Can Spartans stop Huskers run game?

[QMany]

Dan Hoppen ‏@danhoppen 16m16 minutes ago

Nebraska averaging 6.9 yards per rush (4th best in nation). Michigan State allowing 2.9 (10th best). Winner here could decide the game.

[jaws]

Samuel McKewon ‏@swmckewonOWH

In 2011, Michigan State brought a NFL QB, two NFL RBs, a NFL TE and a NFL WR to Lincoln. Scored 3 points.

 

 

 

 

That's pretty interesting. And they're saying this Sparty defense isn't as good as they've had in the last several years.

 

To be fair, Iowa and Illinois place guys in the NFL regularly and they still suck year in and year out.

[Guy Chamberlin]

Fresno State currently has 27 former players in the NFL.

[QMany]

Going inside the 'No Fly Zone' Michigan State's dominating defense starts with its fearless cornerbacks

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11624282/michigan-state-spartans-cbs-make-bumpy-ride-wrs-no-fly-zone

 

Talks about their defensive philosophy, particularly how their defensive scheme puts extreme pressure on their CB.

[Jason Sitoke]

No, only Tim Beck can if he decides to take the ball out of Ameer's hands like he did against MacNeese State. This is a good test to see if we're going to stick with the identity we established the last two games, or if it was just fool's gold.

 

That's not what happened. Abdullah got 17 rushes for 54 yards. McNeese St. decided to dedicate all resources to stopping Ameer. The only mistake that was made by Beck, and was compounded by Armstrong making some bad reads, was trying to force Ameer down their throats instead of taking what was there. MSU might do the same thing, and Beck needs to keep his eyes open and exploit what the Spartan D is giving up.

[husker_fan_from_sweden]

Can they? Herbstriet would say yes. Will they? Energizer Double A battery says no.

[Guy Chamberlin]

If McNeese State can stop the running game, Michigan State can stop the running game. It's a strategy and also a risk.

 

If Ameer Abdullah gets 15 carries and keeps getting stuffed in the first half, ala McNeese State, do you want Tim Beck to keep doing the same thing in the second half?

 

I want to see us running the ball in the fourth quarter because it's working and because we're winning, but I expect to see multiple weapons used.

 

This is a big game for Ameer Abdullah, but it's also a huge stage for Tommy Armstrong. His desire to create his own big play can be an asset or a liability, and probably both. But I don't think he'll let a repeat of last year happen.

[Landlord]

Samuel McKewon ‏@swmckewonOWH

In 2011, Michigan State brought a NFL QB, two NFL RBs, a NFL TE and a NFL WR to Lincoln. Scored 3 points.

 

 

 

 

That's pretty interesting. And they're saying this Sparty defense isn't as good as they've had in the last several years.

 

 

This is true, but I think there's a big difference between that 2011 offense and this one.

 

Kirk Cousins was their golden pony even though they had good runningbacks. This year, Cook is damn good, but they are committed to the running game. If they would done that in 2011 the game might have gone very differently, instead they defied common reason and kept trying to throw over the top into double coverage. I remember Urban Meyer commentating and completely lost as to why MSU wasn't running the ball against us.

 

But that would be cool if they decided to try doing that again and forget about running the ball.

[Mavric]

Fresno State currently has 27 former players in the NFL.

 

And they used to be pretty good. Now those guys are gone and they're not so good.

[The Dude]

 

 

No, only Tim Beck can if he decides to take the ball out of Ameer's hands like he did against MacNeese State. This is a good test to see if we're going to stick with the identity we established the last two games, or if it was just fool's gold.

That's not what happened. Abdullah got 17 rushes for 54 yards. McNeese St. decided to dedicate all resources to stopping Ameer. The only mistake that was made by Beck, and was compounded by Armstrong making some bad reads, was trying to force Ameer down their throats instead of taking what was there. MSU might do the same thing, and Beck needs to keep his eyes open and exploit what the Spartan D is giving up.

Thanks for proving my point. He needs far more than 17 carries against Michigan State, regardless of what they're doing on defense. A stacked box isn't a good excuse to completely abandon the run game. It can be neutralized. Tim Beck just called a sh#t sandwich of a game and took Ameer out of the equation when he didn't need to.

[74Hunter]

The 300+ yards in 2012 mean nothing. We're missing a major cog from that performance.

 

If it rains, it could hamper Ameers running style, could make it sloppy and tough to get those cuts.

[QMany]

The 300+ yards in 2012 mean nothing. We're missing a major cog from that performance.

 

Ameer still ran for 110 and 5.0 per.

[Mavric]

Thanks for proving my point. He needs far more than 17 carries against Michigan State, regardless of what they're doing on defense. A stacked box isn't a good excuse to completely abandon the run game. It can be neutralized. Tim Beck just called a sh#t sandwich of a game and took Ameer out of the equation when he didn't need to.

Why would you keep doing something that is gaining three yards per play when your other options are gaining 7 and 8 yards per play?

 

And saying we totally abandoned the running game is laughable, even for hyperbole.

[HuskerCarter]

Yes. I think they can stop the run. But at what expense?

 

This ^

 

Michigan St. defense is just as good stopping the run as the Miami defense was when they came to Lincoln. Looked what happened there. Not saying its going to be easy against MSU, just that they haven't seen a good running attack like the one Nebraska has.

 

Another thing is MSU doesn't play their safeties as deep as Miami does, just something to think about during that play action and throwing the deep ball.

[The Dude]

 

Thanks for proving my point. He needs far more than 17 carries against Michigan State, regardless of what they're doing on defense. A stacked box isn't a good excuse to completely abandon the run game. It can be neutralized. Tim Beck just called a sh#t sandwich of a game and took Ameer out of the equation when he didn't need to.

Why would you keep doing something that is gaining three yards per play when your other options are gaining 7 and 8 yards per play?

 

And saying we totally abandoned the running game is laughable, even for hyperbole.

I didn't say to do what wasn't working. I said a stacked box can be neutralized (but we didn't even try), and Tim Beck called a sh#t sandwich of a game. How many carries did he get in the 2nd half?