Spartans vs Irish

Alrighty, so I didn't watch the game against FAU--had to go to a soccer tournament--and so I wasn't able to share thoughts on that game.  Anyhoo, tomorrow's game is the biggy, so let's concentrate on that.

Folks, I won't mince words.  I'm a little nervous about Notre Dame.  They are 0-2, but they are an extremely talented team that should be 2-0.  Last week against Michigan (yes I watched that game because I was home by that point) they dominated both lines of scrimmage.  They are big and strong along both lines.  I can understand them looking dominant against Michigan's DL, but Michigan's OL is supposed to be pretty good this year.  The Spartans' DL should do better than Michigan's DL did against the Irish, but I don't think our OL is any better than Michigan's.  So, I think we're going to have some trouble running the ball.  If we do have some success running the ball it will be because our backs are talented enough to create something out of nothing, or because by some miracle our line finally gels and they end up playing better than expected. 

Oddly enough, I do believe that the O-line is nearly rebuilt.  The guards are solid veterans (Foreman and McDonald) and the right tackle is a future star in the making (Burkland).  The only real concerns are center and left tackle.  So far, Blake Treadwell has played well at center, though it's been against inferior opponents.  I'm worried that he could get exposed by Notre Dame.  On the other hand, left tackle has been a concern even against inferior opponents.  So we're left hoping that the two cupcake games have given Dan France or Fou Fonoti enough experience to somehow step up at left tackle against Notre Dame.  If luck is on our side, Treadwell and France/Fonoti will step up, and we will be able to consider the O-line complete, and it will become another of the team's strengths, and the running games will rack up yards against Notre Dame, and a protected Cousins will throw for hundreds of yards.  If not, MSU will struggle to run the ball, and Cousins will get sacked multiple times, and MSU will have to hope that the defense can keep the game close.

Will the defense match up well?  As I said, the Spartans' D-line should do pretty well against Notre Dame's O-line--or at least they should do better than Michigan's D-line.  The Spartans also have better linebackers than Michigan and so they should do better against Notre Dame's running game than Michigan. The Spartan secondary should also be better than Michigan's, so they should match up better against Notre Dame's receivers than Michigan.  But the bottom line is that MSU won't completely shut down Notre Dame.  In fact, I expect the Irish to make fewer mistakes against MSU than they made the last two weeks, and consequently, Notre Dame should end up scoring more points even as MSU does a better job of slowing them down.  In other words, Notre Dame will likely rack up fewer yards this week but it will score more points.

That means MSU must score points to keep up.  So the key to the game comes back to MSU's offensive line.  If the line steps up, MSU will keep up and may even be unstoppable.  If not, MSU could be routed.  Like I said, I think the O-line is close to being ready, so I think MSU will score its fair share of points.  So my ultimate prediction is a high-scoring battle that the Spartans win because they have a senior quarterback that will make fewer mistakes than Notre Dame's sophomore quarterback.

Final score: MSU 37 - ND 33