FanPost

Is Notre Dame the model? (Gasp)

With all the talk swirling around whether Damion Terry is the answer to curing world hunger and getting MSU in the end zone, (it is debatable which is more difficult at this point) I thought we might look down the road at one of our rivals (grudgingly) who looked very similar to the way we look now just last year.

Lets do a quick review of ND last year:

Weak schedule? Check.

Outstanding defense that just needs the offense to be functional? Check.

Incumbent starter is an upperclassman dropback traditional QB who has fallen out of favor? (Tommy Reese) Check.

Sound familiar Spartan Nation???

Now let's not get crazy. I am not suggesting that burning Terry's redshirt will allow MSU to make a BCS Championship run like ND did but I do think we can take a look at how they broke in a talented freshman without throwing him in the fire. Last year in Spartan Stadium I watched a true freshman come into a hostile environment against a vaunted defense and do just enough on offense to take home a victory. He played well but didn't light the world on fire. Passing: 14/32 178yds 1 TD 0 Ints Rushing: 3 for 7 yds and a TD. (Stats per ESPN.com) He simply kept the defense honest with his athletic ability, hit a few big plays, and relied on his defense to hold the lead.

In my opinion Brian Kelly did a masterful job of not overloading his young QB. In fact he went to Tommy Reese early in the year for the 2 minute drill including one at the end of a game where Reese led the team to a victory.

Chris has stumped for the offense to move faster when Maxwell is under center. Why not use Terry and Maxwell in a similar fashion until Terry gets up to speed? Maxwell has looked good-ish in the two minute drill. Remember we WON at camp randall last year. At Wisconsin. WON! The schedule is there for the taking. Essentially the only games we could lose with a funtional offense (I consider functional 17pts/game) are Notre Dame, scUM, Nebraska, and Northwestern. Thats 8-4. I was a student at MSU during the JLS era. 8-4 is pretty damn good. If the offense becomes explosive the sky is the limit. (I have my doubts since our scheme IS NOT Brian Kelly's or dynamic in my opinion, but thats another issue for another time)

Don't panic yet faithful, the "same old spartans" are 6 feet under. We are 2-0. I'll be in the stands cheering for the Spartans this Saturday. I just hope I'm cheering for Terry for the first time.

GO GREEN!

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.