Michigan State 38, Western Michigan 14
9/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio
Opening Statement
First thing up, a big win for us, first game, it's always exciting on the first time out to win, obviously. The guys were excited to come out. I thought we came out with a lot of enthusiasm. We played very, very well in the first series.
I want to bring up before I go on any further, Josh Rouse, had a season ending injury, second vertebrae. He's okay, he'll have surgery tonight. It was an emotional thing for our football team at halftime to learn about that. My thoughts and prayers go out to Josh at this time.
Relative to the football game, I thought we ran the ball very effectively - almost 300 yards rushing. Offensively, production was 500 yards. So you have production and score 38 points. You throw the ball down the field, especially in the second quarter, we came out very well. At times we need to be a little bit more crisp, but we'll keep working on it. Wind, obviously was a factor- it was swirling out there 32 miles per hour or something like that so obviously it affected part of the game and it affected the game on both sides.
Offensively we saw Le'Veon Bell step out. Larry Caper did not play due to a slight hand injury. We didn't want to use him if we didn't have to. He should be able to play this next week. Bell came out and Edwin Baker got the start. Baker made a nice run. I thought he played very, very well. Le'Veon played very well as well. He had opportunities.
A couple costly turnovers on special teams, that muff got them in the end zone. They made a game of it in the first half. Credit our offense, credit our defense, we kept playing.
Defensively, three turnovers, one of the things we continue to emphasize this entire year after last season was turnovers. We came away with three turnovers which was great to see. Defensively, we continue to do that. I thought we tackled well on defense. I didn't see a lot of missed tackles.
We need to continue to pressure the quarterback. I thought (Alex) Carder, Western's quarterback, did a nice job. First time out, he did a nice job. We stopped the run, made it one-dimensional. Anytime you can go 23 times on a third down, I think you have a chance to win a football game. They had about 23 times on a third down, which is what they did.
Special teams were solid. It was great to see (Dan) Conroy kick as he did. (Aaron) Bates was solid as well. (Kevin) Muma had a tough time in the wind. Snaps were great. Coverage was very, very good. We'll take it. We have to eliminate the unforced penalties which are disappointing as a coach, but we'll continue work on it. But its win number one and we look forward to going to Ford Field next week.
On unforced penalties being the biggest surprise of the game
Well it's loud out there, it's a game. It's a game. We try to make a point of emphasis on it all year long, all camp long, all spring long. I think we had three. They had probably three or four, too. But its loud out there, you try and go on movement, those types of things. I guess, it's disappointing. Most of them were in the third quarter I believe.
On what kicker Dan Conroy did to get the edge on Kevin Muma
I think right now, he got the edge because he kicked better at the end of fall camp. Based on how he kicked, yesterday, I thought today, going into next week, I thought he kicked very, very well. No missed hits. Even the extra points were down on the money, right down the middle and plenty of distance and height. I thought he kicked very well. I thought Muma kicked off very well, but into the wind of a couple of times which was very difficult. We tell him just to drive the ball.
On Keith Nichol's touchdown catch
He had a great catch down, back in the end zone. I thought he blocked very well. He's a 220-pound plus guy out there that can be very, very physical. I thought as an offense we ran the ball well, we didn't see our wide receivers get involved as much although (Mark) Dell had a good game. We're better than that and we'll take the next step there.
On having three to four guys compete for the running back position
I think that's a good thing. Just like we saw with Larry Caper with having a little bit of a hand injury we didn't have to play him, we had two other players, playing very well. Nick Hill played a little bit at the end and he's very good. As I have been saying all along, one of the biggest differences in this football team, is our tailbacks, for whatever reason, not to disrespect anybody, but our tailbacks have a couple years of experience. With Larry Caper and Edwin Baker, they have a year of experience and our younger guys are very, very good players.
On the play of the right side of the offensive line
Based on what I saw, I thought our protection of the quarterback was very good. I also thought we ran the ball. We ran the ball for almost three hundred yards. We're doing something right there. They played very well.
