The State of the Spartans

 

The Spartans were thrilled to get Coach D back on the sidelines last week. Photo courtesy of Mark Boomgaard.

With Head Coach Mark Dantonio back on the field for last Saturday’s game against the Northwestern Wildcats, the Spartans came back from a 17 point deficit to win by the score of 35-27. The Spartans limped out of the gate, falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter to a rested Wildcat football team. Against a stellar Iowa team, Michigan State cannot afford to have another slow start, which doomed the Spartan ground attack, forcing Kirk Cousins to go to the air. This upcoming game against Iowa will be crucial for Michigan State, as a win would ease the road to the Big Ten Championship.

 

• The ultimate key to beating Iowa next week: coming strong out of the gate. Another sluggish start simply will not suffice. The rushing attack needs to be established early to set up the pass, not the other way around.
• For the second straight week, the Spartan backfield was shut down by an opposing defense. Edwin Baker, LeVeon Bell, and Larry Caper combined for combined for a pathetic 88 yards. The ground game showed promise on the very first play, as Baker ran for twenty yards, only to have it negated by a holding penalty. Following this play, the run game diminished to the point where Captain Kirk was almost single-handedly holding up the team.
• Quarterback Kirk Cousins was the reason that Michigan State triumphed over Northwestern. His stellar performance (29 of 43 passes for 331 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs) enabled the Spartans to come from behind and stay undefeated. It has been nice to see Cousins improve his game and step up his performance in the clutch.
• Wide receivers B.J. Cunningham and Mark Dell each had an outstanding game against the Wildcats. The two wide outs combined for 17 catches for 122 yards and 3 TDs. Cousins certainly has some viable options at wide receiver should the Spartans decide to air it out again against Iowa.
• The offensive line of Michigan State is a huge concern for Coach Treadwell and the offensive staff. Against Northwestern, the big uglies up front simply got beat again and again, especially in the first half.
• On three separate occasions in the first quarter alone, the offense was unable to convert on 3rd and 1. Why? The reason- Northwestern’s defense got penetration into the Spartan backfield. This is inexcusable for a Big Ten team that likes to run the ball with three talented backs.
• Michigan State was dealt a huge blow when Keshawn Martin was lost for the game because of an apparent foot injury. Martin’s status for the Iowa game is uncertain, but it is not season-ending according to Coach Dantonio.
• Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa was contained fairly well by the Michigan State offense, yet he was able to score three touchdowns in the ground in the game. However, the rushing game was not the reason the Wildcats were threatening to take away the Spartans’ perfect record. The run defense of MSU was fine. No, it was the secondary that was the suspect for the 27 points Northwestern scored.
• Persa was able to beat the Spartans through the air by throwing intermediate range passes. Over and over again, he exploited the secondary by throwing to holes in the zone coverage. Often, there were Northwestern receivers who caught passes with no one within five yards of them. The Spartan secondary needs to shape up, and fast, before it faces Ricky Stanzi and the Hawkeyes.
• The Spartan defense continues to create big plays. The unit was able to recover a fumble, pick off a Persa pass, and sack him multiple times. If Michigan State can continue to do these things, it will be in good shape against the upcoming game versus Iowa.

Special teams will make the difference. It did once again versus the Wildcats when the Spartans faked a punt in the fourth quarter. Look for a Dan Conroy kick to be the difference in a thriller between two Big Ten giants.