches large guaranteed contracts and for a guaranteed number of years, why do we not offer them a set salary and then for each game they win, they get a guaranteed payment? This would force coaches to actually coach and tie their paycheck to their success, instead of the current system in which these coaches get paid if they win or lose and then the universities have to buy out the large contracts for coaches who failed to produce. For instance, a football coach could have a base salary of $500,000 and then get $100,000 for each game won.

FOOTBALL

Izzo: I let Smith down

Steve Highfield
November 7, 2006

After MSU football head coach John L. Smith was fired Wednesday, his basketball counterpart, Tom Izzo, said he wanted to be involved in the hiring of Smith's replacement. On Monday, Izzo reiterated those statements and took some personal blame for the way Smith's tenure at MSU played out. "I think I let (Smith) down because I didn't know him as well, I didn't jump in there with the help I could give him," Izzo said.

FOOTBALL

A step behind

Steve Highfield
November 6, 2006

Something unusual happened Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The MSU defense came to play. It forced a turnover and brought pressure on the quarterback.

FOOTBALL

Wiley: Smith's ouster 'unprofessional'

Ethan Conley
November 6, 2006

The Spartans had enough trouble winning games without any extra distractions looming overhead. On Saturday, they played their first game after being hit with a midweek knockout punch — they learned they would finish the season under the direction of a coach whose days were numbered. Athletics Director Ron Mason announced the firing of John L.

FOOTBALL

Word from the podium

"I've learned from him, not just as a football player, but as a man." senior center Kyle Cook "There was no real tipping point." Athletics Director Ron Mason "You can't simply win on X's and O's.

FOOTBALL

Word on the street

"I hope we get a winning program from a new coach since we had so much talent on the team as it was.

FOOTBALL

No comeback this time

Ethan Conley
October 30, 2006

Bloomington, Ind. — First, it was Illinois' Juice Williams. Then, Ohio State's Troy Smith. On Saturday, the MSU football team made another opposing quarterback look like a transcendent talent, allowing Indiana's Kellen Lewis to pass for five touchdowns and run for a sixth in a 46-21 defeat at Memorial Field. "He's a great athlete — running and passing," said junior defensive end Ervin Baldwin.

FOOTBALL

Spartans Stalled

Steve Highfield
October 30, 2006

Bloomington, Ind. — The question all week was whether the momentum from MSU's 35-point comeback last week would carry over to Saturday's game at Indiana. It looked like the Spartans had delivered a decisive answer on the game's opening possession.