Sunday, October 27, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Thoughts on Illinois Game
Alrighty, then, that's the kind of formula that will take the Spartans far this season: stifling defense and some competent offense. It ain't that complicated.
Offense
The Spartans focused a lot more on the run game this week, largely to good avail. If your opponent can't stop the run, then run it until they find a way to stop you. They'll need to be more balanced against the better defenses, but it looks like the running game is as good as MSU has had in a long time. The o-line is truly the best of the Dantonio era and Langford and Williams could end up being as good a duo as we've ever seen at running back at MSU.
Cook played really well. He did fumble at the goal line and he did get lucky on the touchdown throw to end the half, but otherwise, what he did today is what MSU needs out of him.
The receivers . . . I haven't seen a drop in quite a while, and they seem to be getting open pretty regularly. The tight ends are also clearly starting to emerge.
Defense
What an astonishing performance. We are truly witnessing something historic. They almost completely shut down an offense that was scoring 35 points a game. And they are now consistently suffocating opposing offenses in the second half. Opposing teams have some success in the first half, but by the second half it's just a bunch of 3 and outs. Seriously, my only concern is that MSU could lose some guys early to the NFL.
Special teams
Good kicking, still nerve-wracking on punt returns.
Coaches
Narduzzi = elite. The offense recognized the dominance of their running game and made some good passing calls. The only concern I might raise is that the team seems to start games slowly. That hasn't hurt them against lesser competition, but it could make a difference against tougher teams.
Upshot
This is starting to look like a championship team. The talent is amazing and starting to click. I think it really depends on Cook's performances the rest of the way. If he plays the rest of the way like he did today, MSU should go to the Rose Bowl.
Offense
The Spartans focused a lot more on the run game this week, largely to good avail. If your opponent can't stop the run, then run it until they find a way to stop you. They'll need to be more balanced against the better defenses, but it looks like the running game is as good as MSU has had in a long time. The o-line is truly the best of the Dantonio era and Langford and Williams could end up being as good a duo as we've ever seen at running back at MSU.
Cook played really well. He did fumble at the goal line and he did get lucky on the touchdown throw to end the half, but otherwise, what he did today is what MSU needs out of him.
The receivers . . . I haven't seen a drop in quite a while, and they seem to be getting open pretty regularly. The tight ends are also clearly starting to emerge.
Defense
What an astonishing performance. We are truly witnessing something historic. They almost completely shut down an offense that was scoring 35 points a game. And they are now consistently suffocating opposing offenses in the second half. Opposing teams have some success in the first half, but by the second half it's just a bunch of 3 and outs. Seriously, my only concern is that MSU could lose some guys early to the NFL.
Special teams
Good kicking, still nerve-wracking on punt returns.
Coaches
Narduzzi = elite. The offense recognized the dominance of their running game and made some good passing calls. The only concern I might raise is that the team seems to start games slowly. That hasn't hurt them against lesser competition, but it could make a difference against tougher teams.
Upshot
This is starting to look like a championship team. The talent is amazing and starting to click. I think it really depends on Cook's performances the rest of the way. If he plays the rest of the way like he did today, MSU should go to the Rose Bowl.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Preview of Illinois Game
This week the Spartans face a 3-3 Illinois team that statistically looks a lot like Indiana. Illinois has a decent offense that puts up 35 points a game, but they have a pretty bad defense that allows 32 points a game. MSU should win this one comfortably, if they don't overlook Illinois and if the offense can just be average.
Illinois is getting blown out by quality teams like Nebraska and Wisconsin, and I expect the Spartans to do the same. As I said for the Indiana game, elite defenses generally tend to stop elite offenses, and so I expect MSU's defense to hold Illinois to less than 21 points, except if the Spartans turn the ball over on their own side of the field.
That leaves it up to the offense to put up at least 21 points to win this game. Can they do that? Not if Connor Cook plays like he did most of last week. I do, however, expect Cook to bounce back this week.
