MSUFAN4320

I've seen lots of great backs emerge despite a lack of elite offensive line play. Leshoure out of Illinois a few years ago, Le'Veon Bell at MSU, Abdullah, Cobb out of Minnesota, the list goes on. Wisky has two or three good to great backs every year, but they rarely go on to do anything in the NFL, which tells me their success is more about the system and the lines they run behind. And there's nothing wrong with that, I'd rather have team production than have to rely on individual talent. But if the discussion is most talented RB in the B1G, I'm hesitant to say it's Gordon.

I think Adbullah is the best back in the Big Ten by far. He's the only guy I saw last year that made MSU's stellar rush defense look vulnerable at times. I tend to think Wiscy RBs are overrated in terms of individual talent. I think their success has a lot more to do with their offensive lines. Also, the sheer number of carries they get will of course lead to big time numbers.

I think you guys will start to develop a natural rivalry with Wisconsin over time, simply due to the sheer number of big games you two will play against each other. Most years, the NU/UW game will likely be the East Division de-facto championship. Nothing breeds a rivalry quite like competition. Geographically, Iowa makes the most sense but I'm not sure the Hawkeyes can be consistently good enough for that to really take off. Wiscy already has Minnesota, but I always got the impression that rivalry was way more important to the Gophers than the Badgers. Also, there can be more than one rival. Several schools have two or three.

Abdullah is very good, imo the best RB we'll face all season, including Carlos Hyde. I wasn't surprised at all by what he did, I was more surprised by the performance of your young o-line.

Well, you have to understand that there are rivalries and animosities that have brewed and built up over the course of decades. That's going to happen over time and I'm sure you guys had formed some enemies over the years in the Big 8/Big 12. I think it's good for college sports in general as long as things don't get too nasty/violent.

I'm glad you folks are confident. I would expect nothing less from a proud fan base. The Michigan week was boring, because 99% of them thought their team would lose. Here's to a good and injury-free game!

I think MSU has performed better on the road than at home, for the most part. It seems they tend to play looser. 9 more ppg is a significant improvement. Also, most of our defensive scores came in the non-conference. We're averaging 29 ppg in conference play on offensive scoring alone. The o-line also gets a much better push than it did last year. Bell led the nation in yards after contact. Opponents were living in our backfield. If you haven't seen them much, as you admitted, I would hesitate to form such conclusions. Again, nobody is going to confuse us with Baylor or Oregon, but we're quite a bit better than last year. I think the two biggest factors being o-line and WR play. That said, I'm not taking this game lightly. It is going to be very difficult to win in Lincoln.

I dont believe their offense is better this year. Last year it was carried by LeVeon Bell, year before by Andrew Maxwell. Who is carying it this year? Nobody really. They went what 3 weeks with their D scoring more than their offense could. They hung a bunch on who Iowa and Michigan. Nothing to sneeze at but hardly imposing. We are built to control their offense. Our offense is definitely better this year. Whether you want to go by stats or eye test, or both, it's definitely improved. The fact Bell carried us was the REASON we were so bad. He was all we had, and as a result, our play-calling was extremely predictable. This year, we're spreading the ball around more to various receivers and getting more backs into the mix. Our o-line is finally healthy and gelling. Perhaps more significantly than anything else, our WRs are finally catching the ball and making plays. Cook is a big upgrade over Maxwell. Believe me, we're better. Not saying we're anything to be feared, but we're much better than last season. Carry on.

Are you sure about all of this? You might want to go look at Time of Possession stats where Michigan State is 8th in the county. The defense has only been on the field for 562 plays which puts them at 54th in the nation, and that is with 1 more game than almost everybody else. The defense has certainly not been on the field constantly. I didn't look at the stats. Thanks for pointing that out. It just seems like the defense is on the field a lot because our offense can't sustain drives and goes 3-and-out a lot, but I suppose if our D is also forcing a lot of 3-and-outs then it all pretty much evens out.

Is Michigan State's special teams really that bad? Do they typically have 15 yards punts almost every game? Do they make a habit of fielding kicks in the endzone only to bring them out to the 12? Honestly, I don't know. I haven't watched Michigan State play much. Ah yes, special teams...an area we Spartan fans aren't used to worrying about. This year is a different story. Our two biggest issues on special teams are kick/punt return and field goal kicking. The latter has been surprising, as Conroy has been a reliable leg for us in the past. Nobody is quite sure what is wrong with him this year, he just lost his confidence or something. He's missing all kinds of chip shots, but can drill the long ones. It's weird. We actually have Bell returning kicks right now because I guess we don't have any better options...which is kind of hard to believe. I personally don't get it because he doesn't pose any kind of home run threat, and risking injury to him on a kick return doesn't seem worth it. However, his hands are like vice grips and he won't fumble, so there's that. Nick Hill was our punt return guy earlier in the year, but we benched him because he was hesitant and fumbled a couple times. Andre Sims Jr. is our current PR. Hasn't done anything remarkable yet, but he is at least protecting the ball and making smart decisions. Our punter is a good one. No issues there. Kick and punt coverage are okay. Nothing special.

