Quick Thoughts on Wisconsin Game

Let me see if I can stop doing the Snoopy dance long enough to write some thoughts about last night's game.  Well, what can I possibly say that won't feel trite?  It was a great game: two titans going back and forth, and a hail Marry to win it.  It was a great victory:  the Spartans beat a top 5 team and are now well on their way to winning the Legends division.  It was the Spartan's greatest victory in a long, long time: I can't remember them beating a higher-ranked opponent, and I certainly can't remember them winning three more quality games in a row (OSU, Michigan, and now Wisconsin).   The Spartans have arrived folks, they are a legitimate top 10 team, they are a even a legitimate top 10 program.  Only a top 10 program wins the three games the Spartans have won the last 3 weeks.

Quick observations

- As I suggested before the game, the two teams were evenly matched.  In fact, after watching this game, I think Wisconsin may be a slightly more complete team, largely because MSU's O-line was more of a liability than any unit for Wisconsin.  The O-line played well at times, but there were many drives where the Wisconsin D-line was able on its own to stop MSU's running game and pressure Cousins.

- Overall, the MSU offense came through.  They actually did more than I said they needed to do.  I said the Spartans needed to follow the 30-30 plan: the defense had to keep Wisconsin under 30 points and the offense had to score 30 points.  Well, the defense didn't quite do its part, but the offense did more, scoring 37.

- Kirk Cousins was excellent.  He looked like the quarterback I expected him to be, at the beginning of the season.  Despite some struggles, Cousins will go down as MSU's greatest quarterback.  And while it may take him a few years, he will succeed in the NFL.

- The defense definitely struggled.  Granted, coming into this game, Wisconsin had the number one offense in the country; but I couldn't help but think that Wisconsin could have scored a couple extra touchdowns if a few things had gone their way.  The bottom line: the Spartan defense had major troubles dealing with the balanced nature of the Badgers' offense.  Then again, is there any defense in the country that wouldn't struggle with that?

- Mark Dantonio is an elite coach.  He is not Barry Alvarez, he is not the guy who builds a solid program so that the next coach that takes over the program can compete for the national championship.  He IS the guy that competes for the national championship.  With Dantonio, MSU has skipped the Barry Alvarez stage of program building and gone straight to the Brett Bielema stage.  Spartan fans can celebrate that fact, but we should also worry, at least a little.  I guarantee other programs recognize Dantonio's eliteness and will be considering pulling Dantonio away from MSU.  I happen to think that Dantonio will stay, in large part because of his health issues.  With his heart history, I can't imagine that he will coach for more than another 5-7 years and that really only gives him enough time to build something special in East Lansing and not anyplace else.