GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Michigan State's DeAndra Cobb ran for 128 yards last night.

Spartans unable to solve
Chang’s gang

It happened again

A visiting team came into Aloha Stadium last night and failed in its attempt at tackling Tim Chang, Chad Owens and a mighty tough Hawaii home team.

The pattern has been the same most of the season, with the out-of-towners starting strong and finishing with that miffed "what happened to us in the second half?" look.

Michigan State, with its status as a top-notch Big Ten program, didn't get automatic immunity from Hawaii's second-half mad dashes.

The Spartans led most of the way, including a 28-14 bulge at the half, before fizzling in the second half and suffering a season-ending 41-38 loss. It was a bitter defeat, especially since it gave them a losing record (5-7), instead of the more sweet-sounding .500 mark.

The way Hawaii won -- with two clutch runs by Chang on the go-ahead drive and three second-half Chang to Chad Owens TD passes -- was also a bitter pill for Michigan State to take.

"We had a breakdown," Spartans coach John L. Smith said. "They (UH receivers) ran by us and he threw it to his good players."

Smith isn't thrilled about the losing record.

"We don't get to go into the offseason on a positive note," he added. "We go out losers and on a sour note. When next year comes around, we'll be losers working to become winners."

Leading 31-27 early in the fourth quarter, Michigan State let Chang get free. Not known as a shifty speedster, the senior quarterback and all-time collegiate passing leader deked the jock strap off of 6-foot-4, 295-pound Kevin Vickerson on the way for a 22-yard run. Chang later beat the Spartans defensive linemen on a quarterback sneak into the end zone (a rarity for him) on a fourth-and-1 situation for the 34-31 lead.

Vickerson almost turned out to be the game's hero when he blocked Justin Ayat's extra-point attempt to preserve a 28-27 Michigan State lead late in the third quarter. But that left way too much time for Chang and Owens to put a final damper on the Spartans' season.

A holding call on DeAndra Cobb's kickoff return for a TD wiped out what could have been a go-ahead score for Michigan State. Instead, the Spartans still trailed 34-31. Cobb also had a 75-yard TD run called back earlier in the game.

Penalties turned out to be a key factor. Michigan State was called for 119 yards in infractions to Hawaii's 35.

"Any time you get two touchdowns called back, that pretty much is going to decide the game," said Smith, who wasn't surprised when told that the referee lives in Hawaii. "He definitely isn't from Michigan."

Spartans sophomore quarterback Drew Stanton had a strong outing, completing 22 of 32 passes for 330 yards and rushing for 76 more. He led his team on an impressive nine-play, 59-yard TD drive to cut into Hawaii's 10-point margin, making it 41-38 with 2:12 left.

"It's a fine line between winning and losing and that's one thing the young guys on this team can learn from playing in this game," Stanton said. "It was extremely frustrating. It's hard to say why we didn't keep it going. Any time you get that many penalties, it's hard to win. We shot ourselves in the foot."