My Spartan Memories, Volume 2: October 6, 1984

On October 6, 1984, Michigan State defeated Michigan 19-7 in Ann Arbor, thus ending a six-game losing streak to the Wolverines. At the time, I was a 16 year-old 11th grader living in Michigan's Thumb amongst hordes of what are, these days, known as "WalMart Wolverines". To say the least, I was ecstatic after MSU's win. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the game on TV because I was working that day--in order to make money to attend MSU two years later. In those days, MSU's public televison station WKAR showed replays of Spartan football games late Saturday night, so I'm pretty sure I was at least able to see the game that way).

When I was in eleventh grade, my English teacher required us all to keep a journal for the entire school year. At the time, I considered it a pain and a nuisance, but I thank her now because I have so much fun going back and reading the stuff I wrote back then. I thought it might be fun to share my journal entry for October 6, 1984--the day the Spartans knocked off the Wolverines. Beside the Detroit Tigers winning the World Series that season, MSU beating Michigan pretty much made my year, and I think it definitely shows in this journal entry (where I use some colorful language that I hope my English teacher didn't read):

Saturday, October 6, 1984

Final score: MSU 19, Michigan 7

I repeat: MSU 19, Michigan 7

Yes, it's been six long dreary years, but finally we good guys at MSU have beaten those arrogant asses at U of M. We did it in front of 105,000 people at Michigan Stadium. We pulled down their pants in front of their hometown a**holes. Everything was right, [Dave] Yarema had a hell of a day, Keith Gates, Carl Butler, Bobby Morse, and Aaron Roberts led the offense. The defensive line was incredible. They held Michigan down. U of M couldn't get anything going on the ground. This Michigan team is terribly overrated and now that Harbaugh is out for the season, they're going absolutely nowhere.

This win over Michigan is probably the biggest football win for State in six years. It avenges that terrible loss of a year ago [UM 42, MSU 0]. Hopefully, the Spartans can take it on from here and have a good season. I think State is headed in the right direction. I'd be happy if they could win six or even seven games this year. Next week is Homecoming. They should be fired up. I can guarantee that all of the long-suffering MSU fans (especially the old codgers) are gonna go nuts.

Finally, it's the way it should be: the good guys victorious over the bad guys. Final score, Good guys 19, bad guys 7.

Words of wisdom from Duffy

Late last week, I started reading Duffy Daugherty's autobiography, published in 1974, entitled simply, Duffy. After reading some some typically insane, irate comments from MSU "fans" angry as hell over the Ohio State loss, I came across something in Duffy's book that can be applied to these fans. Duffy actually wrote this in regard to unrealistic expectations of media, but it also accurately describes many fans. Here's what Duffy said, "Quite often, a writer or broadcaster will want you to win so badly that he'll expect you to, even when you're saddled with a mediocre team. Then, when you don't do as well as he expected, he'll rip your guts out because of his own disappointment."

Spartan fans, I know you're disappointed that the team didn't beat Ohio State (and, did not even make it a game). Sometimes, you bump into a team that's just flat out better than your team. That's life. Now, I wouldn't necessarily classify this year's Spartans as "mediocre," but they do have some deficiencies that we all knew about before the season even started. We all need to take a deep breath and appreciate what this team has done so far this season. I still say that if the team wins eight regular season games, they will have exceeded expectations.

Ohio State is looming

As much as I've tried not to, I have been obsessing over tomorrow's MSU/OSU game since... well, since about a half hour after the MSU/Northwestern game.
 

The Spartans have a legitimate shot in this game, and let's face it--a victory over the Buckeyes would be huge for this program.
 

I am trying not to get my hopes up. As a longtime Spartan football fan, I have been conditioned to keep my expectations as low as possible so that when the inevitable disappointment occurs, it doesn't hurt as bad.
 

Still, I am greatly encouraged by the progress of this football program under Dantonio. I have no doubt that the guys will be ready to play tomorrow. If State can contain Beanie Wells and force Terrelle Pryor into bad decisions, while maintaining the excellent special teams play we've gotten so far this year, it could be a very happy day for the folks in green and white.

Michigan State 37, Northwestern 20

I am getting excited about this MSU football season, and this feeling is both exhilarating and a little scary. I, like many other Spartan fans, have been burned too many times before--but something seems different about this year. (Am I crazy to feel this way?) The Spartans have been mentally prepared for every game they've played, and have consistently made the big and important plays exactly when they've needed them.