The thing is that Cook just needs to be average for this offense to be pretty good. The o-line is good and getting better, Jeremy Langford is on the verge of becoming a star at running back, and the receivers are flashing some serious talent. Even the tight ends seem to be emerging. Seriously, all we need is some consistent decent play from the quarterback position for MSU's offense to be among the B10's best.
As for special teams, they're looking good, except for the occasional damaging turnover. As I've said before, it would be nice to see them contribute the way they did when K-Mart was returning punts.
The coaches were on a roll until the offense sputtered again last week. But as I said last week, it's tough to evaluate the performance of the offensive coaches when Connor Cook is struggling. For this week, it's probably best to focus on how the coaches handle Cook's struggles and whether the coaches get outsmarted by the Illinois coaches at a critical point in the game.
Final score: MSU 23 Illinois 16
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Thoughts on Purdue Game
Had to DVR the game, so I'm a little late with the review of the game.
Folks, this was definitely a troubling game. The Spartans did win, but the offense looked like last year's offense -- against one of the worst defensive teams in the country.
The biggest issue was simply Connor Cook's inaccuracy. He was just flat out missing receivers, and it's even safe to say that he was outperformed by Purdue's true-freshman quaterback. I am hoping that this was an aberration and that he'll quickly be back to the form he displayed against Iowa and Indiana. Unfortunately, this kind of performance will not cut it against teams like Nebraska and Michigan.
The running game looks like it's very close to becoming elite. Jeremy Langford looks really good and would be a Heiman candidate, if not for a few shoestring tackles and perhaps a little more support from the passing game. The two freshmen, Delton Williams and RJ Shelton, look like they're making good progress every week. But freshmen usually run out of steam towards the end of the season. The o-line was pretty good, but they didn't dominate as much as I hoped against Purdue.
The receivers looked good. Kings and Lippett were solid. Even the tight ends are starting to contribute almost every week. The receivers are now consistently doing their part. It is time for the quarterbacks to be consistent.
The defense obviously pitched a shutout and scored their own touchdown, but it was a little disconcerting that they gave up so many first downs, and especially that Purdue was able to convert so many third downs with a true-freshman quarterback. The defense had a particularly difficult time with Purdue's big running back. Once he went out with an injury, Purdue's offense wasn't the same.
The special teams was solid. They punted well, they didn't turn the ball over. However, we eventually need to see the special teams MSU had 2 years ago, when K. Mart was returning punts for significant yardage.
The coaches seemed to perform OK, today. Unfortunately, this was a day where Connor Cook's struggles made the coaches' performance difficult to evaluate. They at least seem to have made progress on reducing penalties. I guess I also can't think of too many problems with the play calling, though I do feel that they could have tried to run the ball more.
Upshot: this is the kind of performance that brings you back down to earth. A performance like this will not produce victories against Nebraska and Michigan. It also helps you realize that the Spartans' chances of winning the B10 hinge on the play of Connor Cook. Today, he was outplayed by a true freshman, so it's safe to say that he was pretty bad. He needs to rebound next week, if the Spartans are to have any hope of getting back to the Rose Bowl.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Preview of Purdue Game
I'll keep this preview short and sweet (primarily because I'm working 80 hours a week.)
Folks, here's the deal. Purdue is clearly going through what Illinois went through last year: thoroughly collapsing under a new coaching regime. In the long run I think Darrell Hazell will turn Purdue into a dangerous program, but in the short term he is bringing to East Lansing one of the weaker teams MSU will face this season. A focused MSU team should dominate this game, but an unfocused MSU team could give Hazell a signature victory.
Purdue's offensive and defensive stats are among the worst in the FBS. That means MSU's defense has a great chance to achieve a shutout, while the Spartan offense has a chance to at least match their performance against Indiana. I do expect many 3-and-outs in this game for Purdue, but don't be surprised if they find some way to score 10 or 13 points -- especially if the Spartans turn the ball over on their side of the field.
The offense should put up great numbers -- unless we see the re-emergence of past issues, like dropped balls and inaccurate passes. I'm expecting/hoping to see the o-line continue to improve. They are already pretty good, but if this o-line keeps making progress from week to week, I really think this could be an o-line that could hold it's own against the top teams in the country, including Ohio State in the B10 championship game.
The running backs are benefiting from this good o-line, but they themselves have a ton of talent. We're seeing Langford and Williams take it to the next level, but I think Langford in particular has a chance to get some national attention. I'm hoping he can reach All-American levels in a game like this.
I'm also expecting/hoping Cook and the receivers continue to look like a strength of this team. They have done it 2 weeks in a row, they just gotta keep it up. Perhaps the only thing I could ask from the receivers is that at least one of them emerges as a dominant go-to receiver. Several of them are pretty solid right now, but we need our own Jared Abbrederis. The good thing is that I think we have some guys that could get close to that level by the end of the year.
As for the special teams, I expect to see the kickers keep up the good work, and I'm hoping to see the returners avoiding the costly fumbles.
Finally, I expect the coaches to have another good performance. I think their biggest task is keeping the team focused on a weaker opponent, but this team seems to be pretty motivated, perhaps because of the way they struggled at the beginning of the season.
Final score: MSU 33 Purdue 7
Folks, here's the deal. Purdue is clearly going through what Illinois went through last year: thoroughly collapsing under a new coaching regime. In the long run I think Darrell Hazell will turn Purdue into a dangerous program, but in the short term he is bringing to East Lansing one of the weaker teams MSU will face this season. A focused MSU team should dominate this game, but an unfocused MSU team could give Hazell a signature victory.
Purdue's offensive and defensive stats are among the worst in the FBS. That means MSU's defense has a great chance to achieve a shutout, while the Spartan offense has a chance to at least match their performance against Indiana. I do expect many 3-and-outs in this game for Purdue, but don't be surprised if they find some way to score 10 or 13 points -- especially if the Spartans turn the ball over on their side of the field.
The offense should put up great numbers -- unless we see the re-emergence of past issues, like dropped balls and inaccurate passes. I'm expecting/hoping to see the o-line continue to improve. They are already pretty good, but if this o-line keeps making progress from week to week, I really think this could be an o-line that could hold it's own against the top teams in the country, including Ohio State in the B10 championship game.
The running backs are benefiting from this good o-line, but they themselves have a ton of talent. We're seeing Langford and Williams take it to the next level, but I think Langford in particular has a chance to get some national attention. I'm hoping he can reach All-American levels in a game like this.
I'm also expecting/hoping Cook and the receivers continue to look like a strength of this team. They have done it 2 weeks in a row, they just gotta keep it up. Perhaps the only thing I could ask from the receivers is that at least one of them emerges as a dominant go-to receiver. Several of them are pretty solid right now, but we need our own Jared Abbrederis. The good thing is that I think we have some guys that could get close to that level by the end of the year.
As for the special teams, I expect to see the kickers keep up the good work, and I'm hoping to see the returners avoiding the costly fumbles.
Finally, I expect the coaches to have another good performance. I think their biggest task is keeping the team focused on a weaker opponent, but this team seems to be pretty motivated, perhaps because of the way they struggled at the beginning of the season.
Final score: MSU 33 Purdue 7
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Thoughts on Indiana Game
OK, this game went down about how I expected, except that the offense looked more explosive than I anticipated, and while MSU dominated, they made just enough mistakes to keep this one too interesting for too long.
Defense
Another impressive performance against a really good offense. They would have dominated even more if not for some key mistakes: the long TD run by Coleman, the muffed punt by Kings, the personal foul on Waynes. We're lucky that Indiana's explosive offense didn't capitalize more on those mistakes, but the fact that Indiana's offense could not score more points even with all those mistakes is good evidence that this defense is outstanding, nay, historic.
As I said in my preview, elite defenses generally are able to shut down elite offenses. So I like where MSU's program is right now, relative to most other (perhaps all) Big 10 programs.
