Spartans move to 4-0 after a big win here at Notre Dame!

September 22, 2007 South Bend, Indiana Notre Dame Stadium ÂThe weather was great (73 degrees) and so were the expectations. Coming into the game the Spartans

September 22, 2007

South Bend, Indiana

Notre Dame Stadium

Â
The weather was great (73 degrees) and so were the expectations. Coming into the game the Spartans were 3-0 and the Irish were 0-3. The Spartans had the opportunity to be the first team in the history to win six straight in the house that Rockne built. The Irish were also facing the prospect of starting the season 0-4 for the first time in their illustrious history.

Â
The Spartans came into the game favored by 10 points according to ‘Vegas.’ It may be the first time I have ever commented on it, but it clearly told you what the country felt about the Irish. The Spartans had the point spread on their side and ND may have been getting beat down by the national press, but Mark Dantonio didn’t let the Spartan Nation buy into it. “We have to be overachievers, we have to continue that,” was his quote about today’s game earlier in the week.

Â
The Spartans came out clad in their new all white uniforms and looking sharp. The Irish won the toss and Weis wanted his youngster Jimmy Clausen to handle the ball first. Most teams defer their choice to the second half… not Weis whose ego is the size of South Bend.

Â
The Irish had yet to score a TD all season and came out in a no huddle offense and attacked the Spartans with the run and made it as far as the Spartans 47 before they got stopped. The Spartans had a great punt and downed it at the three of MSU and that is where Hoyer started his first drive.

Â
The Spartans ran the ball for five yards with Caulcrick to start the game but on the second play Hoyer/Nitchman fumbled the snap and the Irish started their second drive at the MSU nine. The Irish however were able to get their first TD of the season when they ran it in for a three yard TD run with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

Â
Dantonio wanted and loves adversity. His Spartans came out to start their second drive at their own 33 and the hostile and loud ND crowd finally had a reason to cheer. Their Irish were finally ahead. That was short lived. The Spartans answered the Irish right back with a very impressive 67-yard drive that was capped off with a five- yard TD strike from Hoyer to Devin Thomas. The drive only took 8 plays and the Spartans had help on a “bone-headed” roughing the passer personal foul on the Irish. With the Spartans quick answer, the crowd was shocked. The Spartans were without G Kenny Shane (injured from the fumble play on the first drive). Bacon and Gyetvai filled in nicely for their fallen warriors. It truly sent a message a message early that Spartans weren’t going away.

Â
The Spartans took command. With a 14-7 lead in the second quarter and facing a 3rd and five at the ND nine, Hoyer missed a wide open Devin Thomas and they had to settle for the 27-yard field goal. With 12:19 in the 2nd quarter the Spartans had the 17-7 lead but mistakes were the story. Earlier in the game Mark Dell didn’t run a route out at full speed and Hoyer made a great throw but they were unable to connect on what would have been a sure 6! That is 11 points right there that they had left on the field. After MSU failed to convert the TD, I looked at longtime Mid Michigan media member and my friend Jack Ebling. We both hoped that miscue wasn’t going to come back to haunt MSU.

Â
The Spartans defense made no such mistakes. Jonal Saint-Dic was a beast and even with ND running away from him he still literally ripped the ball out of Clausen’s hands and pressured him like a fat guy after a donut!

Â
The Spartans last drive of the first half almost never happened. Terry Love made his second poor special teams decision by not getting out of the way on an errant punt and the Spartans almost gave up the ball. After a first down run for seven yards by Ringer, the Spartans didn’t have a play ready and wasted a ton of time off of the clock trying to get organized. The futility continued when the finally did call a play and Hoyer got sacked for a loss of 8. MSU ran Ringer for 12 on the very next play but when the Spartans tried to spike the ball to save time (something not important just a few plays earlier) they got a illegal shift penalty that pushed them back to the ND 43. When Hoyer missed Thomas on the next play, :01 second was all that remained on the clock. Rather than take a chance at a Hail Mary, which could have yielded a penalty or a TD catch, they took a knee. Something that left everyone around me shaking their heads. For the first time all season you had to say that MSU was poorly coached on that drive.

Â
The Spartans went to the locker room up 17-14 but that wasn’t the real story. Like against Pitt, they had been their own worst enemy. QB Brian Hoyer was 6 for 13 but he had struggled (unlike the first two game) like he did against Pitt with staring down his receivers and it was evident if you watched his head where the ball was going. In fact at one point Charlie Weis looked at his potential All American safety Tom Zbikowski and pointed to his eyes reminding him to key on Hoyer.Â

Â
It was clear that the Spartans had the better team. They had kicked their own tails and if they continued to perform at this level the second half was not going to be pretty.

Â
Well it was a different second half. The Spartans came out and Devin Thomas led the way for the Spartans with a 52-yard return. The Spartans took the drive for nine plays and forty-five yards and got the TD with a 16-yard strike from Hoyer to the freshman Mark Dell.  It was Dell’s first TD reception of his Spartan career.

Â
The Spartan defense handled the Irish, not letting them score in the second half. The Spartans only had three penalties for 20 yards and only two turnovers. Brian Hoyer was not Joe Montana but he showed a lot of guts after not playing well in the second half.  He rebounded, finishing the day going 11 for 24 for 135 yards and 4 TD passes. Otis “BLING BLING” Wiley led the Spartans with 6 tackles and T.J. Williams didn’t get many reps with the offense but he did play on the D (ala Kellen Davis) at the depleted CB spot.

Â
The post game dramatics were reserved for Mark Dantonio. He was not happy with an article that Rob Parker of the Detroit News had written earlier in the week www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070919/SPORTS08/709190342/1343/OPINION0307 and he let Parker and all the media know. Here was his response to that article, “Whether we won or lost, we were going to be 3-1. And I could tell you something, too, guys. I don’t know who said it, but there is a big difference between winning and losing. And there is no lose-lose in this game. And you can print that in Detroit.”

Â
All that matters now is that the Spartans move to 4-0 and now have to get ready for a big game in Madison next weekend against the Badgers.

Â
What a great win for the Spartan Nation! Oh yes, so many of you emailed and asked, I did wear a nice pink shirt!