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Sports | Football

FOOTBALL

MSU soars over Eagles

Coming into the season, MSU head coach Bobby Williams had questions about his team’s running game. He got answers during the Spartans’ 56-7 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday. “I was happy the way the offensive line really established the line of scrimmage,” he said.

FOOTBALL

Eagles hope to contain Spartans

Ypsilanti - The Eastern Michigan Eagles know what they must do in to win it’s season opener Saturday at Spartan Stadium - slow down junior wide receiver Charles Rogers. The problem is they don’t know how.

FOOTBALL

Punter takes hobby to new heights

From Cougar to Spartan, Jason Daily has made the transition from junior college standout to Big Ten starter.But growing up in Santa Clarita, Calif., the 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior punter never imagined football would be his ticket to success.

FOOTBALL

Speed over size for defense

When the Spartans take the field Saturday against Eastern Michigan, don’t expect to see last year’s defense.Middle linebacker Josh Thornhill has moved on to the NFL, and the smash-mouth style MSU fans learned to love went with him.The task of replacing last season’s leading tackler goes to junior Mike Labinjo, who finished third on the team with 64 tackles last season.

FOOTBALL

Gridders use practice to move up the ranks

With two-a-day workouts behind them and the season opener less than a week away, the MSU football team is ready to get on the field against another team. “I’m really excited,” junior wide receiver Ziehl Kavanaght said after a Wednesday scrimmage.

FOOTBALL

U-M, OSU, U top Big Ten

Chicago - Although record-breaking wide receivers - instead of smash-mouth running backs - are receiving most of the preseason hype, the media seems to think the conference will return to the “Big Two, Little Eight” days of the Big Ten. The league’s preseason poll, released at the 31st annual Big Ten Conference Kickoff Luncheon last week, tabbed Michigan and Ohio State to finish first and second, respectively, in the Big Ten football standings.

FOOTBALL

New season promising for U football

Chicago - One thing is becoming more clear as MSU’s Aug. 31 kickoff approaches - the Spartans are a fixture on everyone’s radar screen. At this weekend’s annual Big Ten football Kickoff Luncheon, media members picked MSU to finish third in the conference and named junior wide receiver Charles Rogers the preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

FOOTBALL

Thornhill invited to Lions camp

A day after not being picked in the 2002 NFL Draft, middle linebacker Josh Thornhill was given another chance.The third-team All-American and team MVP was invited to workout at the Detroit Lions mini-camp Thursday through Sunday at its Allen Park practice facility.