Alright, it's gut-check time. The Spartans can end the season with a reasonable record if they win the rest of their games. Oddly enough, this first game against Northwestern may be the toughest left on the schedule -- including the bowl game (if they get to 7-5, I can't imagine they'll end up playing a particularly tough opponent). Here is why the Spartans should be able to beat Northwestern.
First and foremost, the Spartan D should be able to slow down Northwestern's offense. Normally I would say that NU's offense is dangerous, but I expect several key players to be hobbled this week. In particular, their starting quarterback Kain Colter suffered an ankle injury against UM that should slow him down a bit. Colter is very dangerous, otherwise. The Spartan D should also benefit from their experience against Nebraska's spread offense. In particular, I hope the coaches have harped on the importance of containment!
The Spartan offense should be able to score points against Northwestern's 41st ranked defense, if the Spartan O plays at least as well as last week. Fortunately, I think the Spartan O has climbed over a hump (though perhaps not over THE hump), and the bye should have helped them consolidate their gains. The o-line will continue to improve, Bell should have a nice game, the receivers and tight ends should match up well against the Northwestern secondary, and Maxwell should play well enough to make us excited about next year.
I'll be inconsolable if the offensive and defensive performances don't match up again. If the offense scores more than 21 points and the Spartans lose, then you know this season was cursed. In the end, I am actually expecting to see an offensive explosion and a solid defensive performance, which translates into a comfortable win for MSU. Expect many people to say, "this is what we were expecting from MSU this season, too bad they weren't able to put it together until now."
Final prediction: MSU 30 Northwestern 14
No comments:
Post a Comment