Michigan State University
Rice
No. 15 MSU Knocks Off Rice, 27-10
9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept 7, 2002
Box Score?|? Quotes?|? Notes?|? Photo Gallery
By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
Associated Press Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A few choice words from coach Bobby Williams at halftime seemed to spark Michigan State on Saturday.
After a lackluster first half, the 15th-ranked Spartans scored 17 points off four second-half turnovers in a 27-10 win over Rice.
"He really got after us, and we deserved it," quarterback Jeff Smoker said of Williams' angry halftime talk. "I can't tell you exactly what he said, but in a roundabout way, he told us that we were losing to a team that wasn't better than us."
Smoker and wide receiver Charles Rogers again had big games for the Spartans (2-0).
Rogers caught nine passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and Smoker completed 16-of-26 passes for 213 yards and three scores.
Rogers, the preseason Big Ten offensive player of the year, separated himself from defenders all afternoon and caught seven passes of 10 yards or more.
"They played a lot of really soft zones," Rogers said. "But we were able to find some things, and Jeff did a great job of getting me the ball."
His second touchdown catch, a 5-yard pass from Smoker, put the Spartans ahead 20-10 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
"He's such a great threat," Rice coach Ken Hatfield said. "You've got to pretty much double-cover him. He's just so good that it makes their offense that much more effective all the time."
The Owls, who have started 0-2 for the first time since 1994, put a scare into the Spartans early, controlling the line of scrimmage and clock to take a 10-7 lead into the half.
That led to Williams' speech.
"There were some things they needed to hear," Williams said. "Mainly that we were causing all of our own problems. I wasn't that nice saying it, though."
 | "He really got after us, and we deserved it, I can't tell you exactly what he said, but in a roundabout way, he told us that we were losing to a team that wasn't better than us." MSU QB Jeff Smoker on Coach Williams' halftime talk |
The Spartans surrendered 137 yards rushing in the first half, but forced the Owls into two three-and-outs in their first three possessions of the second half.
Dave Rayner, who missed a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter, connected from 45 yards to tie the score at 10 after the first stop.
Rice's second possession of the half ended when Michigan State safety Thomas Wright stepped in front of Sean White and intercepted Greg Henderson's pass and returned it to the Rice 36-yard line.
"I was almost playing cornerback on the play because of the defense we were in," Wright said. "I don't think he saw me because he threw it right to me."
The Spartans failed to produce a first down, but Rayner kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal to make it 13-10 at 8:21 in the third.
Michigan State dominated the line of scrimmage in its season opener last week, a 56-7 win over Eastern Michigan, but it was the Owls who ran at will in the first half Saturday.
The spread option offense, run to perfection by quarterbacks Henderson and Kyle Herm, outgained the Spartans 137-14 on the ground in the opening half.
Michigan State managed 58 yards on 32 carries for the game.
 Spartans celebrate during their 27-10 victory over Rice, Saturday.  | |
"The greatest thing that happened was that our defense played the heck out of the running game," Hatfield said. "They had to resort to throwing it a bunch."
Henderson, in his lone series of the half, drove Rice 80 yards in 12 plays and capped it off with a 3-yard touchdown run.
On a second-and-goal, Henderson started left, then quickly turned toward the end zone and jumped high in the air past Michigan State defenders to make it 10-7 with five minutes remaining in the half.
Henderson gained 37 yards on five carries during the drive.
The Owls cut the lead to 10-3 when Brennan Landry capped a 15-play, 57-yard, seven-minute drive with a 22-yard field goal seven seconds into the second quarter.
Rogers opened the scoring, hauling in a 38-yard pass from Smoker with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Although Smoker completed 10 of 12 passes in the first half, he was sacked four times, including three by linebacker Jeff Vanover, who tied a Rice single-game record.
