MSU Moves to 4-0; ND recovery beyond the powers of prayer

In a not-so-flashy way, consistent with the attitude of MSU coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans moved to 4-0 Saturday with a win over the hapless, helpless Fightin' Irish. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win, and MSU continued to impress in small ways.

The scoreboard read 31-14 at the close of the game. That's the majority of the good news. The bad news? ND scored 2 offensive touchdowns, their only 2 on the year, and ran for 117 yards. Coming into the game ND had -14 rushing yards on the season. Despite these low points, the defense again carried the team.

The first ND touchdown came on a 3 play, 9 yard drive. Spartan QB Brian Hoyer fumbled the first MSU play from scrimmage on a bad exchange with the center. ND recovered on the 9 yard line and scored soon after.

The second ND touchdown came after a series of long draw play gains to end the half. To be fair, the defense really only gave up one touchdown on the day. It was a bit distressing to see ND run 3-4 straight draw plays for 15 yards each. However, after halftime adjustments by MSU, ND was shutout in the second half and the running game (which Weiss decided would consist of running the same plays that were effective in the first half over, and over, and over again) was shutdown. MSU continued to pressure the QB as well, adding 4 sacks on the day to bring the season total to 21, or 5 more than last year's season total. This was all while missing a starting corner and a starting safety. Not too shabby. And again, halftime adjustments that actually related to the game and lead to a second half advantage, an idea someone should have mentioned to Bobby Williams and John L. Smith.

The offense, well, yeah, the offense. The highlight reel is going to be lacking this week from the offensive side of the ball. Brian Hoyer, you sir are (still) no Drew Stanton. He hasn't started nearly as many games and he's not a scrambler, but he was supposed to be the accurate drop back passer Stanton was not. Well, Hoyer's not all that accurate. He's also not all that great.

In his defense the offensive line, again this year, is banged up. The Spartans are missing two starting linemen and have shifted the line around to find a workable solution. The running game has suffered more from the moves than the passing game. Hoyer often takes too much time and takes bad sacks. Saturday he lobbed a throw downfield into double coverage that was intercepted. The turnover hurt more than most because it came after the Spartans had put together a strong drive and were poised to put points on the board. It also was intercepted in the end zone.

Earlier in the game Hoyer missed a wide open received in the endzone throwing approximately 15 yards wide of him. It was a sure touchdown if thrown even remotely in the right area. Hoyer also missed a streaking Devin Thomas in the first quarter that had beaten his man by 5 yards. That play, also, was a certain touchdown since the safeties were cheating up on the run fake. Again, a bad, bad throw. At the end of the day his stat line look strong: 4 TD's passing, a career high. However, he also finished the game just 11 of 24 for 135 yards, with an interception and a fumble lost. I've seen better lines at the DMV.

The run game looked just ok. It is likely a reflection of the offensive line being banged up. It's probably somewhat related to Hoyer's Suckiness at throwing to keep the defense honest. Dantonio's famous "run first" mentality also helped the defense key in on the run. However, runs that were going for 2-3 yards early in the game wore the defense down and, by the 4th quarter, were going for 4-5 yards.

The highlight of the game was probably a play late after halftime that, until reading the paper this morning, had me faked out (along with 99% of viewers I'm sure). It was 4th down 2 yards to go and MSU decided to go for it, knowing the Irish offense was being it's sucky self and the MSU defense had been stout. Why not go for it (again, as they had on the previous set of downs, converting on a 4th and 1 with a 5 yard wrecking ball effort)? Hoyer drops back, fumbles the ball as he's taking his drop, picks it up and throws a perfect pass to a streaking tight end that went 35+ yards for a score. It looked like a fumble. He never dropped the ball. The "fumble-rooskie" has been in the playbook for months and, knowing the defense would crowd the line, the coaches decided to send the talented (see: freakish) TE deep. The fake fumble made the linebacker in coverage hesitate, and even if he ever realized it was a fake (which is unlikely) it was too late. The TE was 10 yards deep, alone, and the pass was perfect.