Offense
It's hard to say that we saw progress today because Indiana's defense is much worse than Iowa's. But for the first time in a long time it felt like MSU's offense is actually really good. The passing game is turning into a real strength, and the running game achieved exactly what I hoped they would.
The crazy thing is that the offense has not nearly approached their ceiling. Connor Cook just needs to improve his accuracy a little more, the receivers just need to catch the ball a little better, the o-line just needs to gel a little more, and the running backs need to have a little better vision. If they can continue to make even incremental progress, we could be talking about MSU's offense as the most explosive in the Big 10. I don't want to get ahead of myself here, because by next week we could easily be wondering if the offense peaked in this game. Nevertheless, there is good reason for us to be excited about the offense.
Special teams
Not the strength they were last week, but good overall. Kings' muffed punt led to 7 points for Indiana, but Sadler had a great day.
Coaches
They prepared the defense well for Indiana's fast-paced offense and they made good adjustments when it seemed Indiana had some momentum. I didn't see too many times where I disagreed with their calls -- perhaps only in the first quarter where they passed on 3 straight downs instead of running the ball. I suppose I could also complain a little about all the penalties this team is getting, especially for personal fouls. Otherwise, the coaches are now clearly on a roll.
Upshot
This team has now played very well two weeks in a row. If they can maintain this level of play, this team could easily fulfill my preseason prediction of 12-2, and maybe even better. Why are we so blessed?
Defense
Another impressive performance against a really good offense. They would have dominated even more if not for some key mistakes: the long TD run by Coleman, the muffed punt by Kings, the personal foul on Waynes. We're lucky that Indiana's explosive offense didn't capitalize more on those mistakes, but the fact that Indiana's offense could not score more points even with all those mistakes is good evidence that this defense is outstanding, nay, historic.
As I said in my preview, elite defenses generally are able to shut down elite offenses. So I like where MSU's program is right now, relative to most other (perhaps all) Big 10 programs.
Offense
It's hard to say that we saw progress today because Indiana's defense is much worse than Iowa's. But for the first time in a long time it felt like MSU's offense is actually really good. The passing game is turning into a real strength, and the running game achieved exactly what I hoped they would.
The crazy thing is that the offense has not nearly approached their ceiling. Connor Cook just needs to improve his accuracy a little more, the receivers just need to catch the ball a little better, the o-line just needs to gel a little more, and the running backs need to have a little better vision. If they can continue to make even incremental progress, we could be talking about MSU's offense as the most explosive in the Big 10. I don't want to get ahead of myself here, because by next week we could easily be wondering if the offense peaked in this game. Nevertheless, there is good reason for us to be excited about the offense.
Special teams
Not the strength they were last week, but good overall. Kings' muffed punt led to 7 points for Indiana, but Sadler had a great day.
Coaches
They prepared the defense well for Indiana's fast-paced offense and they made good adjustments when it seemed Indiana had some momentum. I didn't see too many times where I disagreed with their calls -- perhaps only in the first quarter where they passed on 3 straight downs instead of running the ball. I suppose I could also complain a little about all the penalties this team is getting, especially for personal fouls. Otherwise, the coaches are now clearly on a roll.
Upshot
This team has now played very well two weeks in a row. If they can maintain this level of play, this team could easily fulfill my preseason prediction of 12-2, and maybe even better. Why are we so blessed?
Friday, October 11, 2013
Preview of Indiana Game
Folks, we're all excited now that MSU's offense seems to be on track. Some of us, like me, won't learn our lessons and will allow ourselves to dream of national championships. We may even make the mistake of thinking of the Indiana game as a gimme. But folks, this is not typical Indiana team. This is an Indiana team that's currently 3-2 and is ranked 11th in the nation in total offense, scoring 44 points a game. They just blew out Penn State 44-24. So if the Spartans take them lightly, we could be in for a similar shock.
So here's the thing, MSU is more talented and more developed as a program, so the Spartans have no business losing this game. If they come in focused, they will win. If they overlook Indiana, there could be trouble.
