EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A penalty gave Michigan State first-and-goal from the 2, so for the next four plays, the Spartans gave the ball to standout running back LJ Scott.Each time, Michigan stopped him.The second-ranked Wolverines went on to beat their in-state rivals 32-23 on Saturday, and although the margin was a little slimmer than expected, there was plenty positive about the way Michigan played. Michigan State had won seven of the previous eight meetings, in many instances bullying the Wolverines physically, but Jim Harbaugh has already closed that toughness gap -- and Michigan finally enjoyed a breakthrough on the scoreboard.Defensively, we made plays, guys made plays, Harbaugh said. Fourth-down stops were huge in the ballgame.The unbeaten Wolverines (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) were huge favorites against the Spartans, whose season had already unraveled. Michigan State (2-6, 0-5) didnt wilt, though. Scott ran for 139 yards, and the offensive line had some success against the tough Michigan front.Since Harbaughs arrival, however, the Spartans have had a hard time imposing their will against Michigan. They needed a shocking last-second touchdown to beat the Wolverines last year and had to grind just for a close defeat Saturday.There arent any moral victories, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. Weve got to take it, but I think that you can feel good that you competed. You can feel good that things went this direction. You can feel good as a coach that we got an opportunity to win this football game.Michigan State delivered some bad news Sunday when the school said quarterback Brian Lewerke would miss the rest of the season with a broken leg. Lewerke has been mostly a backup, but he played well toward the end against Michigan. He is not expected to need surgery, and the Spartans expect him back for spring practice.The challenge for Michigan State is to bounce back quickly from this season. The Spartans have joined the elite in the Big Ten by winning conference titles two of the past three years, but Harbaughs arrival has brought Michigan back to prominence and made the league tougher. Its hard to attribute too much of Michigan States collapse this season to Harbaugh -- the Spartans couldnt even beat Indiana or Maryland -- but every loss threatens to shift the balance even more from East Lansing toward Ann Arbor.For years, Michigan State has relished its status as an underdog surrounded by glamor programs like Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame, playing some of its best football against those teams. Its possible that after so much success, the Spartans lost a bit of that chip on their shoulder.Michigan, meanwhile, is in the ascendency again, and the game against Michigan State didnt need to be a blowout to be immensely satisfying for the Wolverines.Its a rivalry game so when you go into games like that, records really dont matter, said Michigan receiver Amara Darboh, who had eight catches for a career-high 165 yards. We understood that they were a good team.Michigan allowed an early touchdown, and with the score 7-7 in the second quarter, the Spartans went for it on fourth-and-1. Wolverines star Jabrill Peppers stopped Gerald Holmes.Michigan led 27-10 at halftime, but an interception gave the Spartans a chance to cut into the lead early in the third. Thats when the Wolverines stood up to Michigan State on those four straight carries by Scott.Every time the Spartans appeared to be building momentum, Michigan was there to push back.We treat every game like its the championship game and fortunately our guys made the play today and the credit goes to the players, Harbaugh said after the game.---More AP college football:
www.collegefootball.ap.org Divock Origi Liverpool Jersey . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats.
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http://www.footballliverpoolstore.com/Women-Rhian-Brewster-Liverpool-Jersey/ .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena.
Virgil van Dijk Liverpool Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set.
Nathaniel Phillips Jersey . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals.GLENVIEW, Ill. -- Craig Stadler birdied five of his first 11 holes on Friday to jump into a share of the lead with Duffy Waldorf and Bernhard Langer at 5-under-par 67 in the rain-delayed Champions Tour Encompass Championship at North Shore Country Club. There were 23 players left on the course when play on the 54-hole tournament was suspended by darkness. Stadler, who didnt start until after a 3-hour, 28-minute delay for severe weather was in the next-to-last group to finish. The players with holes remaining will do so Saturday morning before the second round begins. The fourth of Stadlers five birdies was his best. His 7-iron from a divot in the middle of the fairway stopped a foot from the cup. Seven players, including Chicago-area native Gary Hallberg and area resident Jeff Sluman, are a stroke back at 4-under 68, while Peter Senior and Mark Calcavecchia are at 4-under on their back nine. Major championship winners Corey Pavin, Bob Tway and Hal Sutton lead a pack of eight players at 3-under 69. Both Waldorf and Langer finished their rounds after the delay, with Waldorf bogeying his last hole to drop from 6-under. Langer parred his final two holes after the thunderstorms passed. Hallberg holed out from the fairway for an eagle 2 at the 18th to reach 4-under. Sandy Lyle and Blaine McCallister were in the clubhouse at 68 before the storm hit and dropped eighth-tenths of an inch of rain on the course. Lyle birdied three of his first seven holes, and then played his final 11 in 1-under to settle at 68. McCallister was 5-under through 17 holes, but stumbled by missing the green in regulation and failed to convert a 20-foot par-saving putt. Among the others at 68, David Frost opened with a double-bogey 6, but played his back nine in 4-under-par 32 to claim a share of third. Jeff Hart birdied three of his last six holes to climb to 4-under, while Sluman played the back nine in 3-under 33 to score his 68. Hochs round was birdie-free. SStadlers 67 was his best first-round score since a 67 at the AT&T Championship late in the 2008 season.dddddddddddd On Friday, he benefited from soft greens that accepted shots from all angles, and hit 16 greens in regulation, even though he landed in only nine of 14 fairways. "It was hard getting your short irons close, because the ball kept spinning back," Stadler said as darkness closed in. Waldorf was on the ninth hole, his last of the day, with the thunderstorm system on the verge of hitting the course when the horn was blown. He ended up three-putting his last hole for a bogey 5. "When youre playing well, you definitely want to keep playing," Waldorf said. "It would have been a big difference." Waldorf hit 15 greens and one-putted eight holes, including all six birdie holes. McCallister played bogey-free golf until his last hole, the par-4 ninth, which he was hurrying to finish before play was halted. "Theres a lot running through your mind," McCallister said. "Youre trying to beat the weather. You know its coming, but I stayed patient today." McCallister nearly holed out for eagle on the par-4 second hole, his 11th of the day, sinking a one-footer for birdie, and added a birdie on the par-5 third to get to 5-under. He stayed there until the bogey at the ninth. It was still his best opening round since June of 2010. Lyle hit nine of 14 fairways and 13 greens en route to his 68, taking only 28 putts. The round would have been better had Lyle not bogeyed three of the four par-3 holes. There were 48 players under par and another 11 of the 80-man field at par when play was suspended for the day. The storm also left a large gallery to scatter. Many were following Sluman and former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, participating in the celebrity pro-am team portion of the competition. A pair of teams were tied at 13-under 59 for the first round lead. ' ' '
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