Things to take from MSU over ND that relate to UM-MSU
1.MSU has a crappy defense. Crist shredded MSU despite this being his first road game as a starter and little run game. Imagine what a DR-led spread can do to the Sparties at home?
2. MSU's OL is superb at run blocking, not so much at pass blocking. UM's 3-3-5 is in for a long day, I fear.
3. Kissin Cousins has regressed.While he makes some nice throws, he also makes the boneheaded mistake and is not finding receivers as quick as he was last year. UM's secondary will be tested, but I think they can come up with a INT or two vs MSU
4. MSU has a nice stable of RB's. I think this is a bad matchup for UM.
5. MSU still exhibits MSU discipline. Penalties galore in this game.
It is my semi-informed opinion that the keys to the MSU game is UM controlling MSU's run and UM not turning the ball for I don't see MSU stopping UM. They just don't have the athletes to stop spread offenses, but UM does not have the scheme to stop MSU's offense so it is a wash.
Can anyone explain to me why people rave about MSU's defense? It is very average. Dantonio has to be the most overrated coach in the country.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:15 AM ^
those WR screens will be golden vs MSU. From tonights game observations only. Obviously, they could make adjustments to prevent that given a different opponent.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:16 AM ^
Yes MSU has a crappy defense and I don't think we'll have a problem scoring on them.
We'd better figure out what the fuck went wrong today first though.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:17 AM ^
I think the key for us is the same no matter who we play. Be at least even in the turnover battle. A couple lucky turnovers can make a below average defense way better. With our offense, we don't need to do anything heroic on D to win.
State is State. Ehh is my usual reaction. No different this year.
I also have the same reaction about our D though too.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:19 AM ^
is not an overrated head coach. in fact, he's not even rated. outside of the big10 no one knows who he is (maybe some die-hard big east fans).
to most of the country MSU is Mississippi State.
great win for msu, but everything fell their way. claiming the WR was forced out of bounds is a stretch, and that was 100% Spartan Bob at the end...
September 19th, 2010 at 12:19 AM ^
How can you say right now he is the most overrated when his call just was the difference in that game?
September 19th, 2010 at 12:23 AM ^
He didn't have much choice. A 46 yarder would be no gimme (certainly not for us) so I don't know that he had much choice after Cousins took that sack (Sparty NO!) The fact that it was prepped is the bigger deal.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:33 AM ^
MD even said, when asked post-game, that he had an inexperienced kicker and a long kick. The other option would've been to just go for it on 4th down. But then you're showing your cards. So yeah... not so much a ballsy call as it was the right call.
Of course, if it fails, we're probably having a different conversation (Sparty NO!!!).
September 19th, 2010 at 12:38 AM ^
This is stupid. Of course it was a ballsy call. Do you know how much heat he'd be taking if that hadn't worked out? They kicker made 3 40+ yard field goals last week, including a 50 yarder.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:30 AM ^
And MSU was the favorite.How you don't handle a team with a suspect defense and rookie QB at home is beyond me.
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<br>The fact they needed a fake FG to beat ND says volumes.
September 19th, 2010 at 1:10 AM ^
it was a goddamn great call. How great? Well, i was a poorly executed play, and it STILL worked.
My hat's off the Dantonio, or whomever gave final approval on that play. Great fucking job. Big stones, big win.
I hate giving ANY credit to Sparty for anything, but that was badass.
September 19th, 2010 at 4:30 AM ^
Think is Notre Dame had it covered the guy covering him though fell down. So they knew it was coming and went for fg safe. Plus the fact of Clock Gate II.
September 19th, 2010 at 8:50 AM ^
Not only Clockgate II, but Non-existent Clip I.
September 19th, 2010 at 2:45 PM ^
You do realize we had to mount a comeback drive against them when they played a community college quarterback for a half, and a quarterback with a concussion for the other right?
