MSU fizzles again, dropping passes and missing tackles in 41-18 loss
Sunday, November 13, 2005
By Steve Grinczel
MINNEAPOLIS -- Call a chiropractor. Michigan State's back has been slammed up against the wall yet again, if not broken.
Get a hold of a hand specialist as well.
The Spartans couldn't catch footballs or Golden Gophers Saturday afternoon in the Metrodome, and their 41-18 collapse against Minnesota left them with only one more chance to become bowl-eligible.
All MSU (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten) has to do is defeat No. 6-ranked Penn State in next Saturday's 4 p.m. season finale in Spartan Stadium.
Oh yeah, the Nittany Lions will not only have had two weeks to refresh, heal and thoroughly prepare for the beleaguered Spartans, but they will also be stoked to clinch their second Big Ten championship since joining the league in 1993.
"I don't need to look at the stats, I know what happened," said MSU coach John L. Smith, pushing away a statistical summary of the game. "I don't think (the players quit). They kicked our tail.
"The only thing I can do is look in the mirror first and say, `we as coaches have to go to the field and get them better-prepared.' We still have one left and need to do everything we can to get that one."
Equipped with the nation's best rushing attack, the Gophers (7-3, 4-3) hardly needed much in the way of charity from the Spartans.
Michigan State contributed generously to their cause, nonetheless, with seven of eight dropped passes coming in the first half and numerous missed tackles.
"We got a little help because they dropped some passes early in the game, let's face it," said Minnesota coach Glen Mason. "When you have a sucker down, you don't want to give them a break. It's a momentum thing; we wanted to keep the momentum going."
The Spartans only really got a grip on things -- albeit illegally -- during the first possession of the second half when a comeback still seemed feasible.
Trailing 21-3, quarterback Drew Stanton moved Michigan State from its own 20-yard line to the Minnesota 18 in seven plays.
However, back-to-back holding penalties called on veteran guards Gordon Niebylski and Kyle Cook moved the Spartans back 20 yards. And when running back Javon Ringer couldn't avoid a 4-yard loss no matter how much he twisted and turned, the Spartans faced third-and-35 at the 45.
A miraculous conversion wasn't forthcoming, however.
"Every big play they had was the result of a missed tackle," Niebylski said. "And every time that we came off the field it was the result of a dropped pass, or a penalty or a mistake on our part. It's frustrating."
After getting the ball back, the Gophers met little resistance from MSU's attempted arm-tackles.
The final play of the drive pretty much exemplified the sorry condition the once 4-0 Spartans sunk to with their fifth loss in the last six games.
First, Michigan State was penalized for being offside. Then, cornerback Ashton Watson was called for defensive holding, which he couldn't even do well enough to stop Minnesota wideout Ernie Wheelwright from catching a 20-yard touchdown pass thrown by quarterback Bryan Cupito.
The Spartans snapped a string of six quarters without a touchdown on Stanton's 20-yard scoring pass to tight end Dwayne Holmes early in the fourth period, but consolation prizes are for losers.
Stanton completed 29 of 46 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns, but would have had even better statistics if not for the drops
The Spartans' sloppy tackling was reflected in the Gopher's 327 rushing yards and ridiculous 14-for-17 third-down conversion rate.
With Big Ten leading rusher Laurence Maroney taking the day off because of an ankle injury, third-string Minnesota running back Amir Pinnix logged a career-high 206 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries. Starting running back Gary Russell added 85 yards on 19 rushes, but had his playing time curtailed by a head injury.
Michigan State couldn't impede Minnesota's surge from the game-opening drive. Russell, who was left uncovered in the right flat, took a swing pass 56 yards to set up his own 1-yard touchdown run
The Spartans had a chance to counter midway through the first half, but Trumaine Banks blocked Matt Haughey's 28-yard field-goal attempt. It was the third kick MSU had blocked this season.
Haughey made it 7-3 with a 31-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but Cupito answered with 7-yard, throwback touchdown to wide-open tight end Matt Spaeth. That made it 14-3 with 10:39 left in the first half and things started to spiral out of control for MSU.
On first-and-10 at the Spartan 49, wideout Terry Love got behind the Gopher secondary. However, Stanton's well-thrown pass for what would have been an easy touchdown glanced off Love's hands.
"It was a fingertip ball, but it was a very easy catch but I didn't come up with it," said Love, who dropped a pass on the next play as well. "If I caught the ball, the outcome of the game would have been a lot different."
Instead, Minnesota all but put the game away with an 18-play, 80-yard drive during which it converted on third down five times. Russell gave the Gophers a 21-3 lead with a 1-yard plunge off right tackle.
"I think it goes back to people wanting to compete and wanting to go out there and play," Stanton said. "Some people might be out there for the wrong reasons. If anybody on the team has quit I don't want them out there.
"I don't think that's the case at all. We're not making plays and it's not just one or two guys, it's everybody."
