After playing organized football for years, MSU’s Josh Shaw thought he had seen it all. Then he traveled to Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium, where the Spartans haven’t won since 1991.
Herb Haygood has not just made a name for himself as an explosive kick returner this season, but also as a prolific wide receiver.
Some things never change. O.J. Simpson is back in court and MSU is a mediocre 3-2 with six games left in the season.
The play that may turn out to be his last was a reflection of the resolve Ryan Van Dyke has exhibited throughout his injury-infested career.
MSU’s Duffy Daugherty Football Building is operating more like an infirmary these days. With at least 10 players injured - six of them out for at least three weeks or more - the prognosis is shaky for a strong second half of the season. The Spartans’ latest spell of doom came Saturday in a 28-19 loss at Minnesota. And nobody was hit harder than MSU’s quarterbacks.
Minneapolis - Things have been rough for me lately. I took the toughest midterm of my life Friday morning,Then about an hour later, I began an 11-hour Midwest highway trek with my fellow State Newsers to cover the MSU-Minnesota game.Then shortly after the Spartans disappointing 28-19 loss Saturday, I found out my girlfriend didn’t receive the flowers I bought her - so much for a little bit of sweetness on Sweetest Day.
Minneapolis - Minnesota’s 6-foot-3 wide receiver Ron Johnson was on the cover of the game program in MSU’s 28-19 loss to Minnesota in the Metrodome. Maybe his smaller teammates Marion Barber III and Tellis Redmon should have been. Granted, Johnson had four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown, was a preseason All-American and is the school’s all-time leader in receptions with 176. But in Saturday’s win over MSU, Johnson took the backseat to 5-foot-11 Barber and 6-foot Redmon, who both had late fourth quarter touchdown runs to regain the lead and seal a much-needed conference victory. Barber had 158 yards on 15 carries and Redmon had 134 yards on 22 carries. Substituting both running backs made a difference, especially late in the game, Redmon said. “The mixing up of Marion and I was good because it was the small things that made the difference,” Redmon said.
Minneapolis - Yards don’t always equal points.The MSU football team proved that Saturday as it posted 472 yards in a 28-19 loss to Minnesota at the Hubert H.
Minneapolis - The MSU football team went down to the wire in its fourth straight game Saturday, but unlike last weekend, this game ended with 28-19 loss at Minnesota in front of 47,385 fans at the Hubert H.
When sophomore tailback Tyrell Dortch played cornerback last week against Iowa, it wasn’t just an isolated experiment. After recording five tackles in 39 plays at cornerback, head coach Bobby Williams said Dortch will start there at Minnesota on Saturday. “I thought Tyrell Dortch did some very good things at that corner position,” Williams said.
Minnesota is in the basement of the Big Ten, but MSU will still have its hands full at 12:10 p.m.
Last week Racy Lacy had the first perfect week going 5-0, putting him at 19-12. But he’s still behind Vanilla Rice, who is 21-10.
With all the position shuffling this season, a handful of MSU’s players have used their athleticism to compensate for the team’s personnel losses on the field.
MSU freshman kicker David Rayner didn’t have extensive kicking coaching in high school. He knew his chances to play this year would be slim.
Deadlines need to be met for the Spartans to enjoy their first full season on natural turf in 32 years.Associate Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Greg Ianni - one of the masterminds behind the $2 million Spartan Stadium transformation - said the project should begin next spring if weather permits.
Kyle Brown, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound wide receiver from West Bloomfield High School is so highly sought that football powerhouses around the nation didn’t renege scholarship offers after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament early this season.
MSU’s defensive secondary may have entered Saturday’s Homecoming game against Iowa as a question mark but emerged as an exclamation point in the Spartan’s 31-28 win.The loss of both starting cornerbacks to ankle injuries in the bye week gave MSU reason to worry.
Call it a home-field disadvantage. MSU dodged another fourth-quarter scare to defeat Iowa 31-28 Saturday in Homecoming, its second home game of the season. And in similar fashion to the Sept.
The Spartans may have slipped by Iowa 31-28 in today’s Homecoming game at Spartan Stadium. But MSU played like MSU - it topped off its big plays with even bigger turnovers. Senior defensive tackle Josh Shaw had the first crowd pleaser in the opening series, intercepting a pass from Hawkeye quarterback Kyle McCann, who had four interceptions in the loss. Three plays later, sophomore Jeff Smoker connected with senior receiver Herb Haygood on a 47-yard slant that placed the Spartans on the Iowa 1-yard line.
MSU alumni won’t be the only ones returning to Spartan Stadium on Saturday for the Homecoming football game against Iowa.