World, meet Sparty RB Le’Veon Bell (and his hurdling)

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Wisconsin running Montee Ball has been getting the preseason Heisman hype (and rightfully so), but Michigan State’s Le’Veon Bell might start cutting into that by halftime.

Bell, at 245 pounds, has been tabbed as Sparty’s every down bruiser that should take pressure off of first-time starter Andrew Maxwell. He’s doing more than that so far. In fact, Bell’s been flat-out impressive in the first half of tonight’s game against Boise State, carrying the ball 13 times already for 58 yards and a touchdown.

But stats don’t tell the whole story. Check out this nasty hurdle by Bell over a Bronco defender. It’s sort of indicative of how the game is going tonight. The Spartans are physical and it generally feels like they’re a step ahead of the Broncos.

That said, Boise’s hanging right there with Michigan State, mostly because of some costly mistakes by Maxwell.

The two teams are tied at 10 midway through the second quarter.