On the play of the secondary
Two places stick out in my mind that we could have prevented. I thought we played pretty well. When there were plays that was made by them, there were nice catches and there were immediate tackles. They hit a couple plays. There's parity in college football. Western has a pretty good football team. They are going to be just fine as they move forward. They have guys catch the balls and their quarterback did a nice job. They made some catches, but I thought our secondary, right now seeing it on the field, played pretty well. No run after the catch, no really good plays down the field.
On what he liked best about today
The win. Not the wind, the win. I think that if you're looking for what we liked best I think running the football effectively and turnovers. Those two things stuck out to me as two things that we need to do better that we did last year. That's forward progress in that respect. As far as playing well in the red zone, they scored a couple, but I think they only had ten plays in the red zone. One time they sort of nickel-and-dimed it, we spent a lot of time there. Those would be the two biggest things I would say. Then special teams - I thought our kicking team was very solid.
On how losing Josh Rouse effects the running game and pass protection
Obviously it has the effect as much as anything in that he is a leader on our football team. He is a very passionate leader and players respect him very, very much. Any time you have someone down for the season it's a tough deal. When it's a neck injury, it becomes even tougher. Thank god it isn't anything more serious than that. He has all of his movements and everything else, he'll be okay. We lost him for the season and that's a tough deal, for him, especially, emotionally. p>
Western Michigan Head Coach Bill Cubit
Opening statement
I feel like we are in pretty good shape, other than a few turnovers. But we had a few chances to get down the field, especially since [Alex] Carder is a young kid and this is his first game. We had a chance to cut the score to fourteen and kid made a pretty nice play, but I should have called something different. I like the way they ran around and for Alex Carder to be playing his first game in this arena, the kid played pretty well. He is going to look at the film and say "no, I should have done this", because there were six or seven plays that I think he would have done differently. He is a competitive guy and he looks at things like a coach when he is on the sidelines. Defensively in the back end, I thought we played pretty well. But some of us were on the edges, so we need to rally around more. Also, the one-on-ones were more in the C and D gap and we need to do a better job than that. What I look at the most is how the kids are on the sidelines and how they are in the locker room. When they come off of a tough play, what was their body language? And in those aspects our players looked pretty good. Am I disappointed? Yes, but we were moving well and we had a nice pick today. So I told the kids that it is a long season and if we have a good attitude, good things will happen for this team.
On Alex Carder's performance
Alex is not afraid and he isn't too smart sometimes. [Laughs] But he is a competitive, strong guy and he isn't going to back down from anyone. And I think that a lot of the other guys feed off of that, they see him heading down there and they want to head down there too. Since I have been with Western's organization, this is the first time we have had a player like him. He is going to bail us out sometimes, and sometimes we are going to have to live with the mistakes he makes. But in the end he is going to make more plays than he is going to miss.
On Western being competitive until the end
The end of this year's game is a totally different feel than last year. Michigan State can make plays, and Kirk can throw a mean ball, so we have to be smarting in that regard. But, I think the coaching out there is different, it is more positive, and there is more leadership in the older players. I made a mistake by asking the players to stand up if they have never played before, and half of the room stood up. So in pre-game the older guys were taking care of the younger guys, telling them what they needed to do. Last year we had one player taking a leadership role, but this year everyone is taking it upon themselves to do great things.
On the performance of Blake Hammond
He missed a lot of camp due to an injury, but he came out there today and played well. His blocking was okay, but he made a couple great plays so his hands were very good. He gave us an extra guy. It was nice to see Dallas Walker get the ball too, because it has been a long road for him also. I like what I see, we just have to make sure and stay healthy.
On the play of the defense
I can't tell you what the coverages were, because I trust [Defensive Coordinator] Dave [Cohen] and his crew to take care of that. What I look at is what the facial expressions are when they score, what the players look like when they don't score, and if they are busting after the ball. What I saw today was encouraging and a tremendous difference. We made it difficult for Kirk to hold the ball for a long period of time and we got respect when we were on the field.
MSU Offensive Coordinator Don Treadwell
On the overall play in the game
One of the things going into the season, let alone the opponent today, was certainly the emphasis of running the football. Certainly that was a positive and that's always what you're looking for first. For us to be effective, we always work to be balanced and that gives us a chance to open up some other avenues, which they did today -whether it be play action and those types of things in the passing game.
