CBS SportsLine wire reports
Aug. 27, 1998

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The running styles of Damon Washington and Sedrick Irvin promise to make the Black Coaches Association Classic a classic, indeed.

They

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are among the many similarities between No. 15 Colorado State and No. 23 Michigan State, who open the season Saturday in Spartan Stadium. Still, there is one glaring difference: the Rams are riding a nine-game win streak.

Washington, after rushing for over 1,000 yards the last two seasons, is listed eighth among NCAA Division I-A active rushing leaders. The senior has gained 2,787 yards on 446 carries.

Irvin, the first player in Michigan State history to rush for 1,000 yards as both a freshman and a sophomore, is No. 14 on the list. He has picked up 2,278 yards on 459 carries.

"This will be a very good test for us because Colorado State is an excellent team," Irvin said. "If you want to be a top-flight program like we want, you've got to take on challenges like this."

In short, the Rams are everything Michigan State wants to be.

COLORADO STATE RECORDED the finest season in school history in 1997 when the Rams finished an 11-2 season with a 35-24 victory over Missouri in the Holiday Bowl. The Spartans, on the other hand, were bombed 51-23 by Washington in the Aloha Bowl to wrap up a 7-5 season.

"I hate losing," Irvin said. ``I want to win big. We're shooting big this year."

Coaches on both sides, of course, are quick to point out that nothing that happened last season means a thing.

"We can't get caught up in the polls," said Sonny Lubick, who has guided the Rams to wins in their last four openers. "Our current ranking has more to do with what we did the last couple of years. This group of players wants to have a good team.

"But it's the old thing: it's not where you start in the rankings, it's where you finish."

Colorado State's win streak is the fourth-longest in the country. Only Nebraska (14), Michigan (12) and UCLA (10) have longer streaks.

The Rams compiled that record by being aggressive, especially on defense. Colorado State led the nation last season in turnover margin with a plus-27. The Rams forced 40 turnovers during the regular season and lost 13.

IN THEIR HOLIDAY BOWL triumph, the Rams force three more turnovers and committed only one. Michigan State, by comparison, gave up three interceptions and lost two of six fumbles in the Aloha Bowl blowout alone.

"Last year, we gave up some big plays and that hurt us," said Nick Saban, beginning his fourth season in East Lansing. "I think our players see it was their errors that allowed the other teams to do that, not necessarily getting beat physically."

Besides the two great running backs, each team relies on strong defense and each will be starting a new quarterback.

Bill Burke, whose chronically ailing back is a concern to Saban, will start ahead of highly touted freshman Ryan Van Dyke for Michigan State.

This marks only the second time in school history that Colorado State has played a Big Ten team. The only other time for the Western Athletic Conference school came in 1994 when the Rams lost 24-14 to Michigan in the Holiday Bowl.