Curious how confident NW is going into the game next week.
I feel you guys will win a close one. Good Luck
I feel you guys will win a close one. Good Luck
Michigan State
- Thread starter Beaver-Stadium
- Start date
Not very confident but I agree with you. The low key atmosphere of Ryan Stadium puts Sparty to sleep and Cats win 17-14.
I had this one as a loss, but had Io_a as a loss as well, so what do I know? But think Sparty wins like their 1 millionth close game of the season....
I predict the cats will lose
Which actually means I secretly think the cats will win but don't want to say it out loud
But now I just did
I hate myself
Which actually means I secretly think the cats will win but don't want to say it out loud
But now I just did
I hate myself
The score might be similar to the Iowa game. The Cats need to stop the running attack and figure out how to get into the end zone themselves. This would be a big win and almost guarantee a bowl appearance.
M00N part II, a story inspired by actual events. If you thought the original M00N was terrifying, this one has a surprise green twist......
MSU coming off of a 17-9 win, and The 'Cats with a 17-10 win in OT last week...setting the stage for a 56-52 shootout this week, no doubt!
MSU wasn't supposed to be world beaters this year but they have been pretty good. It is tough to win week after week in the B1G so I like our chances of breaking their streak. Our D is solid and the O has shown some improvement. I think we get better each week and we have not had many new injuries. Not sure if Fox will come back, Dickerson also went out but Green seems to be a almost as good.
They rely on the run and our run D is pretty good. They have been living on the edge this year and time for them to fall off.
Don't underestimate the whipping NU put on Sparty last season. I bet Dantonio has mentioned it quite a bit to his team. They're not going to overlook NU.
I like your 28 for the Cats Corbi. We are due. Just having a hard time seeing MSU get to 20. Hope we are both right. Will you be at the game? Tailgating anywhere near the Rolling Rock tent near the parents' TG area in West Lot?
GOUNUII
You think they underestimated us last year? I don't. They just got whipped. I respect MSU and think they are similar to us. I do think we have a better offense assuming the OL steps up. Defenses and special teams are very similar. I think Thorson is the difference this week.
Unfortunately I am not. I have a family obligation to attend to and will probably need to DVR the game. I agree with you regarding MSU. I really think the offense I watched last week will struggle against our d. Their RBs are pedestrian and their QB is very green and I think he will need to play the game of his career to beat us. I don't think it will happen. One thing to watch is their WRs. they have some speed and talent there but the production just has not materialized. I understand that they will be starting freshmen WR Cody White this week. We recruited White aggressively and I liked his HS tape a lot. Hopefully he does not break out against us.
That had a very sad, heartbreaking ending including time-space distortions, if I remember correctly. So, yeah, I could see that happening.
Last edited:
That will be the key. MSU is #1 in total defense in B1G and statistically similar to PSU and Wisky. McCall is going to have to call a very creative game probably with quicker developing passes or we will risk a lot of sacks. If we don’t get our passing offense going we will not score more than 14 points.
Their defense is nowhere near as good as Wisconsin's. Penn State's defense didn't blow me away and I don't think MSU's defense is as good as Penn State's.
Probably a tougher opponent than Iowa but I'm not sure. We will be at home and one game better. NU improves more over a season than other teams IMO.
Ohio State will crush Penn State. Maybe not quite the slobber knocker PSU hung on Michigan, but nobody will doubt that OSU won decisively.
GOUNUII
ESPN's football power index has us winning with a 61.2% chance.
I think we will have trouble with teams that an put up points on anyone (PSU) and who have tough DLs (Wisconsin).
MSU's D is strong and will be more than a match for our putrid offense - can't believe what a difference Austin Carr made, but that does seem to be it. Not sure where Corbi's confidence is that all of a sudden our O is going to turn it around comes from, but I hope he's right. I have my doubts though just on the record to date.