As far as the Northwestern game goes, the Spartans set the tone immediately by jumping all over the Wildcats in the first quarter. By the time Northwestern woke up, they were down by 17 and could never get back in the game.

But what is particularly impressive about Michigan State is the way they consistently responded to every score Northwestern made. When the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard to make it a 17-7 game, State immediately marched downfield, scored a touchdown, and went into intermission up 24-7. Then, when Northwestern took the second half kickoff and quickly scored again to cut the deficit to 24-14, and looked for all the world like they'd stolen momentum, the Spartans did not go into panic mode like, ahem, the Bobby Williams or John L. Smith teams of the past. Instead, they foiled the 'Cat's onside kick attempt and proceeded to stick it to the Wildcats again, upping their lead to 31-14. It was that sequence of events (NU TD, failed onside kick, MSU TD) that I believe sucked all of the air out of Northwestern.

Cudos to the Spartans for their outstanding special teams play and for the brilliant placekicking of Brett Swenson. This young man is the best kicker MSU has had since Paul Edinger (he really reminds me of Edinger, too. Not only does he physically resemble him, but he has icewater in his veins just like Edinger had). With one more year left in his college career, Swenson has a chance to become one of MSU's all-time great kickers. One more thing, when a team can consistently win the field position battle and force turnovers, that team will almost always come out victorious.

In conclusion, there just seems to be something very special about this team. They may not be the most talented team in the Big Ten, and their defense may give up its fair share of yardage, but they are tough, resilient and confident. They are becoming a reflection of their head coach, Mark Dantonio. I think that good things may be on the horizon. Only time will tell.

My Spartan Memories, Volume 1: November 12, 1977

In keeping with the Michigan State football theme that I seemed to have established thus far with this blog, I might as well keep the ball rolling, so to speak. I never consciously aimed to make this a "Spartan football blog," but with our nation's economy in utter shambles, and the election year increasing in intensity and nastiness, my mind really craves escapism lately. For the moment, MSU football is providing that escapism. So why not escape along with me?

I have been mulling this idea around in my head for awhile, and was actually going to start it prior to the Indiana game. However, it wasn't until now that I have finally got around to doing a little feature that I will call "My Spartan Memories." I hope all of my one or two readers out there in cyberspace enjoy it.

Michigan State will be playing the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston tomorrow, so this is a perfect opportunity to reflect back on the very first MSU football game I ever attended. The date was November 12, 1977 and the place was, naturally, Spartan Stadium. I was a nine year-old fourth grader. The game program pictured above is the actual program that I begged my parents to purchase for me at the game. Look closely at the pant legs of the Northwestern quarterback, and one can see the actual stain from the hot chocolate I accidentally spilled on the cover. (Although the photo shows two MSU players about to deliver a bone-crunching sandwich hit on the QB, giving one the impression of Spartan domination, I suspect that this photo was taken during the '76 game in which the Spartans were drilled 42-21).
 

Allow me to provide a little background. I was literally born a Spartan fan. Both of my parents graduated from Michigan State, and were students during the last period of truly great MSU football in the mid-sixties. My parents were on the sidelines at the 1966 "Game of the Century" between State and Notre Dame. (My father was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. Traditionally, DU brings a large bell to every home game and rings the bell for every point MSU scores. So if the Spartans score a touchdown and extra point, the bell is rung seven times). I grew up on stories of Duffy Daugherty and Bubba Smith. (I may share some of these stories in future posts).
 

Although as a child I was raised a Spartan, it wasn't until I reached nine-years-old that a light switch went on and I became an actual football fan. I had a rivalry of sorts going on with the kid who lived next door to me, who was a Michigan fan. (At the time, we lived on the northwest side of Detroit, a city dominated by the University of Michigan. Spartan Nation, if you think a "blue wall" exists in the Detroit area now, it was really bad in the '70s.). The neighbor kid had gone with his parents to see the Wolverines squeek by Navy, 14-7, earlier in the '77 season. I remember him showing me the football program he'd aquired at the game. I decided that I wanted to see an MSU game, and I'm sure I pestered by parents about going to a game throughout that season (my memory on that particular point is a little hazy).
 

On November 12, 1977 my wish was fulfilled and I drove up to East Lansing with my mom and dad to watch the Spartans take on the Wildcats. My memories of the day and the game are fragmented now, so just today I researched the game by reading the account of it published in the November 13, 1977 Lansing State Journal. I work at a library in downtown Lansing, so it was easy for me to take some time during my lunch break to investigate the microfilm.
 

