Tag: Michigan State Spartans

Jordan James earns Ducks Wire Player of the Game with stunning rushing performance

Jordan James was masterful against Michigan State on Friday night, with a career-high in rushing yards.

The Oregon Ducks picked a spectacular 31-10 win against the Michigan State Spartans on Friday night, but it certainly wasn’t mistake-free. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw two goalline interceptions, and the Ducks secondary got beat deep a few times — although they weren’t punished.

But in a game where Oregon’s passing offense and over-the-top coverage were shaky, running back Jordan James stepped up and played a perfect game, leading the offensive unit for 60 minutes. James’s spectacular performance earns him the Ducks Wire Player of the Game.

James, a true junior from Tennessee, got going early against Michigan State, rushing for 41 yards on the first play of Oregon’s second drive of the game. It was Oregon’s longest rush of the season, but it was the first of many for James on Friday night. He finished the night with 24 carries, for 166 yards and a TD.

What makes James so good is his efficiency in running the ball. Last season, as the Ducks’ frequently-used backup RB, James averaged 7.1 yards per carry — the most in the Pac-12. This season, with much more volume, James is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Tonight, he averaged 6.9.

James’ Week 6 performance brought some national attention to his talent, and he threw himself into the Doak Walker Award (given to the nation’s best RB) conversation. If not for Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, James may be at the top.

If James hadn’t played an inhuman game, the Player of the Game award certainly would’ve gone to Jordan Burch. The senior defensive end played by far his best game as a Duck, with 4 tackles and 2.5 sacks. And with the way he clogged up the run game, plus the constant pressure he put on MSU QB Aidan Chiles, Burch’s presence was felt plenty on the plays where he didn’t make the tackle.

The Oregon Ducks were glad to have the Jordans.

Betting line shifts towards Michigan State ahead of Oregon Ducks matchup

The betting line has shifted slightly in favor of the Spartans vs. the Duck on Friday night.

The Oregon Ducks went into Week 5 against the UCLA Bruins with hopes of asserting dominance early and hitting the ground running after a bye week.

Mission accomplished.

Oregon’s 34-13 victory was more dominant than the numbers would suggest, and now Dan Lanning’s squad heads into a short week with an undefeated record, looking to welcome the Michigan State Spartans to Eugene.

While there are some good players on the Spartans roster, the overall balance of talent in this matchup may be lopsided as Michigan State continues to rebuild after hiring a new coaching staff this offseason. The Spartans are 3-2 with losses in their last two games, including a blowout loss to Ohio State this past week.

Here’s a look at the odds for this Friday matchup, courtesy of BetMGM:

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Oregon Ducks vs. Michigan State Spartans odds

  • Point Spread: Oregon Ducks -23.5
  • Moneyline: Oregon -3000 // Michigan State +1200
  • Over/Under: 52.5

Our Analysis

Oregon closed as 25.5-point favorites over the UCLA Bruins last week, so it appears that Las Vegas sportsbooks think this one will play out similarly.

The fact of the matter is that when the Ducks are clicking, they are capable of competing with just about any team in the nation. However, they’ve shown a bit of inconsistency so far this year, so it’s not always easy to project which team you’re going to get.

On paper, though, this is a lopsided matchup that Oregon should be able to dominate at home.

Betting Advice

I feel confident that Oregon will click offensively in this game. They’ve had a couple of lapses in that area so far this year, but in a primetime spot on Friday night, my bet is that the Ducks show what they can do with the ball and put up some points.

Will the defense be able to contain Aidan Chiles? For the most part, I think so. There will likely be a lot of points in this game, though, with the Ducks driving the over almost by themselves.

Score Prediction: Oregon 45, Michigan State 13

My Pick: Oregon -23.5 and Over 52.5.

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Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire

Kirk Cousins wears Ohio State gear after losing bet with former Buckeye

Cousins looks good in Scarlet and Gray #GoBucks

Loyalties run deep when it comes to college football. Especially if you were fortunate enough to wear the uniform. Even when former players get to the pros, the pride is easy to see. But sometimes, our school-colored glasses cause us temporary blindness.

