Scouting report for Pitt vs. MSU
Scouting report for Pitt vs. MSU
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Spartans on defense:
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The Spartans will bring a physical style of play that the Panthers have not seen this season. They will hit and punish the Panthers. Look for the Panthers to try to go through the air. They have a talented receiving group with Nate Byham, Oderick Turner and Marcel Pestano. They have watched enough film to know that running against the Spartans is not an easy proposition.
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The Panthers will run the ball to keep the Spartans honest, but don’t be surprised early in the game if MSU (like last week) moves into a nickel or dime set. The Panthers do have a nice set of RB’s but Lesean McCoy (true FR) is far and away the back with the most upside. If the Panthers have any type of sustained success in the running game it will only come with the Spartans having to play that dime/nickel coverage to stop the aerial attack like last week with BGSU.
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MSU will bank on the DB’s holding their own and being able to force Pitt into quick passing with a good pass rush. If the Spartans get pressure like last week and hit that magic sack number of five again, this game will not be close.
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KEY TO DEFENSIVE SUCCESS: I am not worried about the DB’s if the DL can get pressure. The Spartans emphasize it every day in practice and of course this is not a new concept. It is, as you all know by now a staple of who they are. Last week we talked about pressuring the QB forcing BGSU to throw quickly. The same applies very much to the game this weekend against the Panthers. If they can force Pitt into making quick throws, then they may not get their five sacks, but you will see three or more turnovers which are even better. Last week I said that MSU dominates if they reach five sacks and they rolled up seven.
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Spartans on offense:
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Mark Dantonio’s mission in every game he coaches is to establish the run. Pitt is anemic with youth and injury within their front seven. Unless they load "8 in the box", Ringer and Caulcrick will run up and down the field. I have watched both games that Pitt has played this season and neither team was even remotely close to MSU’s talent and ability.
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One of the things I appreciate about Coach Dantonio's style is that he is not afraid to take what the defenses give him. This is contrary to the past (even before JLS). MSU would go into a game with a game plan and even if the defense was married to stopping it, they wouldn’t budge. Nick Saban once mentioned while at LSU that he had to make better adjustments. He even admitted it was something he had done wrong during his tenure at MSU. Remember that Dantonio worked for Saban, but his mentor and loyalty rest with Tressel. There is NO ONE in the game of football that is better at making adjustments. Mark wants to run and the Panthers know that. If they load the box, Dantonio and Treadwell will simply go to the air like they did in the last drive of the first half last week. In the second half, BGSU adjusted to a more “honest†defense and MSU simply "reversed" and ran.Â
If the Panthers load the box and dare Hoyer to beat them, he will. If Pitt tries to stay in a base 4-3, the Spartans with their mammoth OL will run over them, around them and through them.
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What to look for?
- Caulcrick! Pitt is undersized and will have no answer for the Liberian Lumberjack and he will punish them. I can’t wait to see that match up if Pitt stays in their base.
- Ringer! Let’s just stop for a moment of silence and thank God for these two backs…Yee Haa! With the beat down that the Liberian Lumberjack will drop on them, Ringer will run around them. Like I have stated previously, if Pitt stays base this will be a huge day for MSU on the ground.
- Hoyer! I like Brian both personally and as a football player. This young man is a feisty fighter. If the Panthers load the box and dare him to beat him (like BGSU did) he will take that as a personal challenge. He has plenty of receivers. They have good pass defense numbers, but they are somewhat dishonest. Their numbers look good because they have played two inferior passing teams. They had the luxury of playing straight nickel and dime. The other teams didn’t have a rushing game that could punish them and Michigan State does! If Pitt dares Brian to throw, he will roll up big numbers. They will have to abandon "8 in the box" and Dantonio will go back to the run.
- OL! They were far bigger than BGSU but the Falcons were able to disrupt them with "8 in the box" and using their speed to stunt. The OL was taken to task this week in practice about dominating. I am not talking about beating people. I am talking about dominating people and physically imparting your will. They will come out and do just that. MSU has great coaching on the offensive line. Staten and Roushar were not pleased with the performance last week. These men know how to coach in a manner players respond too. When the previous regime was unhappy, coaches verbally undressed players and took more of an attack approach rather than a coaching approach. These guys get in your face but it is with coaching. Coach Roushar told me one time, “If I have to get in a guys face and tell him how terrible and rotten he is, what message does that send? It says I stink as a recruiter. I picked them.â€Â When I asked about inheriting guys that he didn’t recruit I loved his answer, “I get a check from MSU. I am a football coach at MSU. These guys may not have had me the day they signed, but they are mine now and I don’t see any difference. I am not opposed to correcting and getting loud, but I agree with Coach Dantonio that humiliating and attacking guys just doesn’t do any good. I get paid to Coach. That is what I do. If I don’t like the way they play it is my fault and I fix it.â€Â They (Staten and Roushar) were not happy with the performance last week and the OL knows it. These kids love Staten and Roushar and would run through a brick wall for them. These guys have been challenged and they want to show them something.
- DB’s! This group is improving under tremendous coaching from Da Bang Stick: Harlon Barnett. He has done nothing short of working miracles as the DB coach. I told someone yesterday that he has done more as a DB coach in the short time he has been here than he did on the field as a player and his success was legendary. If they can get help from the DL with pressure they are going to be fine. With no pressure from the DL any DB unit will struggle. That will not be the case in this game.
- DL! Pressure is the name of the game for the Spartans and they know that their DB's success is directly tied to their pass rush. They are anxious to pin their ears back and attack and you will see a lot of that if the Panthers go to the air on Saturday.
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Prediction:
I was much more concerned about BGSU than Pitt. I think that this Pitt squad is decimated with injuries, youth and some players that are not available. I think that if MSU were coming off a collapse, then Pitt would have a chance. This is the Mark Dantonio era and that will not happen. MSU will win this game with relative ease and I see them taking the game with a score of 28-13.
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