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October 13-19, 2010


MSU harnesses explosive UM offense Spartans produce stellar running effort


By Leland Stein III ANN ARBOR — It looked like our Michigan


In the Game By Leland Stein III I’m kind of glad MSU won ANN ARBOR — Instead of spending what may


be the very last of our summer days on a lake in a boat or on a nice sunny Michigan beach, I was chasing football dreams.


Since this is my column I do not have to be


neutral because I’m writing in the first person narrative. As an ex-athlete and Michigan State alum I can exclaim that I’m happy the Spartans won Saturday in Ann Arbor. After all, Michigan leads the all-time series 67-31-5.


Any fair-minded person should note that we


should share and give the other man a chance sometimes. While living in Los Angeles among the UCLA and USC faithful for over 20 years, I learned to root for anything Michigan.


If it was Oakland or EMU or Wayne State or


UDM or Michigan, I was in their corner. So, I’ve learned to root for Michigan and I still do. If the Wolverines had beaten my Spartans I would have quietly hoped that they would win the Big Ten and beat Ohio State. I guess my travel away from my home state has made me a state of Michigan man, not just an MSU slappy.


If Denard Robinson and U-M coach Rich Ro-


driguez had won the game I would have been happy for them, but they did not and the Paul Bunyan trophy is going back to East Lansing.


Still, I’m a lover of football and that weekend


in the Great Lakes State was a football won- derland. Walking over to Michigan Stadium the sweet smells of grilled food permeated my nos- trils and made my lip wet. People with UM and MSU garb toasted and ate and drank together. The American tradition of football on Saturday and Sunday is quite special. In fact, the tailgat- ing phenomenon has trickled down to Fridays (high school football days).


weather was turning very chilly for a while, but the day before and the day of the Michigan State Spartans versus the Michigan Wolverines football rivalry contest, the heavens cleared the cloudy skies and the sun burst through to produce a beautiful day, and the Spartans proceeded to implement an even better game, smacking the Wolverines 34-17.


COMMENTARY Before 113,065, the second largest crowd at


Michigan Stadium’s “Big House,” and a nation- al television audience, the Spartans showed all that they are a team to be reckoned with in 2010.


In the victory, MSU (6-0) held U-M (5-1) to


season lows in four offensive categories – points (17), team rushing (162), passing (217) and total offensive (377).


“Coming into the contest we knew we had to


control (Denard) Robinson,” MSU linebacker Eric Gordon said. “We had a solid game plan and we executed it. It was tough, but we got it done.”


Added MSU All-American linebacker Greg


Jones: “I know people say I’m the leader of the defense, but this was a total team effort. We stuck together and played with a purpose. We know Michigan has an explosive offense, so we had to stay in our lanes and be disciplined.”


The Spartans took an important step in


moving out of the shadows of a program that always seems to come up short when expec- tations are elevated. Especially following their hard fought win over a very tough Wisconsin squad, many still questioned exactly how good the 17th ranked Spartans were.


The question may still be there, but what a


game for the squad from East Lansing. They came into Michigan’s home with both teams sporting eye-catching 5-0 records for the first time since 1999, U-M ranked 18th and MSU 17th playing a rivalry game between the state’s two biggest universities and Big Ten glory firmly on the horizon.


It is not hyperbole to say that MSU has


turned the corner as a program. When coach Mark Dantonio came to East Lansing four years ago, one of the first things he acknowl- edged was that he put a bull’s eye on Michigan. He did not belabor the point, but he made it known that his Spartans had to win the state of Michigan on the field and in the recruiting wars.


“I said all along I thought this was a winner-


take-all type of game,” Dantonio said. “As far as bragging rights, we weren’t going to play this one close to the vest, we were going to play to win.”


The win marked the third consecutive vic-


tory by MSU over U-M, the first time the Spar- tans have accomplished that feat since 1965- 67. It’s also the second consecutive victory in Ann Arbor.


From his hospital bed last week, Dantonio


MSU’S LE’VEON BELL scores. — Andre Smith photo


It’s been 20 years since Michigan State last


celebrated a Big Ten championship in football. After beating archrival Michigan, the Spartans are 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference with a legitimate shot at putting its name back in the championship picture.


It’s been since 1990 when MSU last won the


Big Ten, with coach George Perles leading the way. There was a four-way tie that season be- tween Michigan State, Michigan, Iowa and Illi- nois, with each team winning six games.


But the last time the Spartans went to the


Rose Bowl was the 1987 season, when they fin- ished 7-0-1 in the Big Ten before beating South- ern California in Pasadena, Calif.


I was covering that game for a paper in Los


Angeles and the star of the game, Lorenzo White, and I were standing in the tunnel after the Spartans victory reminiscing about both our memories of that special day.


“Man it seems like forever since we have


been to the Rose Bowl,” White told me. “I think this team is pretty special and they really have a chance.”


I know it is a little early to be talking about


the Rose Bowl, because MSU’s history is one of failed expectations, so I always underestimated their final season projections.


The fact of the matter is starting this week-


end the Spartans will battle an improved Illinois team that just beat Penn State convincingly and the week before fought Ohio State might- ily. If they get by Illinois, they will have to go on the road against Northwestern, Iowa and Penn State.


As for the Wolverines, this weekend they


face Iowa and one of the best defensives in the Bowl Championship Series. How they rebound against Iowa will be a major litmus test for just how far the Wolverines have come in 2010.


