The No. 2 ranked Michigan State Spartans will host the Central Michigan Chippewas in what figures to be one of the weekends biggest mismatches. Brian Hoyer, Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles, all of whom played under Dantonio at Michigan State, have started NFL games this season and have had spurts of success in the league. Michigan State won the next four before Central Michigan’s stunner in 2009.
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While the Chips have had a couple of moral victories against power conference teams, it would really take a colossal effort here. The Spartans were expected to have a potent offense this year, but they are averaging just 388.3 yards per game.
Let’s take a look at which five players will be X-factors for MSU this week.
We dont take anybody for granted, Dantonio said.
The topic at this week’s regular post-practice player discussions at No. 2 Michigan State was as novel as it was easy to guess: injuries.
After the win over Air Force, Michigan State is looking to improve in basically every major facet of the game.
Keep focused: It’s the second straight week Michigan State has dealt with talk of a letdown, and it will be a topic of discussion the next few weeks as it opens Big Ten play with Purdue and Rutgers, two teams that are having issues. Its tempting to look ahead to a November matchup between the Spartans and top-ranked Ohio State, but theres a long way to go before then.
The Spartans aren’t the same defense they’ve had in the past, but they should be able to play well enough on the outside as Central will continue to struggle in the run game. We have to play a very, very good football game in terms of mistakes and were going to have to execute at a very high level.. The veteran quarterback will be a definite challenge for the Chippewa secondary, and, despite a strong showing against Syracuse last week, there will have to be more improvement in the defensive backfield if Connor Cook is to be stopped.
IN STRIDE: Michigan State hasn’t been ranked this high since 1966, but the Spartans finished at No. 3 two seasons ago and tied at No. 5 last season, so this isn’t a huge change from the norm for this group. We know people are going to give us their best shot..
The Michigan State Spartans are coming from a 35-21 win over Air Force in Week 3. In receiving, Ben McCord rushed for 147 yards and one touchdown while Devon Spalding added 102 yards. Now CB Vayante Copeland is out for the season because of a fractured vertebra, and the Spartans have been preparing to play the first half Saturday without LB Riley Bullough, who was ejected last weekend for targeting.
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“I think it’s good, you know, when games are a little bit more interesting and more personal, it’s good for college football“, Dantonio said.
