Central, LeFevour Will Way to Huge Upset Victory

27 first downs to 17, 418 total yards to 316, 352 passing yards, an onside kick recovery, and a last second field goal: this is what Central Michigan did on Saturday afternoon to overcome a two touchdown underdog prediction to beat the Spartans. In route to victory, Central handled itself with poise, class, and a strong determination; the same could not be said for Michigan State.

 

Dantonio’s team looked about as lost on the field as it did during the John L. Smith era. The defensive secondary couldn’t cover routs. Greg Jones wasn’t as punishing as he was advertised. The team’s top receivers flat out dropped two gimme touchdown passes that would have sealed Central’s hopes early. And, the special teams unit failed to succeed in the latter seconds of the game. To speak bluntly, this team stunk on Saturday.

 

This is not to take anything away from the Chips, however. Dan LeFevour looked as good as advertised. The Central Michigan receivers caught passes they were supposed to catch, and the offensive coaches had a wonderful game plan to expose State’s man coverage. LeFevour’s final touchdown drive was extremely impressive, as was his poise behind the line of scrimmage during his drive to set up a last second field goal. All he had to do was complete a few short passes to gain field position, and he did.

 

Give credit to the Central Michigan fans as well. As I left the stadium, I couldn’t help but notice just how respectful the majority of the Central fans were. This was a HUGE win for them. This was an enormous embarrassment for MSU. Yet, aside from some cheering and hugging, I heard almost all positive remarks coming from Central’s fan base.

 

Saturday’s loss certainly doesn’t ruin MSU’s season- there were no National Championship hopes anyway. But, it does make next week tougher. Mentally, the Spartans are in a state of disarray. Notre Dame just loss a big game to Michigan, but it was on the road, and Notre Dame actually looked really good. The onus of negating yesterday’s disappointment now falls on Dantonio. He needs to pick his players up, challenge them, and be prepared for a battle in South Bend. The Spartans like to pump up their crowd by relating themselves with the warriors in the movie 300. Well, those warriors were well prepared for battle, and yesterday, MSU wasn’t even close to prepared.