OTOH, Our D is really good. Duke, I'm beginning to feel is something of an aberration. We were down to playing a walk-on at CB. Consider also that MSU's offense looks to be about as bad as ours. That they rely on the run, and that may spell their doom. No one has run on us this year except for the Duke aberration where we could not stack up given our troubles in the secondary. Barkley, Tayor, Wadley, the kid from Maryland - all stoned. They are ranked largely on the strength of their win against a top 10 Michigan team that is now unranked and unmasked as a pretender and a shadow of what it could have been with Speight. Ioa is probably the correct gauge and we played them about even. I agree it will be low scoring and close.
Last edited:
The NU offense is going to have to play a lot better to beat Michigan State. No more of this "go for it and fail on 4th down just a few yards outside field goal range." When they're driving, they need to end up with points. I'm impressed with how good the defense has been lately, but I don't see the Cats coming away with a win without putting up 21+. They were very fortunate to win with 10 in regulation against Iowa. The Hawkeyes should have put up a bunch of points early, but walked away with nothing.
Hope I'm wrong, of course, but I have a tough time envisioning us denting MSU for four touchdowns. Think we've got a good shot to win if we can get something - anything - over 21. Might be a bit chilly out there, but I don't imagine the weather will be as much of a factor as it was last week.
I agree it's foolish to think our offense can perform like they did last week and come away with a win. I think we need to score in the 20s to have a strong shot at winning and believe we will. That being said, my early impression of MSU's offense is that it is not better than Iowa's. I think Iowa's QB is better and the RBs/OL are at best a wash with Iowa. MSU has more athletes at the WR position but those guys are very inexperienced. I think our defense will have a good week.
Seems like the O has been evolving and they are changing...Started the season by trying to run the ball and stretch the field...couldnt do either because Take your pick a) the O line could not protect b) CT wasnt performing well enough c) receivers could not get separation.We changed against Maryland starting with a short passing game to get 8 out of the box and then more new stuff against Iowa...with quick pitches to JJ..a roll-out pass and that little drop off pass to JJ in the middle..and then that great fake quick pitch pass that CT threw that gave him mucho time in the pocket....I think he hit Skrowneck for the longest pass play of the day....So even though we are not turning into an offensive juggernaut ..we seem to be figuring out what we can do ..so maybe some more new stuff against MSU?
My perspective as an MSU fan:
Running Back LJ Scott (queue the traffic violation jokes) is not "pedestrian" by any stretch of the imagination. He has struggled with fumbles but probably has the most talent / highest ceiling of any player who will be on the field Saturday. Gerald Holmes and Madre London are no slouches either.
In regards to MSU's overall running game, the primary issues are the offensive line and our OC. The line has done a good job pass protecting but haven't done much to open up running lanes. Our offensive coordinator likes to pretend like we can still blow people off the line in a pro style offense like we did a few years ago, so the running game has not been explosive. We call a lot off-tackle stuff, which hasn't been successful due to our personnel in the trenches and the predictability that has developed over the years with this OC. I will say we have "stale" play calling...at best.
While I respect Northwestern and can see the game going either way, I don't think Brian Lewerke (our RS Sophomore QB), has to have the "game of his career" to beat Northwestern. The Michigan and Minnesota games were played in monsoons, which limited our playbook tremendously. Those are not good games to evaluate. However, I was disappointed with his performance in good weather against Indiana last week. He sailed a lot of passes and missed a wide open TE by throwing a ball in the dirt when we were trailing in the 3rd quarter. Indiana has a better defense than usual, but Lewerke was definitely off last week. As you may know, he has a tremendous ability to run the football but he really didn't look for many opportunities against Indiana. I'm not sure if that was coaching direction or if he just had one of those games. He has shown the ability to put good touch on mid range passes, but hasn't been very effective taking the top off defenses on long passes. I think he just needs to manage the game and avoid turning it over, but he has the ability to be a major spark for this offense. In fact, his passing stats nearly mirror Connor Cook's at the same stage of his career.
