Michigan State - Purdue Post Game Notes
11/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 16, 2002
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Attendance: 72,828. Today's game marked the 26th-consecutive sellout at Spartan Stadium, and the 34th capacity crowd in the last 39 games.
Series History: This afternoon's game marked the 58th meeting between Michigan State and Purdue. After today's 45-42 Purdue victory, Michigan State leads the all-time series 28-26-3, including a 17-11 advantage in games played in East Lansing.
Senior Farewell: Today's game marked the final game in Spartan Stadium for 14 Michigan State seniors. This senior class helped Michigan State to a combined record of (26-19) since 1999, including two postseason bowl victories (2000 Florida Citrus Bowl over No. 10 Florida, 37-34, and 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic over No. 20 Fresno State, 44-35).
It's Never Too Late: Playing in his last home game, senior cornerback DeMario Suggs recorded his first career interception, returning the pick 44 yards for a Spartan touchdown, giving MSU a 17-7 lead at the time. Late in the second quarter, Suggs hit on Taylor Stubblefield on a third down play at the goal line forced Purdue to kick a field goal.
Another Defensive Touchdown: Thomas Wright's 57-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter was the eighth interception of his career and his first returned for a touchdown.
Freshmen Shine On Senior Day: Although it was Senior Day at Spartan Stadium, a pair of Spartan freshmen turned in solid performances. Making his second career start, freshman Ashton Watson recorded his first career interception midway through the first quarter at the MSU 15-yard line. His return to midfield helped set up a 14-yard touchdown run by fellow freshman David Richard, giving MSU a 10-7 lead. Richard finished the day with 59 yards on 13 carries. In the fourth quarter, Richard added a 10-yard TD run to give MSU a 42-37 lead. For Richard, the team leader with five TD carries on the season, it was the first two-touchdown game of the season.
Charles In Charge: Charles Rogers finished the day with 161 yards on eight catches with two touchdowns. It marked his sixth 100-yard game of the season and his fifth two-touchdown game. For his career, Rogers has a Spartan best 27 touchdowns and 2,757 yards, second place on the MSU career list. With his eight catches, he now has 130 for his career, moving past Mill Coleman (126) into sixth place on the career chart. On the season, Rogers has 63 catches for 1287 yards. The yardage total is the second-best single-season mark, trailing only his 1,470 yard effort in 2001, while the 63 catches place him just four behind his single-season school record of 67 also established last year.
Dowdell vs. Purdue:Although today was just Damon Dowdell's fifth career start, it was his second vs. Purdue. Last season, Dowdell passed for 304 yards vs. the Boilermakers on 24-of-45 passing with one touchdown. This season, Dowdell passed for 253 yards on 18-of-32 throwing, adding two touchdowns.
Points Off Turnovers: Michigan State's defense created a season-high five turnovers, which led to 23 points off turnovers. DeMario Suggs and Thomas Wright both returned interceptions for touchdowns. An Ashton Watson interception led to another touchdown and a Mike Labinjo fumble recovery resulted led to an early field goal.
Scoreboard Eruption: The 87 combined points in today's game are the most in a Michigan State game since the final game of the 1994 season when Penn State and Michigan State combined for 90 in a 59-31 Nittany Lion victory (Nov. 26, 1994) at State College. It was also the most points in Spartan Stadium since Oct. 27, 1990 when MSU defeated Purdue, 55-33, to combine for 88 points.