This defense is way better than Wiscy and Ohio state. They have studs at every level. Ghoulston is three premier defensive player in the league IMO. They are able to contain the likes of Miller and Robinson because they have line backers that can spythose guys and are great in the open field. Allen mooching down to LB was a great move for MSU. But the biggest difference is this will be the best secondary Taylor will see. Phonzie's cousin is shops corner. Well be a huge test for this offense. Road game possible weather elements. This one will come down to field position and plays in special teams. Our defense this year has been...strange. We can't sack the quarterback, we can't force turnovers, and we're on the field constantly because our offense is always stalling, and yet here we are, sitting 5th in the nation in total defense, about where we were last year around this time. Earlier in the season the defensive line was the weakest unit. It's definitely stepped up the last couple of weeks. Partly because we got a key DT back from injury and partly because Gholston has stepped up his game. I think he had his best game of the season against Wisky last week. I think the secondary is the weakest link right now, but it's not even like they've been bad. It's just that my expectations for that group are always high so when I see the other team complete two or three passes in a row down field I start freaking out. Coverage hasn't been all that great and our CBs are occasionally getting beat on the deep ball. The LBs have been tremendous. We actually benched one of our outside LB's, senior captain Chris Norman, in favor of a true freshman, Taiwan Jones, a few weeks ago, and Jones has played very well. You don't see that happen too often...a senior captain who has started since his freshman year in favor of a true frosh. Jones has a high motor, is all over the field, and loves to hit.

Our o-line has been ravaged with injuries all year and we have new groupings every week. Needless to say run-blocking has been a challenge. If you watch Bell closely, you might even be more impressed with him as the yards he does get, he has to get almost entirely on his own, absorbing contact in the backfield and plowing ahead for extra yardage. That said, regardless of the reasons, you can either run or you can't. Right now, we can't, and it's an issue for sure.

Well, it's true we were overrated to start the year, but this is still a conference road game for you guys and it shouldn't be taken lightly. It is not easy to win on the road, whether you're playing a .500 team or an undefeated team. It looks to me like you guys have struggled on the road so far. Lost to UCLA, got blown out by OSU, and narrowly escaped Evanston with a W. I think you guys will win, but it should be a close contest. There are a lot of intangibles that come with playing conference road games.

I think 21 offensive points is our ceiling for this game, with 13-16 being more likely. While the offense is steadily getting better, it's still not translating to points. The receivers are finally hanging onto the ball, and Maxwell has been delivering some nice throws and making good decisions, but something always ends up happening, and the drive stalls. Penalties have been a big killer. Bell hasn't been much of a factor because our run-blocking is abysmal. Our OL has been shuffling all year long due to injuries. Fortunately, our defense is playing on another level right now. They are keeping us in games. If MSU is going to win this game, it's going to have to be another ugly, physical contest with the final score being something like 17-13. I don't think we match up well with Nebraska. I see you guys winning the game by a TD, possibly more. Fatigue is also a concern for me. We don't get our bye week until AFTER our game with you. Only thing that gives me hope is home field advantage and a big win on the road over Wisconsin, which will hopefully give our offense a lot of confidence coming into this game.

I don't think offenses peak in week 1. The passing game will be fine. That wasn't a matter of "peaking". There was no passing game. I'm not necessarily saying the offense is gonna be as bad as it looked against Boise State all year long, but your guys didn't give me a reason not to believe it, either. There are some things to correct (mostly stupid unforced errors) but it's not like the passing game was anemic. I guess we could have started the season with Central Michigan. Maxwell would have thrown for 280 yards and 2-3 TDs and everyone would say how good he looked. We'll see, but I think the passing game is going to be just fine. Just gotta run more play-action. Having Bell back there as a threat should keep defenses honest, and WRs open. Plus Sims is a beast for us at TE. I think it would be unwise to write off our offense after 1 game. Agreed, but you guys lost a lot in Cunningham, Martin, and Nichols leaving. Smart teams will load the box and make Maxwell throw to the inexperienced WRs. That doesnt bode well for an offense, see Nebraska during the Callahan days. Sure, but those guys started off slow as well. Also, this crop of receivers has more speed and athleticism than those guys sans Martin. People say we have nothing outside of Bell, yet the stats indicate we were pretty balanced in that game vs Boise. We actually had more passing yards than rushing yards. Just have to cut out the boneheaded turnovers and we'll be fine. If anybody's banking on us turning it over 4 times a game every game, I think they'll be sorely mistaken. We only need to average about 250 passing yards a game and we'll be fine.