Charlie Weiss is still fat. He didn't cry, so that's good. His team is 0-4 and their upcoming schedule includes: Purdue, UCLA, Boston College, and USC. It is likely the Irish will be 0-8.

Michigan won. It's unfortunate that the BigTen is so bad that they could still win the conference. Mike Hart ran the ball around 45 times. I hope they continue to wear him out by overusing him.

Spartans vs. Pitt and ND's woes

Well, Matt's not getting around to writing a post this week. I figure once I start he'll actually do it because I'm not nearly up to his comic standards.

Things I thought, read or heard about our game Saturday:

• Hoyer is not good, tosses are off base and he seems to hold on to the ball forever, therefore getting sacked often
• That being said, our offensive line seemed to be dominated by Pitt most of the time. I think I heard something about an offensive lineman being hurt.
• T.J. Williams (receiver that was kicked off the team at the beginning of the year) made his first appearance in the second half. He didn't do anything memorable to me.
• The game was close, especially in the second half when we had 120398 penalties for 9483498237 yards. (Okay, really something like 11 penalties for 125 yards)
• Our defense did okay, they sacked Pitt's quarterback a three times at the end to help save the game.
• The running backs continue to do pretty well.

Summary of the game from USA Today:

INSIDE SLANT

For too long, Michigan State won its games by outscoring opponents and making up for a deficient defense. Those days, clearly, are over. With a defensive-minded head coach in Mark Dantonio, the Spartans defense took a bow for the team's 17-13 win over Pitt on Sept. 15. As countless offensive drives stalled in or near the red zone, the defense held tough in the waning seconds. The defense sacked Pitt quarterback Kevan Smith three times on the Panthers' final possession, and Travis Key had a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown for Michigan State, which is starting to make believers out of even its toughest critics. "I thought it was a great win for our football team," Dantonio said. "I think when you win games like this we won so many games like this when I was down in Columbus you start to build a sense of confidence that you can do it in close games."

GAME BALL GOES TO: DE Jonal Saint-Dic As the representative for an incredible defensive effort, Saint-Dic wins it for forcing a fumble and registering one of the three big sacks on Pitt's final possession.

KEEP AN EYE ON: S Travis Key Returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown in a fill-in role. Key could see more time as the secondary tries to heal.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I can't say enough about (Jonal) Saint-Dic he's the sack master. ... You can't block him." Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi to the Lansing State Journal.

LOOKING GOOD: In a bit of a role reversal, the defense bailed out the offense and won a game for the Spartans. S Otis Wiley began Michigan State's only TD drive with an interception, one of two on the day for MSU's defense. The defense had five sacks, boosting the season total to 17, or one more than it had all of last year.

STILL NEEDS WORK: The red-zone offense struggled against Pitt. Three drives reached the 7-, 24- and 2-yard lines of the Panthers, yet the Spartans came away with only three points. QB Brian Hoyer was sacked six times by the Panthers. The protection must get better, but Hoyer also admitted he has to get rid of the ball quicker. The Spartans were penalized 11 times for 125 yards, stalling drives and killing momentum. It was an old problem for MSU that the coaches need to ensure doesn't return.

ROSTER REPORT: S Nehemiah Warrick and CB Ross Weaver did not play, but Mark Dantonio expects both to be ready next week against Notre Dame. WR T.J. Williams made his first appearance of the year after he was suspended for most of the preseason. He caught one pass for 16 yards. CB Kendell Davis-Clarke and OL Roland Martin sustained leg injuries and walked off the field in protective boots.

