Will Sparty get two Prime Time spankings in a 3 week span?

Submitted by KennyHiggins on

Really enjoyed the horror show MSU fans got to observe last night.  Should get news on game time for M-MSU in next 24 hours.  Still a compelling enough game for a prime time (7 or 8pm) beatdown?

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FauxMo

September 24th, 2017 at 2:06 PM ^

This reminds me of all the times fans (on this board, and everywhere) talk about how "we" feel like "we're" not "focused on the next game" and could fall into a trap. Like the fans' focus translates over to the team and infects it... 

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Real and Spectacular

September 24th, 2017 at 2:00 PM ^

Some of you guys do this every single year. Not a good idea to get over confident against MSU. We get their best shot no matter what. They aren't a great team by any means, but they are improved from last year. It will be a tough game.

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UMForLife

September 24th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^

I think our DL is way better than their OL. Not even close. Their secondary is sub par. They have a couple of good players on front seven but JOK plays like the last game, I don't think they can withstand for four quarters. Their secondary is not very good. So, we should have a huge advantage in this game.

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UMForLife

September 24th, 2017 at 2:46 PM ^

I am not sure how you can tell that. ND dominated them. ND didn't have to drive once because of pick 6 and short field. MSU scored when it was meaningless. We will see how good their DL is.

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BlueHills

September 24th, 2017 at 2:32 PM ^

Agree, it's always their super bowl, rose bowl, and toilet bowl wrapped into one package. They eyeballs, the numbers, and the way they played last night all say M wins handily, but as we all know, there have been times where the team hasn't played well or has been unlucky. Take nothing for granted, every game needs high effort and, to a degree, the ball bouncing our way.

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CarrIsMyHomeboy

September 24th, 2017 at 2:50 PM ^

Even before Dantonio steered the ship into Defeat with Dignity territory, they were meaningfully outearning ND in total yardage. If it weren't for self-inflicted turnovers, that would have been a very different game. An interesting question (far more interesting than blanketly calling them garbage and assuming we'll blow them out) is whether those turnover issues are easily corrected. The LJ Scott ones...may not be, given his tough start to the season. But Lewerke is showing quick growth. I think he can be a 2004-Stanton-level QB for them. 

That isn't so scary against Don Brown, but it is at least a worthy opponent.

 

Meanwhile, while they have several weaknesses, Michigan isn't well suited to take advantage of them all. Sure, they have a mediocre OL and a run game too dependent on Lewerke. That sets up perfectly for this D. But their other weaknesses (run defense and pass defense on throws to anyone except Josiah Scott, who has shown upper level potential so far) are not things the 2017 Michigan squad has proven itself consistently capable of exploiting.

Purdue's DL and defense in general was pretty bad. MSU's is not quite as bad. The IDLE week probably couldn't be better timed for Michigan.

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Toby Flenderson

September 24th, 2017 at 2:52 PM ^

"Even before Dantonio steered the ship into Defeat with Dignity territory, they were meaningfully outearning ND in pass and run yardage. If it weren't for self-inflicted turnovers, that would have been a very different game."

 

Wait so are you saying that if MSU played better they would of won? WoW! Bad teams turn the ball over 3 times. Bad teams fail to finish drives or make adjustments. Bad teams have no pass rush. MSU is not a good team.

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CarrIsMyHomeboy

September 24th, 2017 at 3:46 PM ^

No. I'm saying that Notre Dame possess a certain magnitude of size and athleticism. I'm also saying that MSU's measure of size/athleticism is roughly equal to ND's.

The difference (and explanation for the score), then, is that only MSU exhibited pea-brained behaviors at the worst possible times.

I'm not forgiving them for that. I'm just compartmentalizing the thoughts to point out that Sparty isn't as athletically inferior to ND as the 20-point loss would indicate.

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AZBlue

September 24th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

(Not going to claim M's isn't) with a very erratic young QB that relies heavily on the run game at present. As noted by Spartan message boards prior to the game this plays directly into MSUs defensive strength - DTs and run defense.

