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HOCKEY pretty good media coverage on MSU hockey

I mean ive seen a few articles on the progress coach is making including the Det news had a feature this morning. Hopefully to the casual fan they arent expecting a big jump this season and alot of what positive news has been that wont be coming for a bit in terms of the higher end recruits and their impact.

HOCKEY Exhibition game

Hockey team dropped a 4-3 decision to the U-18 team.

Two freshmen scored - Karsen Dorwart & Tiernan Shoudy. Jeremy Davidson tallied the other marker.

Shots were 37-27 in favor of MSU.

MSU commitment Trey Augustine was in net for the U-18 team.

MSU split time in goal with St. Cyr (19 saves, 4 GA) and Charleson (4 saves, 0 GA).



The regular season puck drops this upcoming Friday at Munn against BGSU (they play at BGSU on Saturday).
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Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Maryland

This is a little earlier than usual, but it's incomplete. I will finish the defensive personnel in a couple of hours.

Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Maryland


By Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com



East Lansing, Mich. - We all know MSU’s defense is faulty.

And most of you noticed that Maryland moved the ball pretty well against Michigan and are probably aware that Maryland has a highly-dangerous dual threat QB in Taulia Tagovailoa.

Unless rain and wind conditions become horrible, holding Maryland under 28 points is going to be difficult - based on Michigan State’s recent troubles and Maryland’s balanced explosiveness.


FINAL ANALYSIS FIRST

Can Michigan State score in the high 20s, or more, and win in a shootout? That’s the first thing I looked for.

Michigan’s Blake Corum rushed for 243 yards on 30 carries. That’s the next thing I investigated. Are there weaknesses along the Maryland d-line that could open the door for Michigan State to rush for 175 yards or more, establish some balance, and do damage in an offensive shootout?

Well, the Maryland run defense wasn’t nearly as bad as those numbers indicate. Corum was just that good on six or seven explosive plays. Maryland’s run defense was actually respectable on the vast majority of Corum’s rush attempts.

Michigan State doesn’t have a RB like Corum, and doesn’t yet have an o-line like Michigan’s, and doesn’t have anything close to Michigan’s tight end blocking.

But what about SMU? SMU rushed for 151 yards (3.6 per carry) against Maryland two weeks ago. Maryland won in a shootout, 34-27.

Well, SMU had very good balance as a pass-first, uptempo offense.

Maryland got caught sucking wind a few times against the tempo, was without one of its best CBs for much of the game. SMU ran 96 offensive plays. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an offense run 96 plays in a game. And they lost (three turnovers).

Anyway, what about Maryland’s run defense? Well, although SMU rushed for 151 yards, the 3.6 average wasn’t great. And in 42 run attempts, the longest ground gainer Maryland allowed went for just 13 yards. So overall, the run defense played winning football against SMU, considering they had to put so many resources into chasing around SMU’s pass game.

(As for SMU, that’s an annoying offense to play against. SMU could have won this game. Then they went out and lost to TCU, 42-34, last week. I don’t know anything about TCU, but they are 3-0 and they play Oklahoma this week. Oklahoma had better be strapped in for that game or else they could lose two straight).

As for Maryland’s run defense, I think they have pretty good talent in the middle, on the edges and at linebacker. Their safeties are hammer hitters. I don’t see run defense as a weakness, despite Corum’s numbers. I think Michigan is going to put a hole in a lot of defenses with the run this year if Corum can stay healthy.


THE LATEST ON MICHIGAN STATE

The Spartans obviously need to stop the bleeding on defense and get the run game going

The run game still has promise. I didn’t see Michigan State o-linemen losing last week against Minnesota. I think tight end blocking has been inconsistent and unreliable. And Minnesota’s run defense is Grade B-plus quality.

Michigan State had the run game going decently well on the opening drive of the second half last week, with a chance to cut the lead to 17-7. But QB Payton Thorne fumbled at the 3-yard line on first-and-goal. Soon it was 24-0 and the run game was out the window.

Center Nick Samac played perhaps the best football of his career. He was good. Not great. He was good. That’s progress.

Pass protection was good. All five o-linemen graded out really well by PFF (and myself) in pass pro against Minnesota.

Michigan State had to pass way too much yet allowed only one sack, and that one was charged to RB Jarek Broussard. Why Broussard was in for pass protection on third-and-long, I do not know. I thought that was Harold Joiner’s role. But sometimes players seem to disappear from the playing group. Maybe Joiner was hurt. We don’t know.

As for run blocking, we didn’t see a great surge, but we weren’t seeing purges, either. There were no offensive linemen getting uprooted.

As for Maryland, they won’t be easy to move out of the way, either. As a program, their defense has improved.

Weather needs to be a factor for Michigan State. Maryland has the better passing attack of the two. Michigan State has the poorer pass defense of the two teams. With Michigan State battling injuries, Maryland is the more talented team. For those reasons, bad weather would favor the less-talented, more-troubled team, and that’s Michigan State.

I’m seeing a 65 pct chance of rain, clearing up in the second half, if my mediocre weather app is correct. Winds of 10 to 20 mph. That’s a factor, but probably not enough to help Michigan State all that much.

