Sports: Football Rises In Rankings

            A torrid start thrusts MSU into the Top 20, but a gauntlet of powerhouses remain on the schedule.

            Few harbored great expectations for the 2005 MSU football team in the preseason.  Magazines ranked MSU from 7th to 10th in the Big Ten, while national polls excluded MSU among the Top 25.

            But, as noted by this magazine, the team had great potential for offensive fireworks.  And that proved to be the case, as MSU exploded to a 4-0 start and soared in the national rankings, scoring more than 45 points per game while gaining a whopping 563 yards per game.  After a 61-14 demolition of Illinois, quarterback Drew Stanton was ranked 5th in one unofficial Heisman Trophy poll.  But a disappointing home upset loss to archrival Michigan, which was unranked, leveled the surging emotions and proved the old college adage, “On any given Saturday . . . “

            MSU began with two dominant performances, a 49-14 trouncing of Kent State and a 42-14 revenge match against Hawaii.  With junior quarterback Stanton at the helm, the spread offense created by John L. Smith and offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin looked like a juggernaut, amassing 592 yards a game to lead in the nation.  Great play by the offensive line was a credit to offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.

            While impressive, onlookers remained skeptical whether the Spartans could be as productive against a ranked team.  Heading to South Bend, where Notre Dame was basking in an upset win over Michigan and a No. 10 national ranking, the Spartans proved that they could score against a rated team—beating the Irish 44-41 in a thrilling overtime broadcast on national TV.

            MSU gained 488 yards of total offense as Stanton went 16 of 27 for 327 yds and 4 touchdowns overall.  The win proved that MSU could retain a big lead.  Last season, MSU blew huge leads against Michigan and Hawaii.  MSU had led  38-17 when the Irish started to mount a comeback, tying the game in regulation.  Shades of last year’s triple overtime loss in Ann Arbor loomed.

            Would this year’s Spartans collapse again?  The answer was “no.”  MSU limited Notre Dame to a field goal in overtime, then scored the winning touchdown when running back Jason Teague took an option pitch from Stanton and scampered 19 yards to the endzone as wide receivers Terry Love and Kyle Brown made key blocks.

            This exciting win did not silence the naysayers, who noted that the last eight times MSU beat a ranked team, in seven cases MSU lost the next game.

            But in Champaign, IL, the Spartans routed Illinois to silence the doubters while setting a school-record with 705 yards on offense.  Stanton connected on 20 of 26 passes for 259 yards with a record performance of five touchdowns and no interceptions. In four games, Stanton put up Heisman numbers as he led the nation in efficiency, completing 79 of 108 passes with 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

            For the first time since 1969, MSU was the oddsmaker’s favorite against archrival Michigan.  Last year in Ann Arbor, Stanton gave MSU a 17-point lead before being injured and saw MSU lose 45-37 in triple overtime in what was the longest game in Big Ten history.  Despite some jitters, MSU played well enough to win, but two missed field goals—from 37 and 23 yards—doomed the Spartans in overtime, 34-31.  Stanton had his eighth career 200-plus game with 282 yards and a touchdown.  National television fans saw defensive tackle Domaka Peko pick up a Michigan fumble and romp 74 yards for a touchdown.  Junior wide receiver scored a touchdown on a beautiful 61-yard reception.

            Many Spartans emerged.  The offensive line, with Gordon Niebielski and Mike Getvai replacing NFL talents William Whittiker and Sean Poole, seemed to perform with precision.  Freshman running back Javon Ringer emerged as the speed complement to bangers Teague and Jehuu Caulcrick.  On defense, sophomore bandit SirDarean Adams emerged as a playmaker, gaining two interceptions to lead the team.  A good tackler like safety Eric Smith, Adams also boasts speed to chase opponents sideline to sideline.

            In midseason, MSU remained in the Top 20 and must survive a gauntlet of ranked teams, including Ohio State, Penn State and Minnesota, to stay there.