"What a way to end this ballgame," said analyst Todd Blackledge. "That was something special, on a special night," said announcer Brad Nessler. I'm glad I stayed up for it. I nearly went to bed at halftime, with the score a lackluster 7-7.
But then the second half began. A total of four TDs in the third quarter. With two very evenly matched teams, what would be the difference?
MSU's coach, Mark Dantonio. He put his team in position to exorcise demons that have been building in the closet for...years. Cue in Coldplay's "Fix You." In OT The Call: the "Little Giants" play, which literally brings tears to my eyes. Notice the play clock ESPN provides goes to zero just as the play begins--or perhaps a small fraction of a second after--while the stadium play-clock still shows 0:03:
Co
Coach Brian Kelly (left) and his dejected Fightin' Irish players react to the remarkable fake field goal attempt in overtime, which Michigan State converted to win.
But then the second half began. A total of four TDs in the third quarter. With two very evenly matched teams, what would be the difference?
MSU's coach, Mark Dantonio. He put his team in position to exorcise demons that have been building in the closet for...years. Cue in Coldplay's "Fix You." In OT The Call: the "Little Giants" play, which literally brings tears to my eyes. Notice the play clock ESPN provides goes to zero just as the play begins--or perhaps a small fraction of a second after--while the stadium play-clock still shows 0:03:
Co
Coach Brian Kelly (left) and his dejected Fightin' Irish players react to the remarkable fake field goal attempt in overtime, which Michigan State converted to win.
I just wish, though, the Spartans played better special teams, had a
better defensive secondary, and had a offensive coordinator who took
more advantage of the obvious Notre Dame weakness, the two back-up
safeties forced to play full-time. One can see the school spirit lacking
from most of pro football, even if these big-time programs are really
semi-pro outfits, with the players often being marginal students at
best.
Coach Don Treadwell didn't attack the middle of ND's defense until 9:07 of the fourth quarter. But The Call will live on for a long time. Payback for the heartbreaking loss last season. Or the hideous chock job in 2006.
But Coach MD has been adept at calling trick plays on occasion; here, for example, is last year's hook-and-lateral that worked to perfection against Iowa. (MSU would, alas, go on to lose the game on the last play.)
Here's background from an Irish perspective. Did you know Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus used the sound from a 1959 MSU-ND game in East Lansing, the Jerusalem of the Northern Hemisphere?
Mock us all you want, boys. Time you got a dose of the medicine I endured several times this decade, and all throughout the late 1970s.
Coach Don Treadwell didn't attack the middle of ND's defense until 9:07 of the fourth quarter. But The Call will live on for a long time. Payback for the heartbreaking loss last season. Or the hideous chock job in 2006.
But Coach MD has been adept at calling trick plays on occasion; here, for example, is last year's hook-and-lateral that worked to perfection against Iowa. (MSU would, alas, go on to lose the game on the last play.)
Here's background from an Irish perspective. Did you know Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus used the sound from a 1959 MSU-ND game in East Lansing, the Jerusalem of the Northern Hemisphere?
Mock us all you want, boys. Time you got a dose of the medicine I endured several times this decade, and all throughout the late 1970s.
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