On the performance of freshman running back Le'Veon Bell
Le'Veon Bell, I believe rushed for over a hundred yards. He has been a pleasant surprise as far back as in the spring. He enrolled early last spring, he immediately got the attention of the coaches, as well as his teammates, with just his natural ability. He has great vision for a running back, and excellent feet for a guy his size. We are very excited by him, and we think the sky is the limit as we keep moving forward.
On juggling defensive backs
Baker and Caper got the majority of the carries and as we touched on that a little in the preseason, you even saw a degree of change in a positive way from the regular season last year from those two guys in particular, even into the bowl game. Nothing can take the place of experience - that was a big factor with those two guys. You want to have that running back because there is a lot of wear and tear in the Big Ten with the amount of games we play.
On Larry Caper and a three-man rotation
I'm sure we'll work to make that work, and I don't have a final say so on Larry. We certainly want to be precautionary with him and obviously with how the job [Edwin] Baker did and Le'Veon [Bell] today, that was a positive for us. We welcome an opportunity to have some backs that are very capable of moving the ball and moving the team with the ball in their hands.
MSU Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi
His summary of the game
We were really happy with Johnny Adams and Chris L. Rucker, they were in great positions probably most of the day, where we asked them to be on guys. Got three turnovers today, which was exciting, we were almost maxed out as far as how many we got last year.
On the play of freshman defensive end William Gholston
He did a solid job, he did a beautiful hit on the quarterback late in the game, where they tried to go deep. He continues to progress, his best day of practice was Thursday, he turned it on.
On the play of Johnny Adams coming back this season, and how he did on his first game back
He was off for almost a year with a red shirt. I was impressed with Johnny he plays with attitude.
Michigan State Players
Junior quarterback Kirk Cousins
Opening remarks
I was pretty nervous and it took a little to settle in. At the end of the first half I thought we found our groove in our two-minute offense. We made a lot of mistakes that I think down the road, if we continue to do them, will get us beat. Hopefully we'll learn from those mistakes today when it didn't cost us and we can correct those when we get down the road and are in those situations again.
On why he was nervous
I was surprised, myself - I couldn't believe it. I think the fact that we don't have any preseason games or scrimmages against any other teams, that first time you line up against another team it just feels different. It's been so long since we have [played another team]. Took a while to get settled in, But I think now with that first game under our belt it'll be a lot better feeling coming in to next week and the weeks coming up.
On his touchdown pass to Keith Nichol
That was all Keith on that one. Play-action pass, it worked for us in spring ball and we were excited about using it. Really the safeties didn't bite and the corners didn't bite on the play-action fake. I got a little bit of pressure and needed to get rid of the ball so I thought I'd throw the ball and basically try to give Keith a chance - and it would go out of the back of the endzone if he didn't catch it. That was all him, I didn't realize their corner was as far over towards Keith as he was, so it was basically two-on-one and Keith made the play. Ultimately you can draw up the X's and the O's but it's ultimately about the Jims and the Joes. Right there , Keith just made a great play.
On the play and poise of Le'Veon Bell
It really didn't surprise me or my teammates because all spring he played so well and we were expecting that, and all fall camp he played so well, too. It wasn't too much of a surprise, but at the same time you forget that he is a true freshman, and that was his first game in college. He did a phenomenal job; I believe he went over 100 yards. He did a lot where he made guys miss - he made that first guy miss, which is the mark of a great back. I thought it was pretty impressive the way he ran the ball. If we run the ball like we did today my job will be really easy this year.
On the running game in general
We found that a variety of run plays worked. Sometimes you get into the game and only one play will be the one that works and all the other stuff doesn't. We felt that we could bounce from inside zone to outside zone to gap runs, and it was all working. It is good to know that we can do multiple run games and keep defenses on their toes.
