September 17, 2009

David Fox
Rivals.com College Football

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But Central Michigan brought back bad memories in the Chippewas' 29-27 victory in East Lansing on Saturday; the final 32 seconds included a Central Michigan touchdown, a failed two-point conversion, an onside kick, a missed field goal and a winning field goal. The winning kick came after Michigan State was offside on an unsuccessful 47-yard attempt.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis doesn't think the Spartans will have any sort of hangover from the Central Michigan loss. After all, South Bend is a comfort zone for Michigan State. The Spartans have won six consecutive games in South Bend.

"The last six times they have come in here, they have done it," Weis said of the Spartans. "So they have plenty of evidence that they've done it."

Notre Dame has problems of its own after losing 38-34 to Michigan on a touchdown pass with 11 seconds left.

"The main thing is that both teams are coming off a close loss at the end of the game in the last seconds and need to get emotionally reinvolved," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "How emotional will we be able to play and can we put things behind us?"

The most important group that needs to bounce back for Michigan State is the secondary. The Spartans surrendered 352 passing yards and three touchdowns to Central Michigan, allowing nine Chippewas to catch a pass. Dantonio said the secondary needs to play with more confidence and pay closer attention to detail against the Irish, who have one of the best passing attacks in the nation.

Despite the loss to Central Michigan, the Spartans' offense appears to be coming around. Dantonio hasn't named a starter or elaborated much on his plan for quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol, but the former appears to be making the stronger case. Cousins has started both games and played the entire second half Saturday. He was 13-of-18 for 164 yards with a touchdown against the Chippewas. Nichol was 3-for-8 for 51 yards and a score. Neither has thrown an interception this season.

"We didn't lose the game because of quarterback play," Dantonio said. "Both quarterbacks led our team to touchdown drives. We scored some points. At the end, we didn't have time."

Key matchup: California RB Jahvid Best vs. Minnesota LB Nate Triplett. Triplett excelled on special teams while he waited for his turn to start at middle linebacker. He's making the most of his senior season; he has 26 tackles in two games, including 17 last week against Air Force's option offense. Best is averaging 10.4 yards per carry and will be the best running back Minnesota sees all season. If the Golden Bears run effectively, it's hard to see them losing.

On the spot: Michigan State's secondary. The Spartans' defensive backs were supposed to be the strength of the defense, but they looked vulnerable against Central Michigan. The Chippewas passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns last week, thanks to the duo of Bryan Anderson and [d]Antonio Brown[/db] (16 catches, 191 yards combined). Notre Dame has perhaps the top receiver duo in the country in Michael Floyd and Golden Tate.

Numbers game: There are 16 FBS coaches at their alma maters. Two face each other Saturday when Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern '96) faces Doug Marrone (Syracuse '85) in the Carrier Dome.

What they're saying

"The bigger the moment, the bigger the stage, the better [West Virginia quarterback Pat White] was. We hope our young guys have that same mentality. It's only two games in, so I don't want to anoint too much too soon, but from what we've seen, our young guys have that same kind of presence." - Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, on the composure of his young players.

"We've played two straight games that have gone to the last play of the game. We expect the same thing on Saturday." - Indiana coach Bill Lynch, on playing at Akron.

"[Offensive coordinator Gary] Nord and myself ... if we're going to live on the edge, we're going to live on the edge. We're going to be gutsy and put points on the board." - Purdue QB Joey Elliott, to the Lafayette (Ind.) Courier & Journal, on the fourth-down halfback pass call in the final 1:01 against Oregon. Kevin Smith threw a touchdown pass for the game's 38-36 final margin. The Boilermakers missed the ensuing two-point conversion.

"He reminds me very much of [Jack] Ham. I think Ham was a step faster, but Sean's in the same league." - Penn State coach Joe Paterno, to the Philadelphia Inquirer, comparing LB Sean Lee to former Penn State and Steelers LB Jack Ham.

Etc.: Minnesota WR Eric Decker is third in the nation in both catches (19) and receiving yards (296). ... With three picks against Iowa State, Iowa SS Tyler Sash has seven interceptions in his past six games. ... Two Hayden Fry disciples will meet Saturday when Iowa's Kirk Ferentz faces Arizona's Mike Stoops. Ferentz spent 11 seasons as Fry's offensive line coach at Iowa; Stoops played for Fry and served as an assistant from 1982-91. ... Illinois is off this week. LB Martez Wilson (neck) is out for the season and will have surgery for a herniated disc in his back. Illini QB Juice Williams is nursing a thigh injury, but the bye week helps in that regard. Williams is expected to play against Ohio State on Sept. 26. ... Penn State ranks 94th in the nation and last in the Big Ten in rushing offense at 107 yards per game. ... Penn State LB Navorro Bowman (groin) is questionable for Saturday's game against Temple. ... Minnesota is using redshirt freshman QB MarQueis Gray, a four-star signee in the Class of 2008, in its "Wildcat" formation at receiver while WR Troy Stoudermire takes the snap. ... Michigan's game against Eastern Michigan will reunite Eagles coach Ron English with the Wolverines. English was the 2006 Rivals.com National Defensive Coordinator of the Year as a member of Lloyd Carr's coaching staff. ... Iowa redshirt freshman Adam Robinson will remain the starter at running back, but true freshman Brandon Wegher will help the injury-plagued running back corps after rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown off the bench against Iowa State. Iowa star OT Bryan Bulaga (illness) is day to day, and his absence would hurt against Arizona on Saturday.

David Fox is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at dfox@rivals.com.