Last (Couple) Week(s)/This Week

Two Weeks Ago = L/15-13 to Iowa

Where to begin with this one. The Spartans appeared to have the stars aligned after the crazy hook-and-lateral taken by Blair White on a late third-down, and then his 30-yard TD reception with 1:37 remaining. However, Stanzi, who hadn't looked all that spectacular all night long, brought the Iowa offense down the field with authority, hitting Marvin McNutt on the quick slant as time expired. My Dad mentioned to me after the game that there was a point on one of the final drives where the start of the clock was delayed at least 7 seconds, but you've gotta make a stop somewhere on that last drive regardless. Chris L. Rucker did the same thing I would've done once McNutt made the catch; kept whacking at his arms for a good 5 seconds, in complete denial of what had just occurred.

The surprising stat to me had to be the lack of turnovers from either side. Kirk Cousins has proven that he's not really turnover prone, so I wasn't really expecting interceptions. However, the inability for some of the young runners for MSU has been obvious, so I was pretty shocked not to see one pop out. As for the Hawkeyes, I also heard after the game that there may have been an Iowa fumble on that last drive that wasn't called, but I can't remember it from being in the crowd. In the end, it was two gutty drives that defined each team. It's just too bad that Iowa's drive was the one resulting in gloom and doom for the Green and White.

Last Week = L/42-34 to Minnesota

The Iowa loss wasn't a "bad" loss, this one was. MSU never really looked in the game, even with the 31-28 brief lead, despite a school record 17 penalties for 157 yards. SEVENTEEN PENALTIES! I mean, a lot of them were warranted, don't get me wrong, but I certainly would've wanted to take off the heads of the refs if I were a Gopher fan in Fifth-Third Bank Stadium on that night. Again, in spite of the penalties, it was really just two huge plays from Keyshawn (the BTN announcers think my last name's Johnson) Martin that even made this thing close. His 93-yard kickoff return to open the second half, followed about 10:00 later by an 84-yard end-around made things somewhat interesting, but Weber grilled the Spartans through the air for 416 and 5 TD's.

This Week = vs. Western Michigan, @ 12pm - Big Ten Network

 

All the glitz and glamour the end of the season could've contained for the Spartans is gone now, and it's dog-fighting for a bowl game time. A 6-6 finish is no longer guaranteed, and a win over the Broncos in Spartan Stadium is an absolute necessity. The positive is probably that Western isn't the MAC powerhouse that some thought they would be pre-season, as the Broncos have dropped conference games to Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, and Kent State just last week. Tim Hiller can still throw the ball, however, and the Michigan State secondary is going to have to have a significantly better day than they did against Adam Weber last week if they want to avoid the upset.