Football: Notebook

MSU, Minnesota bracing for bad weather

Eric Lacy / The Detroit News

East Lansing -- Michigan State shouldn't expect paradise when it visits Minnesota for an 8 p.m. game Saturday at the school's new open-air stadium.

Conditions at TCF Bank Stadium, a 50,000-plus seat venue nicknamed the "Gopher Hole," could be extremely rough by kickoff.

Temperatures could dip into the 30s, and forecasts call for heavy wind, rain or snow -- possibly all three.

But a bigger issue is how Mark Dantonio's team will respond after a heartbreaking 15-13 loss to Iowa.

"It's not any harder than after the Central Michigan game or after the Notre Dame game," Dantonio said. "You got to stand up, get off the canvas, or whatever you want to say, and get ready to play."

Michigan State has lost five of the last seven meetings to Minnesota after a 17-game winning streak from 1977-97.

"It's a tough thing to swallow," Edwin Baker said of the loss to Iowa. "But we have to come together, get our thoughts together and get ready."

Extra points

Minnesota has come from behind in all four of its victories: Syracuse (23-20 in overtime), Air Force (20-13), Northwestern (35-24) and Purdue (35-20).

... At 4-4, the Spartans need two victories to qualify for a bowl.

The four losses have been by a combined 15 points.

... Junior linebacker Greg Jones recorded his 300th career tackle last week and has 92 this year (12.1 avg.)

Jones is the 16th player in school history to reach the 300-tackle milestone.

elacy@detnews.com