Michigan State Football Enjoys Bus Ride Back From Ann Arbor
East Lansing, MI – It was Rocky Lombardi's second-straight year playing in Ann Arbor; only this time, he would be the starting quarterback, and the Spartans walked away with a 27-24 victory.
After two years, the Paul Bunyan trophy returned to East Lansing.
"They talk about, when we're here, that 50-minute bus ride on the way home is the best 50 minutes of the season if we get that win," Lombardi told reporters on Monday. "It was good; it was emotional. I'm glad that we got Paul back home in East Lansing."
For the first time since 2006-07, Michigan had won two in a row and intended to make it a third.
All signs pointed to a comfortable Wolverine victory, especially once the Spartans dropped the ball against Rutgers.
"We were getting bashed, and stuff like that, but this game (against Michigan) everybody loves us," redshirt junior Connor Heyward said. "You've got to be able to tune everybody out and just go to the next game and lock in and do what you do."
New head coach Mel Tucker enforces a "24-hour rule" and expects his players to follow it regardless of the outcome.
"For me, as soon as the game was over, you celebrated that night, and once you wake up Sunday morning, it's Iowa week, or whatever it is ... it's that next game," said Lombardi.
So what's next for Michigan State? A trip to Kinnick Stadium where they will face the winless Iowa Hawkeyes.
"They're going to be solid all around. They've got a lot of good players," Lombardi said. "I know their record doesn't show it, but they have a talented team, and they're always ready to go; they're always going to be tough to beat, especially at home."
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