The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Michigan State – INSIDE SLANT
Through five weeks, there was little doubt what part of Michigan State’s team was struggling the most — the passing game.
Heading into Saturday’s game at Indiana, at least 18 passes had been dropped in the previous three games. Needless to say, the pressure was on the receivers to pick up their game.
With a shuffle in the lineup, it appears the receiving corps might have finally had that breakout game.
In the 31-27 victory over the Hoosiers, true freshman Aaron Burbridge caught eight passes for 134 yards and the man he replaced in the starting lineup, Bennie Fowler, caught a 36-yard touchdown pass that gave the Spartans the decisive score in the fourth quarter.
“Bennie’s been great, been outstanding,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “He’s a team person, his attitude’s been tremendous. He’s never wavered. His attitude did not go south in the least bit. If anything I think he tried to step up his positive leadership in that respect and it was great to see him score.”
Fowler’s play was solid, but it was Burbridge who stole the show. He became the first Michigan State freshman to gain 100 yards in a game since Terry Love gained 103 against Iowa in 2004.
In Michigan State’s first scoring drive of the fourth quarter, Burbridge had two first-down catches, one for 16 yards and another in double-coverage for 26 yards.
“I came out and made plays and we came out with the win, that’s all that matters,” the first-year player from Farmington Hills Harrison said.
He was also happy to see Fowler with the big play.
“As a receiver group we are all close and we’re just happy for each other when we make plays,” Burbridge said. “He made a play, I made plays, everybody made plays.”
Quarterback Andrew Maxwell’s numbers have suffered because of the drops, but he came away impressed on Saturday.
“Aaron really stepped up like we expected him to,” Maxwell said. “I’ve told you guys what kind of player he is. The ability to go up and make a tough catch, the ability to run great routes and use his speed. He played great today and we expect to see great things out of both of those guys.”
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NCAAF Team Report – Michigan State – NOTES, QUOTES
WHAT’S AHEAD: Iowa comes to town for Michigan State’s homecoming, though Spartan Stadium has not been the worst place in the world for the Hawkeyes. They won a thriller in 2009 on the final play of the game and followed that up in 2010 with a blowout win at home over the Spartans. MSU avenged that loss last year at Iowa with a 37-21 victory. It’s the final tune-up for Michigan State before three straight against Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska.
–Michigan State got off to another slow start against Indiana, trailing 17-0 after the first quarter. In the last four games, Michigan State has scored only three points. It hasn’t been a problem against the likes of Indiana and Eastern Michigan, but it won’t fly as the season progresses. “I think no question that we need to come out faster in the first half, that’s no secret,” linebacker Max Bullough said. “I think even last year when we went to the Big Ten championship, I think we were always a little slow in the first half. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know why, but I think that’s something we can continue to get better at.”
–The offense was much more efficient at getting into the end zone against Indiana, which meant, for the first time this season kicker Dan Conroy wasn’t the busiest guy on the team. He had just one field goal — a 46-yarder — and for the first time in six games he didn’t miss after misfiring one time in each of the first five games.
–Michigan State’s success on third down was not great — 6-for-17 — but it made up for it with a perfect day on fourth down, going 3-for-3. The second one led to a Le’Veon Bell touchdown in the fourth quarter and the third allowed Michigan State to run the clock out and put the game away.
KEEP AN EYE ON: TE Paul Lang — The redshirt freshman tight end saw his first action last week against Ohio State and was thrust into an even more important role this week when starter Dion Sims went down early with an ankle injury. The status on Sims won’t be known until later in the week, but odds are the bulk of the work will fall on Lang’s shoulders. He was relatively quiet through the first four weeks before getting his first catch against Ohio State.
LOOKING GOOD: Le’Veon Bell continues to be the workhorse for the Spartans, gaining 121 yards on 37 carries and scoring two touchdowns. It was tough sledding with a banged-up offensive line, but when the Spartans needed the tough yards, Bell was there to deliver. “Getting the first downs, Le’Veon’s pushing hard at the end,” Dantonio said. “Those were huge plays for us and did not want to give them the ball back obviously.”
STILL NEEDS WORK: In defense of the offensive line, the injuries have been difficult to overcome. After losing right tackle Fou Fonoti before the Notre Dame game, center Travis Jackson was lost last week during the Ohio State game. There is depth in terms of starting experience, but the unit has yet to truly come together. Bell averaged just 3.3 yards a carry against Indiana and quarterback Andrew Maxwell was sacked twice. But the line remained healthy and should only get better.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “We’re a 4-2 football team, any way you look at it. Maybe not the 4-2 football team we thought we were, but we lost two games to two undefeated teams at this point and we got Iowa next week and we better come ready to play.” — Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio.
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NCAAF Team Report – Michigan State – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
–LB Taiwan Jones played sparingly last season as a true freshman but really got his shot against the hurry-up offense of Indiana. Jones played ahead of senior Chris Norman almost the entire second half and finished with four tackles, including one for loss. “I felt good out there,” Jones said. “I felt comfortable, I felt loose. Practice has been going well for me so today was a major step for me.”
–WR Bennie Fowler found himself demoted from the first team after last week’s loss and amidst a dizzying amount of dropped passes. But early in the week, both Dantonio and Maxwell declared a move out of the starting lineup hardly meant Fowler wouldn’t be needed. Against Indiana, he proved he was by scoring the winning touchdown on a 36-yard catch and run. “It felt great,” Fowler said. “We needed a touchdown to win the game and Maxwell and I were on the same page and were able to make the big play.”
–S RJ Williamson has been involved heavily in passing situations, but on Saturday the redshirt freshman was all over the field for the Spartans. With his fellow safeties getting banged up left and right — Kurtis Drummond, Jairus Jones and Isaiah Lewis all left the game at some point — Williamson rose to the occasion. He led the Spartans with nine tackles. “I think I played great,” Williamson said. “My main thing was to just go out there and execute and do what I had to do to help this ballclub win this game.”
ROSTER REPORT
–Tight end Dion Sims left the game in the first quarter with a left ankle injury. He watched the second half in sweatpants and his foot was in a walking boot. Dantonio said he would know early in the week what Sims’ status would be moving forward.
–Offensive lineman Blake Treadwell was back in the starting lineup, this time at left guard as Jack Allen moved over to center to replace the injured Travis Jackson. But by the second quarter, Treadwell was out, Allen was back at guard and Ethan Ruhland took over at center. “I thought (Treadwell) probably wasn’t moving as well as we thought he was,” Dantonio said.
–Several defensive players suffered minor injuries during the game but all returned at some point. Safeties Kurtis Drummond, Jairus Jones and Isaiah Lewis all got dinged as did defensive tackle Micajah Reynolds. None appeared serious.
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