Here's Drew Sharp's article for this week - http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070915/SPORTS07/70915010/1055

All kinds of articles about Notre Dame this week too:

This is from Mlive:

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State didn't release its depth chart as it customarily does on Monday because Notre Dame isn't sharing the same information in advance of Saturday's 3:30 p.m. game in South Bend.The report MSU got from Notre Dame is that in the wake of its 0-3 start, FIghting Irish coach Charlie Weis has blown up the team and is starting over. The Irish have reportedly re-opened training camp and all 22 starting jobs are back up for grabs.With no Notre Dame starting lineup available, Dantonio has decided to withhold his projected two-deep as well until Weis comes up with one, possibly on Thursday or Friday.Consequently, there were no updates on the status of injured defensive backs Nehemiah Warrick, Ross Weaver and Kendell Davis-Clark, nor who will start in their positions. There also was no word on injured offensive guard Roland Martin.

From USA Today:

This is not just bad at Notre Dame. This is biblical.
It's not just the 0-3 start.
It's losing three games by a combined margin of 89 points (Subway Alumni establishing a crisis hotline).
It's 23 quarterback sacks allowed. Forty-six teams did not allow 23 sacks all of last season. (Touchdown Jesus now holding his hands over his eyes).
It's being ranked 119th in the nation in rushing, total and scoring offense ... and 111th in rushing defense (Echoes refuse to wake up, roll back over and go back to sleep).

It's three games played without an offensive touchdown yet. (NBC considers replacing Notre Dame television package with Appalachian State).
It's the sobering news that the next five opponents — Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA, Boston College and USC — are a combined 13-1, so how does 0-8 grab you? (That's not thunder being shaken down from the sky, that's the bus leaving town with Demetrius Jones on it. He started at quarterback in the first game, and reportedly transferred to Northern Illinois before the third).
"The bottom line," Charlie Weis said after Saturday's 38-0 meltdown at Michigan, "is we're not really getting good at anything."
Notre Dame is not just losing. That would be shocking enough, at 0-3. The Irish are being obliterated. They have been behind for nearly 149 of the season's 180 minutes so far

How does this happen at a place with so much recruiting might, money, prestige, exposure?
Everything is a fair question now in South Bend.
The reputation of this program.
Charlie Weis' ability to transform his NFL expertise into a consistent college product. This is not the New England Patriots, anymore. The Irish don't even illegally tape the other team's coaches.
And the school's decision — in the blush of Weis' fast start his first season — to offer a very long and very plush contract extension that stretched out 10 years.
Meanwhile, the coach in the middle — who might quickly find out how coaching his alma mater can devour a man — tries to pick up the pieces.
"We're starting training camp (Sunday)," Weis said Saturday, promising he would "come out swinging."
He said he had studied his team closely Saturday. "I was looking at their eyes to see if any of them had thrown in the towel. I was including the coaching staff, too."

That's it for me, maybe Matt will have time to write his opinions later.

By the way, MSU has a new Althletic Director - Mark Hollis. I don't really know anything about him, but he was an intradepartmental hire and Izzo seems happy.

College Football Week Two: The bliss continues

The Francis Gazette dedicates its first edition to College football. Two words summarize week two, nearly perfect. Because of certain individuals, experiences, and high levels of arrogance I have come to despise a handful of college football teams. Combine this hatred with the lackluster efforts of my Alma Mater and quite often my only Saturday solace is taking joy in other schools losing. On that list are N.D., Georgia, U.M., Hawaii, and most anything associated with Texas.



This Saturday N.D. got pasted, again, this time by Penn State. The fact that N.D. is televised every week on NBC, no matter who they play, really just irks me. It didn't help anything when they found fit to fire Ty Willingham and hire Charlie (jabba the hut) Weiss as their savior. In two weeks N.D.'s new (former NFL offensive) coach and genius has wracked up a total of 134 yards of offense. In two weeks. At one point in the second half the Irish had -1 rushing yards and over 75 yards in penalties. Just writing that makes me smile.