In regards to the WR's, they are very young but have been pleasantly surprising. Felton Davis seems to be the #1 target and has done a great job of high pointing the ball and getting his hands under low throws from Lewerke. Cody White had a great 4th quarter last week against Indiana, which is the first real contribution we've seen from him this year. Young wide receivers Trishton Jackson, Darrell Stewart, and Hunter Rison are also coming along nicely. I wish we had more productivity out of our TE position (Sokol).
Our defense has been another pleasant surprise. I thought our LB's, DB's and DE's would be positions of weakness, but all have been better than I expected before the season. Joe Bachie is a sophomore LB and is a complete animal on defense. Kenny Willekes and Layne have also come along nicely. We've been great stopping the run and have actually been able to get pressure on QB's this year. Last year, we had an abysmal year putting pressure on any QB's, our pass rush was a joke.
As far as special teams, our kickoff team struggles to kick touchbacks, which has been frustrating as this has gone on for a few years now. Our FG kicker is a first year starter and has been solid so far, but he hasn't really been placed in any pressure packed situations yet. Our punter, Hartbarger, has really been a nice weapon for us this year.
Anyway, good luck...I think it will be a tight one that could go either way.
Last edited:
Thanks for the kind rundown. Respectfully, you'll have to excuse us if we aren't really that intimidated by LJ Scott (never heard of him). Some Maryland RB was supposed to be an ethereal athlete. Stoned. Jonathan Taylor - stoned. Saquon Barkley, held to 80 something yards with 53 coming on a play where the ref cut blocked our all-conference safety who would have limited him to a 5 yard gain otherwise. This Wadley goof from Ioa. Stoned. I'll be surprised if you can run on us. It's going to be up to your QB to beat us. Good luck.
MSU is #20 in the nation by S&P+. We are #69 (gotta like that). Ioa (funny how all the other sites spell it wrong) is #38 overall.
Defensively, they are third in the nation in S&P. We are 72. Ioa is 23.
We will have our hands full, no doubt. I think our defensive strengths match well vs. their offensive strengths (run game). If we can force Lewerke to beat us with his arm, that should play to our advantage.
Pains me a bit to see Cody White doing so well as a frosh. We had a shot at him but MSU bagged him and he's an early contributor at a position where we need difference-makers.
Here's to an exciting game vs. Sparty--one of teams I really respect (due to Dantonio)
Defensively, they are third in the nation in S&P. We are 72. Ioa is 23.
We will have our hands full, no doubt. I think our defensive strengths match well vs. their offensive strengths (run game). If we can force Lewerke to beat us with his arm, that should play to our advantage.
Pains me a bit to see Cody White doing so well as a frosh. We had a shot at him but MSU bagged him and he's an early contributor at a position where we need difference-makers.
Here's to an exciting game vs. Sparty--one of teams I really respect (due to Dantonio)
Wonder if anyone would agree (or disagree) with my impression of LJ Scott. Seems to me that his running style is sort of reminiscent of Jordan Howard of the Bears via Indiana. Maybe not a ton of wiggle, but enough to make guys miss from time to time, and a tough, hard-nosed runner who doesn't go down with arm tackles. Doesn't have elite speed, but enough to get the job done. People who are more familiar with Scott -- is this a fair comparison?
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I am not sure our views are that different. Your description of Lewerke's play sounds like you agree that he hasn't had to nor shown the ability to lead the offense. I don't think managing the game will suffice against our defense, which I think you are underestimating. We will shut down your running game and force Lewerke to make plays to beat us and I just have not seen him do that. This game will come down to which QB makes more plays and my money is on Thorson.
I never said you should be intimidated by LJ Scott, but he has been our starter for 3 years and is a very talented and capable back...if you haven't heard of him, you must not watch much football other than Northwestern games. He pretty much single handedly took us down the field on our final drive to win the 2015 Big Ten Championship Game. If "pedestrian" is defined as not being as good as Saquon Barkley, then I guess every other back in America is pedestrian. I certainly respect what your run defense has done so far. For what it's worth, MSU held Iowa to 19 yards rushing when we beat them a few weeks ago, I don't think that's a vintage Iowa team. However, the Barkley stat is certainly impressive.
Last edited: