Spartans Seek Third-Straight Win Over Buckeyes
10/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2000
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GAME 9: QUICK FACTS
DATE: Nov. 4, 2000
SITE: Ohio Stadium (95,346), Columbus, Ohio
KICKOFF: 12:10 p.m. EST
ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE: 95,346 (sellout)
LAST WEEK: Michigan State defeated Illinois, 14-10, No. 12 Ohio State lost at No. 16 Purdue, 31-27.
BROADCAST COVERAGE:
Radio - The Spartan Radio Network, featuring veteran play-by-play announcer George Blaha, color analyst Larry Bielat, sideline reporter Will Tieman and broadcast host Matt Dery, will broadcast the game to 39 affiliates throughout the state. Michigan State football broadcasts can be heard locally on flagship station WJIM (AM 1240, FM 97.5). Westwood One Sports will broadcast the Michigan State-Ohio State game nationally with Tony Roberts handling the play-by-play duties and Allen Pinkett providing the color commentary.Television - ESPN will televise the Michigan State-Ohio State game live with Steve Levy, Todd Christensen and Dave Ryan calling the action.
THE COACHES
Michigan State's Bobby Williams (Purdue 1982) is 5-4 (.556) in his first full season as a college head coach. Williams, who served as the Spartans' running backs coach for 10 years (1990-99), made his head coaching debut on Jan. 1, 2000, as he led Michigan State to a 37-34 victory over No. 10 Florida in the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Spartans finished the 1999 season with a 10-2 overall record and ranked No. 7 in the final polls. During his tenure at Michigan State, Williams coached seven 1,000-yard rushers including Sedrick Irvin, who in 1998 became the first Spartan in school history to reach the rushing milestone in each of his first three seasons.
Ohio State's John Cooper (Iowa State 1962) is 109-41-4 (.721) in his 13th year with the Buckeyes and 191-81-6 (.698) in 24 seasons as a college head coach. Cooper ranks as the second-winningest coach in Ohio State history, trailing only the legendary Woody Hayes, who totaled 205 victories in 28 years. He compiled a 25-9-2 record (.722) in three seasons at Arizona State (1985-87). Cooper started his head coaching career at Tulsa where he produced a 57-31 worksheet (.648) in eight years (1977-84).
MICHIGAN STATE-OHIO STATE SERIES BREAKDOWN
SERIES RECORD: Ohio State leads 20-12IN COLUMBUS: Ohio State leads 10-7
FIRST MEETING: MSU 35, Ohio State 20 (Nov. 28, 1912)
LAST MEETING: MSU 23, Ohio State 7 (Nov. 6, 1999)
LAST OHIO STATE WIN: Ohio State 37, MSU 13 (Nov. 1, 1997)
BOBBY WILLIAMS vs. OHIO STATE: First Meeting
JOHN COOPER vs. MSU: 6-4
CURRENT SERIES STREAK: 2 by MSU (1998-99)
LONGEST MSU STREAK: 3 (1912-53)
LONGEST OHIO STATE STREAK: 8 (1975-84)
MSU/OHIO STATE SERIES NOTES - Ohio State leads it 20-12, including a 10-7 record in games played in Columbus. The Spartans have won the last two meetings, including a 23-7 victory in Spartan Stadium last season and a 28-24 upset win over the top-ranked Buckeyes in Columbus in 1998. The Buckeyes have won seven of the last nine meetings in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State's last win in the series came on Nov. 1, 1997, 37-13, in East Lansing. (Note: For a complete list of all-time series scores please refer to pages 179-80 in the 2000 MSU Football Media Guide.)
THE LAST MEETING - Bill Burke threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns while Michigan State's defense held No. 20 Ohio State to 0 yards rushing in the Spartans' 23-7 victory in East Lansing. It marked the first time since 1987-88 that MSU had recorded back-to-back wins over the Buckeyes. The Spartansjumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter thanks to Paul Edinger's 35-yard field goal and Burke's TD tosses of 17 yards to Plaxico Burress and 1 yard to Chris Baker. Ohio State's only score came off a turnover in the third quarter, as Ahmed Plummer's 37-yard interception return set up Steve Bellisari's 4-yard TD pass to Michael Wiley. Richard Newsome's first career inter-ception led to Edinger's third field goal, a 33-yarder in the fourth quarter. Michigan State's de-fense allowed only one first down in the second half (10:20 mark of the fourth quarter), while limiting Ohio State to 18 total yards. Ohio State's 0 yards rushing were its lowest total since 1966 (minus-22 vs. Michigan State).
