The Spartans will have their first Big Ten test on the road today vs Iowa

The first bye week has come and gone and Spartan football is 1/3 of the way through their 2013 season. As they kick off the Big Ten part of their schedule today in Iowa City, the team will continued to be challenged, as we seem to have more questions than answers after 4 games. Since the first 3 games felt more like exhibition than regular season, most of my thoughts about the team are based on their road trip to South Bend. Still, there are some things we know so far…

The defense is as good as advertised. They had some bad calls (and bad breaks with the refs) in the Notre Dame game, but stars are emerging again. Calhoun is a one man wrecking crew and Dennard has played great so far. MSU has some of the most physical DBs in college football, reminiscent of the great tandem now playing for the Seattle Seahawks, making life miserable for opposing WRs. They were great at causing turnovers in their home games, which will be key this season. However, that battle was lost against ND – and it’s no coincidence that was a factor when the team lost that game. Moving forward, I would like to see more push from the front four since the blitz has been pretty ineffective to date.

Special Teams has been a roller coaster to this point. Two missed field goals through 4 games is not good, but it looks like that problem has been solved by benching Mumu for the true freshman Geiger. Hill has to stop with the drops or be taken out of the return game. They also couldn’t capitalize on drops by ND’s return men. One bright spot was a blocked punt, unfortunately the offense couldn’t capitalize on it and turn it into points.  Here is hoping that the use of standout WR Kings in the return game will bear fruit in the Big Ten season.

The offense is still a mess to be sorted out. Kings has emerged as a good threat with some nice catches. Burbridge is not a slot guy and shouldn’t be used in that role when I believe he could be much more effective on the outside. Langford is undoubtedly the best running back, but has been underutilized to date.  In South Bend, we continued to see a Running Back by committee approach featuring Langford, Hill, and Bullough despite Langford clearing being the standout.    Additionally, the quarterback roulette has to stop. Cook looked like a guy starting his first game on the road – extended some plays and had some nice passes, but needs to improve the accuracy on his throws. Maxwell never should have been in the game during that last 2 minutes, especially since he had only been practicing with the scout team for the past couple of weeks after losing the starter role. He looked horrible and the move made no sense.

Through 4 games, my biggest concern is questionable play calling by the coaching staff. As mentioned, Maxwell coming into the game for a clutch drive was a joke. I can’t figure out what their trying to do when it comes to running backs, but it needs to stop. Langford is by far the #1 back and should not be sitting out for an entire series – ever. They need to give him the rock more to help establish the run (and give Cook some time) and mix Hill in at times for a change of pace. While we all enjoyed seeing the successful execution of “little giants” and the “immaculate deflection,” this is a young offense and adding trick plays in (especially on the road) is an ill-advised move. The trick play from the ND game had a freshman wideout taking a pitch and throwing it downfield. The problem is, all the WR’s were covered and he threw it anyway…and it was intercepted. Not only did it end the drive that would have put MSU ahead, but also turned momentum and got the Irish crowd back into the game.

In a personal rant after the loss, I said that “Michigan State beat Michigan State that day. In the 4th quarter alone, the D forced 3 straight 3 and outs and the offense did nothing with those drives. Can’t win games if you don’t score and my Spartans lost due to drops, bad passes and some horrible play calling!” I was definitely frustrated with the refs, but MSU had their chances to win the game. As a fan, there were definite highs and lows during the game, but it ended with that horrible “Same Old Spartans” feeling.

Dating back to last season, the last six losses for the Spartans have been by 4 points or less. Good (and sometimes lucky) teams win those close games. We have yet to see how “good” the 2013 team can be. While they’ve shown signs of hope and promise, there have also been questionable decisions made by both the players and staff. No one expected to see this group compete for a BCS title and technically the Rose Bowl is still a possibility since they haven’t began the B1G campaign yet.

So, what do I expect for the as they kick off conference play? Realistically, MSU should go 6-2 in B1G play soley based on their schedule and finish the season 9-3, which would put them in a decent bowl game. Obviously, a lot can happen between now and the end of November, but that is achievable. The Spartans have a championship-caliber defense, which will keep them in most games. Heck, they could win it themselves against some of the upcoming opponents. What to watch for is how the offense adjusts after the loss and bye week to improve in conference play. They need to use Langford more, get better play from the receivers, and stop the quarterback controversy.

Today’s game is a must-win for MSU.  The Hawkeyes are 4-1 and have similar hopes to the Spartans when it comes to being competitive in the conference. MSU will have to stop Iowa on the ground in order to come away with a victory. Both squads rely on their defense to keep them in games. I’ll be interested to see what adjustments have been made by coaches and continue to watch for improvement in the skill positions. I expect it to be a close game, but the Spartans will come out victorious. Go Green!