A great special teams player can win you a critical game when your offense is staggering and your defense is stalled.Meet Brett Swenson, a 5-foot-8, 169-pound junior kicker out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Pompano Beach (FL). He put his foot down in the Michigan State-Wisconsin game Saturday (11-1-08) with 7 seconds left and kicked a 44-yard field goal to lift the Spartans to a 25-24 victory.

Running out of time, the Spartans scrambled to set up for a field goal, but were helped when the Badgers called a timeout with 12 seconds left. Then the Badgers called their last timeout, hoping to rattle Swenson, only to watch Swenson take his helmet off, laugh and then make the field goal.

“The first timeout helped me because it gave me a chance to relax after rushing on the field,” said Swenson after the victory. “The second timeout, I thought was funny because he was trying to ice me and I knew that wouldn’t work.”

Prior to the 44-yard game winner, Swenson kicked field goals of 27, 21 and 50 yards.

Without Swenson kicking butt and taking names, Michigan State loses a game it should not lose. With Swenson the Spartans log their 8th win of the season against 2 losses. More important, the plague of collapsing late in the season is now starting to become a thing of the past.

To say that coach Mark Dantonio’s presence has not make a tremendous difference in the consciousness of the Michigan State University football program is to ignore Brett Swenson’s confidence when he lines up to make a field goal. Swenson just might be the best college field goal kicker in the country.

When you compete for a spot in a BCS bowl game or a major bowl game, a great, reliable kicker is a key player you want on your side. In 10 games, Swenson has made 19 of 23 field goal attempts with 6-of-6 between 40 to 49 yards and 1-of-2 from 50+ yards. He also endured a couple of bad snaps and bad holds.

Michigan State was not on top of its game against Wisconsin and was not on top of its No. 22 standing in the AP Top 25 Poll. By winning, the Spartans are now ranked No. 18 in the same poll. Voters boosted Michigan State’s fortunes because they recognize that the Spartans were 11 points down in the 4th quarter and came back to win. Secondly, they know that despite Wisconsin’s 4-5 losing record, is the best 4-5 team in the country.

Michigan State is 8-2 for just the second time in 4 decades and will play in consecutive bowls for the first time since the end of the Nick Saban era in the late 1990s.

The Spartans host Purdue this Saturday and end their season on the road at Penn State on Nov. 22.

Copyright Š 2008 Ed Bagley