Coming off the worst, most horrific and embarrassing college football loss since the all girl school of no arms and no legs beat Alabama, (the The University of Michigan, Harvard of the West, losing to Appalachian State at the BIG HOUSE) the wolverines set out to redeem themselves by taking on the unranked Oregon Ducks, again in Ann Arbor. This was supposed to remove the bad taste. Four quarters (an empty 110,000 seat stadium for the last quarter) and a 39-7 home shellacking later, the Michigan band is somewhere trying to remember how to play the fight song. All summer I endured the taunts, the hype, and the "Michigan could beat the Detroit Lions" talk from Walmart Wolverines. I can't describe the joy I feel to see next week's match up between N.D. and U.M. described as "a pillow fight of epic proportions," as both teams enter 0-2. Expect Walmart profits to be down this quarter as Michigan fans across the country will not be purchasing maize and blue back to school gear anytime soon.

Georgia lost. I started law school with a GA grad who shared the Ann Arbor arrogance. The loss made me pretty happy.

Hawaii was one of the cheapest teams I've ever seen play. This week they went to overtime to beat an unranked team, and then only on a failed two point conversion did they squeak it out. That would have been the icing, but I'll take a scare.

And finally, MSU. The game was on the Big Ten Network. Comcast Cable has not added the BTN. Comcast and I are not on speaking terms. That said, I've seen the stats, listened on the radio, and have some analysis.

Hoyer is still learning. He will be a good quarterback eventually but he is NOT Drew Stanton. It's not automatic yet. Hoyer has the skill set, he's a junior, and he has run support (which drew didn't really ever have). That said, he doesn't have the moxy or instinct of drew, or at least hasn't displayed such yet. He was more than serviceable but I think in the future he (not necessarily the whole team, but he alone) will lose some games.

The running game is very good. The line is just ok. We have played two games so far, and both teams were smaller. Bowling Green was closer to MSU's size, but still smaller. I worry what will happen when a team of equal or greater size, like Wisconsin, takes the field. It could get ugly. That said, Jehu Caulcrick is a horse and at 255 lbs he is bigger than a lot of linemen at smaller schools, and certainly outweighs all linebackers and defensive ends at any level. He's fast, smart, and makes defenders pay. Ringer is a shifty, fast, and equally punishing back (though a lot smaller he would rather run you over than go around). Jimmerson hasn't played much but is not far behind the first two backs. We are deep and talented at running back.

The surprise so far has been receiver Devin Thomas, a JUCO transfer that John L. Smith saw fit to sit all last season. He has exploded this year. We also have 2 players set to return to the team/lineup after academic and disciplinary/ego problems that are very talented. In my estimation we have 4-5 very good receivers.

The defense is solid so far, though not deep. We will have injury problems in the bruising Big Ten. So far so good. Best of all? WE MADE ADJUSTMENTS! At halftime (of BGSU) we thought about what wasn't going so well (212 passing yards allowed in first half) and adjusted (about 70 yards passing allowed in the second half). Also, in two games, neither team has been able to run against us. Neither UAB nor BGSU exceeded 100 rushing yards as a team. MSU's leading rusher in each game (game one Caulcrick, game two Ringer) has had more yardage than the other team's backs combined. That's a good sign. We also had 7 sacks Saturday, or approximately 60% of last year's total for the season (12 total last season). That should help our defensive backs out, which have been TERRIBLE in recent years, but no pass rush really was just as much to blame as poor coverage.

Punting and Kicking has been about a 7 out of 10. Kick coverage was improved in week 2, and kick and punt returns were solid. I predict two more wins (Pitt at home, N.D. in South Bend) and then a reality check at Wisconsin (could get very, very ugly). But, as Rosenberg from the Free Press said in his article this week, Dantonio's 2-0 start is not like John L's 2-0 starts; this team is learning, avoiding penalties, making adjustments, playing balanced (run/pass) offense and playing defense.


http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070909/COL22/709090636/1055
(hopefully the link is still good)

Recap: MSU won, UM got spanked, ND lost, the rest of the Big Ten won. It's unfortunate that next week the wolverines or the irish have to win. But hey, the "perfect season" predictions I had to listen to all summer from Michigan fans (that went to MCC) are still alive, here's to 0-12!