Such was the case with former Michigan State and current Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Kirk Cousins. A friendly wager was made between Cousins and former Ohio State long-snapper, Liam McCullough, on who would win the matchup between the Spartans and Buckeyes this past Saturday evening. With OSU being a 24.5-point favorite, McCullough definitely had the advantage.

We all know the game’s outcome, and Cousins kept his word, wearing an Ohio State hoodie at the Falcons’ weekly press conference. It was said that McCullough originally gave Cousins his Buckeye jersey to wear, but the former Spartan chose to forgo the garment which certainly would’ve been oversized.

Good on Cousins for being brave enough to take the bet and for following through on paying up.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. 

Previewing the Michigan State defense ahead of Friday night’s game

Michigan State’s defense has had trouble lately with getting off the field after third downs

The less the defense is on the field, the better.

Michigan State obviously hasn’t learned that lesson yet as the Spartans have had a lot of trouble on third downs and getting off the field and getting the ball to the offense.

Especially lately.

The Spartans are losers of two straight and while the offense is young and inexperienced, the defense hasn’t given them the chance for an extra possession here and there.

In the last two games, a 24-19 loss to Boston College and a 38-7 setback to Ohio State, the opponents are 13-of-30 on third down and own the time of possession. The Buckeyes held the ball for nearly 36 minutes.

As with most typical Jonathan Smith teams, the Spartan defense is fundamentally sound, according to Oregon head coach Dan Lanning.

“Defensively (they’re) a little bit different than what they were last year at Oregon State, but still really, really sound and do some things that challenge you as well,” he said.

Michigan State’s defense might be a little more aggressive and takes some chances. They’re led by linebacker Jordan Turner and his 31 tackles, 6.5 for loss, and three sacks.

Defensive end Khris Bogle is tied with the team lead with Turner in sacks with three a piece. He has 20 tackles to his credit. Second of the team in that tackle category is Cal Haladay with 24.

Charles Brantley, a redshirt junior, leads the Spartan defense with two interceptions.

According to Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, the Spartans are catching the Ducks at the wrong time.

“They’re protecting the quarterback better and I think the run game has come together,” he said. “They have a lot of skill at receiver and they’ve made a lot of explosive plays. They have the ability to take something short and go all the way with it.”

Previewing the Michigan State Spartans offense ahead of Week 6 game vs. Oregon Ducks

The Michigan State offense is a work in progress with an inexperienced quarterback and line as they head into a hostile Autzen Stadium.

Everyone is smiles and laughs until somebody gets poked in the eye.

Isn’t that how that saying goes? Well however it goes, it fits in with the Michigan State offense as they got on a roll until faced with tough competition and it hasn’t gone well.

The Spartans are rebuilding with a new coach in Jonathan Smith and a new quarterback in Aidan Chiles, both coming to East Lansing from Corvallis and the Oregon State Beavers.

This is Chiles’ first real opportunity to show he can be a success as a starter as he sat on the bench for much of 2023, watching DJ Uiagalelei do his thing. It worked out for the most part as Chiles was put in for a series per game to get his feet wet.

Now he’s the man at Michigan State and after a strong start, tough times have followed Chiles. Overall, he has a 56.7 completion percentage and has five touchdowns. But he has eight interceptions and that has killed his progress.

Against Ohio State, Chiles was 13of-19 passing, but for just 167 yards, a touchdown and a pick. But it was against the No. 3 Buckeyes and the mistakes that were made can be largely excused because it was against the top team in the conference.

Chiles was also sacked three times last week as the offensive line hasn’t really helped out. They’ve allowed nine sacks for the year. It’s a young group as they play freshmen Rakeem Johnson and Rustin Young along that line that is just gelling as a group.