That being said, the ability to establish the run is always important. And if there’s rain and some wind, that WILL lead to a few more incompletions than normal, and put MORE emphasis on establishing the run.

So Michigan State comes out of last week’s embarrassing loss with every position group and position coach calling for extreme effort and all the physicality they can muster. That was also the call last week, but the call goes out even harder now. And after another week of teaching, and apparent good health on the o-line, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some run game progress in this game, even against a Maryland run defense that is quite respectable.

What does run game progress look like for Michigan State? I would consider 150 yards rushing progress. I think 175 is possible. 125 is maybe more likely. But anything resembling the Black Corum show is highly doubtful.

125 yards rushing won’t be enough of a run game complement to keep up with Maryland’s offense. Thorne was pretty good at Washington, but we haven’t seen Thorne do anything that suggests he and the receivers are capable of carrying the offense to a 380-yard passing game or anything like that.

Maryland’s pass defense is good. The safeties are sound and physical. The cornerbacks are good. The pass rush is okay.

SMU threw for 369 yards (29 of 54, 3 TDs, 2 Ints) for an average of 6.8 yards per attempt, which isn’t great. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, is more dangerous than Thorne right now, and SMU go-to WR Rashee Rice is better than anyone Michigan State has at the moment, and SMU’s uptempo, pass-happy attack is not something Michigan State is going to emulate.

Maryland held Michigan wonderboy JJ McCarthy to 220 yards passing on 18 of 26 attempts. Not a bad day for McCarthy, but he was spotty.

McCarthy was on his way toward an exceedingly mediocre day, and maybe a loss, until he found Ronnie Bell for a game-changing 49-yard deep shot on third-and-long with 8:37 left in the game and Michigan clinging to a 24-19 lead. McCarthy had missed on four or five deep balls previously. If he doesn’t connect on that pass, the McCarthy (and Maryland) narrative might be completely different today.

Michigan ended up winning 34-27.

Maryland QB Tagovailoa was 20 of 30 for 207 yards against Michigan, with a two INTs, including a crippler of a rare bad decision with Maryland down 8 and 5:55 to play.

Tagovailoa left the game in the third quarter with an apparent rib injury. He returned. But then he left for good after that INT.

Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said on Monday that Tagovailoa and standout WR Rakim Jarrett would be gametimes decisions. Jarrett suffered an apparent shoulder injury when landing hard on it midway through last week’s game, and did not return.

Tagovailoa posted on social media this week that he is 100 percent healthy.

I’m expecting Tagovailoa to play, and be fine through the air. But the rib injury will likely curtail some or most of his running ability. They like to use him on designed runs a handful of times per game. I assume those are out.

He is very good at moving and shimmying in the pocket as a scramble-to-throw guy. That part of his game, his footwork in the pocket and when getting flushed while still looking to throw, will probably be unaffected. But could he be one or two hard hits away from being on the ropes again? Possibly. And something like that could alter this game.


APPLES TO APPLES

* Maryland has the better QB. He is hard to contain, plain and simple. He has a high completion rate and he runs a scheme that spreads the ball all over the place with creativity.

Payton Thorne showed some frustration bordering on despondency last week. He missed Jayden Reed on a deep post that might have been a TD. Connect on that one, and avoid the fumble inside the 5-yard line, and MAYBE Michigan State might have been able to hang around within 10 points heading into the fourth quarter.

He needs to shake it off and get help from his defense (and route runners, Daniel Barker made an error on the fourth down INT last week).

* Maryland has the better running backs. This might surprise you. Redshirt-freshman Roman Hemby is one of the top newcomers in the Big Ten. He averages 7.1 yards per carry and was difference-maker as a runner and receiver against SMU.

Hemby and power back Antwain Littleton were strong against Michigan.

MSU’s Jalen Berger has been slowed by a hip flexor. Jarek Broussard showed some life last week. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Eli Collins get some carries. But Hemby looks like he is a tad better than MSU’s RBs right now.

* At WR, I said two weeks ago that Washington had better WRs than Michigan State. I think Maryland’s cast of WRs is just slightly below Washington’s and a bit better than MSU’s. They have four good ones, including a former five-star (Jarrett) and a transfer who led Florida in receiving last year.

* At TE, their guy Corey Dyches is tied for the team lead in catches with 15. I haven’t noticed him as a blocker. He has WR size. He’s more of a WR than a TE. It’s kind of inconclusive as to how he compares to Michigan State. It’s not apples to apples because Maryland doesn’t try to use the TE like Michigan State. But the back-up TE, DiPree, is more of a connsumate TE. Edge probably goes to Maryland.

* On the o-line, Maryland is solid and firm and at least as good as Michigan State. And I think MSU’s o-line isn’t as bad as the numbers have shown in the past two weeks. But based on recent body of work, I would give the edge to Maryland.

* On the d-line, Michigan State has good players, but who is available? Khris Bogle did not look good at all when he exited the game last week and headed down the tunnel. I’m not expecting him to play.

Maverick Hansen went down in the last five minutes. I don’t know what to think about him.

