Michigan State opens as a 1 pt fav. currently up to 1.5.

MSUFAN4320 said:
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.
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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.

 
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Moiraine said:
My fear with this game is that we'll turn it over inside our 30 a couple times and MSU will win on field goals
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This seems to be the most likely way we lose. I will be shocked if they score more than 10 points on drives where they have to cross the 50 yard line. If we can stay away from giving them some cheap points, we should have every opportunity to win.

Some seem to be acting like we've played a really solid game the last two. Like the "inconsistent" Huskers might show up at any moment. They must not have been watching the same Wisconsin or Northwestern games that I did or even the Michigan game to some extent. Against both Wiscy and NW, we played about as poorly as we could for nearly three quarters before getting things going. Michigan was better but far from great. Obviously, things can still go worse. But if we actually get out of our own way and play even most of a game at a level we've shown late in games, watch out.

 
worldsworstoutdoorsman said:
MSUFAN4320 said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.

 
I didn't see much of the Wisky game, but it sounds like Maxwell is hitting his stride just in time for us.

 
They should be favored because they are playing at home. NU hasn't really won a big road game yet, but I have a good feeling about this Saturday. Once Nebraska can establish themselves as a road threat in the Big Ten they will be a legitimate threat to win the conference on a consisant basis, IMO.

 
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