OK, so MSU is now a win away from heading to the playoffs. Too bad they are facing a dangerous Iowa team that can easily make the B1G championship game a nail-biter.
Iowa is well-coached. The players don't make many mistakes and their coaches also show a lot of creativity when it comes to play calling. They will be ready for MSU and they will squeeze every wrinkle possible out of their playbook.
In terms of talent, they are solid on defense, and they have an outstanding running back and an outstanding quarterback. Jordan Canzeri could be the most troublesome back MSU has faced since Ameer Abdullah, and CJ Beathard is frustratingly smart, mobile and accurate.
Thankfully, MSU matches up well with Iowa. Frankly, MSU is more talented on both sides of the ball. So I can only see MSU losing this one, if they make more mistakes (especially turnovers), if the Iowa coaches out-work the MSU coaches, or if Canzeri and Beathard go absolutely nuts -- kind of like Russell Wilson in the B1G championship game a few years ago (that still hurts).
So the Spartans are going to have to protect the ball and they'll have to be ready for some creative playcalling from the Iowa side. The secondary will have to step up because Beathard could be the best passer they've faced all year. He could expose them.
Shoutouts
Montae Nicholson has proven me completely wrong. Because of his struggles throughout most of this season, I thought he would need to be moved to wide receiver next year. In fact, he now looks like he could be a first-round pick as a safety by the time he graduates.
Gerald Holmes continues to look like the most effective back. In fact, I think the offense works better when he's getting the carries. He clearly has the best vision, the best ability to anticipate where the holes will be -- he is Anakin Skywalker of the backs, if you will. He is also a little shiftier than the other backs, which helps him gain yards when the blocking isn't there. He also just makes a lot of smart plays.
The corners, Hicks and Colquhoun are playing very well. They are showing a lot of confidence and athleticism. They will be tested against Iowa, so hopefully they don't end up getting exposed.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Thoughts on OSU Game: MSU is Elite!
OK, so last night's victory was among the best in Spartan football history. MSU just beat the defending national champions, a team on a 23 game winning streak, in their own stadium. That kind of victory says MSU is an elite program. Period. MSU is now the kind of program that can go into the stadium of another elite program and win. And they can beat that program 3 times in 5 years. All that is left to accomplish is to win a national championship, and that remains a real possibility this year.
Other impressions
The O-line stunned me. They let the OSU defensive ends beat them a few times, but otherwise, they dominated an elite defensive line. It was an astonishing performance that hopefully will continue all the way to a national championship.
Tyler O'Connor showed flashes of being a gunslinger. He flashed some Favre-like abilities: confidence, a good arm, and effective scrambling ability. He could be something special next year, though he has a lot of work to do. Damion Terry reminded me of Tyrod Taylor a bit, but he does need to improve his accuracy or develop better chemistry with the receivers.
The running backs were solid. I still think Holmes is the top back, but we did get to see flashes of Scott's high ceiling. Next year, the running game could be special. This year, they could still get on a roll and dominate, if the O-line continues to play like it did in this game.
The defense looked like a standard MSU defense: dominant. The weather helped. It eliminated OSU's passing game and it was amazing to see MSU's front seven dominate an offense full of 5-star recruits. But even the secondary looked outstanding most of the time, particularly with tackling (shout out to Montae Nicholson, who I hope proves my doubts about his ability to play safety completely wrong). We'll have to wait until MSU plays a good passing team to get a better sense of where the secondary is at. But I think they may have turned the corner. Which means, this defense could be about dominate games the way MSU defenses normally do.
It was great to see Michael Geiger hit the winning kick, but we can see that he has an issue with the ball hooking. He was able to adjust for it on the winning kick, in part because he missed his first kick, and perhaps in part because OSU called the timeout to try to freeze him -- basically, they let him have a practice kick (I hate the idea of "freezing the kicker"). But the hooking action shows there is something wrong with his technique, and it's something that will make him relatively inaccurate the rest of the season.
Other impressions
The O-line stunned me. They let the OSU defensive ends beat them a few times, but otherwise, they dominated an elite defensive line. It was an astonishing performance that hopefully will continue all the way to a national championship.
Tyler O'Connor showed flashes of being a gunslinger. He flashed some Favre-like abilities: confidence, a good arm, and effective scrambling ability. He could be something special next year, though he has a lot of work to do. Damion Terry reminded me of Tyrod Taylor a bit, but he does need to improve his accuracy or develop better chemistry with the receivers.
