What a week, and what a win. The defense did enough and the offense was efficient. The Spartans, honestly, dominated. Denard could have 6-7 yards on first down (with a QB run off tackle) between the 30's, but inside the 30...nada. The defense was SOLID. There should have been at least one more interception. Denard cannot throw the ball with accuracy consistently. When he did, there were drops (bad drops).
I'll also give Kirk some credit. He made some big plays and was accurate. However, he threw off his back foot rolling out of pressure too often for comfort. That sort of thing will get you in trouble against a real division one defense, like, say, Iowa. And you can bet the pressure will be MUCH tougher from the front four against Iowa. I don't like that. Also, Cousins picked apart (on long plays, mostly) a defense that is simply a joke. That they are worse than MSU's secondary should tell you something.
The running game remains excellent, especially the play calling. When you see a misdirection play -- or any running play -- go for 50+ yards you have to assume 3 things. A good back, good block, and a GREAT play call. You may be able to replace one of the three with bad tackling. In most cases it has been a good play call, decent blocking, and strong running.
The kicking game has been very good but largely untested. I still don't know what to think about a 40+ yard field goal in a pressure situation. I love our punting, punt coverage, and punt returns. I also like our discipline in the last few weeks with penalties. The team will have to stay penalty free the next few weeks against teams like Illinios, Northwestern, and Iowa. The first two don't need any favors to stay on the field on offense, the last team just plain doesn't need any help.
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