Colorado St. win streak hits 10
Rams erase 16-0 deficit to knock off Michigan State
Posted: Saturday August 29, 1998 08:50 PM
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Tale of two halves: Irvin, who gained 101 yards in the first half, finished with 120 yards on 30 carries AP |
EAST LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- The game was billed as a battle of
1,000-yard running backs. It was settled in the trenches, where
Colorado State was too much for Michigan State.
Kevin McDougal's 32-yard touchdown run early in the fourth
quarter gave the 15th-ranked Rams their first lead and they held on
for a 23-16 victory over No. 23 Michigan State in the Black Coaches
Association Classic on Saturday.
The Rams, who once trailed 16-0, increased their winning streak
to 10 games. Michigan State has lost 10 of its last 12 against
ranked opponents and is 7-34 in such games since 1988.
McDougal, one of two 1,000-yard rushers in the Rams' backfield,
completed the comeback with a burst off tackle with 11:29 left in
the fourth quarter.
"I've got to tell you, our offensive line dominated today,"
said McDougal, who rushed for 1,111 yards last season. "When they
have good games, we have good games."
Ryan Eslinger, making his first start at quarterback, was 3-of-3
for 44 yards in the go-ahead drive. Eslinger, a senior who had
attempted just 27 passes before this season, was 13-of-26 for 205
yards and one touchdown with one interception for the game.
"The second half, it was just a matter of making everything
go," Eslinger said. "It worked out good. They ran some things
[defensively] that we had in our game plan. They didn't throw
anything at us that we didn't see on film."
Bill Burke, making his first start at quarterback for Michigan
State, was 11-of-21 for 73 yards with one touchdown and one
interception. Freshman Ryan Van Dyke was at quarterback for the
Spartans' final series.
"We had only 230 yards of total offense," Michigan State coach
Nick Saban said. "Part of that is because we couldn't complete
passes when we really needed to do that."
Colorado State, which led the nation in turnover margin last
year with a plus-27, forced two Spartans fumbles in the fourth
quarter to protect the lead.
"We came out a little sluggish, especially offensively, but we
came in at halftime and you could see it in the guys' eyes," said
McDougal, who rushed for 82 yards on 12 carries. "A lot of teams
would have given up at 16-9. They didn't want to lose. They didn't
want to quit."
Inexperience showed on the part of both quarterbacks in the
first quarter. Burke, despite converting third downs with passes of
8 and 6 yards to set up Paul Edinger's 23-yard field goal, had a
pass intercepted by Colorado State's Erik Olson late in the first
quarter.
Eslinger, whose first interception led to Michigan State's
second touchdown, overthrew wide-open Derrek Uhl, who got behind
Spartans cornerback Renaldo Hill on the last play of the first
quarter.
Burke gave Michigan State a 9-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown
flip to Brad Rainko, capping a 55-yard, nine-play drive early in
the second quarter.
Five plays later, Eslinger's pass was picked off by Amp
Campbell, who returned it 14 yards to the Rams 33. Four plays
later, the Spartans had a 16-0 lead.
Burke teamed with Plaxico Burress for 13 yards on third down
before Sedrick Irvin, who carried 30 times for 120 yards, broke off
left tackle for a 17-yard touchdown run.
At that point, it looked like the rout might be on for the
Spartans, who were 7-5 a year ago. But the Rams, who won a
school-record 11 games last year, answered by going 75 yards in six
plays. Eslinger found Darran Hall behind Hill for a 57-yard scoring
play that cut the deficit to 16-6.
On the Rams' next possession, Eslinger had a 16-yard completion
to Uhl in a 36-yard, six-play drive to a 44-yard field goal by
Derek Franz, making it 16-9 with 1:08 left in the half.
"We were down 16-9 at halftime, but we were still in the
ballgame," said Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick, who has won his
last five openers. "That is what we had to have. If we don't get
it in scoring position right then, I think the hole would have been
too big for us to get out of."
Eslinger completed passes of 38 and 11 yards late in the third
quarter as the Rams drove 84 yards in eight plays, tying it 16-16
on Damon Washington's 2-yard run. Washington, who can become the
first player in Colorado State history to rush for 1,000 yards
three straight seasons, froze the defense by faking a pass before
scampering into the corner of the end zone.
It was only the second time the Rams of the Western Athletic
Conference played a Big Ten school. The last time, they were
defeated 24-14 by Michigan in the 1994 Holiday Bowl.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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