In a matter of hours Saturday, the national and local perception of the MSU football team drastically changed. The No. 20 Spartans fell to No. 12 Ohio State 45-7 in front of 77,360 fans at Spartan Stadium and a national television audience.
I’ll be the first to admit, I was very skeptical of the outlook for this hockey season after seeing the Spartans get smoked 3-0 by UMass-Lowell in their home opener Thursday night. The icers looked more like a peewee team than the No. 11 team in the country. The communication was off, passes were sloppy and the offense couldn’t even get into the zone.
Junior midfielder Tim Granaderos couldn’t have dreamt of a better time to score his first collegiate goal. Granaderos’ goal came off a header with 12:27 left in the game to give the MSU men’s soccer team the 1-0 lead — a lead they would hold onto until the end of the game to defeat No. 18 Michigan and keep the Big Bear Trophy in East Lansing.
The No. 4 MSU field hockey team stumbled a little this weekend, losing to Michigan and barely beating Ohio 2-1. The weekend started on a bad note for the team, as it struggled Friday against U-M in Ann Arbor. The Spartans, who average a little more than 20 shots per game, only mustered four shots in the first half against the Wolverines and eight shots the entire game, resulting in a 1-0 loss.
It’s no surprise that MSU students get certain price-saving deals because of their enrollment at the university. But the numbers for student members of the Izzone are colossal when hammered out and put into black and white — seeing how much MSU’s administration could be banking compared to what they charge their loyal fans between the ages of 18-23.
Watching Ohio State run up the score against the Spartans on Saturday was like watching your dog get mercilessly beaten by a crazy neighbor, knowing there was nothing you could do except close your eyes and wait for the madness to end.
Disco music and short basketball shorts were all the rage Friday as the men’s and women’s basketball teams kicked off the season with Midnight Madness. A crowd that filled most of Breslin Center watched the “Friday Night Flashback,” which paid tribute to the 1979 men’s basketball national championship team. Greg Kelser, who was a key part of that ’79 team, hosted the night. It was the first time he had attended Midnight Madness, and he wore a jersey that resembled those worn by the 1979 team.
The No. 20 MSU football team may be considered by some as a program on the rise, but if the Spartans’ 45-7 loss to No. 12 Ohio State proved anything Saturday, it’s that the Spartans have a long way to go before they’re on the same level as the Buckeyes.
Sophomore defenseman Jeff Petry might have won the game for the MSU hockey team.
The MSU hockey team’s offense was nonexistent in their home opener — a 3-0 loss to UMass-Lowell on Thursday night at Munn Ice Arena.
Like most Ohioans, Rocco Cironi grew up an Ohio State Buckeyes fan.
The Buckeyes will start freshman quarterback Pryor for the fifth straight game. This season, Pryor has looked average compared to the larger-than-life character he was portrayed as during his recruitment.
Ohio State has won 11 straight road games against Big Ten opponents. The last time the Buckeyes lost on the road was Oct. 8, 2005, when they fell to No. 16 Penn State, 17-10. Six of those wins came against teams that were ranked at the time.
It’s a mystery how Javon Ringer can be three different people on any given MSU football Saturday. First he’s a kid, waking up in a hotel room to watch Saturday morning cartoons before going out to play football with his friends.
The seniors on the MSU men’s soccer team have never lost to Michigan. In the past three seasons the Spartans are 3-0-1 and the Big Bear Trophy, awarded to the winner of each game between the two teams, has found a temporary hibernation home in the Spartans’ trophy case.
It seems easy enough: an advantage in players with time to set up a play, a little more than 15 yards away from your opponent’s goal. But in its 2-1 loss to No. 3 Wake Forest, the No. 4 MSU field hockey team struggled on penalty corners. The team was awarded 13 and didn’t score on any of them.
When the MSU volleyball team went on its first Big Ten road trip, it felt a little overwhelmed.
MSU’s annual Midnight Madness event will take place at 10:30 p.m. tonight at Breslin Center, with doors opening at 9:30 p.m. for autographs on the concourse. There also will be promotional giveaways and performances by the Spartan Marching Band, MSU cheerleaders, MSU Dance Team and Sparty throughout the night
There are two main strengths MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo has seen in the preseason thus far. Athletic ability and an improved depth. And at MSU’s men’s basketball Media Day on Wednesday, Izzo said his team will continue to use those strengths and fight hard in the weeks leading up to its first preseason game (Nov. 5 vs. Northern Michigan) in order to get to a specific point as a unit — confident to take on the Big Ten schedule.