By Jim Rose

Daily Sports Editor

The Miami Mouth didn't have much to say after the game.

"They outplayed us," Michigan State running back Sedrick Irvin (the aforementioned Mouth) said after his team was beaten by the Wolverines. "You have to give them credit."

What else could Irvin say?

He hadn't said much in the week leading up to the game, calling it "just another game," and he alluded that he preferred to walk - er, run - rather than talk.

Irvin's stats - 107 yards on 21 carries - were in line with his 101.7 yards-per-game average, but in reality, Irvin wasn't a huge factor in Saturday's contest.

He set up Michigan State's first touchdown with a 40-yard jaunt down the left sideline on a semi-option pitch from quarterback Bill Burke. That was less than five minutes after the opening kick. But in addition to that run, he managed just 61 yards on his other 20 carries combined.

Irvin was deflated after the game, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to at least say something.

"Ask them to tell you the truth," Irvin said in reference to Michigan's defense. "All 11 were looking for me. But that's football. It's frustrating because you want to make plays.

"But it feels good to know that I'm that important."

All joking aside, Irvin is that important, and the Wolverines know it. Their defensive game plan revolved around bottling up the fleet tailback. And after a couple of adjustments, they did manage to stop him.

"I thought the defense improved," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I thought we had good pressure. For the most part, our defense didn't give up big plays. That was my concern coming into the game."

After closing to within a field goal (20-17) before the end of the first half, Michigan State seemed to swing the momentum in its direction. But the Spartans couldn't muster much of an attack after the intermission. In fact, they didn't score again.

Irvin's stats reflected the Spartans' fate. In the second half, he picked up just 22 yards on seven carries.

"We know they were saying, 'Let's try to stop number 33,'" Irvin said. "Their defense played good, but it wasn't so much what they did, but what we did. We didn't make the plays and execute to our potential, and we lost."

His coach, Nick Saban, agreed, to some extent. He admitted that

Except 40-yard run, Irvin held in check

Michigan State running back Sedrick Irvin managed to break free just once against the Wolverines. The junior tailback broke off a 40-yard run and finished with 107 yards in the game. He was held scoreless by the Michigan defense.

09-28-98