Spartans vs. Pitt and ND's woes

Well, Matt's not getting around to writing a post this week. I figure once I start he'll actually do it because I'm not nearly up to his comic standards.

Things I thought, read or heard about our game Saturday:

• Hoyer is not good, tosses are off base and he seems to hold on to the ball forever, therefore getting sacked often
• That being said, our offensive line seemed to be dominated by Pitt most of the time. I think I heard something about an offensive lineman being hurt.
• T.J. Williams (receiver that was kicked off the team at the beginning of the year) made his first appearance in the second half. He didn't do anything memorable to me.
• The game was close, especially in the second half when we had 120398 penalties for 9483498237 yards. (Okay, really something like 11 penalties for 125 yards)
• Our defense did okay, they sacked Pitt's quarterback a three times at the end to help save the game.
• The running backs continue to do pretty well.

Summary of the game from USA Today:

INSIDE SLANT

For too long, Michigan State won its games by outscoring opponents and making up for a deficient defense. Those days, clearly, are over. With a defensive-minded head coach in Mark Dantonio, the Spartans defense took a bow for the team's 17-13 win over Pitt on Sept. 15. As countless offensive drives stalled in or near the red zone, the defense held tough in the waning seconds. The defense sacked Pitt quarterback Kevan Smith three times on the Panthers' final possession, and Travis Key had a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown for Michigan State, which is starting to make believers out of even its toughest critics. "I thought it was a great win for our football team," Dantonio said. "I think when you win games like this we won so many games like this when I was down in Columbus you start to build a sense of confidence that you can do it in close games."

GAME BALL GOES TO: DE Jonal Saint-Dic As the representative for an incredible defensive effort, Saint-Dic wins it for forcing a fumble and registering one of the three big sacks on Pitt's final possession.

KEEP AN EYE ON: S Travis Key Returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown in a fill-in role. Key could see more time as the secondary tries to heal.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I can't say enough about (Jonal) Saint-Dic he's the sack master. ... You can't block him." Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi to the Lansing State Journal.

LOOKING GOOD: In a bit of a role reversal, the defense bailed out the offense and won a game for the Spartans. S Otis Wiley began Michigan State's only TD drive with an interception, one of two on the day for MSU's defense. The defense had five sacks, boosting the season total to 17, or one more than it had all of last year.

STILL NEEDS WORK: The red-zone offense struggled against Pitt. Three drives reached the 7-, 24- and 2-yard lines of the Panthers, yet the Spartans came away with only three points. QB Brian Hoyer was sacked six times by the Panthers. The protection must get better, but Hoyer also admitted he has to get rid of the ball quicker. The Spartans were penalized 11 times for 125 yards, stalling drives and killing momentum. It was an old problem for MSU that the coaches need to ensure doesn't return.

ROSTER REPORT: S Nehemiah Warrick and CB Ross Weaver did not play, but Mark Dantonio expects both to be ready next week against Notre Dame. WR T.J. Williams made his first appearance of the year after he was suspended for most of the preseason. He caught one pass for 16 yards. CB Kendell Davis-Clarke and OL Roland Martin sustained leg injuries and walked off the field in protective boots.

Here's Drew Sharp's article for this week - http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070915/SPORTS07/70915010/1055

All kinds of articles about Notre Dame this week too:

This is from Mlive:

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State didn't release its depth chart as it customarily does on Monday because Notre Dame isn't sharing the same information in advance of Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game in South Bend.The report MSU got from Notre Dame is that in the wake of its 0-3 start, FIghting Irish coach Charlie Weis has blown up the team and is starting over. The Irish have reportedly re-opened training camp and all 22 starting jobs are back up for grabs.With no Notre Dame starting lineup available, Dantonio has decided to withhold his projected two-deep as well until Weis comes up with one, possibly on Thursday or Friday.Consequently, there were no updates on the status of injured defensive backs Nehemiah Warrick, Ross Weaver and Kendell Davis-Clark, nor who will start in their positions. There also was no word on injured offensive guard Roland Martin.

From USA Today:

This is not just bad at Notre Dame. This is biblical.
It's not just the 0-3 start.
It's losing three games by a combined margin of 89 points (Subway Alumni establishing a crisis hotline).
It's 23 quarterback sacks allowed. Forty-six teams did not allow 23 sacks all of last season. (Touchdown Jesus now holding his hands over his eyes).
It's being ranked 119th in the nation in rushing, total and scoring offense ... and 111th in rushing defense (Echoes refuse to wake up, roll back over and go back to sleep).

It's three games played without an offensive touchdown yet. (NBC considers replacing Notre Dame television package with Appalachian State).
It's the sobering news that the next five opponents — Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA, Boston College and USC — are a combined 13-1, so how does 0-8 grab you? (That's not thunder being shaken down from the sky, that's the bus leaving town with Demetrius Jones on it. He started at quarterback in the first game, and reportedly transferred to Northern Illinois before the third).
"The bottom line," Charlie Weis said after Saturday's 38-0 meltdown at Michigan, "is we're not really getting good at anything."
Notre Dame is not just losing. That would be shocking enough, at 0-3. The Irish are being obliterated. They have been behind for nearly 149 of the season's 180 minutes so far

How does this happen at a place with so much recruiting might, money, prestige, exposure?
Everything is a fair question now in South Bend.
The reputation of this program.
Charlie Weis' ability to transform his NFL expertise into a consistent college product. This is not the New England Patriots, anymore. The Irish don't even illegally tape the other team's coaches.
And the school's decision — in the blush of Weis' fast start his first season — to offer a very long and very plush contract extension that stretched out 10 years.
Meanwhile, the coach in the middle — who might quickly find out how coaching his alma mater can devour a man — tries to pick up the pieces.
"We're starting training camp (Sunday)," Weis said Saturday, promising he would "come out swinging."
He said he had studied his team closely Saturday. "I was looking at their eyes to see if any of them had thrown in the towel. I was including the coaching staff, too."

That's it for me, maybe Matt will have time to write his opinions later.

By the way, MSU has a new Althletic Director - Mark Hollis. I don't really know anything about him, but he was an intradepartmental hire and Izzo seems happy.