2010 NCAA Football Preview: Michigan State
In the 1950s and 1960s the Michigan State Spartans were one of the most dominant programs in the nation. From 1951 to 1966 they won six national titles and enjoyed an incredible period of success under Clarence Munn and Duffy Daughtery.
Following Daughtery’s departure after the 1972 season the program has not seen the success and glory that it once knew. Since the 1973 season the Spartans have won just three conference titles, the last one coming in 1990 under George Perles.
Since 1972 they had also only been invited to just 16 bowl games. Prior to the arrival of head coach Mark Dantonio the last time they had been invited to postseason play was the 2003 season (the Alamo Bowl which they lost to Nebraska, 3-17). However, with the arrival of Dantonio a new trend has been started; in his three seasons the team has been invited to postseason play each year.
While the post season berths are nice, the Spartan faithful are starting to wonder if Dantonio is capable of bringing the program back to the proud winning ways of days long gone. After a disappointing 2009 campaign that saw the team finish with its first losing record under Dantonio (and first since 2006), he will definitely need to prove that his team is on the rise if he wants to hold on to his job.
Offense
The Spartans are not a real flashy offense; they just try to do what they do really well, essentially challenging the opposition to stop them.
In his first year as the starting quarterback Kirk Cousins showed some real promise. On the season he ended up throwing for 2680 yards, 19 touchdowns and just nine interceptions; his stats were good enough to give the Spartans the second best passing game in the Big Ten. His accuracy was not bad (60%), but if that can improve then Cousins could lead the Spartans to a shot at the Big Ten title.
Even though the Spartans lost their leading receiver in Blair White (70 receptions for close to 1000 yards) they have plenty of talented receivers to make up for his production. B.J. Cunningham contributed 48 catches for 642 yards; Mark Dell had another 26 for 449 yards; and Keshawn Martin averaged close to 23 yards a catch. His five touchdowns were second only to White.
Where the team will hurt is in the area that Dantonio loves the most—running the ball. Last season his leading rusher, Larry Caper, averaged less than four yards a carry. Edwin baker fared better with a five yard average accumulating 427 yards on the ground. Both players are young, so if they can continue to develop there may be hope.
Defense
The Spartan defense returns six starters for the 2010 season; that may not be such a good thing. Last season the Spartans had trouble stopping their competition. Overall they ranked eighth in the Big Ten and 73rd overall.
Against the rush the team was actually pretty good, ranking 24th in the nation and fourth in the conference. That statistic becomes a little skewed when you consider how often teams passed against the Spartans.
Their pass defense was easily the worst in the Big Ten and ranked among the worst in the nation (112th). There were not issues with rushing the passer; they were actually the third best team in the conference when it came to sacking the quarterback. The secondary simply gave up too many plays. Marcus Hyde and Trenton Robinson are expected to return at the safeties even though they struggled throughout the season last year.
Where their strength lies is in the linebackers. Greg Jones could have easily gone professional last season, but instead decided to return to the Spartans. During his three years on the team he has made 358 tackles with 153 of them coming last season. He could receive some much needed help in freshman William Gholston; the 6ft 7in 237lb recruit from Detroit could be the difference maker that the team needs.
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