Spartans hurt themselves in season-opening

Michigan State's football team:

1. allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown,
2. betrayed itself with silly penalties,
3. missed a short field goal,
4. threw a bad interception and
5. had two apparent scoring passes called back by the officials.

And that was just the first half!

Frustration ruled much of Saturday night for the MSU Spartans. MSU hung close and gave the favored California Golden Bears a game, but all those missed chances added up to a loss. In addition, it was a tough 2008 debut in coach Coach Dantonio's second season.

Just like all six losses last season, all of which came by a touchdown or less, the Spartans fought and stayed close but came up a couple plays short.

The result? Season-opening 38-31 loss to Bears