Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was known for developing what many perceived as a boring football strategy, in which you understand that scoring is going to be difficult and thus: you rely on a strong defense and special teams, you don't take many risks, and you minimize mistakes (turnovers and penalties). In my view, Tressel ball is a strategy you don't need to use in every game. Against weaker opponents you can take more risks and experiment with some things. But against tough opponents (especially those with good defenses) Tressel Ball is a must.
If the MSU coaching staff has one flaw, it's that they frequently fail to recognize that a game has turned into a Tressel Ball game. We saw that last year against Notre Dame, for example. The Spartans were down 21 to 10 as the first half was coming to an end. They could have walked away with 3 points by taking a very short field goal attempt. That would have brought the score to 21 to 13, with the Spartans getting the ball at the start of the second half. Instead of taking a sure field goal, however, Dantonio opted for a fake field that Notre Dame and everyone else in the stadium could see coming. Needless to say, the fake failed, and the Spartans left precious points on the table. The Spartans probably would have still lost the game, but taking every point they could get would have maximized their probability of winning.
The coaches almost made the same mistake against Boise. Instead of taking 3 points to end the half, they went for a long touchdown pass that was intercepted. It just didn't make sense. Maxwell was clearly struggling, and the opportunity was there to tie the game. In the second half, the Spartans were having success moving the ball with the standard "pound Green, pound" approach. Suddenly, Roushar calls a reverse that gets stuffed for a huge loss and that kills the drive. The Spartans won that game because they finally stopped screwing around in the fourth quarter.
Folks, this Saturday is shaping up to be another Tressel Ball game. While I expect the Spartan D to keep Notre Dame's scoring low, the Spartan O will probably struggle to score points. So the Spartan coaches need to take the field goals when they can, and leave the fakes for another day. They also need to be trying to win the field-position battles. That means: don't take unnecessary risks when you're actually having some success driving the ball down the field, and most importantly of all don't kick/punt the ball to George Atkinson III. It really breaks my heart when the defense plays so well and yet the opposing team is scoring points because of poor field position, pick-sixes, and poor special teams plays.
So here's the bottom line. A Tressel Ball game actually favors the Spartans. MSU's defense will be stout enough to keep Notre Dame's offense from scoring more than 10 points. And MSU has enough offensive firepower to put up 17 points against Notre Dame's defense -- even if they just play a boring "pound Green pound" strategy. MSU should win this game, as long as the coaches stick to Tressel Ball.
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