September 19th, 2010 at 12:36 AM ^
I seem to recall similar praise for Bobby Williams after the infamous "expiring clock" incident at Sparty Stadium years back. Williams got a bunch of credit for that last-second win over UM... meanwhile the NCAA viewed that Sparty's clock operator cheated so badly they had to change the rules and take over clock duties for all of college football.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:59 AM ^
Don't be "that guy". The B10, ESPN, the Detroit newspapers and TV stations, etc. all used a stopwatch to try to "prove" that the timekeeper somehow cheated. They all confirmed that time was left on the clock (stadium clocks don't show tenths of a second, so 1.9 seconds will show as 1 second).
The petition by Lloyd Carr proved that there was time in that game, but it did succeed in getting the rules changed so that the official time is kept on the field, which basically makes the scoreboard clock an educated guess these days. Oddly, you want to trust the scoreboard (unofficial time) is correct this time. Get over it, it has nothing to do with October 9th...again, don't be "that guy", it's unbecoming, especially when you're wrong.
September 19th, 2010 at 1:28 AM ^
Take it from one who was AT the game, and the tv clock did not match the actually Stadium clock. And everyone who "measured it" was using the tv copy. Which wasn't official, or accurate. Because in the Stadium the clock froze for a good 2.5-3 beats. There should have been no time. And that doesn't get into everything else that was wrong on that play by the refs. (Or the whole game, for that matter). So, really, you don't be "that guy".
September 19th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^
If that guy is a truth seeker, then I'm "that guy" too. Video in question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoFZIBY-IVU
I do remember ESPN talking about it and showing that their ESPN clock showed -1 meaning if the clock could go negative, it would have gone to at least -1 (i think it was like -1.4), eliminating any fractional argument. Where are the ESPN, B10, and other broadcasts you speak of that "prove" that the right call was made on the field? I don't have broadcast of what I saw (ESPN doesn't keep this around), but I do remember what I saw and how ESPN showed the negative clock. Anyone else remember?
ESPN based their argument on the referree at the back of the end zone. They said a play can't be stopped until he can confirm the ball is down at which point he raises his hands to call the play dead. You can see the ref barely on the extreme right of the video in the endzone raising his hands around the 57 second mark in this video.
The ball was spiked at second 55 (try to watch the clock on the video, not listen to the announcer who is about half a second ahead).
It doesn't bother me if MSU won fair and square and I wouldn't want the game changed now...just new games called better. If you can find it (if it is public) could you provide the Lloyd Carr petition that proved the timekeeping was correct? I couldn't find it. We do know that games are never changed and that timekeeping is no longer performed by a team...based on this call...which would leave me to believe there actually could have been a problem.
September 19th, 2010 at 8:43 AM ^
was ballsy.
Calling a bunch of pass plays in OT when they were destroying ND on the ground all night was moronic, That call became a necessity because Dantonio went away from what had worked all night for them.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:20 AM ^
does tackle well, I think whats suspect again this year is the secondary.
Don't forget MSU played 3/4 ths of the game without one of their better starting LB's in Gordan. That was a big loss for MSU.
Difficult to compare and contrast, but it would sure look like this years game should be tight and come down to the wire. Hopefully we won't need any late 4th Q heroics to get back into it this year. Homefield advantage will help, but only if the fans make it so.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:21 AM ^
...the guy managed to put together a nice defensive package for OSU last season so I am sure he can figure out how to scheme vs. the meathead.
We will score, and score a lot, versus that defense and they will tire from the beating. If we win 50 to 40 we still win.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:24 AM ^
per game the rest of the way because they aint giving up less than 35 to most teams this year.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:44 AM ^
We've given up fewer than 35 points to two of our three opponents so far.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:25 AM ^
September 19th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
hahahaha the perfect storm. even though not possible in today's college football, funny thought!
September 19th, 2010 at 12:25 AM ^
I take away that Big East officials suck almost as much as Big Ten officials. But at least they call holding.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:28 AM ^
ND fan is currently bent about this...
Damefan1 is crying in his towel signed by Chris Zorich and Michael Stonebreaker.