If MSU is focused, I look for the Spartan defense to slow down Indiana's offense in much the same way that Auburn slowed down Oregon's high-powered offense in the championship game a few years ago. In general, elite defenses seem to have a lot of success against elite offenses, and as long as MSU is focused, this pattern should hold for this game.
I also look for Connor Cook and the offense to at least replicate what they did against Iowa. Indiana's defense is much worse than Iowa's, allowing nearly twice as many points per game, so you would be justified in thinking that MSU's offense should actually score over 30 points in this game. But I'm not quite ready to believe that yet. I need to see the consistency from week to week before I start assuming that this offense has become that explosive. Nonetheless, if they can at least do what they did against Iowa, MSU should win this game.
In this game, I'll also be looking for some other key things that will tell us a lot about how good this team could actually be by the end of the season. For starters, we need to see consistency and progress from Connor Cook and the wide receivers. They can't play well one game and then slide back the next. If they at least play as well as they did against Iowa, then I'm going to start dreaming big. The running game also needs to take that next step. The talent is there on the offensive line and among the running backs, and they've done OK so far. But MSU could and should have a dominant running game. Iowa's tough run defense may have muffled some of that dominance, so I'm hoping we really get to see it emerge against Indiana's softer run defense.
I also need to see the special teams continuing to be a strength, rather than a liability. And finally, I need to see that the coaches are well-prepared and not getting outsmarted by the Indiana coaches. Like I've said, this MSU team is more talented than any other team MSU will face the rest of the way, so any losses the rest of the way will fall mostly on the coaches. It's a lot of pressure to place on coaches, but they have to do their part, just like the players do.
Final score: MSU 27 Indiana 20
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Thoughts on Iowa Game
Little late on this cuz I just finished watching it on DVR, but now I'm eating the most delicious crow I've ever tasted.
The Spartans definitely got off to a slow start: Kings dropped an easy pass, they turned the ball over on 4rth down, missed a field goal, bad penalties, and the defense gave up some huge plays in the first half. But the Spartans still did some good things in the first half, and they dominated in the second half. The defense was dominant, the offense looked good, and the special teams was a strength.
Defense
Dominant as usual. They did break down late in the first half, perhaps in part because of the collision between Dennard and Lewis and because they struggled to adjust to Iowa's hurry-up offense. Whatever their issues were, they figured them out in the second half. Iowa's offense could do almost nothing in the second half. The only concerns I have on offense this year are that some juniors might leave early for the NFL at the end of the season.
Offense
This is not Oregon's offense, but it looks like MSU may finally have an offense competent enough to let the defense win games. If the MSU offense can play at least like this the rest of the year, then the Spartans will win their division. All they need are 2 touchdowns and 2 field goals per game.
Connor Cook did not look like a Heisman candidate, but he was plenty good enough. If he could continue to make good progress on his accuracy and consistency, he could be become a Heisman candidate by his senior year. He has so many of the tools in place. But let's not get ahead ourselves. For now, I'm delighted that he's more than adequate.
The running backs struggled a bit, as expected, against a tough Iowa defense. But Langford still looks solid and I liked what I saw from Delton Williams.
The receivers are slowly looking like a strength, rather than a liability. Kings is looking like K-Mart, but actually better at the same year in the program. Burbridge showed some progress and Fowler is looking more consistent. The tight ends still have to emerge.
Apart from some penalties, the offensive line looked good against a solid Iowa defensive line. This really is the best o-line in the Dantonio era. These guys should dominate the rest of the season.
Special Teams
This unit was a strength this week, with Geiger hitting 4 filed goals and Kings making some decent returns. Sadler also had a great fake punt and they didn't let Iowa break any big returns.
What a difference a competent special teams unit makes.
Coaching
I've been critical of the coaching staff this year because I now believe MSU has a more talented team than any team MSU has faced so far. So when MSU struggles, my instinct is to blame the coaches. Well, this week, I do think they were able to get the necessary production out of their talented team. I didn't really see any play calls I disagreed with and they generally put their players in good situations. I hope things stay this way the rest of the season.
