The Observer

Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: Irish Insider

Michigan State Running Back Javon Ringer runs away from Notre Dame's Terrail Lambert during the Spartans 23-7 victory over the Irish. DAN JACOBS/The Observer

There was a double-digit deficit. There was the offense throwing the ball all over the field. At times, it even seemed like Brady Quinn was finding Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardzija.

But there was no magic comeback this time in East Lansing as an inept running game, turnovers and a whole lot of Javon Ringer sealed Notre Dame's first loss of the season Saturday, a 23-7 defeat to Michigan State.

Ringer, Michigan State's senior running back who entered Saturday's contest third in the nation averaging 166 yards per game, ran for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries. For most of the day, the Irish defense kept the Spartans' workhorse in check. When Brandon Walker missed a 41-yard field goal with 5:50 remaining in the game that would have brought Notre Dame to within six points, Ringer had rushed for 124 yards on 33 carries - an average of only 3.75 yards per carry.

Yet two plays after Walker's missed field goal, Ringer burst through the Irish line for a 63-yard scamper. Five runs later, Ringer punched his way into the end-zone from one yard out to give Michigan State a 16-point lead and ending any chance of a Notre Dame comeback.

"What happens is that they can give [Ringer] the ball 39 times a game, and you can hit him and hit him and hit him and he just keeps on coming," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "I think I learned a long time ago that one attribute that great players have is stamina and he obviously has great stamina."

While the Spartans pounded the ball effectively all day, the Notre Dame ground game was stuck in neutral from the start. After the opening kickoff, Robert Hughes and James Aldridge combined to run the ball three times for four yards. On its next drive, Notre Dame continued to pound the ball with Armando Allen, who rushed three times for a total of three yards.

It didn't get much better the rest of the first half. Not counting a 24-yard end-around by Irish wide receiver Golden Tate, Notre Dame ran for 23 yards on 13 carries in the opening 30 minutes.

"Our offense came out in the first half trying to win the line of scrimmage and that wasn't taking place," Weis said. "It wasn't some exotic defense they were playing. It still comes down to winning the line of scrimmage, and I think their defensive line got the best of our offense. It wasn't just our offensive line. It was our offense."

Continued...

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