It wasn't pretty, but it also wasn't a loss like it would have been last season. Spartans beat Pittsburgh 17-13 to move to 3-0!

September 15, 2007 East Lansing, MI The Sacred Cathedral ÂTalk about perfect weather! Fifty-four degrees was what the thermometer read at kickoff. The

September 15, 2007

East Lansing, MI

The Sacred Cathedral

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Talk about perfect weather! Fifty-four degrees was what the thermometer read at kickoff. The Panthers had a game plan based upon BGSU’s success last week. They put eight men in the box and challenged the Spartans to run the ball. The Panthers forced MSU to get away from Dantonio's bread and butter which is to run the ball. The Spartans better get used to it, teams are going to do it all season long.

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First let me say emphatically that this is a game that this team would have lost last year. I was walking after the game with Kaleb Thornhill towards the locker room and when I made that statement he was completely in agreement with a big, “definitely.” Defensive tackle Justin Kershaw was even more honest, “There is no doubt. These coaches just wouldn’t let us lose this game and we sensed from them that there was no panic.”

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The Spartan Nation can rise in agreement that the Spartans finally have a Big Ten defense. The Spartan "D" held the Panthers to an outstanding 0 for 12 on 3rd down, essentially holding the Panther offense impotent. They only gave the Panthers 13 points for the entire game and six of those (two FG’s) came in the second half. Forget the bend but don’t break strategy, the Spartans took a “we are going to bend you and break you” approach and even put 7 on the board with a Travis Key interception return for a TD.

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The Spartans accumulated five more sacks today (the number I told you they had to garner in my scouting report) and three turnovers from the Panthers. The Panther game plan appeared to be zeroing in on LB Eric Gordon but he responded and led the Spartans with 8 tackles. Jonal Saint-Dic or as DC Pat Narduzzi called him after the game, “The Sackmaster,” was huge yet again. He had two big sacks, three tackles for a loss an again two forced fumbles. “The defense just kept holding on and holding on and we won the ball game,” was Jonal Saint-Dic’s thoughts post game!

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The Spartan offense got all of their points off of turnovers and the offensive line struggled. The Panthers put eight men in the box to stop the Spartans and when they did go to the air, Hoyer was under a huge amount of pressure (sacked six times) and clearly struggled this day. He was 14 for 28 (50% completion rate) but he did have three dropped passes from his receivers and one incompletion on the first drive when Kellen Davis ran the wrong route. Kellen was supposed to cut to the sideline and instead went up field. On that play, Hoyer is supposed to throw to the spot. Hoyer did, but Davis was not in the vicinity.Â

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In all fairness it wasn’t Hoyer’s best outing. He was able to masterfully avoid the interception and had no fumbles. He showed that even when he is not at his best in a game where his offensive line clearly struggled, he is smart enough to not make the crucial mistake that costs MSU the ballgame.

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Once again Devin Thomas showed up and is clearly the man. He had 176 all-purpose yards. He had only three catches for 53 yards, one rush for five but a staggering 118 yards as a kick returner. He is the Spartans biggest offensive playmaker and they have to find a way to get him more touches at this point.

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Jehuu “The Liberian Lumberjack” Caulcrick scored a crucial TD, he has scored at least one in every game this season.  The win was far from pretty. It was frankly a win this team wouldn’t have gotten last season. Here is why.

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Last year this team's defensive game plan was about as organized as my two year old Duffy’s ability to color inside the lines while riding down the road in my car at a nice 80…grrrrrr…. 70 miles per hour.

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Secondly this team folded at any sign of adversity last season and this one didn’t. Like last season, they hurt themselves today with way too many penalties (11 for 125 yards) and those will be corrected. There was never a sense of here we go again by the MSU coaching staff. It was the biggest reason players remained calm and powered through the adversity.

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Lastly the staff did what they do best. They played ball control and beat up a team with defense. Make no mistake this was a physical beat down. Throughout the game the crowd and anyone watching sat in amazement at how hard the Spartans hit.

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I doubt anyone in the Spartan Nation was drinking enough green Kool Aid after the first two wins to think that this team was even close to a finished product. This win exposed some real weaknesses (mainly on the OL), but it also showed us that this is a much improved team mentally, physically and emotionally speaking. Even after three games, we can all see that this team is headed in the right direction.

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The defense gets a game ball. The offense had its opportunities and hurt themselves today. There were too many touchdowns left in the redzone today that should have found their way to the scoreboard due to lack of execution. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it sure wasn’t one of those ugly "kick your dog" losses that plagued these Spartans in the past. I prefer an ugly win over moral victories in a pretty loss if there is such a thing.

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Lots of things to fix before our trip to South Bend, but a win is a win. Spartan Nation, we are 3-0. Get ready touchdown Jesus, here we come!