Michigan Week 2009: The Right Game at the Right Time

Well Spartan Nation, the annual sibling rivalry showdown with Michigan couldn’t come at a better time for Spartan Football. The season has been frustrating

Well Spartan Nation, the annual sibling rivalry showdown with Michigan couldn’t come at a better time for Spartan Football. The season has been frustrating and disappointing thus far. Just listen to fans complain on the post game radio call-in shows, the callers to your favorite sports talk radio show, or if you dare, read the various message boards around the internet, which apparently are stocked with more football IQ in them than is enshrined permanently in Canton, Ohio. As a brief aside, I’ll give the message boards one thing, they’ve built on the 20th century moniker of a “bar stool genius” to establish a whole new 21st century category, the “message board genius.”

I’m not here to blow sunshine on a Spartan football season that is in serious jeopardy of being flooded out completely. I’m here to give you a realistic perspective of where we are, what kinda challenge is coming up from Ann Arbor, and why this game couldn’t come at a better time.  A win over Michigan will not fully erase the 1-3 start. It will not make everything in the Spartan Nation right again concerning the 2009 football season. But, a win Saturday can right the ship in a new direction and setup a successful finish to the year. A loss would almost assuredly guarantee a disappointing season, no matter the record the rest of the way, and essentially produce a very long pre-season for 2010.

As bad and angry as the average MSU fan feels, how do you think the players feel? More than half of them have never been on a losing team at MSU, many have never missed a bowl game, and most only known the annual Michigan game to be one they should expect to win. Had the freakish fumble recovery for a first down not occurred in ’07, MSU wins that game and would be going for three straight on Saturday.

Not only is this team angry and motivated by their poor start, they’re not at all intimidated by the Blue. It’s not the late 90s anymore. There’s really no mystique or intimidation factor in playing the University of Excuses…errrrr, University of Michigan in 2009, despite what insecure Michigan grads like Larry Foote (who was 2-2 versus MSU in his playing career) want you to believe. And there hasn’t been for a very long time now. The bottom line is, this Spartan team is ticked at how the season began, and should be their most motivated to make Saturday their best 60 minute effort yet.

If anyone in the Spartan locker room didn’t understand the effort level required to win in big time college football before now, we can safely assume they get that the effort level thus far simply won’t cut it. Take the Montana St. practice game out of the equation, since it’s the equivalent of a Varsity High School team beating up on a Freshmen team, if not worse. All Spartans know they need to raise their efforts this week, and it’s up to the upper classman, with their experience, to pull the youth along and hold them accountable.

It’s hard to know what goes on inside the locker room and huddle since we’re not there. And it’s honestly hard to judge too much from the outside of things because there don’t appear many gaping character or leadership holes and red flags. Obviously there’s inexperience at the QB position, no matter which QB is in, and there’s a work in progress to replace All-American RB Javon Ringer. Yet, there’s still enough experience on this team to raise their level of play as a whole.

It’s too easy to say “everyone needs to step up,” because in reality, certain guys have to do more than others. The leaders of this team need to take a stronger leadership role right now and get this season back on the right track. Some of those guys might hesitate, thinking they haven’t really spoken out too much to this point. They might be a little gun shy about taking on such a role at this critical juncture. To those players, I say, what are you waiting for?

Your season is on the brink of total disaster relative to the expectations people inside and outside the program had for the year.  Now is your time, your “call” is coming through as loud as it can. If you don’t speak up and lead now, you’re meaningful opportunities to do so in 2009 will soon be limited to a fruitless and unsatisfying “spoiler” role. This is Michigan week. This is your Big Ten season on the line. No one wants to watch another Spartan football game this year and be left to shake their head saying, “I just don’t see any leaders on this team.”

