Nebraska takes on Michigan State Saturday at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing in a key Big Ten Legends Division game. The game will kickoff at 2:35 CDT and will be televised on ABC.
The 5-4 Spartans are coached by Mark Dantonio who is 49-26 in his sixth season for Michigan State. The Spartans are known primarily as a defensive team that will bring a lot of blitzes and different pressure packages against the Husker offense. For Nebraska to be successful against them they will need to use their quick tempo offense to tire the Spartans as the game moves along.
Michigan State utilizes a 4-3 defensive front. The difference maker is William Gholston (6-foot-7, 278 pounds, Junior). He is a physical presence as a defensive end that the Nebraska offensive line will have to account for on every play. He leads the team with 9.5 tackles for loss on the season. The defense is in the top ten nationally allowing only 15 points per game and 267 yards of total offense per game, including only 91 on the ground.
Middle linebacker Max Bullough (6-3, 252, Jr.) is also a standout, pacing the team with 77 total tackles, including nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Combine this with two solid cornerbacks in Johnny Adams (5-11, 177, Sr.) and Darqueze Dennard (5-11, 188, Jr.) and that makes for a defense with great talent at every level. Dennard is the cousin of former Husker Alfonzo Dennard.
Offensively Michigan State is challenged. The average only 19.2 points per game. Quarterback Andrew Maxwell (6-3, 2123, Jr.) has improved as the season has gone along. In 2012 Maxwell has averaged 224 yards passing per game completing nearly 56 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Maxwell is a drop back passer that is almost no threat as a runner.
The balanced passing game has six receivers with 21 or more receptions on the season. Keith Mumphrey (6-0, 208, So.) is the team leader with 32 catches for 412 yards as a wide receiver. Tight end Dion Sims (6-5, 285 Sr.) is a big target that is a matchup problem for any defensive back or linebacker. Running back Le'veon Bell (6-2, 237, Jr.) is a threat as both a runner and receiver. He is tied for second on the team with 29 grabs in 2012, but his biggest abilities are as a downhill runner. He is the Spartans running game, he has eight touchdowns and averages over 117 yards per game for a team that only runs the ball for 131 yards per game overall. Bell really runs well inside, between the tackles.
The offensive line is solid averaging over 6-4 and nearly 305 pounds per man from tackle to tackle. The leader is right guard Chris McDonald (6-5, 298, Sr.). As a group the offensive line has to play well to keep pressure off of Maxwell.
In the kicking game Dan Conroy (5-10, 186, Sr.) is consistent converting 16 of 22 (72.7 percent) field goals with a long of 50 yards. Punter Mike Sadler (6-0, 180, So.) averages over 42 yards per punt. Bell is the leading return man for the Spartans that have not had many big plays on special teams.
Nebraska is going to be challenged hard up front on both sides of the ball by Michigan State. The Huskers must win the turnover battle to win this game on the road. With a defense that is gaining confidence the Huskers can win. Taylor Martinez has to stay in the game for the Huskers to come out on top. In a tight contest, I will pick Nebraska 16 to 10 over Michigan State. Thanks for reading Going Deep with Doze.
No comments:
Post a Comment