Spartans Travel to South Bend for an Identity Check

Is there a better way to get over a nasty and depressing football hang over than a game with America’s old darlin’ Fighting Irish of Notre Dame? Is there a

Is there a better way to get over a nasty and depressing football hang over than a game with America’s old darlin’ Fighting Irish of Notre Dame? Is there a better feeling than marking another W on the board after making a trip to Spartan Stadium South, errrrrrr, Notre Dame Stadium? The true identity of the 2009 Spartan Football team will begin to reveal itself Saturday. How the Spartans play against Notre Dame will truly shape the direction for the rest of the season.

MSU starts the key stretch of their season this week. After the Irish, the Green and White travel to Camp Randall to play the Badgers, and then return home to play “you know who” on Oct. 3. Now is the time to make plays. As Coach D told Spartan Nation earlier this week, MSU Football will really find out where this team is on Saturday. And we should find out where this program is over the next three weeks. Sure, there remain a number of games left after this stretch, but none will be as important as these. They will set the table and redefine the expectations for the season.

To me, the Notre Dame game is the biggest on MSU’s schedule each year. It’s not the bitterest rival, which is obviously the Blue, and it might not mean the most to the people of Michigan. But I’m one of the “new breed” MSU students that came to East Lansing sometime after the mid-90s from out of state, which chose to attend MSU over the likes of ND, UM, Wisconsin, Penn St., etc. I’ve probably placed the ND game at the top because of that perspective and seeing our rivals on more of a national basis.

These Spartans should have no trouble getting up for this one, and I’m sure their anxious to get this game going already. We should see an early response to the Central debacle from the Spartans. And we’ll see throughout the game the type of resolve last week’s let down loss has produced. This one looks like it’ll be a full 60 minute contest. A hot start and a tepid finish will not get the job done this time.

Coach D told Spartan Nation early this week that he likes the chemistry of this football team, and he feels they are a resilient bunch. He feels that adversity ends up revealing what kind of football team you really have, and this is the Spartans chance after losing to a MAC team at home in the second game of the season. But now, Coach D said, it’s time to move on and focus on what the Spartans can control, such as their preparation and effort for the rest of the season.

All the work the Spartans put in since the end of the last regular season will be put to the true test over these next three weeks. This isn’t the same ND that’s struggled so mightily in the last few years. But it’s not the BCS Title Game ready ND the Four Letter Network (ESPN) would like you to believe. Jr. QB Jimmy Clausen is now experienced and capable of making big time throws when needed. So. WR Brandon Floyd is one of the most dangerous WRs in the nation, and could likely end up a dominant force before his days in South Bend are over. Irish Jr. WR Golden Tate gives Clausen another prime target to attack the Spartan secondary. For a change, this ND squad legitimately has some skill players that can make a difference at the college level.

The ND defense isn’t the same either. Defensive Coordinator Jon Tenuta’s approach is starting to set in with the Irish D. Tenuta is one of the few Defensive Coaches in America that can actually affect an opposing Offensive game plan. Look for the Irish D to continue to get better as long as he is there. He’s an accomplished college coach who can make a difference in terms of wins and losses for any program he is a part of. The Spartans will have to be on their game, and on the same page, when it comes to blocking assignments on Saturday. They’ll simply have to play their best game of the year thus far.

Sure, the same could be said for the whole team. But I agree with the many that see the development of the OL as possibly the key to this team winning 8 or more games this year. Another obvious key is going to be the play at the QB position. While Coach D said he didn’t feel that QB play determined the outcome of last week’s loss, I contend it played a major role. I hope the QB situation somehow resolves itself this week before or during the game so this team can come together and gel to another level than they’ve shown thus far. The offensive rhythm appeared significantly disrupted last week due to the QB shuffle.

Lastly, I wonder the impact of Fr. RB Rock Baker being unavailable for play last week.  Baker has game breaking speed, and seems a natural fit to be utilized in any kind of option attack because of his speed and ability to hit the corner and explode. If he cannot play Saturday, the Spartans may have their running game plan limited, and face trouble running the ball for a third straight week. Hopefully the play calling will adjust to the lineup, and show the flexibility needed throughout the game to contend with a Jon Tenuta led Defense. 

Quite bluntly, it’s time to play with discipline. It’s time to play with passion. It’s time to play as One. It’s time to play as Spartans.