Michigan State University Athletics
Spartan Football Schedule Features Two Prime-Time TV Games
4/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 15, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State will make back-to-back prime-time television appearances on the Big Ten Network during the 2009 football season: Oct. 24 against Iowa at 7 p.m. ET in Spartan Stadium and Oct. 31 at Minnesota, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET.
The MSU-Iowa game marks just the eighth night game in the 86-year history of Spartan Stadium. The Spartans are 4-3 in their seven previous prime-time TV appearances at home, including a 52-27 victory over Indiana on Oct. 13, 2007, as Javon Ringer rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 20-18-2, including an 8-10-1 record in games played in Spartan Stadium. The home team has won the last nine meetings.
The two teams will have a difficult time topping the finish of last year's game in Spartan Stadium, as Adam Decker dropped Iowa's Shonn Greene for a 3-yard loss on a fourth-and-inches play late in the fourth quarter to preserve MSU's 16-13 victory.
Minnesota rotates back on to MSU's Big Ten schedule following a two-year hiatus. The Spartans, who compiled a 7-3 record against the Golden Gophers in the Metrodome, will be making their first-ever appearance in TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Michigan State leads the all-time series 25-16.
The Spartans enter the 2009 season with a streak of 76 consecutive live TV appearances (games televised regionally or nationally since November 2002).
