Spartans Accept Invitation To Silicon Valley Football Classic
12/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 2, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan State accepted an invitation on Sunday to play No. 19 Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Bowl on Dec. 31 in San Jose, Calif.
Fresno State already had accepted a second straight bid to the second-year bowl. This will be the Bulldogs' third consecutive postseason appearance.
Michigan State will play in a bowl game for the first time since beating Florida in the 2000 Citrus Bowl.
The Spartans (6-5) and the Bulldogs (11-2) could produce a high-scoring game.
``It will be fun to try to outscore them,'' Michigan State receiver Charles Rogers said. ``But we just want to win, even if it's 24-20.''
Michigan State, which averaged 30 points a game this season, features Rogers and running back T.J. Duckett who combined for six touchdowns and 317 yards in Saturday's 55-7 win over Missouri.
Rogers set a school record with 1,200 receiving yards and tied one with 12 receiving TDs this year. Duckett ran for 1,236 yards and 10 TDs this season.
Fresno State, which averaged 43.8 points, is led by quarterback David Carr. He threw for six TDs in the 70-21 win over Utah State on Saturday.
Carr became just the sixth college quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards and 40 TDs in a season, joining Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, David Klingler, Andre Ware and Tim Rattay.
Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker, the Big Ten's leader in pass efficiency, is excited to play against Carr.
``He's a great quarterback,'' Smoker said. ``He's one of the best in the country and he'll play in the NFL.''
With victories over Colorado, Oregon State, Wisconsin and Colorado State, the Bulldogs cracked The Associated Press' Top 10 and drew national attention before consecutive last-second losses to Boise State and Hawaii in October.
The Spartans rose to No. 22 after beating No. 6 Michigan on Nov. 3, but they lost their next three games before routing Missouri (4-7) on Saturday in Spartan Stadium.
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer