2009 Week 9

The caldendar might have said October 31st, 2009, but the snow on the ground in Wisconsin and the Spartan/Badger colors gave it a Christmas type of feel as the #25 Michigan State Spartans took on the #1 Wisconsin Badgers. In the end, Christmas came early for the Spartans.

Using a total team effort, the Spartans put together their best game of this dynasty with a 31-0 white out over the number one ranked team in the nation. Of course, fumbles helped a little as well.

On the opening kickoff, Wisconsin returned it to the 25 but then fumbled the ball over to the Spartans. HB A.J. Jimmerson would run it in, making it 7-0. On the very next drive, the Badgers were driving, but a fumble in Spartans territory ended their second straight possession. The Spartans would capitalize with a field goal.

The Badgers gameplan was screwed, as they did not want to go to the air or play aggressive in this type of weather, as they were held to six first downs throughout the game.

"Those two early fumbles were huge. They couldn't pound the ball, and it's very hard to play from behind in the snow. I'm extremely proud of our defense and our offense for capitalizing on the mistakes," stated Dr. P.

The Spartans got five field goals from K Brett Swenson, got a safety after turning the ball over at the one yard line, and had two rushing touchdowns from HB A.J. Jimmerson.

Jimmerson ran for 163 yards and two scores on 31 carries, in what was an outstanding performance. QB Connor Dixon had a career best 65 yards on 9 carries, as the Badgers really had no answer to the run game.

Defensively, the Spartans pressured Wisconsin all game. Five sacks and tight coverage from the secondary forced Wisconsin to throw short all game, if they were ever able to get the passes off.

The Spartans held on to the ball for 19 minutes and 40 seconds, while the Badgers had it for just eight minutes and 25 seconds. This was a completely one sided affair.