Injuries have played a part in the success, or the lack of it, recently. Leading receiver Nick March, also a freshman, has been banged up but returned for the Ohio State game and will be 100 percent for the Oregon contest. Marsh has 13 catches for 262 yards ((20.2 ypc) and a touchdown.

Michigan State’s rushing attack is also a work in progress because of that inexperienced line. But Kay’ron Lynch-Adams does lead the team with 61 yards a game and as scored once.

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The short and sweet history of Oregon vs. Michigan State series

A look back at the history of the Oregon Ducks and Michigan State Spartans football matchup.

The Oregon Ducks fully embarked into their new conference last week, playing their first Big Ten conference game against UCLA. But this week, they’ll cement their shift by playing their first conference game against a legacy Big Ten team: the Michigan State Spartans.

The Ducks Friday night matchup with the Spartans won’t be the first in the history of the two schools, but this matchup is far from being a storied rivalry. This will be the eighth meeting between Oregon and Michigan State and the first since 2018.

The first of the previous seven matchups in this series came in 1979 as the first leg of a home-and-home series (a two-year series featuring a home game for each team). The Ducks and the Spartans then played two more home-and-homes, first in 1998-99 and then in 2014-15. The seventh game between these two programs was a matchup in the 2018 Redbox Bowl.

An interesting anecdote about this series is that the Ducks are undefeated in Autzen Stadium against the Spartans, and Michigan State is undefeated in Spartan Stadium against Oregon. In the Redbox Bowl, the series’ only game played at a neutral site, the Ducks were victorious 7-6.

Some fantastic and classic coaches have taken part in this series, including Rich Brooks, Mike Belloti, Nick Saban, and Mark Dantonio. This week, Dan Lanning and Jonathan Smith — two great coaches who have gone toe-to-toe before — will add their names to that list, as Lanning will try to extend Oregon’s home win streak against the Spartans.

Dan Lanning offers injury update on Oregon Ducks TE Terrance Ferguson

In his Monday night press conference, Oregon coach Dan Lanning says tight end Terrance Ferguson will be available to play Friday.

It was a hit no one wanted to see.

But when Terrance Ferguson went over the middle for a pass deep inside UCLA territory, he was knocked silly and missed the majority of the game. That play left Oregon with Patrick Herbert and Kenyon Sadiq to play tight end for the rest of the night.

Although nothing was confirmed, it was assumed Ferguson was suffering from a possible concussion and was kept out for precautionary reasons. Oregon’s offense was OK without him, but having Ferguson on the field makes the Ducks more potent.

According to head coach Dan Lanning, the Ducks will have the services of Ferguson after the tight end was able to fully practice on Monday ahead of the Friday night game with Michigan State.

So far this season, Ferguson has 14 catches for 177 yards, an average of 12.6 yards per catch. He’s also valuable with his blocking abilities in the run game and down the field in certain passing situations.

In short, Oregon is a much better team with him on the field rather than the alternative.

Watch what Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith said about Ohio State postgame

What does Jonathan Smith think about Ohio State after playing the Buckeyes? #GoBucks

Ohio State went on the road for the first time this season and did it to open the Big Ten slate at Michigan State. The result was a score that was probably not quite indicative of how the Spartans played, with the Buckeyes winning going away, 38-7, to run their record to 4-0 on the season.

We like to hear from Ryan Day after each game, but we also like to get a listen to what the opposing coach says about Ohio State after all of the dust settles on the game.

This time around, that head coach would be Jonathan Smith, and he indeed provided some pretty good insight after the game. He believed his team competed, but also had some very good things to say about this OSU team and players like Jeremiah Smith.

If you didn’t get to watch and hear any of Smith’s comments, we’ve got them repurposed here thanks to the YouTube channel of SpartanMag. Have a listen to Smith discuss the challenges Ohio State presents, how good the Buckeyes are, and some glowing remarks on the personnel OSU has. There’s more about his team as well.

