Central Michigan vs. Michigan State
Central Michigan record: 0-1 (0-0 MAC)
Last Game: Lost to Arizona 19-6
Record vs. MSU: 2-4, last beat MSU in 1992
Game Time: 12:00 PM
Conference: Mid-American Conference
TV/Radio: ESPN2 – Spartan Radio Network
Weather: Partly cloudy, high 74 degrees
Line: Michigan State -14.
Offensive Starters: 3 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 1 Freshman
Defensive Starters: 6 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 2 Sophomores
Top Returning Players – Statistics:
Offensive/Defensive Line Comparisons:
What You Need To Know: By many experts predictions, Central Michigan will be the best team in the MAC this year. Much of the high expectations rest upon the shoulders of CMU QB Dan LeFevour. LeFevour is among the most prolific quarterbacks in MAC history, racking up over 9,500 passing yards and 74 TDs during his career. He has completed over 60% of his throws over the past three years, but his TD to INT ratio is right around 2:1.
Central Michigan's starting quarterback Dan LeFevour (13) is sacked by Arizona's Ricky Elmore (44) in the third quarter of an NCAA college football game at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. Arizona won, 19 - 6. (AP Photo/Wily Low)
Yet despite the preseason expectations, Central Michigan fell to Arizona last week, 19-6. CMU was down 16-0 until about 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, when LeFevour ran five yards for a touchdown. However, the 2-point conversion failed to convert when LeFevour fumbled the snap, resulting in six points on the scoreboard.
(As a small side note, Central Michigan nearly went up against former MSU quarterback-in-waiting Nick Foles, who transferred to Arizona after Keith Nichol decided to leave Oklahoma and come back to his home state. Foles was beaten out for the starting job at Arizona by sophomore Matt Scott.)
Arizona was able to effectively get pressure on LeFevour throughout the game, disrupting his timing and rhythm. LeFevour was 18 for 31, but only had 108 yards through the air with no TD throws. The rushing game wasn’t much better, as CMU was held to 74 yards on the ground.
Defensively, expect Michigan State to put pressure on the quarterback to disrupt the timing. The Chippewas really don’t have the size up front to exploit the weakest part of the MSU defense, which is the D line. The linebackers should be able to fill the gaps to stop the run. The talented and deep secondary should allow the linebackers to step up in the pass rush when needed, and I would expect that LeFevour will have a healthy close contact relationship with Greg Jones by the end of the day.
Michigan State probably won’t have the same command against CMU on offense that they’ll have on defense. Center Joel Nitchman likely won’t play on Saturday. He’s a key component of a line that already isn’t particularly good, and didn’t play great early in the game against Montana State. The receivers also had issues with dropped balls, somewhere in the neighborhood of six dropped passes on the day last week. Caulton Ray ran for 5.9 yards per carry, but his success will be significantly dictated by the play of the offensive line.
Expect both Cousins and Nichol to see significant time in this game, very similar to what we saw against Montana State. In the weekly press conference on Tuesday, Dantonio said that the quarterback situation remains “status quo.” A reporter then followed up to ask if status quo meant that Cousins would start the game. Coach D, apparently not sure what status quo means, responded that he reserves the right to do whatever he wants. So there, take that!
Start trash talking if: Michigan State is getting to LeFevour early and often. Given what we’ve seen against Arizona, LeFevour’s effectiveness, is well, less than effective when the pressure is on (I know, that last part was very Madden-esque). MSU was able to get 5 quarterback hurries, 3 sacks, and 4 tackles for loss against Montana State. If the Spartans can get the same kind of pressure against LeFevour, we should be in a pretty good spot.
Scream in horror if: LeFevour is able to pick apart the defense and Michigan State can’t bring pressure. The defense should be dominant, even if the offense may be somewhat average. But if the defense comes out flat and CMU is able to keep up with Michigan State offensively late into the game, then all bets are off.
The Last Word: 31-17 MSU. It’s pretty clear here. MSU needs to get pressure to the quarterback. From Andrew Stover at the student paper Central Michigan Life, “the passing game has to click, because the Chippewas will have trouble running against (Greg) Jones and the MSU front seven….Stop the rush, and CMU may be able to put up points against a sturdy MSU defense.”
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