Post-Game Notes
10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | AP Photo Gallery 
| Photo Gallery
• In the 101st meeting between Michigan State and Michigan, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines, 35-21, before a crowd of 110,146 at Michigan Stadium...it marks MSU's first win over Michigan since a 26-24 victory in 2001...it also marks MSU's first win over the Wolverines at Michigan Stadium since a 28-27 victory in 1990...the 14-point margin of victory is MSU's biggest over Michigan since a 34-0 victory in 1967 in Ann Arbor.
• With the win, Michigan State improves to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play...it marks just the third time since 1967 that MSU has won seven of its first nine games in the regular season (1999, 2003)...the seven wins assures Michigan State of its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1989-90...the Spartans compiled a 7-6 record last season.
• With the seventh victory of the season on Saturday, Coach Dantonio became the first Spartan coach to record at least seven victories in each of his first two seasons.
• Javon Ringer rushed for 194 yards on 37 carries...the 194 yards are the third most by a Spartan running back against the Wolverines...Ringer passed the 4,000-career yard mark in the game, making him just the third Spartan running back to rush for more than 4,000 yards...Ringer is third in MSU history with 4,134 career rushing yards...his 64-yard TD run at the end of the first half was a season-long rush (previous: 63 vs. Notre Dame)...that run tied for the second-longest TD run of his career (80 yards last season vs. Northwestern; 64 yards last season vs. Indiana)...Ringer finished with two TDs, giving him 16 for the season, which is tied for sixth most in a Spartan single-season...it marked his sixth game with at least two TDs this season...Ringer now has 1,373 rushing yards this season through nine games (152.6 avg.)...the 194-yard effort marked Ringer's sixth 100-yard game of the season and the 18th of his career...Ringer also crossed the 5,000-yard plateau for career all-purpose yards; he finished with 219 all-purpose yards, the sixth time this season he has collected at least 200 all-purpose yards, and now has 5,092 career all-purpose yards, which is third all-time in MSU history.
• Blair White registered a career-high 143 receiving yards on four catches (37.8 avg.)...he caught his first career TD pass, a 61-yard reception from Hoyer at the 11:56 mark in the first quarter, giving MSU a quick 7-0 lead...the 143 receiving yards are the fourth most by a Spartan against Michigan.
• Brian Hoyer threw for 282 yards passing, marking his 11th career 200-yard passing game, which is tied for fifth in MSU history...Hoyer threw for a season-high three TDs and now has 35 for his career (sixth most in MSU history)...Hoyer also caught his first career pass, a 24-yard reception from Keshawn Martin in the second quarter.
• Charlie Gantt caught his team-leading fourth TD pass of the season on a 4-yard reception at the 2:37 mark in the third quarter, tying the game at 21.
• The Spartans forced four turnovers, including three interceptions...Kendell Davis-Clark, who had a season-high seven tackles, forced a fumble in the first quarter and Marcus Hyde recovered...Hyde then recorded his first career interception with a pick in the second quarter...Chris L. Rucker and Jeremy Ware also recorded interceptions in the fourth quarter...for Rucker, it was his second interception of the season and third of his career, while for Ware, it was the first interception of his career...MSU improved to +6 in turnover margin for the season.
• Greg Jones recorded 10 tackles, marking the third straight game he has registered double-digits in tackles (11 vs. Northwestern; 13 vs. Ohio State)...Jones leads the team with 75 tackles for the season.
• Trevor Anderson finished with a career-high three sacks...he now has a team-leading eight sacks this season.
• Brett Swenson had his school-record streak of consecutive field goals snapped as he missed a 50-yarder in the second quarter...Swenson had made 15 straight field goals, dating back to the season opener at California.
• Two Spartans made their first career starts on defense: sophomore safety Marcus Hyde and senior linebacker Ryan Allison.
• Michigan was held to 84 yards rushing, marking the third time the Spartan defense has held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing this season (Florida Atlantic: 82; Notre Dame: 16)...Michigan's 252 yards of total offense were the fewest allowed by MSU in a conference game this season.