Junior wide receiver Keith Nichol
On being a wide receiver
You think you're just running down the field and making cuts and catching the ball, but there's so much more to it. There's body posture, your hands, your technique on everything. You can't just go out there running and expecting to catch a jump ball or catch a slant and cut it up field. It's just not that natural so it takes a lot of work. Having a great coach like Coach Treadwell, veteran receivers like Mark Dell, BJ [Cunningham] and even Keshawn [Martin] -he's not an older guy but he is a junior, and he's been there--and Blair White last year. Those are phenomenal receivers to have around you to coach you up and a great coach in Coach Treadwell, they made it easy for me, I guess you could say.
On his change of perspective from quarterback to wide receiver
[As a quarterback] you expect anything that could touch their hands to be caught, or why are they tripping out of their break? But there's DBs sticking their feet out to try and trip you up while you're doing stuff, there's so much more to it than you see as a quarterback and you can appreciate it a lot more. There's definitely a lot to the position and I appreciate that now.
On contributing to the running game with a big block on Baker's touchdown run
Well I knew we were setting up that play and when they called it I knew that if myself and the other receiver made the block we were going to score. We have a great running back and it's hard to tackle him one-on-one anyways. I knew if we made a block we were going to score there and we did, and it's exciting to get the ball in the end zone. That's why you're out there, to score touchdowns. When you're a part of that and you feel like you're playing a role in that, it's exciting when we succeed.
On his touchdown reception and the impact the wind had on the ball
The wind was crazy out there. If it wasn't a tight spiral the ball would have been hanging up there a little longer than you expect, in terms of almost being like a knuckleball. One of the things Coach Treadwell talked about was focusing on all the little things, keeping your eye on the ball and your hands ready, and at that time everything just kind of slowed down, it felt like it took the ball forever to get there really. We scored a touchdown, and that felt great.
Senior linebacker Greg Jones
On the injury to fullback Josh Rouse
It wasn't completely apparent to everybody until after the game. Some guys had told me that he was really messed up, I thought he might have had just a really bad headache from some play. To find out the injury he had was so bad, I feel bad for him.
On the play of the defensive tackles in front of him
With all the guys, Jerel Worthy, Rashad White and Dan France, those guys stepping up and making plays is amazing. I think for those guys to come in and be so young and step up and do their job and listen and know what to do, you can't ask for a better job from those guys.
On shutting down the run game without sophomore tackle Blake Treadwell
[Treadwell] brings a different type of aspect to our defense, but at the same time we have to have guys that step up. It is important for us in order to move forward, if somebody goes down or gets tired we have to have other guys step up and be ready to go, and I think we can do it anytime.
On the defensive effort
We were ready. I think you have to come out ready all the time. I think we had a little bit of a slow start, but after a while we were ready to go. But we were definitely ready to play today.
On whether he was nervous before the game like Cousins admitted he was
There's always jitterbugs, I don't think it depends on what game it is, there's always jitterbugs because it means so much to you. When something means so much to you there's jitterbugs for everything. I think a lot of times it's the pressure to go out there and play your best - not for anybody else but your teammates, the guys you work so hard for and work so hard with throughout the offseason and during the season.
On Le'Veon Bell
I think he did a tremendous job. At the same time, I'm not surprised. In practice he's one of the toughest guys to take down. I'm not surprised at all by him.
Senior safety Marcus Hyde
On the importance placed on creating turnovers
It's been stressed every day. You've got to go out and you've got to make plays, and that was our thing and that's still going to be our thing. You've just got to go out and make plays when you're in the position to make the play, and I think that will help us out overall as a team.
On the communication in the defensive backfield
Communication has been great. Every day we've got to come out and watch film and remind ourselves what we are seeing and just keep talking, and it helps us out.
Sophomore Running Back Edwin Baker
On the difference between his freshman and sophomore year
I've been staying more patient and just letting my play develop and telling myself to have fun and not think too much.
On the impact new running backs coach Brad Salem had in his first game
He just told us to go out there and have fun and see the field in a bigger way. I think we took that today and made the best out of it.
On the performance of the offensive line
Our offensive line did a tremendous job, I talked to them before the game and told them all I need is a crease. They did that today and they did a wonderful job.
