EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Amid the satisfaction of Michigan State's 44-38 win at Minnesota on Oct. 18, there were some heads hanging in the Spartan locker room.
They belonged to MSU's defensive backs, twisted and turned all day by Minnesota's receivers - nearly allowing the Gophers to come back and win.
"Minnesota brought us back to Earth, and I challenged (my guys) after the game," MSU cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes said. "You always want to take steps forward, not back. And I think, by far, we took steps back."
Two weeks later, MSU's secondary must step carefully, precisely and with as much speed as it can muster. No. 11 Michigan (7-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) visits the No. 9 Spartans (7-1, 4-0) Saturday, and the Wolverines are bringing the best group of receivers in the Big Ten - maybe the nation.
"They're probably as good a wideout crew as you'll see anywhere in college football," MSU coach John L. Smith said.
And that crew - NFL-caliber talents Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant and Steve Breaston - is going up against a defense that stacks the line against the run, gives a steady diet of blitzes and often leaves its corners isolated in man-to-man coverage.
U-M has the Big Ten's leading rusher in Chris Perry. So it's not like the Spartans can afford to give too much extra help to its beleaguered secondary.
"We're gonna have to play honest," MSU safety Eric Smith said.
"When you have a back like Chris Perry, people are so worried about the run that it frees up the pass a little bit," said Edwards, who leads U-M in catches (52) and yards (686), and the Big Ten in receiving touchdowns (nine). "Then you have guys like Jason, Steve and myself running good routes and getting open. It's just going hand in hand right now."
Avant is actually the Wolverines' scariest deep threat, with 37 catches for 615 yards (an average of 16.6 per catch). And Breaston (24 catches, 307 yards) is a punt-return specialist who would start at wideout for any other league team.
They're all 6-foot-1 or taller. They all run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 or better. Between them this season, they have accumulated 1,608 yards, 13 touchdowns and many awe-struck admirers.
"It's the best corps of receivers I've ever seen," Purdue coach Joe Tiller gushed after last week's 31-3 loss in Ann Arbor.
On the other side, MSU's secondary of Smith, safety Jason Harmon and corners Darren Barnett and Roderick Maples had been improving after a rough start to the season. They played particularly well in wins over Iowa, Indiana and Illinois.
Then came Minnesota. Gophers quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq tossed for 377 yards and four scores, two in the waning moments as Minnesota cut a 20-point deficit to six. Receiver Aaron Hosack had 125 yards and two touchdowns, ripping one away from Barnett in the end zone.
"We were a little bit upset, we felt it shouldn't have been that close," Eric Smith said. "It was kind of like everybody on the defense got tired."
MSU's coaches pinpointed 33 instances of defensive loafing on the game film, a season high. The Spartans had 19 the previous week at Illinois.
Loafing isn't likely to be a problem this week. But confidence could be, especially for Barnett and Maples, both first-year starters.
"They know they've got to put it behind them," Eric Smith said.
MSU denied media access to Barnett and Maples this week. So the next time they speak publicly will be after Saturday's game - and Haynes hopes their heads aren't hanging again, trying to explain how they were victimized for the second straight game.
"The heat's on them," Haynes said of his corners. "The heat's on me. But the heat's on us every week."
Originally published Friday, October 31, 2003
