Preview of Northwestern Game

This is a game that makes me a little nervous. MSU is riding high, we're all confident that MSU will be playing in the B10 championship game, and so it's easy to overlook a Northwestern team that has collapsed this season. But folks, Northwestern is a wounded snake that can still kill you if you're not careful and focused. A focused MSU team wins this one, while an overconfident MSU team could suffer a devastating defeat.

Northwestern has struggled in part because of key injuries. Well, they now have several key players back, including their most dangerous offensive weapons, Kain Colter. With Colter, NU's offense is much better than their total statistics suggest (which are about middle-of-the-road in the FBS). I actually expect them to be able to do many of the same things Nebraska did against MSU's defense, particularly with their running game. Their wide receivers, however, are not as good as Nebraska's, so they may not be able to exploit some of the weaknesses in the MSU secondary that Nebraska exposed. One important thing I would like to see in this game is the defense showing that it has addressed some of the weaknesses exposed by Nebraska. I would also like to see the d-line generating a lot more pressure than they did last week -- though the lack of pressure may have been in part due to MSU's respect for Nebraska's dangerous running attack.

NU's defense is not elite, but it can be pretty pesky. So MSU will have to come in with a solid offensive game plan, while Cook and the rest of the offense will have to make some key plays. If Cook struggles, or if the receivers drop balls, or if they turn the ball over multiple times, this is the kind of defense that could shut down MSU. If MSU's offense can at least play like it did last week, they should be fine. But of course I would really like to see the offense showing significant improvement every week, especially when we consider where they will need to be if and when they play in the B10 championship game. Specifically, I'd like to see Cook getting off to faster starts and the tight ends contributing again (they seemed to disappear last week).

So MSU should win this game if they come in focused and ready to go, and I think they will do so. This team seems to recognize the greatness of what they are accomplishing.

Final score: MSU 27  NU 14