Jacob Slade? We haven’t seen him since the Akron game. Not sure. Simeon Barrow? Not sure. Jeff Pietrowski? We haven’t seen him since the first quarter of the Washington game. Not sure.

So if you take away Slade, Barrow, Pietrowski and Bogle, that’s pretty much MSU’s starting defensive line from opening night, although Jacoby Windmon has stepped up as a threat, and Derrick Harmon has been doing a good job as a replacement starter. But Harmon wore down in the fourth quarter last week, logging 58 snaps. That’s way more than he has been asked to play in the past.

So who is in the d-line rotation this week? Windmon, Harmon and who else? Assuming that Bogle isn’t available, and if Slade and Pietrowski are still out, then you’re getting into Jalen Hunt, who played three snaps last week, and Alex VanSumeren, who played six snaps last week.

VanSumeren hasn’t been good against double-teams. He’s a freshman who is still learning. Can’t expect too much from a true frosh DT.

Hunt has looked strong and firm in short segments this year. I’ve heard a little more about the injuries he battled during the off-season. Give him credit for coming back. It hasn’t been easy. He seems committed and dialed in. But how many snaps can he provide? I’m not sure. But he has looked strong in short stints.

After those guys, Michael Fletcher and DaShaun Mallory played for the first time this season, last week. Mallory played seven snaps. He didn’t look bad, didn’t look great. He’s a good kid but he hasn’t shaped into the player we thought he might be two years ago.

Fletcher played some d-tackle last week, believe it or not. That’s not his position. He played some d-end too. He logged 13 snaps. He was serviceable, but a little awkward. He’s just a guy.

At d-end, there’s Windmon and then Fletcher and Avery Dunn and true freshman Zion Young. Dunn played a career-high 38 snaps and did his best, but he was a weakness against double-teams. Michigan State had him at strong-side DE. He isn’t made to take on TE/OT double teams, and it showed. But neither is Windmon.

Zion Young has shown some promise, but I was a little surprised he played only eight snaps compared to Dunn’s 38. Young was involved in a couple of gap assignment errors.

For now, Fletcher, Dunn, Mallory and even Young and VanSumeren are just “guys.”

If you get caught playing with too many “just guys” on the d-line in the Big Ten, the boat won’t float. And d-line was one of the few strengths on the defense through most of last week. But these back-ups aren’t bad back-ups. If they keep hammering and play with will and punch and correctness, they can be competent as a group.

As for Maryland’s d-line, I don’t see weaknesses. I don’t see awesome strengths. But I don’t see weaknesses. They aren’t bad. The compare favorably to Minnesota. They don’t quite have the backing at LB that the Gophers had, but the overall front six is solid and competent.

Based on the injury unknowns for Michigan State on the d-line, I would have to give the slight edge to Maryland in the d-line comparison. That changes if Slade and Barrow are back in good shape, plus Bogle.

As for Bogle, he’s firm and useful against the run. They miss that with him out.

* At linebacker, Ben VanSumeren is struggling to play with quick instincts and punch. Cal Haladay is playing reasonably well.

Maryland’s linebackers aren’t great. But they aren’t weaknesses. Edge to Maryland.

* At cornerback, Michigan State isn’t bad. But Maryland is better.

* At safety, Kendell Brooks has been a pleasant surprise. Angelo Grose has struggled to earn trust. Minnesota’s safeties hit hard and I don’t see them making mistakes. Edge Maryland.

So, as you can see, this isn’t about Tagovailoa being a one-man team. Maryland has improved from top to bottom. Maryland isn’t great, but - of course - neither is Michigan State, especially with the injuries on defense and the Michigan State defensive coaches trying to merely get death by inches tightened up in order to see what the leftover lack of talent is actually capable of. Not a good situation.

These apples to apples comparisons would have been different in week two. But Maryland is trending positively right now. Michigan State is in survival and recovery mode.

It’s cliché, but the goal is to play hard and play smart and win collisions. Michigan State isn’t going to win vs Ohio State next week, which makes this somewhat winnable game against Maryland extremely important, just to keep hopes above water.


ADD IT ALL UP

Maryland was jacked and correct and excited and physical last week against Michigan. They gave as good as they got. That was impressive.

I don’t know if Michigan was sleepy or too full of themselves or what, but if Michigan had played Minnesota last week, Minnesota would have beaten them.

And if Maryland had played Michigan State last week, Maryland would have won by two touchdowns.

So what happens this week. Is Maryland as sharp and willful and skillful as they were last week? Has Michigan State tightened up enough loose screws?

Then we get back into the injury question and wonder how good Michigan State can be even if the screws are tightened up, with half of their defensive starters out or questionable.

I’m expecting Tagovailoa to play, and play well, and for Michigan State to have trouble containing him, and the RBs, and the WRs, and the flex TE. Unless Tagovailoa is hurt, or becomes re-injured, or unless there’s a 20 MPH crosswind, I think Maryland is scoring 28 or more.

For Michigan State, without last year’s explosiveness, it’s become difficult to merely put together a 10-play scoring drive. Unless Michigan State changes its stripes drastically, I’m having trouble forecasting more than 20 points out of Michigan State, and maybe less if the weather is bad.

From there, Michigan State will need turnovers and help on special teams. A big day from Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman isn’t impossible. Michigan State has a better chance to win this game than last week’s game, but it will take some quick tightening of screws on defense and some explosive good fortune.

If Michigan State had played Maryland in week three, I would have picked Michigan State. If they had played last week, I would have leaned toward Michigan State. But now, after Maryland’s strong showing last week, and Michigan State falling into deeper injury and execution disarray, Maryland is simply the more trustworthy, improving commodity at this juncture.



WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MARYLAND

* The Terrapins (3-1) have won six six straight home games vs unranked opponents. Maryland has become a solidly respectable team and program. Maryland beat Virginia Tech, 54-10, in the Pinstripe Bowl last year and finished 7-6.

* Maryland lost at Michigan State last year, 40-21, but that game was played in 39-degree temperatures and a decent breeze. Still Tagovailoa threw for 350 yards on 29 of 48 passing. He had bouts of inaccuracy early in the game which I think was due to getting accustomed to the cold temperatures. He had never taken a snap in weather that cold in a game or practice.

Tagovailoa is kind of streaky. He threw for 300 yards in the first half against a weak Charlotte team. He had some excellent moments against Michigan, and then kind of went quiet.

He started quiet against SMU and then heated up after the Terrapins’ run game got things rolling.

His overall stats are undisputable. He’s a pain in the rear.

* Maryland played better last week against Michigan than the Terps did the previous week in a sloppy shootout victory over SMU.

Maryland results thus far:

Maryland 31, Buffalo 10
Maryland 56, Charlotte 21
Maryland 34, SMU 27
Michigan 34, Maryland 27

If Maryland beats Michigan State, I could see Maryland beating Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern in its next three games and climbing to 7-1. Maryland isn’t great, but things are breaking favorably for them.

* Scottie Hazelton was talking about the challenge of playing two completely different style of offenses in Washington and Minnesota. Well, if I were to describe Maryland, they are kind of a combination of the two, but with a more mobile QB.

Maryland doesn’t run the ball as well as Minnesota, but they run it okay. As for downfield passing, Tagovailoa is good. Not as good as Michael Penix, but he’s good. And his receivers are comparable to Washington’s, arguably even better.

Maryland’s play design is creative and diverse. They can get into rhythm and keep you off balance while spreading it around to several quality skill players, like Washington.

* Maryland does NOT come to the line of scrimmage and delay the snap, make you show your coverage, look to the sideline and change the play. They would rather get into a rhythm. They don’t necessarily go with fast tempo, but they aren’t going to read at the line like Minnesota did, which was SO successful against MSU’s early-show, no-disguise coverages last week.


THE MICHIGAN GAME

Michigan fumbled twice in the first half (and was fortunate to recover both), was granted an INT when Maryland was driving in the 2Q on a play that would have been ruled an INC if the replay officials had looked at it, and Maryland fumbled the opening kickoff of the game, which Michigan punched in for a touchdown. All four of those game-changing bounces went Michigan’s away. The Wolverines were very fortunate to be leading 17-13 at halftime.

Michigan led only 24-19 with 8:37 left when they went deep on this third-and-six for the game changer of the day and turning point.

Maryland trailed by 8 with five minutes to play with Tagovailoa threw into double coverage for an INT when he had a WR breaking wide open over the middle on a dig.

Ball game.



CAN MICHIGAN STATE FIX ITS DEFENSE?

Based on the mode of operation not only this year but last year, the chances of getting a quick fix seems unlikely. And at this point, it wouldn’t be a quick fix.

Even when healthy, Michigan State had problems getting on the same page at the LB level in pass defense, and with safeties. I wouldn’t be surprised to see continuing personnel changes in the back seven. Steep progress is needed but there are personnel holes, especially if Dunn has to play a lot and if Michigan State doesn’t get marked improvement at MLB and from Angelo Grose. Grose was a solid tackler against the run last week, but can he be trusted in pass defense against the things Maryland will throw at him?

The one thing Michigan State theoretically does well on defense is stop the run. But that strength will be dissipated by the continuation of the injuries. And further dissipated if the pass defense doesn’t get off the field on third down and if the Michigan State offense can’t posses the ball. An injury-riddled run defense will eventually break if left on thin ice too long without complementary help.


WHERE MARYLAND IS UNIQUE ON OFFENSE

Maryland throws short to the perimeter a lot. That’s something Ben VanSumeren defends well. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make some plays out there, but Maryland will also challenge you with physical zone runs up the middle, and VanSumeren needs to improve as a gap-hunting thumper in patrolling that area.

As for throws to the flat, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MSU’s big cornerbacks look a little more at home with some physical play on the edge in this game. Meanwhile, can they stand up to the passing game down the field?

Playing defense is a multi-dimensional thing, and Michigan State is down a few dimensions.

* The Terps run some triple option out of the pistol diamond, and began the 2H against SMU with it. But with Tagovailoa’s rib situation, those pages of the playbook might be off-limits.