I also should give the coaches credit for recruiting and developing such talented players. Seriously, MSU's team looked more talented to me than Notre Dame.
Upshot
This was one of the biggest victories in the last few years. MSU just beat (dominated, really) a team that many people saw as on the rise. And MSU beat them at home. This game also revealed that MSU has what it takes to win the Legends division. They certainly have the talent, now they need the coaches to properly utilize that talent. If MSU can play like this the rest of the season, they could even play in a BCS bowl. Suddenly, my prediction of 12 - 2 is starting to look reasonable.
The Spartans definitely got off to a slow start: Kings dropped an easy pass, they turned the ball over on 4rth down, missed a field goal, bad penalties, and the defense gave up some huge plays in the first half. But the Spartans still did some good things in the first half, and they dominated in the second half. The defense was dominant, the offense looked good, and the special teams was a strength.
Defense
Dominant as usual. They did break down late in the first half, perhaps in part because of the collision between Dennard and Lewis and because they struggled to adjust to Iowa's hurry-up offense. Whatever their issues were, they figured them out in the second half. Iowa's offense could do almost nothing in the second half. The only concerns I have on offense this year are that some juniors might leave early for the NFL at the end of the season.
Offense
This is not Oregon's offense, but it looks like MSU may finally have an offense competent enough to let the defense win games. If the MSU offense can play at least like this the rest of the year, then the Spartans will win their division. All they need are 2 touchdowns and 2 field goals per game.
Connor Cook did not look like a Heisman candidate, but he was plenty good enough. If he could continue to make good progress on his accuracy and consistency, he could be become a Heisman candidate by his senior year. He has so many of the tools in place. But let's not get ahead ourselves. For now, I'm delighted that he's more than adequate.
The running backs struggled a bit, as expected, against a tough Iowa defense. But Langford still looks solid and I liked what I saw from Delton Williams.
The receivers are slowly looking like a strength, rather than a liability. Kings is looking like K-Mart, but actually better at the same year in the program. Burbridge showed some progress and Fowler is looking more consistent. The tight ends still have to emerge.
Apart from some penalties, the offensive line looked good against a solid Iowa defensive line. This really is the best o-line in the Dantonio era. These guys should dominate the rest of the season.
Special Teams
This unit was a strength this week, with Geiger hitting 4 filed goals and Kings making some decent returns. Sadler also had a great fake punt and they didn't let Iowa break any big returns.
What a difference a competent special teams unit makes.
Coaching
I've been critical of the coaching staff this year because I now believe MSU has a more talented team than any team MSU has faced so far. So when MSU struggles, my instinct is to blame the coaches. Well, this week, I do think they were able to get the necessary production out of their talented team. I didn't really see any play calls I disagreed with and they generally put their players in good situations. I hope things stay this way the rest of the season.
I also should give the coaches credit for recruiting and developing such talented players. Seriously, MSU's team looked more talented to me than Notre Dame.
Upshot
This was one of the biggest victories in the last few years. MSU just beat (dominated, really) a team that many people saw as on the rise. And MSU beat them at home. This game also revealed that MSU has what it takes to win the Legends division. They certainly have the talent, now they need the coaches to properly utilize that talent. If MSU can play like this the rest of the season, they could even play in a BCS bowl. Suddenly, my prediction of 12 - 2 is starting to look reasonable.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Preview of Iowa Game
Workin 80 hours a week, folks, so my Spartan blogging is taking a hit. But I did want to weigh in on Tomorrow's game. The main thing I've been thinking since the Notre Dame game is that MSU now has better talent than most of the teams it's going to face, and that includes Iowa (and Notre Dame). So I really do think the pressure is on the coaches. I hate to say it, but Brian Kelly basically outsmarted our coaches, with a lot of help from the refs. I am hoping that it's much more difficult to say that after the Iowa game.