On the variety of run plays today
Our running the ball definitely made Kirk's [Cousins] job easier to get the ball downfield. It allows us to keep guys fresh and makes things a lot easier for us.
On the play of Le'Veon Bell
Yesterday I told Le'Veon before the game not to go out thinking too much - just have fun and relax and do what you do. I thought that he did a wonderful job, he stepped up without one of our running backs there. He got in and really helped us out.
On the running back rotation
It keeps us competitive, and on our toes. Everyone is working really hard in practice and it keeps us coming together.
On the blocking abilities of Keith Nichol
He just did what we've been practicing. He did his job and pushed the man inside and read it real well - and I scored a touchdown.
Freshman Running Back Le'Veon Bell
On his first game as a college player
This was a great experience, I always dreamed about starting like this for my first time on a college field . It was great to come out here and have a pretty good game.
On being the first MSU freshman tailback to rush for 100 yards their first collegiate game
I'm proud of myself, I put in a lot of hard work but I couldn't have done any without my offensive line, they were opening up holes and allowing me to show my talent.
On his nerves entering the game
I was really nervous, my first play was actually a punt so it wasn't as bad as it would have been on offense. I was very nervous when I got out there but once I took that first hit, all the butterflies went away.
On getting more time because of the absence of Larry Caper
We knew Larry wasn't going to play on Tuesday or Wednesday so they told me I might play a lot. It was a great opportunity for me.
On his 75-yard run
The defense over pursued on one side of the ball, so I cut back and the line pushed everyone my side. I ran up the sideline and I was trying to get Keshawn's [Martin] block in time, and I did my best.
On his commitment since enrolling early last spring
I wanted to come into school and play, that was one of the biggest things. Not everyone thought I could come in and play this level of football. I had a chip on my shoulder and wanted to show everybody that I can play, and I think that made me play better.
On his role the remainder of the season
Since there's three of us that can carry the ball, I guess its whoever has the hot hand, whoever is feeling it and in the zone - that's who the coaches will feed the ball to and will get the reps.
Western Michigan Players
Junior Quarterback Alex Carder
Overall thoughts on your first go around
I made some pretty good plays, but a lot of bad ones at the same time. I'm glad to get the jitters out of the system and the first one out of the way and move on with the rest of the season.
On his dislike of sliding
You're right - I don't like to slide. Coach Cubit tries to get on me about that, but I'm probably not gonna slide, not for a while at least. Until I really get hit I'm probably still going to try to get a couple of extra yards.
On the fumbled snap
We just kind of had some bad communication, me and the center. I was trying to get them to show me what they were doing, as far as their defensive checks. I guess I just did a little too much and it caused them to snap the ball and we kind of had some confusion on the snap count prior to that.
Senior Wide Receiver Jordan White
On the problems that the team had today
I think it was converting and noticing where they were blitzing from. We made a point to know where 53 [Greg Jones] was going , and one of our goals was to not let him beat us. I think we accomplished that goal.
On the lack of big plays
We definitely have a good mix in our offense of short plays and deep routes, also mixing in play action. I think we had a good mix of run and pass today and we were able to chop them up a bit.
On his impressions of junior quarterback Alex Carder
What I saw from Alex, with it being his first college game against Michigan State, a tough opponent, I think he did really well. Obviously there are things he can work on, but there are things that we all can work on. As far as it being his first college game, he did really well.
On this year's season opener compared to last year's
I feel the same at first, before I see the film, because obviously we lost and that's tough. I feel like we came out in the first quarter and started out fast and last year we got off to a slow start and the game got out of hand. This year though, we played well in the first quarter and the defense played the best that I have ever seen them. After that it kind of got out of hand with the offense and we gave them a short field with a fumble or two. Just coming out with a fast start and going full throttle, you can really tell the difference from this year from last year.
On the confidence of your team
We showed confidence on the field today, and even in the summer and fall camps. Our coaches put a big emphasis on starting fast this year, and we didn't do that last year. The defense was playing great and our coach said it was maybe a bad series or two and we let them score. On the offensive side of the ball it was our fumbles or just not converting and we put our defense in a bad spot. We have confidence in how we played today, especially in the first half and in the first quarter.
