Wolverine247 Board

Fvck off!

Ftfy

I rememember the announcers talking about a new starting safety vs Iowa. Who was it and why? Injury or something else?

Do you wish you had more 4* and 5* players now?

Well, I can tell you right off the bat that it'll be an uphill battle and I give MSU around a 30% chance to win at the moment. If they are going to win, they need to . . . .

1) Get TDs instead of FGs. Michigan State actually has 1 failed RZ attempt on the year (the stats say 3, but 2 of them were kneel downs against Boise State and IU inside their respective 10 yardlines). The problem is that the Spartans settle for FGs instead of TDs, and they don't get to the RZ that often (less than 4 times/game). That means when they do get down there, they have to get the most out of it.

2) Gap discipline. MSU has largely contained Denard the last 2 years, and they cannot allow him to get loose more than once this game. That means the LBs have to be disciplined and not over-react on the zone reads. The last 2 years are largely meaningless; different players on each team and the Spartan DL is not as good at getting penetration as they were last year, or even in 2010. Puts a lot of pressure on the LBs to perform well, because even 1 breakdown means a 50+ yard TD for Shoelace.

3) Keep within 1 score. If UM goes up 21-6 in the late 2nd Q or something, it's game over. The Spartan offense simply won't be able to play successfully from behind, especially against an improving UM D.

4) Discipline. MSU isn't quite as heavily penalized as last year, but the penalties come an inopportune times. Along with that is a need to be smart on special teams; MSU has one of the worst KR D's in the country and Norfleet is definitely a threat to take one to the house. All things considered, a special teams breakdown is more than the Spartans can bear.

All in all, it's going to be hard for Michigan State to win. Not impossible, but a Spartan win would definitely be an upset.

Kurtis Drummond at FS, taking over for Jairus Jones who didn't dress. Don't know the nature of Jones' injury, only that he was hurt against Indiana. Drummond and RS FR RJ Williamson rotated at FS.

I wish the 4* and 5* players MSU has would stay healthy (Sims, Burbrige, Burkland, Treadwell, Norman and LT have all missed time due to injury)

Is Caper one of the better #2 RBs in the B1G?

What Michigan games have you watched?

For Michigan to win:

1) Get off to a fast start. Go up 14-0 and MSU will start pressing, abandon the run and be completely one-dimensional. This isn't an offense that can get away with throwing 45 times and running 20.

2) Don't turn the ball over more than once. Denard may throw an INT, but just one won't be too bad; your O will have enough scoring chances to make up for it. Throw 2 or more, and I think things start to get a little dicey. MSU's psyche isn't great, but an early pick-6 could really chance their confidence level in a hurry. Objectively, I think UM has the more complete team, but I've seen the more complete team be done in by TOs.

3) Pressure Maxwell. UM isn't great at getting sacks (1.33/game), but the Spartan OL has given up 2 sacks in each of the last 3 games. Like any pocket passer, Maxwell isn't great under pressure; though he rarely throws INTs ( 3 of his 4 have been tipped balls), he will throw it away if he has the chance. This isn't an O that can handle 3rd and 8, so getting him to throw an incompletion essentially kills a drive (as long as Bell didn't have a 7 yard carry on 1st down).

4) Don't stack the box. Goes against conventional wisdom, right? Bell's MSU's best weapon, and loading the box puts a ton of pressure on Maxwell to make throws. The issue here is that Burbridge and Mumphery actually look like viable receivers and both can beat one on one coverage. UM is better off leaning on their DL to beat MSU's OL (which should happen) and drop 5-6 into coverage, making sure that MSU can't go down field. If UM loads up to stop Bell, but one of the receivers gets loose, it's a big problem for the Michigan D. Bell isn't a threat to break a big run, so you're better off letting him get 3-5 yards/carry, knowing that the MSU passing O will shoot itself in the foot and that Roushar won't stick with what's working, even if Bell is having success.

5) Get the home crowd into it early. See #1; this is Michigan State's toughest road environment by a long shot. The more pressure on MSU, the better for UM.

Which is the better team, UM or OSU?

Has Gholston fully recovered from his concussion?