No matter, I find it impossible not to root for


Robinson. If you appreciate football, how can you not marvel at him? Before facing MSU, he had run for 905 yards and passed for another 1,008.in only five games. And by all accounts, he thrust himself into the forefront of the Heis- man race.


All the while the humble Robinson is having


none of it: “We’ve got weapons everywhere,” he exclaimed. “I’m not the only one.”


Yeah, right! Sure ,Michigan has some explo-


sive players, but Robinson is the straw that stirs the Wolverines offensive mix. That was proven on a beautiful Michigan early October football game Saturday.


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@ aol.com.


told his team by cell phone that they had the Paul Bunyan trophy and planned on keeping it. One only had to look in the players’ eyes on the field after the game to see a sincere jubi- lance and the reaction from their fans as they ascended up the tunnel to their locker rooms.


MSU earned their happy faces by making


Robinson look mortal and intercepting him three times. His performance would have been


U OF M’S CAMERON GORDON trips Keshawn Martin. —Dan Graschuck photo


a yeoman’s work for a normal quarterback. The most telling factor in the game was


the Spartans’ rushing prowess, spearheaded by sophomore Edwin Baker (149 yards) and freshman Le’Veon Bell (79). Baker scooted for a 61 yard and Bell a 41 yard touchdown in the second quarter, helping State earn a 17-10 halftime lead.


“My offensive line did their job today,” Baker


said in the post-game press conference flanked by all five of his linemen. “They were out there


blocking, all I had to do was follow their lead.” Another key for the Spartans was junior


quarterback Kirk Cousins who went 18-of-25 for 284 yards and most importantly, had no in- terceptions.


History says that 37 of the last 40 times


the team with the most rushing yards won the game, and, MSU outgained U-M 249-152 yards on the ground. History held serve!


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@ aol.com.


By Leland Stein III The Detroit Lions came into this home game


at Ford Field with a 0-4 record, even though they have played very competitive football in all their losses.


No matter, NFL football is not measured by


moral victories and that was all the 2010 ver- sion of the Lions had to offer its longsuffering fans.


In comes the St. Louis Rams on a surprising


two-game winning streak to lifting their record to 2-2. The Rams, just like the Lions in 2008, selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft a quarterback, Oklahoma Sam Bradford.


With that lofty pick, Bradford finds himself


burdened with elevated expectations. He and Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford should share notes on with it’s like to be a young franchise quarterback on teams that are at the bottom of the NFL standings.


Against the Rams and rookie Bradford the


Lions finally broke through and got that much anticipated “W” with a resounding 44-6 win before the Lions’ second sellout of the season. For one day at least, the long silent “roar” re- turned to Detroit as the stadium was the loud- est in too many years to recount. The fans, fi- nally finding something to rejoice on the field unleashed the famous “wave” in a joyful cel- ebration that did not stop inside the stadium; it spilled over into downtown and tailgates throughout the city.


And why not? The sky was a beautiful blue


and the sun beamed down brightly and the Lions blew a team out. When has that hap- pened in recent memory? Three years ago De- troit overwhelmed Denver, 44-7, to reach 6-2 on the season, but the franchise went into a funk and lost 41 of its next 44 games.


But that was then and this is now. At least


that was the message bellowing from the lips of all in the Lions joyous locker room Sunday. And maybe they are right.


This is a different Lions team from the Matt


Millen era. Coach Jim Schwartz, general man- ager Martin Mayhew and almost the entire Lions roster has been overhauled. Sure it has not manifested itself into wins, but it is pretty clear that the team is more competitive and they did not fold the tent after losing Stafford to injury in the first game of the season.


“Our last win like this was against Denver,” CALVIN JOHNSON snatches a touchdown.


second quarter to break a 3-3 tie and send the Lions team on its way to the blowout victory.


“I was a little hesitant to bring it out the end


LIONS ROOKIE NDAMUKONG SUH rambles after interception. —Lakiesha Harvey photos


center Dominic Raiola said. “And after that game we went 1-7, then 0-16, then 2-14, then 0- 4. That’s a long time. What makes this sweeter is that you could feel it coming. We played a good Green Bay team to the wire last week, were close with Minnesota, Philly, Chicago.”


Added safety Louis Delmas: “We are not the


same team we were last year. We look at today as a new start. It got kind of frustrating losing, because we knew we were better than that.”


Concurred receiver Calvin Johnson: “I’m


not surprised we won like we did. We have the squad to compete with anyone in the league. I can really say we are a better team. I know it is frustrating to our fans and to us to be losing, but this locker room never felt like this team that could not win games.”


It took the littlest man on the field, 5-foot-


6 kick returner Stefan Logan to bust a team- tying record 105 yard kickoff return in the


zone,” he explained, “but I got some momen- tum going and I saw a crease and coach has been telling me to get at it and I did.”


It was a total team victory — special teams,


defense and offense. On defense cornerback Alphonso Smith took an interception 42 yards for a score and rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh blocked a pass and caught it and rambled 20 yards after the pick. A rain of “Suuuuuuuuhhhhh!” cascaded down on Ford Field after his one-man defensive play.


Credit also has to be given to journeyman


quarterback Shaun Hill, who played his most efficient game as a Lion. He finished 21-for-32, passing for 227 yards and three touchdowns and didn’t throw an interception for the first time this year.


The Lions travel to New Jersey Sunday to


face the Giants. The Detroit faithful will quick- ly see just how improved these Lions are.


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@ aol.com. Lions blast Rams


MSU’S DEFENSE harassed Denard Robinson all game. —Andre Smith photo. For more photos, visit AndreSmithphotos.com


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