Basically, I don't want to come out of the Iowa game thinking that a pattern is being established, where a more talented MSU team loses to a less talented team because our coaches are being outsmarted by the opposing team's coaches. The offense is supposed to be the weak link, but I'm sorry, the Notre Dame game showed us that this offense has enough to talent to score at least 17 points a game -- which should be enough to win most games this season, including the Iowa game.
Folks, the offensive line is finally looking good (perhaps the best I've seen in more than a decade), and we have excellent running backs in Langford and Hill. We finally have a few guys making catches: Jamal Lyles, Macgarrett Kings, and even Bennie Fowler. The quarterbacks are still struggling, particularly with accuracy. But if they can't make the throws, the coaches should at least be using their mobility. I would make sure that they at least make good fakes on the read option -- I want to see some confused cameramen!
Anyway, the point is that there is enough there on offense to at least score 17 points a game, even against a good defense like Iowa's. If the coaches can't get at least 17 points out of this offense, then it's on them. And Dantonio then should be fully searching for a new group of offensive coaches for next year.
If the offense does not get 17 points, then you can count on a very close game with a high probability of an MSU loss. Last year, Iowa showed just enough cleverness on offense to beat MSU at home. This year, they have a more competent offense and their coaches seem to be doing a better job than last year. They will get at least 14 points.
So the offense has to do its part. Progress must be made on offense, or this game will be a loss, and we can pretty much start thinking of this season as a repeat of last year. If MSU loses this one, I expect it to be because of the offense's futility. And as I've said, that result will be on the coaches.
So what's my prediction? I really want to believe that MSU will figure things out on offense, but Iowa's defense is probably better than Notre Dame's, so I do expect the offense to struggle. I foresee the offense moving the ball well with run after run, only to see drives stall because the coaches outsmart themselves with an odd passing play. I foresee that this may be the game that breaks the patience of Spartan Nation, especially if the offense fails to score a touchdown (which is a very likely outcome in this game).
Final score: MSU 10 Iowa 17
PS: Please let me be wrong! I would love to be eating crow all day Sunday.
Basically, I don't want to come out of the Iowa game thinking that a pattern is being established, where a more talented MSU team loses to a less talented team because our coaches are being outsmarted by the opposing team's coaches. The offense is supposed to be the weak link, but I'm sorry, the Notre Dame game showed us that this offense has enough to talent to score at least 17 points a game -- which should be enough to win most games this season, including the Iowa game.
Folks, the offensive line is finally looking good (perhaps the best I've seen in more than a decade), and we have excellent running backs in Langford and Hill. We finally have a few guys making catches: Jamal Lyles, Macgarrett Kings, and even Bennie Fowler. The quarterbacks are still struggling, particularly with accuracy. But if they can't make the throws, the coaches should at least be using their mobility. I would make sure that they at least make good fakes on the read option -- I want to see some confused cameramen!
Anyway, the point is that there is enough there on offense to at least score 17 points a game, even against a good defense like Iowa's. If the coaches can't get at least 17 points out of this offense, then it's on them. And Dantonio then should be fully searching for a new group of offensive coaches for next year.
If the offense does not get 17 points, then you can count on a very close game with a high probability of an MSU loss. Last year, Iowa showed just enough cleverness on offense to beat MSU at home. This year, they have a more competent offense and their coaches seem to be doing a better job than last year. They will get at least 14 points.
So the offense has to do its part. Progress must be made on offense, or this game will be a loss, and we can pretty much start thinking of this season as a repeat of last year. If MSU loses this one, I expect it to be because of the offense's futility. And as I've said, that result will be on the coaches.
So what's my prediction? I really want to believe that MSU will figure things out on offense, but Iowa's defense is probably better than Notre Dame's, so I do expect the offense to struggle. I foresee the offense moving the ball well with run after run, only to see drives stall because the coaches outsmart themselves with an odd passing play. I foresee that this may be the game that breaks the patience of Spartan Nation, especially if the offense fails to score a touchdown (which is a very likely outcome in this game).
Final score: MSU 10 Iowa 17
PS: Please let me be wrong! I would love to be eating crow all day Sunday.
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