* As for Maryland’s run game, some of their mid-line option stuff is a little wonky. On third-and-five at the Michigan 31 early in the 2Q, Michigan left nose guard Mazi Smith unblocked on purpose. It was mid-line option. Let him come free, option him, make him wrong.

But Tagovailoa left the ball with the RB when pulling and keeping would have been the better choice, possibly for first-down yardage. Instead, Mazi went straight for the RB and tackled him for a loss. Of course the funny papers made Mazi out to be super human for this play, but in actuality he didn’t beat anyone to get into the backfield. Taulia just made the wrong read.

Maryland made the field goal and took a 13-10 lead.

* As much as Maryland runs the ball, they complement it with the “trap pass.” That’s pulling a guard to show run action, then that pull guard becomes a de facto offensive tackle in pass protection. They do it pretty smoothly.

When the safeties and linebackers see the guard pulling, one or more of them might have the propensity to bite down too hard to play the run. If so, Maryland will look for a deep shot out of this look play action look, like they did on the first play of a drive for a Rakim Jarrett on a deep over route for a 51-yard TD pass against Michigan. Good concept. Trap pass, with a clearout deep route down the left sideline and the over route coming from the other side into that sideline void.

Maryland runs a lot of good concepts on offense. Kind of like Washington. Different in style than Washington, but similar in smarts.


MARYLAND PERSONNEL: OFFENSE


QB TAULIA TAGOVAILOA (5-11, 200, R-Jr., Ewa Beach, HI/Thompson, Ala.)


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Alabama.

* Last year: 3,860 yards, 69 percent, 26 TDs. Those marks tied or set school records.

* This year he is completing a whopping 74.6 percent of his passes, averaging 275.5 yards passing per game with 7 TDs and 4 INTs.

* He initially left the game last week with 7:27 left in the third quarter with Maryland down 17-13 and driving to midfield. Rib injury caused by a hit from Michigan d-end Mike Morris. That was the first time that the Michigan pass rush got to him. Morris did a good job timing the snap on that play and getting by Maryland’s good left tackle.

He returned for the next two possessions, but then sat for the final 3:33 when Maryland fell behind 34-19.

* Some guys can run real well and pass okay. Some guys can pass real well and run okay. He’s one of the few guys that can run real well and pass real well. He puts enormous pressure on a defense, and now has a good o-line, good pair of RBs and good set of WRs to go with it.

+ Very good at the top of his drop with footwork, little side steps with quickness and control to buy a little time and/or improve his passing lane.

+ Third-and-8 in the red zone against Michigan, drop back, felt some pressure from d-end Mike Morris (who got a step vs the Maryland LT with a bull rush/arm-over). Then Tagavailoa saved the play by scrambling nine yards to the 3-yard line.

On the scramble, he threatened the pass non-stop and then tucked it and ran. He really froze the MLB Junior Colson with the pass fake.

* Tagovailoa absolutely trusted his protection last week, especially in the first half, especially against a four-man rush.

* He does a good job of checking down to RBs and TEs in the flat. They will run play action stuff to get it out to the flat to those guys, too.

- Made a major mistake with 6 minutes left, trailing by 8 points. It was second-and-six, no time to panic. But he threw into coverage and was intercepted. Forced a deep corner route against two deep safeties. Safety RJ Moten of Michigan slid over there and got the pick.

Tagovailoa had a WR coming wide open over the middle on a dig on that play.

* Good speed in the open field but his best footwork talent is his ultra quickness in the pocket, skittering out of trouble, usually while keeping cocked to throw downfield.

* He plays with a fired-up, cocky edge to him, so don’t be surprised when he nods and talks trash after a nice play.

* Tagovailoa is an excellent QB. Michigan State has faced some good ones this year. He’s the latest problem. It’s hard to keep him bottled up for an entire game. He’s probably going to get his 300-plus yards passing.


QB 9 Billy Edwards (6-3, 207, R-Fr., Burke, Va.)

* Was a 5.5 three-star recruit, No. 45 in Virginia.

* Transfer from Wake Forest.

* Entered the game with Maryland trailing 17-13 with 7:27 left in the third quarter, facing third-and-long due to a dropped pass on the previous play. UM brought pressure and he threw it away quickly.

+ Had a TD drive in the final 3 minutes against a prevent defense. Hit a fourth-and-13 pass over the middle.

* Wasn’t bad on that drive. Was sacked twice on the drive. Was a little unsettled at times but the experience was very good for Edwards in case they need him against Michigan State.


GUESS THE GAMEPLAN PART 1

* Maryland’s pass protection was very good in the 1H against Michigan.

Michigan got some heat on the QB in the third quarter, including once with a six-man rush on third-and-long while playing cover-six in the back. It was the first time I had charted UM playing cover-six in that game. He forced a pass that was nearly intercepted.

Get him in third-and-long, spring a new coverage on him, maybe you have a chance to get him to throw a bad pass.

Then I noticed SMU play cover-six on third-and-six with Maryland possessing the ball at Maryland’s own 6-yard line. Tagovailoa made a couple of reads then quickly converted to try to scramble, but was tackled for no gain.

For whatever reason, when throwing from the pocket, I’ve seen him choke down twice vs cover-six. If I’m Michigan State, I definitely test him with that on third-and-long, if not other situations.

What is cover-six? It’s cover-four on one half of the field and cover-two on the other half. It’s nothing too exotic. But if you don’t show it often, it can make a QB do a double-take, which can be just enough on third down against this guy to unsettle him.

Now, has he worked on reading cover-six this week in practice? Probably so. But shoot the dice anyway. Michigan State has cover-six in its playbook.


MARYLAND RUNNING GAME

* Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said his team did not run the ball against Michigan as well as he thinks they can and should. He said he expects they WILL run the ball well this weekend.

* Maryland has a quality running attack. A little bit better than MSU’s right now.

* After falling behind Michigan 24-13 early in the fourth quarter, Maryland went to the run game. They had gains of 6, 2, 4 and 6 yards on four straight inside zone plays. That might not sound flashy, but that’s confidence in the blocking and the backs.

* When trailing 13-3 in the 2Q to SMU, Maryland regained control of the game with a ground-oriented drive for a touchdown prior to halftime. They aren’t purely a finesse passing offense. They will try to pound it, and can do it.


RB 24 ROMAN HEMBY (6-0, 200, R-Fr., Edgewood, Md.)

* Was a two-star recruit, unranked by Rivals.com with offers from Boston College and mid-majojrs.

* Two 100-yard rushing games in September.

+ Very good speed. He’s a watered-down Kenneth Walker type.

* Has 10 receptions on the year.

* He had 48 yards rushing on 16 carries against Michigan. That’s not great, but against Michigan, that’s pretty good.

+ Gain of 15 vs UM on a swing bubble pass with counter sweep blocking action. Nice design, creative, unique.

+ 49 yards on a toss sweep on the first play of the game against SMU.

+ Good receiver. 25-yard gain out of the pistol diamond backfield, as the middle receiver on a three-receiver flood to the short sideline. Tagovailoa hit him with a sprint-out pass. Good design. RB probably the primary read on this play. Maryland puts speed in space with the ball.

+ 36-yard run on the first play of a drive late in the 3Q with Maryland trailing SMU 27-20. Maryland had four wide outs and a five-man OL vs six in the box. But Maryland blockers got a hat on a hat with good o-line play and the sixth man had to play Tagovailoa’s run threat. It can be a tough offense to stop.

+ Swing pass for a gain of 15 in the red zone on third-and-six on the last play of the 3Q vs SMU. Key play.


RB 31 Antwain Littleton (6-0, 235, R-Fr., Greenbelt, Md./St. John’s College)

* Was a three-star recruit, No. 5 in Washington DC.

* Came to Maryland as a 295 pound running back. You read that right.

* Direct, downhill power runner with some speed.

+ 2-yard TD last week on an inside zone read option give. He blasted in pretty easily as LT blocked down on UM d-lineman Kris Jenkins and cleared room. On that play, he TE kicked out the end man on the line of scrimmage and Maryland left the second-from-end man unblocked and optioned him.

+ Showed vision to daylight and ran through a tackle attempt by UM’s Kalel Mullings for a gain of 11, eight after contact.

- Was stopped for a gain of 2 on third-and-three in the 2Q against SMU. LT Duncan let the edge man slide off and make the tackle. Maryland trailed 13-3 at the time.


RECEIVERS

WR 1 RAKIM JARRETT (6-0, 190, Jr., Palmer Park, Md.)


* Was a five-star recruit, ranked No. 19 in the country.

* Was committed to LSU and flipped to Maryland on signing day.

* 15 catches on the year, averaging 52 receiving yards per game.

+ Excellent high catch on a third-and-four slant (with Michigan blitzing) for 10 yards last week in the 3Q.

* Suffered a left shoulder injury in the third quarter last week. Coaches said he would be a gametime decision on Saturday. Jogged off the field and looked okay but did not return to the game.

+ 51-yard TD on an over route against SMU in the 2Q. Good play design to feature him with all kinds of backfield window dressing and a vertical clearout to open the wake for him.



WR 7 DONTAY DEMUS (6-4, 215, Sr., Washington, DC)

* Three-time Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.

* He has seven career 100-yard receiving games, which ranks No. 2 in school history.

* Was HM All-Big Ten last year despite playing in only five games, being lost to the season in game five vs Iowa to a season-ending injury. Had 28 catches last year for 507 yards in five games. At the time of the injury, he led the Big Ten and was No. 11 in the country in receiving yards.

* This year he has 8 catches but is only averaging 8.6 yards per catch.

= Maryland put four WRs in a diamond to the right and Demus wide to the left. UM pressed him with CB Gemon Green. Maryland tried to go deep to him with a 20-yard fade. Green bodied him pretty good, INC. Green is listed at 6-2 but Demus made him look small.

* Held to 2 catches for 12 yards vs Michigan.


WR 2 JACOB COPELAND (6-0, 202, Jr., Pensacola, Fla.)

* Was a Rivals250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 132 in the country.

* Transfer from Florida. Started 11 games for the Gators last year.

* Led Florida with 41 catches last year for a team-high 642 yards.

