Colorado State University Athletics
This Week in CSU Football History -- 1998 Win Over No. 23 Michigan State
8/30/2017 11:05:00 AM | Football
15th-ranked Rams beat Spartans in East Lansing
August 29, 1998- The kickoff to the 1998 Ram Football season was one that actually began in June. Colorado State, along with seven other Western Athletic Conference schools announced they would split from the 36-year-old league to form the Mountain West Conference in June of 1999. So when Coach Sonny Lubick's defending WAC champions took the field in East Lansing, Michigan to take on Coach Nick Saban's Michigan State Spartans in the Black Coaches Association Classic, they had something to prove to the college football world before a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
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It was not expected to be an easy game with the Spartans ranked 23rd in the AP Polls, a new starting quarterback for the Rams in senior Ryan Eslinger and CSU never having beat a Big 10 opponent. Many familiar faces from the 1997 team had left and the offense was in dire need of finding their way to a win to open the season in hostile territory.
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Michigan State took control in the first half racking up 16 points by the second quarter thanks to Spartan running back Sedrick Irvin's 101 yards of rushing and one touchdown. The Rams offense seemed lost and off-balance to open the game, but a 57-yard touchdown pass from Eslinger to Darran Hall sparked the offense in the second quarter. A field goal by Derek Franz kept the game respectable at the intermission as CSU trailed 16-9.
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Thanks to a tough Ram defense, the Spartans' offense sputtered in the second half. Irvin was held to just 19 yards thanks to Nate Kvamme, Rick Crowell, Willie Taylor and CSU hall of famers Clark Haggans and Joey Porter. The CSU defense held tight keeping Michigan State from scoring any points for the remainder of the day.
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Ryan Eslinger took control of the offense in the second half and drove the Rams to the two-yard line before Damon Washington punched it over for a touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game at 16. Rams running back Kevin McDougal finished off the Spartans before 68,624 disappointed fans when he broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run that finished off Michigan State for the day.
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McDougal rushed for 82 yards on only 12 carries while Washington rushed for 66 yards on 19 carries. Eslinger went 13 for 26 with a touchdown and 205 yards passing to open the season. The Rams proved to the nation they were for real and beat a Big 10 foe for the first time in school history.
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It was not expected to be an easy game with the Spartans ranked 23rd in the AP Polls, a new starting quarterback for the Rams in senior Ryan Eslinger and CSU never having beat a Big 10 opponent. Many familiar faces from the 1997 team had left and the offense was in dire need of finding their way to a win to open the season in hostile territory.
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Michigan State took control in the first half racking up 16 points by the second quarter thanks to Spartan running back Sedrick Irvin's 101 yards of rushing and one touchdown. The Rams offense seemed lost and off-balance to open the game, but a 57-yard touchdown pass from Eslinger to Darran Hall sparked the offense in the second quarter. A field goal by Derek Franz kept the game respectable at the intermission as CSU trailed 16-9.
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Thanks to a tough Ram defense, the Spartans' offense sputtered in the second half. Irvin was held to just 19 yards thanks to Nate Kvamme, Rick Crowell, Willie Taylor and CSU hall of famers Clark Haggans and Joey Porter. The CSU defense held tight keeping Michigan State from scoring any points for the remainder of the day.
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Ryan Eslinger took control of the offense in the second half and drove the Rams to the two-yard line before Damon Washington punched it over for a touchdown in the third quarter to tie the game at 16. Rams running back Kevin McDougal finished off the Spartans before 68,624 disappointed fans when he broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run that finished off Michigan State for the day.
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McDougal rushed for 82 yards on only 12 carries while Washington rushed for 66 yards on 19 carries. Eslinger went 13 for 26 with a touchdown and 205 yards passing to open the season. The Rams proved to the nation they were for real and beat a Big 10 foe for the first time in school history.
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