Sports: Spartan Football

SPARTANS GO 9-2, GAIN CITRUS BOWL & BOBBY WILLIAMS

Bobby Williams will lead MSU in the Citrus Bowl after MSU goes 9-2 and achieves a Top Ten ranking.

            MSU heads to the OurHouse.com Citrus Bowl under new head coach Bobby Williams, who was named Dec. 5 to replace Nick Saban. Just a few days earlier, Saban had been lured to LSU by a reported $6 million-plus contract. The abrupt coaching change stole some of the limelight from a stellar 1999 season. Despite a murderous schedule, the Spartans mustered a 9-2 record, the best in Saban's five years as head coach, and received its first New Year’s Day Bowl bid since 1989.

            The achievements of the 1999 football team include:

• Nine regular season wins in the face of a ferocious schedule—the most ever by MSU since the 1966 national co-champions.
• Six home wins—the most in Spartan history since 1912.
• First perfect home record since the 1965 national championship year.
• Wins over traditional powerhouses Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. Only MSU’s national championship teams of 1951 and 1965 had pulled off this quadruple coup in college football memory.
• A Top 10 ranking in the BCS poll at season’s end.

            The OurHouse.com Citrus Bowl appearance will be MSU's first on New Year’s Day since the Gator Bowl in 1989. Spartans everywhere—players, coaches, alumni, staff and administrators—were solidly unified behind the selection of Bobby Williams as head coach. In an amazing display of solidarity, the entire football coaching staff chose to stay at MSU despite offers to move to Baton Rouge, LA. As offensive coordinator Morris Watts explained, the staff wanted to stay together as a 'team' and finish their outstanding effort thus far.  

          For more than two dozen seniors, the season was a sweet vindication of their career efforts in the program. Their ultimate achievement—through adverse conditions—was monumental. Although a freshman human bulldozer, T.J. Duckett, keyed MSU’s 35-28 conquest of Penn State in the season’s unforgettable finale, the entire squad—led by co-captains Aric Morris and Gari Scott and their fellow seniors, including quarterback Bill Burke, cornerback Amp Campbell, defensive end Robaire Smith, center Casey Jensen, tackle Greg Robinson-Randall, linebackers Julian Peterson, Mike Austin and Shawn Wright, and kicker Paul Edinger—showed great tenacity and character to outlast a team that had been ranked No. 2 in the nation just weeks before. Spartans will long remember Duckett’s four touchdown runs, two of which, including the last one, dragged tacklers along until the final, plane-breaking plunge. As Nick put it afterwards, 'I think that was probably as fine an effort as we had all year, in terms of dogged determination to score a touchdown.'

            No one foresaw such a special season unfold in September, and even fewer foresaw the departure of the coach. Few thought MSU could win its opener against Oregon, the West Coast buzz saw that destroyed MSU last year. After falling behind the Ducks, MSU scored 17 straight points for a 27-20 win. Senior cornerback Amp Campbell, who had broken his neck in Eugene, OR, returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. A favorite of national media, the Campbell story had all the makings of a classic comeback saga.

            Next, the Spartans cruised 51-7 against Eastern Michigan, scoring in each of its first six drives. Co-captain and senior wide receiver Gari Scott broke MSU’s career punt return record. The Notre Dame game on Sept. 18 was supposed to test whether the Spartans could beat a ranked team, away from home, and on natural grass. MSU responded convincingly, winning 23-13 for its third-straight victory over the Fighting Irish. MSU outscored Notre Dame 16-3 in the final 10 minutes, capped by Gari Scott’s spectacular 80-yard touchdown reception. By the time MSU went to Champaign, IL, fans and media scribes were using words like 'relentless—as in Freddy Kruger of 'Nightmare On Elm Street' fame—to describe the Spartan defense. Robaire Smith, Julian Peterson, and the rest of the defense lived up to their billing and held Illinois to a measly 52 rushing yards as MSU won 27-10. Freshman sensation T.J. Duckett, recruited as a linebacker, scored two impressive rushing TDs.

            Homecoming saw the Spartans clicking on all cylinders for a 49-3 laugher against Iowa. At halftime, MSU enjoyed a 345-26 edge in yardage and a 19-1 edge in first downs. The offense tied a school record with six TD passes, while the defense maintained its perfect record against rushing TDs. Bill Burke played an outstanding game, with Plaxico Burress his chief target, and the combo emerged as a dangerous offensive weapon.

            Meanwhile, Michigan was also mopping up opponents enroute to an undefeated 5-0 record, and the Oct. 9 intrastate clash was of significant national interest. On national television, the Spartans dominated the No. 3 ranked Wolverines in the trenches and won 34-31, with two late Wolverine TDs making the gap seem closer. MSU records were set by Plaxico Burress, who caught 10 passes for 255 yards, and by Bill Burke, who threw for 400 yards. Senior co-captain Aric Morris intercepted Wolverine quarterback Drew Henson for the game’s only turnover. Nick Saban praised the electric atmosphere in Spartan Stadium and compared it to the crowd enthusiasm during MSU’s Big Ten championship-clinching win over Indiana in 1987. 

            The following week, however, MSU ran into a buzz saw at West Lafayette, IN. Purdue featured a Heisman candidate as quarterback along with its time-honored 'Spoilermakers' reputation. Quarterback Drew Brees threw for 509 yards and 5 touchdowns, both MSU opponents records, enroute to a 52-28 rout. Injuries were sustained by several key Spartans, including co-captain Gari Scott.

            MSU, with more than a dozen players injured, reached a nadir at Wisconsin. Heisman Trophy favorite Ron Dayne—who was to become the all-time leading rusher in college football history—ran wild and helped to bury the Spartans 40-10. The Badgers, who eventually won the Big Ten, dominated the game save for a late TD run by T.J. Duckett.

             A bye week proved very beneficial for the injury-riddled Spartans. After much-needed rest, MSU rebounded with three straight wins. First, it pasted revenge-minded Ohio State 23-7 while holding the Buckeyes to zero rushing yards—their lowest rushing total since 1965, when they were held to minus-22 yards by the national championship Spartans. OSU’s only TD came from a late interception.

            At Evanston, MSU shut out Northwestern 34-0 for its first goose egg win since 1996. Bill Burke tied an MSU career record by throwing his 43rd touchdown pass, but left the game because of an injury. Linebacker T.J. Turner had an interception, eight tackles, two for losses, and a 28-yard fumble return for a TD. Turner continued his stellar play in the season finale against Penn State, when he nabbed two interceptions. Linebacker Julian Peterson tied Larry Bethea’s longstanding record of career tackles for losses (43). Scott amassed more than 1,000 career punt return yards and electrified Spartan Stadium by returning a punt for a touchdown. Although Burke did star, he showed guts and heart by playing with a pectoral injury.

            This year’s Spartans clearly demonstrated competitive spirit and character, rising from nowhere to Top Ten stature in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) rankings. In his final MSU season, Saban performed admirably with assistance from coordinators Morris Watts and Bill Miller and the coaching staff. Tremendous leadership came from more than two dozen seniors. A foundation for a rising program, marked by unprecedented unity within the Spartan family, seems to be in place for Williams to sustain over time.