IF (very big IF) M can continue the growth in the passing game --particularly the TE plays and short crossing routes they should roll MSU in my opinion. I do not think their offense will do much against M. However there is no doubt that we will see their best game and some special plays or formations they have been working on since the loss last year.

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UMForLife

September 24th, 2017 at 2:53 PM ^

It looked that way because MSU kept making stupid mistakes and needed long drives. Not saying MSU Offense was bad but they could not run the ball until late. I am not sure how good ND is anyway. This is a road game. Lewerke can scramble but I think our defense is way better. Looking forward to a close game in first half and we pull away in 3rd. JOK can be as good if not better than Lewerke. I can't day that about MsU's D.

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CarrIsMyHomeboy

September 24th, 2017 at 4:57 PM ^

This is the best counter-argument I've seen in response to my post. Get an upvote. That would certainly contribute to the yardage totals, and I admit to excluding its effect out of ignorance. But even if its effect were, say 20-25%, MSU would still have outgained ND in total yardage, despite the "you benefited from a longer field" deduction. And that's before I at least try to counter your counter by arguing that dinging an offense for doing well with long fields is kinda antithetical to the tenets of football praise.

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lilpenny1316

September 24th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^

...and that's a totally different ballgame.  They might've still lost, but it would've been competetive for 4 quarters.  There are still guys on that team that played in the CFP and NY6 bowls, so I'm not dismissing them like they're Rutgers.

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CarrIsMyHomeboy

September 24th, 2017 at 2:55 PM ^

That's a pretty disappointing dumbing-down-of-things.

Yes, the game hinged on three awful plays. All turnovers, all exchanged for Irish touchdowns. But otherwise, MSU consistently outearned ND in yardage.

And that deserves emphasis. The score is one of an ugly blowout. But play-by-play it never looked that way. MSU very much looked like they belonged...until they Sparty Noo'd themselves out of consideration just for fun.**

 

**(i.e., on but 3 plays, and in a manner that is arguably correctable, and perhaps even quickly so)

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CarrIsMyHomeboy

September 24th, 2017 at 3:41 PM ^

My point is pretty clear. They belonged on the field. They passed the eye test, and yardage arithmetic is useful for baring that out. They lost because of three key mistakes -- each a turnover; each traded for 7.

Those mistakes define the blowout score. Ok. And yet the eye test calls these two teams equal in talent. Ok. That means the three turnovers distort the magnitude of the loss -- making it appear that MSU was 20-points inferior to ND in talent, whereas in reality they were equivalent in talent but too rife with mental midgetry to keep it close.

Obviously, mental midgetry (and its avoidance) are a key football topic. But this conversation appeared to be about size and athleticism. And by many conventions mental midgetry should not be implicitly folded into such conversations.

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jericho

September 24th, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^

What game did you watch? ND took the opening drive down the field and scored with ease. They then pick 6ed Lewerke on a terrible read and throw. That was indicative of the whole night. MSU got crushed by ND and themselves. IMHO, you're "eye test" needs some glasses. ND was more talented, had better coaching and ran them off the field. MSU gained a lot of yardage when ND went into soft zone for half the third quarter and all of the fourth. Face it, dude. Lewerke is bad. MSU has a bad defense and their talent level is waaaay down.

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CarrIsMyHomeboy

September 24th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^

Which means I guess this conversation ends before a real back-and-forth ever began. The yardage backs up my eye test. The score backs up yours, though my discussion of mental midgetry is equally consistent.

Meanwhile, a separate conversation can start, as I continue to try to pay MSU a seemingly fair modicum of respect. I won't be scared in two weeks and we learn that I'm right that they are "meh fine," but I will be quite glad if I'm wrong and MSU 2017 is another purified then condensed solution of Sparty No.

I happen to think they've grown an amount, though. Not to anything special, but to something perfectly average, which is a considerable improvement.

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