Good News? Could be.

by DrDetroit on Oct 13, 2009 11:21 AM CDT Comment 3 comments

Looking ahead the rest of this season has teams on the schedule that have now started playing teams the Spartans have played. Iowa beat Michigan and Penn State so far this year. Is that good news for the Spartans?

These things don't always work out, but looking at the results from Michigan/MSU and UM/Iowa, it is hard not to start thinking positively.

Michigan had something like -20 yards rushing until the last drive of the game and OT against the Spartans. Michigan ran for almost 200 yards against Iowa.

So, why is that good news? Iowa plays the same defense that Pat Narduzzi runs. MGoBlog Pictures. 3 LBs on the field against 4 WRs. One LB split wide. If they can't stop Michigan with the same defense we run, doesn't that bode well for our defense the rest of the year? Off hand I have to say yes.

The Iowa d-line dominated PSU in their win earlier this year. I don't know that we can expect the same from the Spartans, but right now I have to wonder if the d-line is either really improving throughout this year. That would make sense since 99 Worthy is a freshmen. After the MSUFR I might know more, but I am now shifting towards positive for the rest of this year.

This is a FanPost, written by a member of the TOC community. It does not represent the official positions of The Only Colors, Inc.--largely because we have no official positions.

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Why the shift to the positive?

Does the MSU “4-3 or bust” match up better against the teams we have yet to face?

Or have the adjustments in the secondary (simplified reads for coverage and improved communications) helped the secondary become less leaky?

Or is a game against the Zooker a cure for what ails?

I am leaning toward wins against NU, Minny, Purdue, and Western Michigan. I am not confident about beating Iowa but TRE has almost talked me into it. PSU seems vulnerable….

Dare we hope for a 5-1 second half to finish 8-4?

by CPT Hoolie on Oct 13, 2009 4:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Knowledge

I think the “4-3 or bust” matches up poorly against everyone else the rest of the year, except Iowa. The dfiference is the teams we are playing appear to be a lot worse than I anticipated.

After very limited QB pressure against CMU, ND and Wisconsin, the d-line has started to dominate our opponents o-line. And we have comparison information for the future opponents.

Iowa’s defense absolutely dominated at Penn State. PSU couldn’t do anything. The running game was stomped out. The d-line consistently got to PSU’s QB.

The Spartans shut down Michigan’s rushing game. Iowa was run over by Michigan. I really think that going forward we should be able to continue to slow teams down enough that we can always outscore them.

My confidence is in the players, not the system. With Greg Jones and the d-line, I am not worried about other teams rushing attacks. And the d-line is getting good pressure so I am not as worried about the passing attack.

Also looking at the Illinois game, the Illini outgained PSU in the first half. Yes, we had different QBs for the MSU game, but Juice had time to throw the ball against PSU and racked up 260 yards. Against MSU him/McGee were running for their lives.

I also think that is the key to the “4-3 or bust.” If the d-line gets into the backfield, the other teams are going to have a ton of problems.

by DrDetroit on Oct 14, 2009 6:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Statistically Speaking

Things are starting to look a lot better on the defensive side of the ball. 4th in total defense (both scoring and yardage) and tied for 2nd in sacks.

Bonus statistical nugget: 2 of the top 4 most efficient QBs in the league play for MSU.

Cheer for The Only Colors: Green and White!

by KJ@theonlycolors on Oct 13, 2009 7:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs