Adam Rittenberg over at ESPN
deserves some kudos for writing what we all know: the Spartan defense rocks. He calls the Big Green Machine a "model to emulate" for other teams looking to compete on a national basis. My God, that trench crew in our
Outback Bowl win over Georgia -- DE William Gholston (#2), DT Jerel Worthy (#99), DT Anthony White (#98), Marcus Rush (#44) -- consistently pushed the Dog line back time and time again. Right in their face. Look at the DEFENSIVE STAT SHEET below, lit up like a Christmas Tree. When three of your four tackle leaders are defensive lineman, it means you have a devastating defense. (In the JLS-slapface era, our leading tacklers were SAFETIES). Lookit the stat sheet, by God - Gholston 7 tackles (5 TFL), Rush 6 tackles (2 TFL), White 5 tackles (3 TFL), Worthy 4 tackles (2 TFL) ... brings tears of joy to the ES.
17 TACKLES FOR LOSS by the Spartan defense... 17!! Unreal, the effort. Gholston put on a First Team All-American effort the Spartan Nation can be proud of. Denicos Allen, Chris Norman, Max Bullough all laid the wood in support where necessary... but this was a DEFENSIVE LINE led effort. Gholston's post-game You Tube video (
"everybody gotta eat") ain't too bad, either. Lots to look foward to, Spartan fans, for many years to come...
Michigan State
## Player Solo Ast Tot TFL/Yds FF FR-Yd Intc BrUp Blkd Sack/Yds QH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Gholston, William 7 . 7 5.0/16 . 1-6 . 1 . 2.0/10 .
44 Rush, Marcus 6 1 7 2.0/4 . . . 1 . . .
98 White,Anthony Rashad 5 2 7 3.0/7 . . . . 1 . .
39 Robinson, Trenton 5 1 6 . . . . . . . .
99 Worthy, Jerel 4 1 5 2.0/2 . . . . . . .
10 Norman, Chris 4 1 5 1.5/7 1 . . . . . .
28 Allen, Denicos 2 3 5 1.5/6 . . . . . 1.0/5 .
31 Dennard, Darqueze 3 1 4 . . . 2-38 . . . .
40 Bullough, Max 2 1 3 . . . . . . . .
52 Drone, Denzel 2 1 3 1.0/4 . . . . . . .
9 Lewis, Isaiah 1 2 3 . . . . . . . .
5 Adams, Johnny 2 . 2 . . . . . . . .
23 Jones, Jairus 1 1 2 . . . . . . . .