I don't think offenses peak in week 1. The passing game will be fine. That wasn't a matter of "peaking". There was no passing game. I'm not necessarily saying the offense is gonna be as bad as it looked against Boise State all year long, but your guys didn't give me a reason not to believe it, either. There are some things to correct (mostly stupid unforced errors) but it's not like the passing game was anemic. I guess we could have started the season with Central Michigan. Maxwell would have thrown for 280 yards and 2-3 TDs and everyone would say how good he looked. We'll see, but I think the passing game is going to be just fine. Just gotta run more play-action. Having Bell back there as a threat should keep defenses honest, and WRs open. Plus Sims is a beast for us at TE. I think it would be unwise to write off our offense after 1 game.

I don't think offenses peak in week 1. The passing game will be fine.

I think a lot of Big Ten fans are VERY happy to have Nebraska in the conference. You guys just fit in on so many levels. We were worried for a while there because a lot of reports were indicating Rutgers was going to be the 12th team. No offense to Rutgers -- a fine academic institution, but they just do not move the needle from a football standpoint. Nebraska brings a lot more credibility to this conference which often gets blasted by pundits in the media for being weak.

Absolutely. It's absurd they have a poll. You'd have to think most of these coaches either vote for what's in the best interest of their program or have some assistant do it.

Had to take a poke at you. Michigan has Toussaint in their future and I kind of saw the Wisconsin drop off coming after Wilson leaving. He meant a lot to that team and it is showing. I wouldn't read too much into Wisky's sluggish performance against Northern Iowa. UW is kinda known for their underwhelming starts to the season. O'Brien had a pretty good game and all they will really need is a game manager at QB to be effective. Michigan was terribly overrated coming into the season. I think most people knew that. They were lucky last year in the sense that they had a very favorable conference schedule and didn't suffer any injuries of note. This year their schedule is tougher and the injuries are already mounting. They just lost their best DB for the year and their starting LT is out for a few games. UW is a lot more well-rounded than them. It's too bad they don't play each other.

Nah, I just went with what I thought. No way is Michigan better than Wisconsin.

^^I'm guessing he's predicting the Coaches Poll in which Ohio State is not eligible to be ranked in. They're eligible for the AP poll, but that poll is meaningless since it does not factor into the BCS formula.

Yeah, I think #5 is a bit low for you guys. Based on what I saw over the weekend as well as "common knowledge" for each team I'd go: 1) MSU 2) Nebraska 3) Ohio State 4) Wisconsin 5) Michigan 6) Purdue 7) Illinois 8) Northwestern 9) Iowa 10) Minnesota 11) Penn State 12) Indiana I think OSU is talented, but that was still a middling team last year. They got to prove it to me by beating some good opponents with a new head coach.

If your cable provider carries the Big Ten Network, then every single Big Ten game (not on ESPN or another station) is televised. The BTN has overflow channels, so if the game you're looking for is not on the "main" BTN channel, you will have to scroll down the guide with your remote to find the overflow channel.

I think many of us Spartan fans are cautiously optimistic about our team this year. Return 9 starters on defense (18 of 22 from the 2 deep). We have a ton of depth on that side of the ball. I'm sure we'll take a step back in the passing game, but as far as transitioning to a first-year starter at QB, we couldn't have a more ideal situation. Andrew Maxwell has been in the system for 3 years and knows the playbook like the back of his hand. He has been groomed to be the heir apparent to Cousins for some time, and the coaches have been raving about him during the off-season. The thing is though, it's doubtful that he will need to be anything other than an effective game manager in order for us to win games. The defense should be stout, and the running game should be vastly improved. We return 4 starters on the o-line, on what was mainly a patchwork unit last year due to injuries. We also have Bell in the backfield who's an ox, and projected by some as a potential 1st round pick. I'm definitely looking forward to November 3rd. You guys handled us pretty well last year, but we haven't lost a home game in 2 seasons. Should be a great game.