Gonna be busy with the whole turkey coma thing for the next few days, so I thought I'd go ahead and post my preview of the Northwestern game a little early.
Folks, I'll just come out and say it, this game makes me nervous. Now, Northwestern's numbers don't look that great. They have an overall record of 6-5, and they are 3-4 in the Big Ten. Their offense is also ranked 42nd in the country, scoring about 31 points per game; while their defense is ranked 64rth, allowing about 27 points per game. So it appears that the Spartan offense and defense should match up well against Northwestern.
Not so fast my friends. In fact, Northwestern is a team with some momentum. The Wildcats have won 4 in a row, including that impressive victory at Nebraska, which allowed the Spartans to take control of the Legends Division. Over those four games, Northwestern has particularly improved on defense. Most of the games they lost in the first half of the season had more to do with their inability to stop opposing offenses than with their own offense's ability to score. Their offense has been pretty consistent throughout the season, but their defense has only recently began to do their part. Having said that, Northwestern's only significant opponent in the last 4 games was Nebraska. In the other three games they beat Indiana, Rice, and Minnesota. Not exactly the kind of competition that helps you gauge how good they really are.
Apart from their recent momentum, my biggest concern is their quarterback, Dan Persa. I have seen this guy play a few times and I have to tell you that he is the kind of player that can carry a team on his back. He has been injured throughout large parts of this year, but he is a feisty player that can undo the best laid plans of mice and defensive coordinators. Having said that, in the few games I've watched him this year, the opposing defenses were able to contain him pretty well. So he's not Superman. Nonetheless, there's always a chance he could open up a can of "what the heck just happened" on the Spartans. So be concerned, be very concerned.
So what's going to happen? Allow me to posit the following. The Spartans are playing great again. They had their lull during the Nebraska and Minnesota games, but I think they've finally put it all together. For the first time this season, all units are clicking. On defense, the secondary, the linebackers, the defensive line...they're all certainly clicking. On offense, Cousins seems to be playing with confidence, Bell is running great, the receivers and tight ends are getting the job done. Even the offensive line seems to have figured things out. They are opening running lanes and giving Cousins time to throw. Most importantly, MSU's coordinators seem to have figured things out. I had few complaints about play calling against Indiana. Of course, it helps that Indiana was terrible, but in general, I didn't see many play calls I strongly disagreed with.
In short, MSU is looking like a championship team. This is why I am not panicking about the Northwestern game. There's always a good chance that Northwestern somehow pulls this one out, but if the Spartans play like they did last week, they should take care of business -- and it should be a pretty comfortable win.
Final prediction: MSU 35 Northwestern 20
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