2. Michigan State Spartans
(Projected 5-7, 2-6)
The Spartans played well above their heads last season and will fall back to earth in 2011. The new Big Ten should pose plenty of problems for the Spartans and I’d be shocked if they catch as many breaks as they caught one year ago. The talk of this team winning the Big Ten or being a top 15 team in the country is beyond me, I think they will struggle to be bowl eligible.
The conference schedule features home games against Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana and a very difficult road schedule at Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern. The non-conference slate features a home game with Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan and a road trip to Notre Dame.
The Spartans were 11-1 (7-1 Big Ten) in 2010 and were thoroughly dominated by Alabama in the bowl game 49-7 (the score could have been 70-7). I actually felt like I was witnessing a crime watching that game, it was absolutely brutal. I typically pride myself of being completely emotionless when is comes to wagering and handicapping, which has been an outstanding attribute to me, but I couldn’t believe what I was watching last year. I actually felt sorry for the Spartans – they seemed so helpless and I wanted to call someone to make it stop - I didn’t even have a play on the game and am far from a Spartans supporter.
The Spartans were a lot of smoke and mirrors last season, IMO and teams can generally not produce those types of results in consecutive seasons. Last year Michigan State ranked 38th on offense and 31st on defense and was a very balanced team cross the board ranking between 38-44 on most offensive categories and 20-31 on most defensive categories, outside of pass defense where they slipped to 60th.
Michigan State returns starting QB Cousins and a loaded backfield with Baker and Bell, which is probably the reason they are hyped as Big Ten title contender after an eleven win season. However, I think the offensive line and skill players on the outside rank in the bottom third of the conference and could slow the offense. All in, I think the Spartans have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top four of the conference offensively.
The Spartans issues may come on the defensive side of the ball, where the defensive line is loaded and is probably a top four unit in the conference, but the losses at LB are immense and the secondary looks extremely questionable. The line backing unit is green and will have to replace all-world LB Jones and the secondary has a reasonable shot at being in the bottom two-three of the conference.
Recruiting has been steady, I rate Michigan State with consecutive fifth place finished in the conference (including Nebraska) and top 30 national finishes in 2010 and 2011. The Spartans haven’t been able to keep up with the big boys in Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State, but are starting to create some separation from the remainder of the conference from a recruiting perspective.
I rate the Spartans closely with Michigan, Northwestern and Illinois and a notch or so above Minnesota and Purdue, but think they trail the bigger guns by a wider margin than most expect. I could see the Spartans losing all five of their road games this season and going 5-2 at home.
The Spartans got a lot of breaks last season and could have easily been a seven or eight win team versus an eleven win team. They missed Ohio State on the schedule, squeaked by Notre Dame on an excellent trick play in OT, had a miracle comeback against Northwestern, struggled with Purdue, squeaked by Penn State and were completely drilled by Iowa and Alabama. Outside of an impressive performance against Wisconsin, I saw nothing from this team to make think they are a contender in the Big Ten in 2011.
(Projected 5-7, 2-6)
The Spartans played well above their heads last season and will fall back to earth in 2011. The new Big Ten should pose plenty of problems for the Spartans and I’d be shocked if they catch as many breaks as they caught one year ago. The talk of this team winning the Big Ten or being a top 15 team in the country is beyond me, I think they will struggle to be bowl eligible.
The conference schedule features home games against Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana and a very difficult road schedule at Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern. The non-conference slate features a home game with Florida Atlantic and Central Michigan and a road trip to Notre Dame.
The Spartans were 11-1 (7-1 Big Ten) in 2010 and were thoroughly dominated by Alabama in the bowl game 49-7 (the score could have been 70-7). I actually felt like I was witnessing a crime watching that game, it was absolutely brutal. I typically pride myself of being completely emotionless when is comes to wagering and handicapping, which has been an outstanding attribute to me, but I couldn’t believe what I was watching last year. I actually felt sorry for the Spartans – they seemed so helpless and I wanted to call someone to make it stop - I didn’t even have a play on the game and am far from a Spartans supporter.
The Spartans were a lot of smoke and mirrors last season, IMO and teams can generally not produce those types of results in consecutive seasons. Last year Michigan State ranked 38th on offense and 31st on defense and was a very balanced team cross the board ranking between 38-44 on most offensive categories and 20-31 on most defensive categories, outside of pass defense where they slipped to 60th.
Michigan State returns starting QB Cousins and a loaded backfield with Baker and Bell, which is probably the reason they are hyped as Big Ten title contender after an eleven win season. However, I think the offensive line and skill players on the outside rank in the bottom third of the conference and could slow the offense. All in, I think the Spartans have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top four of the conference offensively.
The Spartans issues may come on the defensive side of the ball, where the defensive line is loaded and is probably a top four unit in the conference, but the losses at LB are immense and the secondary looks extremely questionable. The line backing unit is green and will have to replace all-world LB Jones and the secondary has a reasonable shot at being in the bottom two-three of the conference.
Recruiting has been steady, I rate Michigan State with consecutive fifth place finished in the conference (including Nebraska) and top 30 national finishes in 2010 and 2011. The Spartans haven’t been able to keep up with the big boys in Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State, but are starting to create some separation from the remainder of the conference from a recruiting perspective.
I rate the Spartans closely with Michigan, Northwestern and Illinois and a notch or so above Minnesota and Purdue, but think they trail the bigger guns by a wider margin than most expect. I could see the Spartans losing all five of their road games this season and going 5-2 at home.
The Spartans got a lot of breaks last season and could have easily been a seven or eight win team versus an eleven win team. They missed Ohio State on the schedule, squeaked by Notre Dame on an excellent trick play in OT, had a miracle comeback against Northwestern, struggled with Purdue, squeaked by Penn State and were completely drilled by Iowa and Alabama. Outside of an impressive performance against Wisconsin, I saw nothing from this team to make think they are a contender in the Big Ten in 2011.