Ohio State will now begin prep for a game back at home against Iowa this coming Saturday. We’ll have plenty of coverage leading up to, during, and after the game.

Oregon Ducks unveil new ‘Heroes Uniform’ ahead of Michigan State game

The Oregon Ducks have revealed their ‘Heroes Uniform’ for Friday’s game against Michigan State.

The Oregon Ducks didn’t wait until a traditional time to unveil their new threads for the upcoming game against the Michigan State Spartans, but it’s not a traditional uniform.

On Sunday morning, the Ducks officially announced their ‘Heroes Uniform,’ which was designed by Dan Lanning and his family as part of the Stomp Out Cancer campaign for the team.

According to the team, each thread represents triumph – showing support for those who have battled cancer + raising awareness as we fight for the cure.

This is the second Stomp Out Cancer the Ducks have ever worn, with the first coming against the Nebraska Cornhuskers back in 2016.

Here’s a look at the uniforms:

Photo Courtesy of Oregon Athletic Department
Photo Courtesy of Oregon Athletic Department
Photo Courtesy of Oregon Athletic Department

The Ducks will wear these uniforms on Friday night against Michigan State in the primetime game on FOX. After winning in dominant fashion over the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night, Oregon will look to get to 5-0 against the Spartans and set up a huge clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 7.

 

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Big Ten Week 5 Recap: All final scores and updated standings

Here is a look at everything that happened in the Big Ten in Week 5 and the updated conference standings.

For the first time this season, we had a Big Ten football schedule that stretched from Friday night on the East Coast to the late night hours on the West Coast. While not every Big Ten team was in action this week, there was enough to keep us entertained with a trophy game in Michigan, an unofficial whiteout game in Happy Valley, and Oregon and UCLA giving us some Big Ten After Dark.

Here is a look at everything that went down around the Big Ten in Week 5, including a look at the updated Big Ten standings as we head into October.

Washignton played its first road game in the Big Ten and had to fly all the way across the country to New Jersey to do so. It was a long flight back after coming up short against the Scarlet Knights on Friday night.

Kyle Monangai rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown to help Rutgers hold off the Huskies, who dropped its second game of the season already. Washington had a chance to force overtime but a 55-yard field goal attempt by Grady Gross went wide left as time expired.

Washington outgained Rutgers 521-299, Washignton quarterback Will Rogers passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns and Jonah Coleman rushed for 148 yards. But the Huskies had three missed field goals and were just 2-for-12 on third-down attempts.

Next up for Washington: vs. Michigan

Next up for Rutgers: at Nebraska

This was a game about missed opportunities by Maryland. The Terrapins forced four Indiana turnovers but could not score any points off those free possessions. Indiana forced Maryland to punt three times following a turnover by the offense and Maryland was stopped on a turnover on downs following a fourth turnover. The Hoosiers offense more than made up for the rare miscues this season by racking up over 500 yards of offense led by 359 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Kurtis Rourke.

Indiana is off to its first 5-0 start since 1967 and the Hoosiers are already one win shy of bowl eligibility before even getting into October. Not a bad start for new head coach Curt Cignetti in Bloomington.

Next up for Maryland: vs. Northwestern (Week 7)

Next up for Indiana: at Northwestern

Michigan may have retained possession of the Little Brown Jug once again, but the visiting Minnesota Golden Gophers made them work for it. Minnesota put together a furious fourth-quarter rally that ultimately fell short after closing the gap to a three-point margin with 1:37 remaining. Minnesota recovered an onside kick but was flagged for an offsides call on the attempt, and Michigan recovered the second onside kick attempt to put the game on ice.

Kalel Mullings led Michigan with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns, putting together his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Michigan. The Michigan defense held Minnesota to just 38 rushing yards as a team, and limited Darius Taylor to just 36 yards (Taylor did score two touchdowns and catch 10 passes for 52 receiving yards).

The Michigan passing game continues to lack much punch with Alex Orgi completing 10 of 18 passes for 86 yards, but the Wolverines appear comfortable working around their apparent shortcomings for now.

Next up for Minnesota: vs. USC

Next up for Michigan: at Washington

It took a while for anything to happen on the scoreboard in this one, but Nebraska did its part to make up for a slow start. After a scoreless first half by both teams, Nebraska put the first touchdown on the board in the third quarter to take a 7-3 lead and then pulled away in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns for a good road victory for the Cornhuskers.

Dylan Raiola passed for 244 yards and a touchdown but the Huskers were just 1-of-8 on third down conversion attempts. Nebraska’s defense did handle Purdue well by allowing just 224 yards of offense and holding the Boilermakers out of the end zone until the final minute and a half of regulation. It was a defensive touchdown, a 29-yard interception return by John Bullock, that helped put the game firmly out of reach in the fourth quarter.

Next up for Nebraska: vs. Rutgers

Next up for Purdue: at Wisconsin

USC quarterback Miller Moss passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns as USC shut down the visiting Wisconsin Badgers in the second half. USC trailed Wisconsin at halftime 21-10 but weren’t on a 28-0 run in the second half to run away for their first Big Ten conference victory in program history.

This was a bit of a sloppy game for much of the afternoon with five combined turnovers (USC with three, Wisconsin with two), and 14 penalties for over 100 yards of penalty yardage fairly evenly split between the two teams.

Next up for Wisconsin: vs. Purdue

Next up for USC: at Minnesota

Penn State and Illinois traded touchdown drives to start the game, but then the defenses for each took over. The Illini would not manage to score any more points in the game, so Penn State had to gain control with the running game to get the win. Fortunately for Penn State, the combination of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen helped grind out a win with 221 total yards of offense combined between the two, and some good work from tight end Tyler Warren out of the wildcat formations, the offense was too much to slow down for the Illini.

Penn State’s defense also forced a couple of turnovers and sacked Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer seven times. This was not an officially sanctioned whiteout game for Penn State, but the fans turned the night game into one anyway.

Next up for Illinois: vs. Purdue (Week 7)

Next up for Penn State: vs. UCLA

Ohio State’s first game away from home was not expected to be a massive challenge for the Buckeyes, and perhaps it wasn’t. The Buckeyes got off to a somewhat slow start with a 3-0 lead after the first quarter but put together three touchdowns in the second quarter and never had a reason to look back against Michigan State.

Will Howard passed for 244 yards, and the combo of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith combined for 12 catches and 179 receiving yards with a touchdown each. the defense locked in on the Spartans’ running game and held Nate Carter to just 27 yards on six carries.

Michigan State had their opportunities though. But Michigan State had three turnovers inside the red zone in the first half, suggesting a team can move on the Buckeyes but still has to find a way to finish. Micigan State was unable to do so and paid the price.

Next up for Ohio State: vs. Iowa

Next up for Michigan State: at Oregon

Orgeon wide receiver Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns as the Ducks enjoyed a big win at UCLA to wrap up the Big Ten schedule in Week 5. Dillon Gabriel completed 30-of-39 pass attempts for 268 yards and had three touchdowns, including the two to Johnson, and his one interception was returned for a touchdown by former Oregon player Bryan Addison.

After a shaky start to the season, it appears as though Oregon has found its groove and is beginning to live up to some of the preseason hype. They’ll return home next week for their first Big Ten game in Autzen Stadium. Meanwhile, UCLA will make its first cross-country trip in Big Ten play for an early kickoff next Saturday in Happy Valley.

Next up for Oregon: vs. Michigan State

Next up for UCLA: at Penn State

B1G WB1G LWL
Indiana2050
Michigan2041
Ohio State1040
Oregon1040
Penn State1040
Rutgers1040
Iowa1031
Illinois1141
Nebraska1141
USC1131
Michigan State1132
Washington1132
Northwestern0122
Wisconsin0122
Purdue0113
Maryland0232
Minnesota0223
UCLA0213