The Bell Rings…and the Spartans Roll past Western, 38-14

Spartan Nation was waiting for it, a big play to break the open the season opener with the Western Michigan Broncos. After a fast start and the clear early

Spartan Nation was waiting for it, a big play to break the open the season opener with the Western Michigan Broncos. After a fast start and the clear early momentum, MSU was played tight by the Broncos for much of the first half. But once Fr. RB Le’Veon Bell took a 2nd and 6 from inside the MSU 10 all the way down to the start of the Broncos’ Red Zone, the game’s momentum had shifted for good. Two plays, and two excellent blocking jobs later by Rs.-Jr. WR Keith Nichol, the Spartans went up 21-7, and began to pull away for good.

It’s expected that a team’s first game of the season won’t be their best performance. And though MSU went on to stretch their final winning margin to 24 points, the Spartans’ effort was far from perfect. Their performance and execution was tarnished by the occasional slop and inconsistency. From a handful of dropped balls by veteran pass catchers, more than few foolish and careless penalties, and even a few bouts of sloppy ball handling, there’s a good amount of work that Mark Dantonio and company can put in to polish things up. Today, though the clearly better team won, the Spartans were far from an air tight and finished product.

With an average 30 pound per lineman advantage over the Broncos, there was little doubt that MSU wanted to “Pound Green Pound” all day long. By the end of 60 minutes, the numbers backed that up with So. Edwin Baker going for 117 yards and 2 TDs, and Bell ending up with 141 yards and 2 TDs of his own. Most big time football coaches would probably tell you that if you could simply line up on Offense and pound through on the ground all day long, that might be the utopian Offensive scenario. Obviously, the game doesn’t support that model anymore in 2010. But today, MSU clearly used their run game to anchor what ended up being a fairly productive Offensive day.

Rs.-Jr. QB Kirk Cousins looked noticeably more comfortable in now his fourth year on campus, and first as the clear cut leader of Offense. Cousins’ effort (13/21 186 yds. 1 TD) doesn’t appear statistically outstanding, but the one stat that his Head Coach insists to measure a QB by (wins and losses) came out perfect.  Ultimately, Cousins’ effectiveness over the next couple of years should be judged by that stat more than any other.

Today Captain Kirk steered and guided the Spartans into a new era. And fittingly enough for he and Co-Game Captain Keith Nichol, the two hooked up for their first TD pass in Spartan Stadium. Nichol’s athletic ability, and surprising blocking stature, bode well for his transition to wide out this year.

There were other new numbers and faces that saw the field Saturday, which only looks promising for the long term future of MSU football. As the program continues to improve, the quality of incoming Freshmen (both Red Shirt and True) must continue to keep up in order to reach to a Championship level. As the Spartan Nation knows, competition leads to improvement, and ultimately exposes the truth about a football team.

Today’s truth was that Spartan Football appears to have moved forward in the off season, but still has a ways to go to realize the potential of what could be a very good 2010. They were dominant in stretches, and clumsy in others. But ultimately, MSU pulled away from a team they should have handled comfortably. In order for MSU to have an excellent 2010, they’ll need to establish and build an increasing momentum through these first seven “home” games of the year. Fortunately for the Spartan Nation, they got off and running today on a pretty solid foot.

The First Ring of a Shiny New Bell

Fr. RB Le’Veon Bell had a first half to remember (5 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD). In his first game in Green and White, Bell broke the game open with a 75 yard run to set up the Spartans third and pivotal TD of the half. On that run, Bell showcased the speed and power that has the Spartan Nation enthused that the running game could step up a notch or two this season.

What Bell showed on that run was a bit of “pull away speed” that you don’t normally see on a guy who runs in the 220+ pound range. It’s rare that you see a player with an outstanding combination of power, speed, and agility. Most really good backs, even at the major college level, only have a couple of those gifts. One day we might say that Bell has an impressive mix of all three.

Bell should be fun to watch over the next four years in East Lansing, joining an already deep and athletic backfield with So. Larry Caper, So. Rock Baker, and fellow Fr. Nick Hill. Bell’s tools and skill set are now readily evident. But to watch just how big and how good Bell ultimately ends up will be a fun story to follow in the seasons to come. The Spartan Nation can’t wait to see what he can do in the big time games coming later this season.

The Uniform Review

Well, what did you think? Everyone in Spartan Nation is bound to have an opinion on the new look. They’re definitely different. Some aspects of the new branding look better, some will take a little while to adjust to, and some should probably be adjusted.

I’m not sure about the tapered white stripe on the helmet. In fact, after a couple minutes of the game, you could see that Western Michigan probably had a better helmet stripe. MSU’s stripe looks a bit wide and out of proportion upon a first “game” look.

