College Football: Note to the Michigan State Spartans: Are they starting to regress?
Michigan State had a chance to lead the table this year, but blew it with a 29-27 home loss to Central Michigan. I was heard at the Michigan center of the Mid American Conference (MAC). A not-so-hot offensive strategy and a porous defense led to the Spartan’s defeat.
After blowing their chance to go undefeated by losing to Central Michigan, the Spartans traveled to Notre Dame and fell out of their training chair, trading touchdowns and field goals very rarely, and losing to the Fighting Irish, 33-30. Sure, the game involved a lot of action and was great for the fans, but it reflected the lack of defense on each side of the ball.
After beating Montana State 44-3 in their home opener, the Spartans showed they can beat a 1-AA team, currently ranked 143rd by Sagarin Ratings, but they haven’t shown anything about their ability to beat a 1-A team, including a team from Central Michigan.
The bad news is that coach Mark Dantonio’s big two-year trade at Michigan State may now be heading in the wrong direction. Two years ago, the Spartans went 7-6 and lost to Boston College 24-21 in the Champs (no fools) Sports Bowl.
Last year, Spartans players overcame their tendency to retire late in the season, posting an overall record of 9-4 and losing to Georgia 24-12 in the Capital One Bowl, a much more prestigious bowl with a much higher payout. best.
At least Michigan State won more games than it lost, and competed in bowl games if it didn’t win them.
The Spartans were clearly on the way to a better place. They hadn’t yet caught the national spotlight as a truly on-the-go team because they couldn’t beat Penn State on the road in their last game; they lost to the Nittany Lions in a blowout, 49-18. The national consensus wasn’t ready for prime time, wasn’t ready for a BCS game.
The good news about this year’s slow, very slow, troubled start is that none of its first three games were Big Ten Conference games. The Spartans could still go undefeated and win the Big Ten title. But will they?
Now all his progress is in doubt. The Spartans need to get off the ground, get back on the practice table and get it right by beating Wisconsin on the road this Saturday. A loss to the Badgers means MSU would enter this season 1-3 and struggling for credibility.
There are no stats worth talking about in Michigan State’s 33-30 loss to Notre Dame. The only stat that matters is the loss of Spartans.
In any transaction in life, there can be only two outcomes: results (win) or excuses (lose). Forget all the excuses. Fans and supporters don’t watch Michigan State football games to see the Spartans lose to Central Michigan and Notre Dame. They don’t like it, but they can take a loss to Ohio State or Penn State.
Michigan State’s next opponent after Wisconsin is Michigan.
If MSU loses to Wisconsin and Michigan and goes 1-4, their season will be a qualifying disaster. Even if the Spartans were to win their next 7 games in a row, their season record would be 8-4.
If Michigan loses to Wisconsin and Michigan, they wouldn’t give a dime for their chances to win their next 7 games. Winning breeds confidence, losing breeds failure.
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley