Spartans Get an Important Win for Bowl Hopes, By Guest Author Max DeMara
For Spartan fans everywhere, Saturday was a rewarding day. A season plagued with close losses and countless frustration finally took a turn in the right direction.
Michigan State is bowl eligible after beating Purdue in West Lafayette by a convincing 48-31 score. The Spartans offense and defense finally clicked on all cylinders at the same time. Quarterback Brian Hoyer played one of his most confident games of the season, spreading the ball around to his gifted wide out Devin Thomas as well as his tight ends. He was poised on third down, often threading the needle on tough throws. Whatever critics Hoyer may have were silenced on this day with a win and his big smile.
The Spartan defense was relentless, silencing critics of their own who had written them off against a wide open spread offense in a hostile environment. They forced three key turnovers, which got them a total of 17 points. Most importantly, the coverage was tight on Purdue’s talented group of wide receivers essentially shutting them out of the game. The group also did a phenomenal job of limiting the big play in the second half after giving up a few in the first.
Mark Dantonio and his staff did an excellent job of not only executing the game plan, but preparing the Spartans. In a week filled with the media focused on trash talk after the Michigan game, many questioned whether or not the Spartans even cared that there was a game coming up against a good Purdue team in their stadium. Question answered. The team responded to their coach and played angry. Yet it was not a raw kind of angry, it was a polished, determined to execute type of angry. When the coach had the chance to roll the dice, he did so boldly calling for two huge fakes, the most important being the fake punt late in the fourth quarter to essentially seal the win. The coaching staff coached bravely, as if they had to do whatever they could to win this game and it worked. That must carry over into the next game for the Spartans to stay on track.
This season of ups and downs for Michigan State has now peaked upward. The team has some positive momentum to feed off of after finally closing out a game in a tough environment. They come home in need of another win against Penn State to solidify their bowl status. It is a game that they must have, and the fans of the Spartan Nation must be ready to bring the intensity and make the stadium rock much like the Michigan game.
These players have gone through a lot in the past year. The success they have set themselves up for is truly deserved. Days like today can be enjoyed and savored, however focus must be kept. They must keep the intensity channeled for next Saturday just like the fans.
It’s time to win back that Land Grant trophy.
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