September 19th, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
I can't wait to see his melt down. I was rooting for ND, but I'll take the loss just to see this.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:31 AM ^
25 second clock to the left of the scoreboard says :03. The TV graphic clock is not the official clock.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:37 AM ^
That's a zero, which is clearer with better resolution.
September 19th, 2010 at 2:52 PM ^
We really look stupid arguing the one second thing. I have watched the play 10 times on my 61 inch HDTV and for the life of me, it seems like the snap and the "00" on the scoreboard show up at virtually the same time. The ABC clock is a second off. Plus, and this is what kills me, there are two refs whose job it is to watch the clock at all times. They didn't flinch. It's not like they were asleep at the switch during the game...ND got 2 or 3 delay of game calls. The call was amazing, just let it stand and focus on Oct. 9. We have a great chance at taking Paul Bunyan back.
September 19th, 2010 at 10:44 AM ^
The playclock on espn is accurate.
September 19th, 2010 at 10:48 AM ^
Well, maybe not....
September 19th, 2010 at 12:29 AM ^
No matter what... that was a ballsy call. Your kicker throwing it to some special-teams tight end type? C'mon....
I ALWAYS root Big Ten. Its good that ND went down. Maybe when they join the conference, I'll root for them, but not before. And it sets up a possible undefeated UM vs. undefeated Sparty in Ann Arbor in a couple weeks. Whats not to like?
As far as comparatively, we should worry about our secondary matching up against ANY offense (Bowling Green and IU included).
Go Blue!
September 19th, 2010 at 12:54 AM ^
Well, an undefeated Sparty, for one.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:29 AM ^
The main thing I am taking from this game is that they didn't just beat us with a fake FG like that. I probably wouldn't sleep for a month.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:30 AM ^
Kelly is an idiot for not even calling a timeout to try to ice the kicker. And why would you all out field goal block on a 47 yard field goal? he probably would have missed it anyways
September 19th, 2010 at 12:37 AM ^
Why you wouldn't have a safty back there just in case is beyond me.
September 19th, 2010 at 4:34 AM ^
He didnt go for an all out block watch the post game presser. He stated that the guy covering the Td catch fell down. You can see it on a replay that two ND players fell down on the right side.
September 19th, 2010 at 9:51 AM ^
September 19th, 2010 at 12:30 AM ^
Can anyone explain to me why people rave about MSU's defense?
I think it's a habit at this point. Happens year after year with no evidence to support it.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:39 AM ^
It's because Dantonio was the D coordinator on a beastly OSU defense. But annointing him some defensive genius makes about as much sense as calling Weis an offensive genious because he had Brady.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:46 AM ^
Especially when every OSU D since 1996 has been beastly.
September 19th, 2010 at 4:35 AM ^
Since 1996? Sarcasm?
September 19th, 2010 at 12:34 AM ^
So a clock violation can't be challenged? Why not?
September 19th, 2010 at 12:34 AM ^
...to hear anyone except that loon that runs SpartanNation claim that Michigan State's defense is anything better than "suspect". And it is definetely worse than that. Between the UM-ND game and the MSU-ND game, I feel like I'm suddenly a close follower of the Mountain West style football.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:37 AM ^
The conclusion I would draw is that M, ND, and Sparty share a lot more similarities than dissimilarities. We're both capable of good things but also deeply flawed. I suspect we'll all end up having more or less the same records in the end.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:41 AM ^
ND's got a rough first half of the schedule and sparty's season falls apart after they play us just about every year. Hopefully that means we end up a little better. Assuming we remember how to play defense a little bit, of course.
September 19th, 2010 at 1:22 AM ^
This sort of thinking is way to reasonable to be on the internet.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:39 AM ^
To win against MSU, we just need to stop the run, which we haven't been doing. We need to stack the box early on.
September 19th, 2010 at 12:53 AM ^
If Michigan can eat up a lot of clock (like they did in the first 2 weeks), they will beat Sparty pretty easy. If it's like today, it will be a nail biter.