Agony in defeat

I wasn't even going to write about this. It was too much to relive. Then I realized, I can't label my blog MichiganStateDoug without talking about Michigan State sports, even if it was a disaster.

Some would call it a disaster. Some would call it bad coaching. Some would call it a defensive mistake. I think Bill Simmons (AKA ESPN's The Sports Guy) would say it best. In his levels of losing, the third worst loss is "The Stomach Punch." As described by Simmons, "Now we've moved into rarefied territory, any roller-coaster game that ends with (A) an opponent making a pivotal (sometimes improbable) play or (B) one of your guys failing in the clutch. ... Usually ends with fans filing out after the game in stunned disbelief, if they can even move at all. ... Always haunting, sometimes scarring." (Levels of Losing 2.0)

With 1:37 left in the 4th quarter on Saturday, MSU scored on a 30 yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Blair White. It's the first touchdown by either team in the game and MSU leads 13-9. This play doesn't happen without an amazing play call and execution on a hook-and-ladder play 2 plays earlier. On third and 18, MSU ran one of the best plays in MSU football history as Cousins hit TE Brian Linthicum on the hash mark about 10 yards out. Almost immediately after catching the ball, Linthicum pitched it to a crossing Blair White who scampered down the sideline for 27 more yards to set-up Cousins scoring pass to White two plays later.

It should have been over. Iowa's QB Ricky Stanzi had been 7-18 in the first 58 minutes of the game. MSU's defense had given up some rushing yards, but had kept the Iowa passing game under control. With 1:37 left, they'd have to pass the ball to win. For all intents and purposes, the game should have been over. Then the MSU defensive coordinator took over.

For the first 58 minutes of the game, MSU had rushed at least 4 guys after Stanzi on every play. While MSU only had 2 sacks Saturday, they constantly had pressure on Stanzi and forced him to either throw the ball early or throw the ball away. When Iowa took over on their own 30 yard line with 1:32 left, MSU came out with only 3 down lineman rushing Stanzi. It was then that I started to cringe. Part of me felt it coming. On the first play Stanzi completes a pass for 16 yards while having all the time in the world to throw. 3 plays later he hits another wide receiver for 21 yards as he had all the time he needed to pass as MSU rushed 3 and dropped 8 in coverage. 2 plays later, Stanzi hits the same guy for another 16 yards.

In the first 58:28 Stanzi had 78 yards passing. In the last 1:32 Stanzi ends up with 60 yards passing. 53 come with MSU rushing only three down lineman and never blitzing. With first and goal at the 7 yard line, 15 seconds left in the game, MSU finally starts blitzing and sending more guys after the QB and Stanzi threw 3 straight incomplete passes.

4th down, :02 on the clock, Iowa ball at the 7. MSU decides this is a good time to send the house at Stanzi, leaving 3 corners on islands against the Iowa WR's. Marvin McNutt makes a stutter step move, cuts inside on Chris L. Rucker, and Iowa wins the game 15-13. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I think this is the first game I've attended in person where I've had this feeling. I don't think I've ever been punched in the stomach, but I can imagine this is what it feels like. Top off the night with a disaster of a ride home (bad accident on the only major highway back to Detroit, went 6 miles in 2 hours with no exit/turn-around to make a U-turn in) and it was pretty much one of the worst nights to be an MSU fan.

People will blame the officials for a bad call on a big hit by Jeremy Ware with 7 minutes left in the game. People will blame the officials for the holding call on Chris L. Rucker with 15 seconds left in the game (contact happened in the first 3 yards, otherwise I'm sure it's called pass interference instead of holding as Rucker basically knocked the guy to the ground). What it really comes down to is, MSU played it safe on defense from the 1:32 mark in 4th quarter until the last 0:15. Then with Iowa working with limited space, they decide to blitz and open up more space for them to work with. 2 linebackers standing on the hash marks near the goal-line takes away the slant pass. They could still have rushed 6 and dropped 5. As it turns out, rushing 8 still let Stanzi make a play and Iowa's magic run continues.

All wasn't lost for MSU fans on Saturday night though. The resurgent MSU hockey team defeated then number 1 in the country Miami (OH) down in Oxford....oh who am I kidding, how many people actually follow college hockey anyways...