I'm not sure, but I'm willing to guess that stuff like this doesn't help our chances for winning the game. (Dale G. Young / The Detroit News)2009.
It’s time to recalibrate.
I’m not entirely sure what that all entails, but I’m pretty sure that’s what we need to do. Recalibrate expectations. Recalibrate goals. Recalibrate pretty much everything.
There were plenty of positives to look toward as we went into the Wisconsin game, including the best passing offense in the conference and as Coach Dantonio had said, being just a few plays away from being 3-0. We could take solace in reflecting upon last season, when a couple of last second plays, namely against Wisconsin and Iowa, turned a 7-5 season into a 9-4 season and a New Year’s Day bowl game.
But after no time was left on the scoreboard in Madison yesterday, I had come to the realization that there were elements of this team that were acknowledged and still overlooked when preseason expectations were formulated. Two first year quarterbacks (something everyone expected), and a seemingly endless process to figure out which one would be the ultimate winner of the starting role (something no one expected, nor can predict an end). A stable of running backs of which the most promising generally bore the denotation “freshman” before their names. And most importantly, an offensive line that would be mostly reconstructed and a defensive line that would be very average.
Naturally, the preseason discussion revolved mostly around the quarterback race, the speculation about who would emerge as the starter. Once preseason camp started, many would talk about the running backs, especially true freshmen Larry Caper and Edwin Baker who looked especially explosive in practice. But not much was made of the offensive line, which would return as one of the least experienced in the Big Ten, second only to Penn State in fewest total starts amongst returners.
Now we find ourselves with an offensive line that has had trouble consistently opening up holes for the running backs, although the pass protection has been decent so far. The D line has had trouble getting to opposing quarterbacks. So while the secondary has struggled, there is even more pressure added to the unit by an ineffective pass rush. There’s just not much you can do when the defense is forced to blitz on 3rd down every time because the front four just can’t get pressure to the QB.
Searching for an Identity
On the sidelines, Spartan starting quarterback Kirk Cousins(8) watches his backup, Keith Nichol run the team as Michigan State plays Wisconsin Saturday afternoon in Madison. (Dale G. Young / The Detroit News)2009.
At a time of the season when most teams are finding answers, the Spartans are still managing to come up with questions. What needs to happen for the coaches to finally choose a quarterback? Is there anything at all? What happened with this defense? They were supposed to be the strength of the team.
Last year there was an identity. Hoyer was the quarterback. Ringer was the running back. Otis Wiley and Greg Jones were the rocks of the defense. This year, who is the quarterback? The running back? The leader of the defense? At best, we have an answer to one of those three questions.
And you can’t enter Big Ten play without an identity and expect to survive. You can’t have ambiguity at this point in the season. Letting the play on the field dictate the answers to those questions is all fine and good, but players need to be aware of a sense of accountability. We are now a third of the way through this football season, it’s time to determine who the coaching staff wants to be accountable for being the identity of this team.
Game Recap
For at least two weeks now, I’ve argued that Kirk Cousins should be named the number one quarterback on this team. He played admirably against Notre Dame, throwing for over 300 yards and orchestrating an offense that kept us in the game after we got down early. Against Wisconsin though, Cousins reminded us that he’s still a first year starter. He didn’t look sharp, throwing passes behind receivers or worse (and seemingly more often), throwing balls about six feet above receivers heads. Statistically it wasn’t a bad game, as Captain Kirk was 17-34 (50%) for 201 yards with two TDs and one interception. But execution-wise, it wasn’t his sharpest performance.
Chris Maragos(21) intercepts a Keith Nichol pass to end a Spartan drive in the second quarter as Michigan State plays Wisconsin Saturday afternoon in Madison. The pass was intended for Mark Dell(2) (Dale G. Young / The Detroit News)2009.
Turnovers were a killer in this game. Wisconsin scored 21 points off of Spartan turnovers. On the Spartan Football Twitter feed, I mentioned
“Like clockwork, Nichol comes in on fourth offensive drive of the game. And throws an immediate pick. Awesome.”
Well, correction. It was the fifth offensive drive of the game. My bad. Regardless, it was immediately after Cousins led MSU on a nine play, 64-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7. Can someone explain to me the decision process behind that one? Why do you pull out your quarterback that just got you back even in the game? It is another example of why this quarterback roulette needs to stop.
Wisconsin completely controlled the time of possession, which speaks to an inability to stop the Badgers on third down. Wisconsin had the ball for 37 minutes on Saturday and was 11 for 18 on third down. Michigan State, by comparison, controlled the football for 23 minutes and was 3 for 10. Strictly speaking, it just gives Wisconsin more opportunities to put the ball into the end zone, as they ran 81 offensive plays to Michigan State’s 68.
Defensively, Michigan State was unable to stop the run, as the Badgers put up 193 rushing yards on 50 carries. This helped to open up the passing game for Wisconsin, who converted 61% of their passes for 243 yards. It was the same story that we have heard all season for this defense, trouble getting pressure on the quarterback, failed execution on tackling, giving receivers so much cushion that the QB can just play pitch and catch.
Gaining Perspective
In the end though, we need to remember to keep things in perspective. In a culture of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately college football, it seems as though very few programs have the patience to let a coach develop and build a program. Spartan nation has endured it’s fair share of rough seasons, and no doubt the beginning of this season has tested our resolve as fans and as supporters. In a program that has suffered from bouts of instability, Dantonio has shown that he has been able to coach up players and overachieve in his first two season at the helm. We have had some tough losses so far this year, but I have no doubt that this program is going in the right direction over the long term.
Am I disappointed that we are 1-3? Yeah. Am I disappointed that the defense hasn’t played better? Sure. But as I went out for a late evening run along the Chicago lakeshore Saturday, it was easy to realize that these are young men who go to class, spend time with family and friends, and happen to play football for the Green and White on Saturdays in the fall. They have an opportunity to represent Michigan State University while receiving an education at a greatly reduced cost, and in doing so they commit countless hours in sweat equity.
When they are unable to complete a key pass, or make a tackle, it’s not that they mean us any malace, and we shouldn’t mean any malace towards them. They’re good kids, and they have earned my support. This team still has the chance to grow, to mature, and to improve over the remaining eight games.
So I’ll be there this coming Saturday. And two Saturdays after that. And for every other home game this season. Because when fall rolls around, I look forward to seeing family and friends and taking in a football game. It says Michigan State University on my diploma. It has since I received it, and that’s not going to change any time soon.
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