MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

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EAST LANSING -- Numbers don't lie, but they could be telling a big fat fib about Michigan State's rebounding prowess.

The eighth-ranked Spartans averaged 20.5 more rebounds than their first two Big Ten opponents -- Minnesota and Northwestern -- in a pair of road victories last week.

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State junior forward Raymar Morgan was rewarded for being doubly good in the Spartans first two Big Ten games.

AP PhotoMichigan State's Delvon Roe, left, and Northwestern's John Shurna battle for a loose ball.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Over the years, Michigan State has had its share of struggles with far worse Northwestern teams.

Saturday night was no exception, although the 10th-ranked Spartans defeated the much-improved Wildcats for the 15th time in the past 16 meetings, 77-66, in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Junior forward Raymar Morgan led MSU with 22 points and 13 rebounds as a large contingent of Chicago-area Spartans fans generally drowned out their Northwestern counterparts.

AP File PhotoBefore his flight, Mark Ingram had sought to delay the start of his eight-year prison term so he could watch his son's freshman season as a running back at the University of Alabama.

NEW YORK -- Former New York Giant Mark Ingram has been arrested in Michigan, nearly a month after he disappeared on the day he was scheduled to begin serving a prison sentence for bank fraud and money laundering.

U.S. marshals tracked the retired wide receiver and former Michigan State standout to a hotel room in Flint, Mich. after a manhunt that began when he failed to turn up at a federal prison in Kentucky on Dec. 5.

A spokesman for the Marshals Service says Ingram was arrested without incident Friday. The hotel wasn't far from Ingram's home in Grand Blanc, Mich.

AP PhotoMichigan State's Goran Suton, right, battles for a rebound against Minnesota. Suton has started the Spartans' past two games.

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State's Goran Suton figures to be back at 100 percent health if not by tonight against Northwestern, then some time in the next week.

"It's just my conditioning right now," said the 6-foot-10 senior center from Lansing, whose 10-2 Spartans visit the 8-3 Wildcats in Evanston, Ill. "I'm close."

Suton missed six games with a knee injury. He then came off the bench for two games before starting the past two.

AP PhotoMichigan State coach Mark Dantonio expects there will be a battle between Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol for next year's starting quarterback spot.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Michigan State's ongoing resurgence is becoming more impressive, but the Spartans still have significant shortcomings to address before establishing a foothold in the national spotlight.

The Spartans have resolved some serious program flaws, evident by their back-to-back bowl game appearances.

They successfully confronted their in-state rival by slaying Michigan 35-21 in Ann Arbor. The fact U-M was horrible this season is irrelevant.

AP PhotoGeorgia's Knowshon Moreno, left, runs for yardage as Michigan State cornerback Chris L. Rucker (29) tries to stop him during the Capital One Bowl.

STORIES

• Spartans can't contain Georgia's Stafford, Moreno

• Spartans' Javon Ringer stymied in final game

COLUMNS

• Mayo: Even in defeat, Spartans building a foundation

MULTIMEDIA AND MORE

• Photos: Georgia 24, Michigan State 12

• Boxscore

AP PhotoGeorgia running back Knowshon Moreno, right, carries the ball as Michigan State linebacker Trevor Anderson (58) moves in during the first half of the Capital One Bowl on Thursday in Orlando, Fla.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Georgia gave Michigan State everything it needed to win on the New Year's Day stage.

But the Spartans refused to take the first-half gifts and even gave some of them back while losing 24-12 in the Capital One Bowl Thursday afternoon in Citrus Bowl Stadium.

Javon Ringer broke MSU's single-season touchdown record, but the Spartans (9-4) failed in their bid to become only third 10-win team in school history while sending its seniors out with a second straight loss.

AP PhotoMichigan State running back Javon Ringer, left, is tackled by Georgia cornerback Prince Miller during the first half.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Javon Ringer will leave Michigan State with a lot of yards, a bunch of touchdowns and no regrets even though he went out with more a whimper than a bang.

The senior running back scored MSU's only touchdown in Thursday's 24-12 Capital One Bowl loss to No. 16 Georgia.

The 1-yard score in the fourth quarter was his 22nd of the season and allowed him to take sole possession of the single-season school touchdown record he shared with former teammate Jehuu Caulcrick.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The foundation behind the high expectations Michigan State football faces in the next couple of years exposed itself New Year's Day. It thrived in all manner of trickery and tomfoolery, the sort the Spartans showed precious little of this year, but displayed bountifully in the Capital One Bowl.

That Georgia eventually found answers for it all in a 24-12 victory should, in the long run, prove a mere footnote.