THE LAST TIME OUT - Dawan Moss, who started at tailback for the injured T.J. Duckett, rushed for a career-high 54 yards and two touchdowns to lead Michigan State to a 14-10 triumph over Illinois in East Lan-sing, Mich., as the Spartans posted their first Big Ten win of the season. It marked the Spartans' sixth-straight victory over the Illini. Michigan State took the opening kickoff and marched 69 yards in eight plays but the drive ended on a fumble inside the Illini 10. After Illinois went three and out on its first series, Ziehl Kavanaght's 11-yard punt return to the Illini 35 set up MSU's first score. Moss capped the nine-play, 35-yard drive with a 4-yard TD run off left tackle to put the Spartans on top 7-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter. Michigan State failed to capitalize on an Illini miscue late in the first quarter as Cedric Henry's 33-yard interception return gave the Spartans a first-and-goal at the Illini 10 but three plays later, Ryan Van Dyke's pass, intended for Lavaile Richardson, was picked off in the end zone by Bobie Singleton. The Illini's offense came to life in the third quarter. Illinois took the second-half kickoff and drove to the Spartan 20 but came up empty as Kurt Kittner's third-down pass was intercepted by Renaldo Hill in the left corner of the end zone. Three plays later, the Illini defense produced a score as Bobby Jackson intercepted Van Dyke and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown with 9:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Spartans dodged a bullet late in the third quarter when Kittner misfired on a fourth-down pass to Brian Hodges in the end zone. Illinois took a 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter as a seven-play, 64- yard drive resulted in a 22-yard field goal by JJ Tubbs. Michigan State answered with an 11-play, 82-yard drive to regain the lead at 14-10 on a 1-yard plunge by Moss with 8:04 left in the game. Jeff Smoker completed five-of-seven throws for 64 yards on the game-winning drive and scrambled 9 yards on a key third-down conversion. The Spartans iced the game with an 11-play, 49-yard drive that consumed the final 4:51. With Duckett limited to only one carry with his shoulder injury, Moss shared time at tailback with Little John Flowers and Tyrell Dortch. That trio combined for 191 yards on 36 rushes.
QUOTING BOBBY WILLIAMS
Illinois Recap: "I thought the guys played hard for 60 minutes. Offensively, we came out and established a nice tempo. For the first time this season, we took the opening kickoff and went right down the field but unfortunately, we fumbled in the red zone. I was impressed with the way the offense bounced back after the early turnover and came right back down the field to score on its second possession.
"The offense really struggled in the second and third quarters but Jeff Smoker came off the bench in the second half and provided a spark in the fourth quarter. I was pleased with our running game and all five backs contributed. Those guys really picked up the slack with T.J. Duckett standing on the sidelines. The offensive line deserves a lot of credit too.
"Once again, the defense played well. We had some breakdowns but the guys hung in there and made some big plays, including the two interceptions. We addressed creating turnovers last week during practice and the guys responded to the challenge. We should have gotten at least a field goal out of the first-quarter interception. Renaldo Hill's third-quarter pick in the end zone killed a long drive and was a key play in the game."
Quarterback Update: "It's time to give Jeff Smoker an opportunity to lead this team and he will start Saturday at Ohio State.
"Ryan Van Dyke made some poor decisions and bad throws in the Illinois game. Ryan really struggled and tried too hard to make plays.
"Jeff came off the bench in the second half and made six big plays. On the game-winning drive, he completed three big throws to the tight ends and converted a key third-down play with a 9-yard scramble. I was pleased with his overall operation of the game. Jeff handled the final drive like a veteran. He displayed excellent clock management on that 11-play drive that allowed us to kill the clock. Jeff looked so natural out there.
"I hope Ryan will be supportive of this decision. He also needs to get himself ready to play because you never know when another opportunity will come up." Ohio State Scouting Report: "Ohio State has an outstanding football team. It's coming off a tough loss at Purdue but I'm sure Coach (John) Cooper will have his team ready to play.
"Ohio State is a basic `I' formation team. It's a hard-nosed football team that runs right at you. Ohio State also does a good job of mixing in the hard, play-action pass. Steve Bellisari has matured a great deal as a quarterback and he has two talented wide outs to throw to, in Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany. Derek Combs is averaging almost 6 yards per carry at tailback and he runs behind a talented offensive line.
"Ohio State leads the Big Ten in rushing defense and ranks second in both total defense and scoring defense. It also leads the conference in takeaways and turnover margin. This is a very aggressive defensive unit. Ohio State puts more pressure on the quarterback than any defense in the Big Ten and that's why it leads the league in sacks. The linebacker corps is outstanding and all three of those guys - Joe Cooper, Matt Wilhelm and Courtland Bullard - get involved in the action. Strong safety Mike Doss is another playmaker."
INJURY REPORT
OUT: DE Dimitry Bernard (sprained left ankle vs. Notre Dame, DNP vs. Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois), OG Paul Harker (broken left foot vs. Wisconsin, out for the season), OL Sean Poole (ACL right knee in Aug. 12 practice, out for the season), LB T.J. Turner (dislocated left shoulder vs. Iowa, out for the season).
QUESTIONABLE: DT Josh Shaw (sprained knee), DE Greg Taplin (sprained ankle vs. Illinois).
PROBABLE: TB T.J. Duckett (sprained right shoulder vs. Michigan, played one snap vs. Illinois).
SPARTANS OF THE WEEK - The Michigan State coaching staff selected the following players as Spartans of the Week for their performances Oct. 28 vs. Illinois:
Offense - TE Ivory McCoy (two catches for 37 yards, graded out 93 percent overall).
Defense - FS Richard Newsome (career-high 20 tackles including one for a loss, 32 production points), SS Thomas Wright (career-high 18 tackles, 27 production points).
Special Teams - Monquiz Wedlow (two solo tackles, 14 production points).