* He had 86 career catches at Florida and 9 TDs.

* Four catches for 110 yards against Charlotte.

* Four catches for 52 yards against Michigan.

+ 11-yard reception on a comeback vs Gemon Green. Green pressed him. Copeland fought through the press, offered a nod to the post, then turned back to the sideline and cut back for a comeback and the ball was there. Good pass pro for QB Tagovailoa, good coverage, good route, good ball.

+ Next play, 13 yard comeback route to the right sideline vs DJ Turner in man-to-man. Again, all day to pass vs four-man rush. Maryland pulled the backside guard and fake a power run to the flanker. Pulling guard became the de facto RT in pass protection on a trap pass.


WR 6 JESHAUN JONES (6-2, 185, R-Sr., Fort Meyers, Fla.)

* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit. Also took official visits to Iowa State, Pitt, Tennessee and Nebraska.

* Has 13 catches on the year with 2 TDs.

+ Beat Michigan DB Rod Moore on an over route for 25 yards. Came off the line as part of a switch release. Gave Moore a nod to the seam and then cut on an over route. In man-to-man, Moore had to honor the nod. Good route, good ball, hard to cover.

+ Caught two-point conversion on a sprint out bubble to cut it to 34-27 with :45 seconds left.

+ 6-yard TD reception against SMU. From a bunch formation he was not open initially. So Tagovailoa escaped the pocket, elongated the play and Jones worked his way open. That’s one of the things that makes their offense difficult to defende, the QB’s ability to move quickly in the pocket while staying on the trigger. The play was flagged for holding and a personal foul, by the way. But still, the QB and the WRs are good.



TE 84 COREY DYCHES (6-2, 220, R-Soph., Oxon Hill, Md.)

* Was a 5.7 three-star, renaked No. 22 in Maryland.

* Tied for team high with 15 catches.

= They went deep to him vs press on third-and-four on the first drive last week, incomplete, decent coverage, he’s a threat.

+ Gain of 12 on a dual option shovel pass last week. They optioned the d-end and QB had a pitch man or a shovel man. Unique play which I first saw from either Tom Osborne’s Nebraska or Urban Meyer at Utah.

+ 28-yard catch and run on a well-timed delayed screen to the short side against a five-man Michigan rush in the second quarter.

- Dropped a 15 yard out midway through the 3Q.

+ 34-yard gain in the 4Q against Michigan on a crack-and-go. He lined up in the backfield on that play. QB Tagovailoa with a sprint out, looking for a drag from the back side but 84 Dyches became open on somewhat of a sneak route. Again, good design. Hadn’t shown that formation, hadn’t shown a sprint-out throw.

Maryland’s screen was very cagey. They didn’t let the d-linemen get upfield immediately, as is usually the case with screen blocking. D-linemen today are trained to know when they are getting screened, stop rushing and peel back immediately. That’s what Minnesota did last week when they intercepted Thorne.

On this play, the Maryland o-line stayed in regular pass pro for a beat or two. The d-linemen didn’t know a screen was looming. The play-calling had trust that the pass pro would hold up long enough and that QB Tagovailoa would be patient enough to wait for the play to develop.

Part of the screen included the left guard pulling. So when he pulls, is it a power run? Is it a trap pass, like they had already established? Nope. Same window dressing, and they hit Michigan on the back side with a late-release screen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a progression like that before.

Good play design.

Next play: Tagovailoa was intercepted on a square in. Dagger concept. Tried to clear out with a deep route by the slot, and cut in behind him with a square in or dig. Tagovailoa telegraphed it a bit and threw behind Copeland. Michigan CB DJ Turner pressed the receiver, handsy all the way down the sideline and was on top and position to make a break on the ball.

Michigan got a big break on that play. The TV commentators thought it should have been ruled a trap and non-INT.


TE 18 CJ Dippre (6-5, 260, Soph., Scranton, Pa)

* 10 catches on the year.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Fox commentator Joel Klatt, last week after the last play of the first quarter: “They are just overpowering this front seven for Michigan. This offensive line and (RB) Littleton, the big back, they are just too much right now for the Wolverines.”

* It’s a sizeable, veteran offensive line. The line is helped by the diversity of the attack.

Players of Note:

LT 71 JAELYN DUNCAN (6-6, 320, R-Sr., New Carrollton, Md.)

* Four-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Maryland.

* NFL prospect.

* Two-time Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.

* Mobile enough to pull, turn the corner and rock the opposite end on a tackle pull (dart power).

* Good lateral quickness on the kick step and withstood a bull rush by Taylor Upshaw of Michigan. Upshaw (6-4, 255) put a pretty good blast into him but Duncan withstood it with no problem.

- Allowed a QB hit to DE Mike Morris on a speed rush. Morris, at 290, did a good job timing the snap. Morris hit Tagovailoa on the play and put him out for the game with a rib injury.

* The guard, center, guard trio is solid, sizeable and serviceable:


LG 78 MASON LUNSFORD (6-7, 305, Olney, Md.)

* 5.5 three-star recruit, No. 20 in Maryland.

LG 70 Amelio Moran (6-5, 310, R-Sr., Virginia Beach)

* 5.5 three-star, unranked in the state by Rivals.com.