Prior to reading the newspaper account, here are my memories of that game: I'm pretty sure we parked on the south end of campus. I distinctly remember taking a shuttle bus to Spartan Stadium. It was extremely cold that day, but it was at least partly sunny. I received a free MSU raincoat/windbreaker (with a prominent Arby's logo on it). I loved that thing and wore it until it fell apart. As far as the actual game goes, all I remember is that State absolutely hammered Northwestern that day, and the final score was 44-3. I couldn't remember precisely who scored for the Spartans, but had a vague recollection of Kirk Gibson catching a touchdown pass. I remember all of us shivering on the old wooden bleachers of the north endzone, and briefly warming up with hot chocolate. We left a few minutes before the end of the game (on the way out of the stadium my parents bought me the game program pictured above), and I recall, in the warmth of our '75 Valiant, listening to the radio play-by-play announcers describe the [inebriated?] students tearing down the goalposts in jubilation. (Ah, the seventies!).
 

Here is how reality meshes with my perception (and in some ways contradicts my memories): the State Journal reported that it was indeed extremely cold that day (even by the standards of November in Michigan) with temperatures in the low 30s and a northerly wind of 15 miles per hour. I was also correct in recalling the Spartans' total domination of Northwestern that day, but had no idea of the extent of that domination. The Spartans racked up an astounding 607 total yards (275 rushing and 332 passing). After Northwestern took an early 3-0 lead on a Sam Poulos 37-yard fieldgoal, State struck back with 31 consecutive points. Kirk Gibson did indeed take a pass from Eddie Smith into the endzone for a score. (Gibby crossed the goal line with 29 seconds left in the first half to give MSU a 31-3 lead at intermission). Here's where the memory is a little faulty: I swear that the reason Michigan State couldn't convert their final PAT of the game was because the students were already in the process of "goalpost removal." However, the State Journal makes no mention of this (and, in fact, doesn't mention the goal posts being torn down) so perhaps I'm wrong on this point. (Can anyone out there clarify this?).
 

The Northwestern team that Michigan State faces tomorrow is undefeated. The Wildcats have won four of the last six meetings between the two schools and easily have had more gridiron success of late than MSU. Since MSU's last Big Ten title in 1990, Northwestern has won three (1995, 1996, 2000). However, when these teams met in '77, Northwestern was an absolutely terrible team. They entered the game winless (and finished the season 0-11). According to the State Journal, the day before the '77 game against the Spartans, a newspaper article was published in Omaha, Nebraska suggesting that Northwestern was on the verge of being removed from the Big Ten. They were to be replaced by the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Northwestern coach Jon Pont was incensed by the rumor and quickly squashed it. (My dad used to talk about Northwestern being so inept that they were going to be forced out of the Big Ten, but I was always a bit skeptical. Funny to see that such rumors were actually published and discussed in '77).
 

 

The 1977 Spartans were a good football team. After starting the season a bit shaky, they finished strong and placed third in the Big Ten with a 6-1-1 conference record (7-3-1 overall). The following season, with senior quarterback Eddie Smith and senior flanker Kirk Gibson (not to mention an underrated defense), MSU won the Big Ten title. Unfortunately, due to an extremely harsh NCAA probation, the Spartans were never on television and were barred from representing the Big Ten in the 1979 Rose Bowl. (I don't know if MSU football has ever fully recovered from those NCAA sanctions, but that's something to be explored in a later post). 

 

 

My first Spartan football game was a fantastic experience, and is at least partly responsible for making me the MSU fan I am today (for better or for worse). Let me end this post with some stats from that 1977 Northwestern game:
 

Attendance: 61, 228 (I do remember there being quite a few empty seats that frigid November Saturday)
 

Northwestern 3 0 0 0 -- 3

Michigan State 10 21 7 6 -- 44
 

Eddie Smith: 24 attempts and 15 completions for 286 yards passing, 3 TDs (2 passing, 1 rushing).

Mark Brammer (TE): 7 catches for 108 yards, 1 TD

Kirk Gibson (FL): 3 catches for 103 yards, 1 TD

Jim Earley: 7 carries for 83 yards

Steve Smith: 63 yards rushing and 2 TDs (and no, he's not the same Steve Smith who led the MSU basketball team to the 1990 Big Ten title!)

Bruce Reeves: 62 yards rushing

Dan Bass: 15 solo tackles

Mel Land: 13 solo tackles

Homecoming Parade

I am a graduate of Michigan State University (if you have not already guessed) and have lived in the greater Lansing area for the better part of 27 years. In all that time, I had never once attended the MSU Homecoming Parade...until this Friday, that is. I really had a good time (except for the parts where I had to make sure my kids didn't get by a car trying to get from our car to the parade, and the parts where I had to temper my kids' ravenous appetite for the candy being thrown from the paraders).

A few weeks ago, while watching an episode of the childrens show "Oswald" with my younger son, Oswald and his friends attend (and maybe even become part of--I don't remember precisely) a parade. My son immediately decided that he wanted to see a parade. My mind raced through a list of potential parades and, lo and behold, struck upon the Homecoming parade. "There's a parade next month, and we can go to that one," I said to my son. Later, I told my wife that "we should take the kids to the Homecoming parade." (I should probably include myself as one of "the kids").

We seem to have a habit in our family of saying that we're going to do something, but not actually following through with it when the time comes. I particularly have a hard time of doing family outings on Friday nights. I find that I'm so tired from the work week that I don't feel like fighting crowds and would prefer to stay at home. This time, however, we followed through on our plan. It was all dependent on what mood the kids were in when we picked them up from my in-laws (who, bless them, are our childcare providers when my wife and I are at work). The kids were in reasonably non-cranky moods, the sun was out, the temperature was a crisp 50 degrees or so, and we decided to head into East Lansing for the parade.

We found a place to park on Charles Street, just south of Burcham, and made the three-block trek to Abbott Road. With two rambunctious boys, even the seemingly routine task of walking a few blocks can be an adventure, but I'm happy to report that we made it to the parade route with everyone intact. We found a spot in front of the Lutheran Church on Abbot Road. This was a good location, because my younger son had to go to the bathroom twice. Thankfully the church was open and were generous in allowing us to use their facilities. My son even received a free hot dog after his second trip to the loo).

The parade lasted much longer than I expected, about one hour and fifteen minutes. The Spartan Marching Band was outstanding as usual (I always get a chill down my spine when I see them perform), the floats were amateurish but generally cute and occasionally clever, and the Muskegon High School Marching Band is probably the best high school band I've ever seen. Those kids have got some soul! Our kids scored more candy than they'll probably receive on Halloween, and the vibe in the air was extremely friendly and festive. If I have anything to do with it, we'll definitely be going to next year's Homecoming parade. (Oh yeah, we also saw my niece in the parade with her Girl Scout troop). For a city the size of East Lansing (40,000 and change), there is truly a small town feel that I have grown to appreciate more as I've gotten older.

Afterwards, we got Chinese takeout at my favorite local Chinese joint, Lucky House in Okemos, so it was a great topper to a fun Friday evening (and I hope I haven't bored everyone to tears!).

Michigan State 42, Indiana 29: post-game thoughts

Just finished watching the Spartans wear down the Hoosiers and get out of Bloomington with a win. Not pretty by any stretch, but I'll take it. Very nice to start off the Big Ten season at 1-0. MSU's next opponent is Iowa on Homecoming in East Lansing. The Hawkeyes lost at home to Northwestern, so next week's game for the Spartans is definitely winnable. (Having said that, Northwestern looks like they will be a tough team to contend with this year. They are still undefeated. With the parity in college football, which became particularly evident this weekend, that's saying something regardless of the competition the Wildcats have faced).
 

Back to MSU/Indiana: First of all, I could not believe the number of empty seats at Memorial Stadium. Is Indiana that indifferent towards football? (The answer must be a resounding "yes." I suppose the Hoosier faithful are too busy counting down the days until basketball season). If I didn't have responsibilities at home (or have to take my son to his soccer game this morning) I'd have hopped in the car bright and early, driven down to Bloomington, and bought a ticket at the stadium. (These are the kinds of things I wish I'd done when I was young and single with virtually no responsibilities and lots of time on my hands).
 

As far as the actual game goes, it was way more of a nail-biter than I'd have liked. Years of following Spartan football have made me uncomfortable with any lead that is less than two touchdowns. I thought Indiana hung in there pretty well, but dropped passes, too many penalties, and a little too much Javon Ringer was just enough to keep them from making this a closer ball game.
 

Some random thoughts:
 

Extremely rough game for Otis Wiley, but he redeemed himself somewhat by falling on that fumble.
 

Another good game for Ringer, but I sure wish the play calling was a bit more imaginative. I worry about what will happen when State plays better competition.
 

Our backup tailbacks have got to get more touches. Ringer is not going to be able to carry the load the entire season.

 

 

That's all I have for now. Gotta catch some of that Michigan/Wisconsin game now.