The running backs were solid. I still think Holmes is the top back, but we did get to see flashes of Scott's high ceiling. Next year, the running game could be special. This year, they could still get on a roll and dominate, if the O-line continues to play like it did in this game.
The defense looked like a standard MSU defense: dominant. The weather helped. It eliminated OSU's passing game and it was amazing to see MSU's front seven dominate an offense full of 5-star recruits. But even the secondary looked outstanding most of the time, particularly with tackling (shout out to Montae Nicholson, who I hope proves my doubts about his ability to play safety completely wrong). We'll have to wait until MSU plays a good passing team to get a better sense of where the secondary is at. But I think they may have turned the corner. Which means, this defense could be about dominate games the way MSU defenses normally do.
It was great to see Michael Geiger hit the winning kick, but we can see that he has an issue with the ball hooking. He was able to adjust for it on the winning kick, in part because he missed his first kick, and perhaps in part because OSU called the timeout to try to freeze him -- basically, they let him have a practice kick (I hate the idea of "freezing the kicker"). But the hooking action shows there is something wrong with his technique, and it's something that will make him relatively inaccurate the rest of the season.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Bad Surprises
I used to regularly write a post about how "surprises" have such a big influence on how the season is going to go. I figure it's a good time to revisit that theme because there are some key surprises that are massively influencing what is happening to the Spartans this season. Obviously, surprises can come in the form of injuries, but let me stick to surprises in player performances. Three areas that have surprised in a bad way this season are the O-line, running backs and the secondary.
Coming into the season, we thought that MSU was going to have its best O-line in the Dantonio era. And we can now safely say that this O-line is one of the leas effective of the last 3 years. Injuries have played a role, but almost all the starters are back now, and yet they have struggled in both the run game and pass protection. And sadly, the struggles could get magnified against Ohio State.
As for the running backs, we knew it would be tough to replace Jeremy Langford, but right now the only consistent RB has been Gerald Holmes, and he's been held back by the struggles of the O-line. I think Holmes has the potential to salvage the season for the running backs, but he is going to need help from the O-line, and perhaps just as importantly, he could use help from an explosive back (a lightning option, if you will). Somehow, the coaches ended up recruiting too many big backs, and no real speed backs. It's starting to become clear that their current group is limiting the playbook. They can't outrun defenders to the outside, so basically, all runs have to be between the tackles. That may be fine much of the time, but you need guys that can keep the defensive ends honest, guys that can add a few extra plays to your playbook. Whatever happened to Nick Tompkins?
As for the secondary, we knew they would struggle, but we didn't expect this much struggle. The safety position was supposed to be a strength, but the injury to RJ Williamson and the massive regression of Montae Nicholson have turned this area into a pretty sizable liability. At least Arjen Colquhoun has been a nice positive surprise. As I've said before, he could be really good by the end of the season. Hopefully, Nicholson will progress and hopefully Darian Hicks can solidify the other corner position, while Cox solidifies the other safety position. I don't expect them to revive the no-fly zone, but hopefully they can become serviceable.
Coming into the season, we thought that MSU was going to have its best O-line in the Dantonio era. And we can now safely say that this O-line is one of the leas effective of the last 3 years. Injuries have played a role, but almost all the starters are back now, and yet they have struggled in both the run game and pass protection. And sadly, the struggles could get magnified against Ohio State.
As for the running backs, we knew it would be tough to replace Jeremy Langford, but right now the only consistent RB has been Gerald Holmes, and he's been held back by the struggles of the O-line. I think Holmes has the potential to salvage the season for the running backs, but he is going to need help from the O-line, and perhaps just as importantly, he could use help from an explosive back (a lightning option, if you will). Somehow, the coaches ended up recruiting too many big backs, and no real speed backs. It's starting to become clear that their current group is limiting the playbook. They can't outrun defenders to the outside, so basically, all runs have to be between the tackles. That may be fine much of the time, but you need guys that can keep the defensive ends honest, guys that can add a few extra plays to your playbook. Whatever happened to Nick Tompkins?
As for the secondary, we knew they would struggle, but we didn't expect this much struggle. The safety position was supposed to be a strength, but the injury to RJ Williamson and the massive regression of Montae Nicholson have turned this area into a pretty sizable liability. At least Arjen Colquhoun has been a nice positive surprise. As I've said before, he could be really good by the end of the season. Hopefully, Nicholson will progress and hopefully Darian Hicks can solidify the other corner position, while Cox solidifies the other safety position. I don't expect them to revive the no-fly zone, but hopefully they can become serviceable.
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