Breakdown

I could sum up what the Spartans need to do this weekend by repeating my favorite mantra, “execute the fundamentals with an attention to detail,” but that would be too obvious, and is understood from the get go. You all don’t read Spartan Nation articles for the clichés, or to read other people’s regurgitated takes. You read Spartan Nation to stay ahead of the analysis curve and be on top of what’s going on inside Spartan athletics. Therefore, I’d like to point out a specific few things in all three facets of the game Saturday that need to happen for the Spartans to secure a victory over Michigan.

Special Teams

Special teams should remain a strength of this football team, and Saturday it could be a difference maker. Aside from relying on the continued kicking success of Sr. PK Brett Swenson and Jr. P Aaron Bates, the whole special teams unit needs to make an impact on the game. The best way to make such an impact is to win the kick return game.

What I mean by “kick return game” is the +/-, if you will, of kick offs and punts. MSU needs to gain more yards on kick returns than it gives up. Remember what a weapon Devin Thomas was returning kicks regularly towards mid field a few years back, and what a weapon Todd Boleski was kicking it so deep the past couple of seasons. The Spartans seem to be making progress returning kick offs, with the continued emergence of So. Glenn Winston, who I refer to as the “Baby Bull.” It’s an important area to watch come Saturday afternoon.

But kicking is still a challenge, no matter which Spartan puts the ball on the tee. Before criticizing the kickoffs too much, remember that they were moved 5 yards back before the beginning of last season. This move was made to prevent kick offs from entering the end zone and producing too many touchbacks. It’s funny how many seem to have forgotten that landmark change to the college game. But it’s not all about the distance though. Trajectory and hang time make a great impact on how quickly a defense can stop a kick return also. MSU needs to be on its game to play kickoffs tight and clean on special teams Saturday.

Defense

By now everyone in the Spartan Nation knows the defense has struggled thus far. They know who’s struggled, they know what positions have struggled, and they use exclamation points to describe the overwhelming disappointment in the unit to date.

MSU must disrupt the rhythm of the Michigan offense. Spartan fans know the spread attack well enough to know that when it’s on rhythm, it can be quite potent. But when it isn’t, it can stall out like a 16 year old trying to learn to drive a stick shift in the Rocky Mountains. It might take going through a number of different looks, schemes, and reads, but MSU must disrupt Michigan’s offense to avoid getting into a wild shoot out and race to score 40 points.

Part of disrupting will no doubt be adapting. MSU must adapt to different blocking techniques, different formations, and different personnel the Blue throw out on the field Saturday. It might be difficulty given MSU’s extreme defensive struggles thus far and Michigan’s offense having appeared to find a new gear in 2009. But I’m left suspicious about Michigan’s previous opponents’ defensive strength. It’s time for Spartan defenders to utilize the football IQ they’ve built up in film study and practice this week, as well throughout spring practice and the pre-season. Now is the time to show up big.

The Spartan Defense must hit with a passion and a purpose on Saturday. Tackles must be completed and finished off with a consistency not seen yet this year. Maybe this is the chance for the MSU Defense to pick up where things left off on January 1 in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan’s spread attack features smaller and sleeker athletes, who are often presumed softer and more vulnerable to the big hit. MSU needs to secure the tackle first, and land the big hit second. They cannot afford to reverse that order anymore and give up more big plays.

The MSU Defense must play all 60 minutes. As simple as that sounds, it hasn’t really been accomplished yet. Part of playing 60 minutes means not celebrating like the game is over, when in fact the clock reads something like 12:00 left in the 2nd quarter. You may think this is a restraint on enthusiasm or picking on player’s expression. I think it’s a direct reflection of a player’s focus and attention to preparing to make the next play.

Offense

The offense needs to continue progressing. We’ve been fortunate at MSU to have some pretty powerful offenses the last five years or so. Yes, that does include some of the mis-managed JLS & Dave Baldwin directed offenses. This ’09 bunch has shown signs of coming together as some positions and roles have become more defined. The Running Back rotation seems tight and trimmed to three at this point with So. Glenn Winston coming on strong and running downhill more with each passing carry, and Fr. Larry Caper and Rs.-Fr. Caulton Ray each becoming more comfortable with each successive play.

I’m not going to bore the Spartan Nation with the traditional “whoever runs for more yards wins the Michigan St.-Michigan game,” you all know that. And you’ll all hear it a half dozen times between now and the end of the game Saturday. The point is the Spartans need to “pound Green pound.” Coming off the Wisconsin game, Winston looks like he might be the best option to get going because he flashed the ability to deliver punishment with each run. He ran into and over more than a few Badger defenders. If he can do that Saturday, he’ll gain more than just a few yards on the stat sheet. He’ll begin to gain a mental edge over Michigan that can quickly spread through an offense and become a legitimate team wide momentum.

MSU offensive coaches must guard against becoming too stubborn in their play calling and adjust during the game. If there’s one criticism I can levy at this staff thus far since they arrived after the 2006 season, it’s that they can be too stubborn at times. I’m not anti-stubborn by nature, but I recognize it can be detrimental if left unchecked. There are more than a few times in the past 21/3 seasons that one could point to where the offense became too rigid and it cost the Spartans a victory. Let’s see some game management progress with astute and productive adjustments during Saturday’s game.

Lastly, I want to see some tricks. I’m not Mr. Gadget play, but this is Michigan. So if the Spartans have something they think will work, I expect we’ll see it. There’s no guarantee the Spartans will pull something special out of their hat, but you can expect things will be practiced and ready. Ideally, the game will be in control to the extent a “trick play” won’t be necessary. But recent history tells us the Michigan St.-Michigan game is usually quite close. Whether it’s the rested fumblerooski again, an Aaron Bates pass, or even an offensive set with both Nichol and Cousins on the field at the same time, MSU cannot afford to leave anything in the bag this Saturday. All hands must be on deck to keep the Bunyan trophy in East Lansing.

Déjà Vu?

Does anyone remember the 2005 game? MSU came in riding high, ranked in the top 15 of the nation, if I recall. That was supposed to be the game the Spartan program finally got back to the level it fell from after January 1, 2000. Everything was lining up right and looking Green. The Wolverines were 2-2, and their season was completely on the ropes, just waiting to be knocked out. The weather in East Lansing was picture perfect as the 3:30 ABC spotlight game kicked off. People close to the program could not remember a bigger build up to a Spartan home football game since the turn of the century. It was all set up perfectly.

And then it all headed south, fast. From the initial awful JLS decision to take the ball first, which only encouraged the already jittery bunch to play even tighter and stay tight for most of the first quarter, through lucking into OT on a missed Michigan field goal, to ending up with yet another painfully close loss to the boys in Blue. A day that was supposed to be filled with celebration and accomplishment ended up a big fat painful tease.

But what happened in ’05 is likely about to happen in reverse here in ’09. Michigan is now riding high. Everyone is telling their players and coaches how great a job they’ve done. They can’t turn on a radio, computer, or turn a corner probably, without people talking them up. These are young kids were talking about here. Despite what they might say about staying humble and grounded, it just doesn’t happen to most college athletes. I don’t care what sport we’re talking about, what year, or what coach is running the show. Overconfidence usually sets in. We’ve all seen this movie many times before.

Michigan is primed to be a victim of that again this week. They’re due for a subpar performance. They’ve yet to play on the road. And they’re set to encounter a wounded bunch of Spartans who will essentially be playing with their season on the line, just like the Wolverines of ’05.

After that ’05 victory, Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr told reporters he’d never forget what his players did for him that day. I expect Coach D will be saying the same thing after the 102nd playing of this sibling rivalry wraps up on Saturday afternoon. Coach D told Spartan Nation Tuesday that “there’s a history (to this game)…and our players need to understand they’re a part of that.” Come late Saturday afternoon, I expect history will show that Michigan was the right game at the right time for the 2009 Spartans to turn their season around.