The sharper green looks strong on TV, but on occasionally on the helmet looks almost a deep blue-purple from some angles. This green, the new Spartan Green, is probably an upgrade from the last shade, though it’s a bit darker and deeper than we’ve seen. It is, “boldness by design.”

When did the Nike “swoosh” become so big? It looks like the souped-up check mark that is known worldwide as “Nike” is now more prominent on the jerseys than the “Michigan State” letters. This could be an issue. I’m not sure the swoosh should dominate the name of the school that it’s outfitting.

And again I ask, why are the names on the back of the jersey so much larger than the name on the front? I understand that there’s more letters in the name of the school than the name of probably every player on the team, but the “Michigan State” on the front still appears relatively too small. It’s even a little difficult to read if you don’t already know what team you’re looking at. Hopefully this perspective will be adjusted come 2011.

The new numbers and font style definitely look sharp and unique. To some surprise, especially on the yard line numbers printed on the field. The player’s pants stripe also looks like a considerable upgrade from the too wide and bulky stripe we saw before.

But the font style on the back of the jerseys and on the big block “S” at midfield strangely does not match the rest of the scheme. I understand the desire to keep the “old style” block “S”, but it might make more sense to go with the new one at midfield. It’s not that different, and the “old style” actually sticks out now against all the other letters you see on the field. It also seems to make sense to keep the font consistent throughout the Spartans’ uniform. The new font is not so difficult to read that it shouldn’t be used on the front and back of the uniform.

Overall though, the new uniforms and “branding scheme” appear off to a solid start. The whole package appears to be bold step forward, though there do appear a few fundamentals that could be addressed in the future. Do you agree?

The Spartans’ Outlook Moving Forward

Offense

The Spartan Offense could have an outstanding 2010. The biggest thing that struck me after watching this game is the amount of talent that’s out there, especially in the backfield. And that was without Larry Caper playing. If MSU can get their Offensive Line up to par with the other positions on that side of the ball, they’ll be able to consistently gain the tough yards that often separate a 7 win team from a 10 win team.

Line play appears the only Offensive area that’s of any real concern, but also happens to be the second most important aspect of an Offense’s success. Though only talking after one game, if MSU can merge the talent and development of the backfield and line, the Spartans look like they can be a top 3 rushing team in the Big Ten.

Defense

Until a pass rush begins to come from the MSU front four, they will continue to have to rely on pressure from LBs and DBs, and thus expose holes on the field for an Offense to attack. Obviously, that can be a challenge against a spread team like Western, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less important. Mark Dantonio always talks about wanting his teams to play their best football at the end of the season, and on the positive for MSU, the Defensive Line should be an area that develops significantly over the course of the year. If it doesn’t, however, it’s going to be tough to see the Defense developing into anything more than average at best.

The guys making most of the tackles, the LBs and DBs, must finally conquer an important fundamental they’ve struggled with over the past two years, making the basic tackle. Today, that was evident at times by a simple over pursuit of the ball carrier, or once again trying to make Sports Center’s “Top Plays.” If that area can get measurably better in 2010, the defense should be much better, and the big plays that have crippled the Spartans in the past couple years should happen far less frequent.

Special Teams

It was hard to tell much about the kicking game Saturday, as a significant wind impacted punts and kicks all day. Yet, you know you’re in a fortunate position (as Spartan Nation has reminded fans of consistently) when you don’t have to worry much about your long snapper. Sr. Alex Shackleton remains a solid and critical key to Spartan special teams. As the Spartans get into the meat of their schedule, Shackleton’s value will only increase.

Hopefully, the top kicker (for kick offs and field goals) will be established by the time the Notre Dame game kicks off under the Spartan Stadium lights. But it is likely that will be an ongoing battle into October, or beyond. MSU knows they cannot expect to realistically compete for a Big Ten Championship without excellent production from their kicker, whoever that ends up to be.

As for Keyshawn Martin’s mental blunder on the punt return in the 1st half, he must know that ball cannot be picked up. He’s been back fielding punts now at a pretty high level for more than two years. MSU needs him not to try to force a return, but rather continue to excel as a playmaker by simply taking what the opponent gives him. When Martin takes what the play gives him, magic happens. And it will no doubt continue to happen over the next two seasons. Today was likely just a first game mental blip while trying to negotiate a tough wind, rather than the beginning of a concerning trend. Make no mistake, Keyshawn Martin will probably go down as one of the best offensive weapons at MSU in a generation or two, but he cannot let that happen on a regular basis.

*Interact with Jonathan on Twitter @JPSpartan or inside the Phalanx Forum