Wow, that was heartbreaking. Michigan State lost, 33-30 to Notre Dame, but clearly outplayed the Irish for the better part of the game. The interception by Cousins with :40 seconds left was unnecessary, as we were well within FG range. But as Dantonio said, if ND didn't block the extra point on MSU's previous TD, the whole scenario likely would have changed. Bottom line - Kirk Cousins played GREAT - he had an awesome game, superior to Jimmy Clausen. Captain Kirk throws the ball like a laser, and his only bad throws were his last two -- overthrowing a wide open Caper in the end zone, and then the INT. But, the ES puts this loss squarely on the defensive secondary. MSU's defense is like a sieve, and they better get their shit together in time for Big Ten season next week at Wisconsin.

The ES is disappointed, but know that Captain Kirk is our man and we need to pick up the defense ASAP. DBs need to turn around and play the ball, and play man-up instead of soft. ES is disappointed in Narduzzi and the Spartan defense.

More later - MSU may be 1-2, but there is still some confidence for the Big Ten season. MSU should beat Wisconsin next week, for sure.

MSU ND

FIRST DOWNS................... 27 25
Rushing..................... 5 13
Passing..................... 18 11
Penalty..................... 4 1
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 105 133
Rushing Attempts............ 25 37
Average Per Rush............ 4.2 3.6
Rushing Touchdowns.......... 2 1
Yards Gained Rushing........ 109 163
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 4 30
NET YARDS PASSING............. 354 304
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 26-40-1 24-34-1
Average Per Attempt......... 8.9 8.9
Average Per Completion...... 13.6 12.7
Passing Touchdowns.......... 2 3
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 459 437
Total offense plays......... 65 71
Average Gain Per Play....... 7.1 6.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 1-1 1-0
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 6-40 11-99
PUNTS-YARDS................... 3-135 3-124
Average Yards Per Punt...... 45.0 41.3
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 37.3 41.3
Inside 20................... 2 1
50+ Yards................... 1 0
Touchbacks.................. 0 0
Fair catch.................. 1 2
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 5-322 7-444
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 64.4 63.4
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 39.4 41.4
Touchbacks.................. 0 0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 0-0-0 2-23-0
Average Per Return.......... 0.0 11.5
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 7-154-0 5-125-0
Average Per Return.......... 22.0 25.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 1-0-0 1-20-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 1-5-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 25:30 34:30
1st Quarter................. 9:21 5:39
2nd Quarter................. 4:57 10:03
3rd Quarter................. 6:14 8:46
4th Quarter................. 4:58 10:02
Third-Down Conversions........ 5 of 10 5 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 3-4 3-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-16 0-0
PAT Kicks..................... 3-4 3-4
Field Goals................... 1-2 2-2