Scouting Report and Prediction: #11 Michigan State (1-1 0-0) vs. Eastern Michigan (1-2 0-0)

A look at this week’s opponent… The Michigan State Spartans will be taking on the Michigan State Spartans this week. Before you click on your email to tell

A look at this week’s opponent…

The Michigan State Spartans will be taking on the Michigan State Spartans this week. Before you click on your email to tell me how dumb I am for this mistake pause a moment, it isn’t a mistake. It is the truth.

Michigan State left Oregon a team that has to live in the pit of its stomach with the fact that it lost a game that they should have won, had won and let it go. It should hurt. It does. It should leave a mark. It does. The next two weeks have nothing to do with the opponents.

Both teams are inferior. Both teams have superb coaches in year one of rebuilding and they shouldn’t be on the field with the Spartans. MSU is competing against itself this week.

Dantonio wouldn’t admit that I am right, but he thinks it, I’m sure. He was asked about focus this week and set the hammer down. “Well, we didn't win the last time we came out. So the focus is to win a football game. Eastern Michigan will come here. They have a lot of guys from the State of Michigan. Usually when you play in state, you're going to up your game a little bit. I think they have put a premium on toughness in their program. I think Coach Creighton has done a nice job in terms of coming back and trying to restructure exactly what who they are and build a reputation and build an identity.”

He went on to add, “I think toughness is on that landscape for them. He's the first head coach that has been hired there as an acting head coach since Jim Harkema. He brings an outstanding record into Eastern Michigan. I think he was 31 9 maybe the last five seasons. So they are building something there.

So as you go through, you need to understand that everybody plays the game: It's about blocking, tackling, getting people down and catching the football and running with the football, and whoever does that best usually is going to win the football game.”

Dantonio finished off his EMU thoughts by adding, “I know that they are going to play hard. I understand the situation completely, but I know that they will play hard. When you turn on the film, that's when you see guys playing hard. They make some mistakes but they play hard. Any time you do that, you always have a chance.”

When MSU has the ball…

The Spartans run game has been anemic this year. They had it started against Oregon and let it slip away. MSU head coach Mark Dantonio is ready to see that fixed. Jeremy Langford remains your #1 RB, but look for Delton Williams to assume the #2 spot when all is said and done and have a big day.

I also want to see more emphasis on the tight end. They have been underutilized this year and they need some LIVE reps as the daunting Big Ten season looms.

Dantonio earlier this week was asked to assess his running game and as usual was honest and forthright. “I think, first of all, it's a little bit skewed because in the first game it was 38 0 at the half, and so we played with our younger players throughout the second half and kept it pretty basic. Then the second game, pretty balanced initially and then we got into the fourth quarter and became more of a throwing game once it was established midway through the fourth quarter that we had to score and score quickly. It's a little bit skewed a little bit, but I think we need to run the ball more effectively. However you say it, however you want to say it, we need to be balanced and we need to try to make sure that happens as we progress through the season.”

Dantonio added about the running game and Williams, “I think it's critical for young players to get confidence and the only way you give them confidence is by good things happening on game day. You can get X amount of confidence in practice, but that has to transfer the game field. When you do have experiences on game day, it just makes you more confident, makes you more positive, and allows you to I think go farther.

So yeah, it's important for Delton Williams to get the ball. It's important for Gerald Holmes to get the ball. And if we ever decide to take the redshirt off Madre; and I don't know that we won't. Just depends on how everybody else is playing, and injuries, and those type of things. We'll see what happens.”

When MSU is on defense…

The Spartans must dominate. The Eagles played Florida and were shut out. Right or wrong, that is the standard the Spartans will be judged against. EMU is a team with an identity crisis. I love what Coach Creighton is doing. He gets it and is not a good coach, he is a great coach. It will take all of his immense talent and the administration to finally get on board for him to fix it, but he can do it.

The Spartans must take advantage of the Eagles while they are down and manhandle them. Look for a lot of players to get reps and the coaches to take a very introspective approach to this game. EMU has been terrible through the air. MSU owns the run. All signs point to a long day for EMU.

Intangibles…

I spent time down in Ypsilanti earlier this year with Coach Creighton and the entire football staff. They are a very impressive group of men. Creighton said to me that he really liked and respected the way Mark Dantonio ran and built his Spartan program. On and off the field, Creighton admires Dantonio’s handy work and looks at it as an example of what he wants to do in the EMU nation.

I mentioned that to Dantonio who said, “That's very kind of him, but I think his record is greater than my record at this point. I think he's had success where he's been. I was at Sound Mind Body Camp when he spoke prior to my speaking; I was impressed with his delivery. I'm very impressed he's not going to back down from anything and he's going to challenge his players to play with great effort, great toughness, and know what to do, and that's where it all starts.”

He added about the Eagles, “And you start by building your program that way, by instilling toughness in them, not trying to get the fast ticket, not trying to get the fast track to a win. It's got to start with building a foundation and I think that's what he's trying to do. I can appreciate that, that aspect, when you come in as a new football coach, wherever you're at, regardless of what the record was before then. You're trying to build a foundation in terms of what your goals are, what your ideals are, who are you conceptually, and that takes time.

And so I know that is a difficult job. I understand that. But as I've said, before you turn on the film, do they play hard? That's the first thing you have to ask yourself, do they play hard? And the answer is yes.”

The Spartans lost the Oregon game because their players relaxed. When they came out with a nine point lead halfway through the third quarter, the Spartan players took their feet off the gas. They admitted it. Connor Cook said, “We just didn’t make plays.” Kurtis Drummond was even more verbose, “WE didn’t come out as fast as we needed to come. That was on us (Players). That’s on the leaders. Getting the team up. Whether it was guys that got too comfortable, I don’t know, but that is on the leaders. Not having the team ready to come and perform in the second half.”

Future NFL and current Spartan LT Jack Conklin had perhaps the harshest comments about his team. “Sort of stunned. They (Oregon) were making a move back on us. We hadn’t lost to anyone since last September. We have to finish. We were shooting ourselves in the foot. Wasn’t like they were better than us. It was little things. Lack of focus. OK we got a big play; we can relax on this next play. Little things we can’t do at Michigan State. We will fix it. We relaxed a little bit going in at halftime. We had all the momentum. We scored three touchdowns going into the half. We had all the momentum, we were hyped, we expected to win. We expected it. We didn’t play like we should have.”

Those comments by the players are damning, but they are also refreshing and a place for encouragement. Better to happen now than against Nebraska or Ohio State. To their credit, Oregon came to play four quarters. Win, lose, or draw the Ducks expected a heavyweight fight. The coaches did at MSU, but the players took their foot off the gas or as Dantonio likes to say “Put the Lion back in the cage” and it was done. Now the Spartans have a new perspective.

Dantonio was asked if playing EMU after Oregon with everyone expecting a blowout is a dangerous thing. He brought the Spartan Nation back to reality quick. “In 2012, we were down 7 6 at the half. We were, I think, 30 point favorites. Our guys need to come ready to play. If there was a message out of this press conference, that would be the message. We need to come ready to play. We need to be able to perform. And every time you step on the field, you're competing against not just the opposing team, but you're competing against yourself, your attention to detail, your excellence, your ability to go take the next step as a player.”

He concluded with, “We have got a lot of players who have not played as much football, and they are playing in front of 86,000, 76,000 people or so. There's going to be anxiety, anxiety for everybody involved here. So you need to be able to build on that anxiety and use that to your advantage and be able to prepare yourself to play.

Yeah, I always try to coach harder. I think you have to do that every game. You're really only as good as your last game probably, huh.”

Prediction…

MSU learned a valuable BUT VERY costly lesson in Eugene. I look for them to run the table this season with a sense of urgency that wasn’t here since last season. They got a lot of love, a lot of hype and praise this off season. The balloon has been popped. For that I believe even more in the Spartans.

I think most of the MSU starters don’t play the second half, but EMU struggles against the MSU backups who Dantonio will let score. Make it 62-0 MSU wins!