- False start penalty cost Maryland a chance to go for it on fourth down in the 2Q against SMU.


C 50 JOHARI BRANCH (6-3, 330, Sr., Chicago)

* 5.5 three star coming out of Independence CC.


RG 54 SPENCER ANDERSON (6-5, 320, R-Sr., Bowie, Md.)

* 5.5 three star, No. 24 in Maryland.

* NFL prospect, said Joel Klatt.


RT 74 DELMAR GLAZE (6-5, 305, R-Soph, Charlotte, NC)

* two-star recruit.
+ Solid job with combo block on inside zone for gain of 6 in the 4Q last week.



DEFENSE:


MARYLAND DEFENSE


Run defense is the big question here.

Buffalo rushed for 108 yards (2.8 per carry) against Maryland.

Charlotte rushed for 96 yards (3.4 per carry).

SMU rushed for 151 (3.6 per carry).

Not bad, despite the big numbers for Corum, as I suspected.

SMU outgained Maryland 520-439.

SMU ran 96 offensive plays! 54 passes and 42 rushes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team run 96 offensive plays in a game. And lose, no less.

Maryland committed 15 penalties against SMU. 15! The most by a Maryland team in over 20 yards. But Maryland had zero penalties last week, deep into the fourth quarter.

* Maryland played defense differently vs Michigan than it did vs SMU.

Maryland played more two-deep zone against SMU, protecting against the pass. Maryland played more to stop the run against Michigan. It didn’t show in the final stats, but Maryland did enough to CONTAIN the Michigan run on enough downs, and survived enough deep incompletions, and moved the ball well enough on offense to stay competitive in that game.

But the moral of the story is that SMU’s productive running day against Maryland was due in part to Maryland playing safeties deep.

Maryland didn’t STOP Michigan’s running attack, but it contained it on the vast majority of the plays. That’s part of the reason the game was close. If Maryland can contain the Michigan running game then - based on what we’ve seen from Michigan State this year - the Terps probably have a good chance to stop MSU’s running attack. That’s IF Maryland plays with as much toughness and fire as it did vs Michigan.


GUESS (SOME OF) THE GAMEPLAN 2


How will Maryland play against Michigan State? To begin with, if the weather isn’t terrible, I would expect Maryland to play with two safeties deep, discourage the pass with the belief that Michigan State won’t be nearly as dangerous as Michigan in the run game. Make Michigan State prove it can bust a grape in the run game.

* SMU scored with a jet sweep pop pass from 17 yards out against two-deep. Will Maryland go two deep against Michigan State in the red zone? Probably not. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State trots out that copy cat play in this game.

* Coaches love to steal or borrow plans from other teams that have worked. SMU and Michigan both had success, on fourth-and-one, with hurry-up, quick-hitting running plays between the tackles. Maryland’s defense was caught off guard both times and allowed a gain of 5 to SMU and a 30-plus yard TD run to Corum of Michigan.

Has Maryland worked on this since then? I would assume so. But if Michigan State tries it, you’ll know the history of the play.


MARYLAND DEFENSIVE WRINKLES

* With 4 minutes to go in the 1H against SMU, with Maryland having come back from a 13-3 deficit to take a 17-13 lead, Maryland changed gears on defense by rushing three and covering with eight. It didn’t work. SMU drove for a TD.


HOW CORUM DID IT

* In the first half, Corum had chunk runs of 33 yards (TD), 24, 23, 21 and 11. It might sound stupid, but Maryland was sturdy and stout on almost all of his other runs, which is NOT easy against Michigan with the way they will pull excellent o-linemen at you with excellent run-blocking tight ends in your chest all the time.

Michigan State doesn’t have a Blake Corum, or blocking tight ends like Michigan’s. So the vast majority of MSU’s run plays will probably look unlike those Corum chunk runs and more like the ones that get hemmed in by Maryland’s solid defenders for gains of 3 or fewer.

For instance, Michigan’s opening drive of the 2H ended with a punt when three straight runs netted 8 yards. The first two runs were pin-and-pull gap plays for Corum, for gains of 1 and 5. UM ran THE EXACT SAME PLAY on consecutive snaps. Then on third-and-four, Maryland stacked up UM RB Isaiah Gash for a gain of 2. That’s good run defense. The score was 17-13 at the time.

What does all this mean? It means despite the big number of rush yards that Corum put up, I don’t think there is a lot of evidence that Michigan State can do the same.

Can Michigan State rush for 175? Now we’re talking. That’s imperative. Rush for 175, get some balance going and hope for a few bounces and special teams plays to go their way, as was the case for Michigan last week.

As I said in the opener, Michigan State rushing for 175 is possible, but 125 might be more likely.

* With 6 minutes to play in the game, Corum had 177 yards on 25 carries. 112 of those yards came on five carries.

He averaged 3.5 yards on his other 18 carries. Those are still good numbers, but you need to understand that Michigan does an excellent job of run blocking and Corum is an excellent tailback. To hold him to carries of 2, 3, 4, 1 yard on many of those carries is the sign of a respectable run defense, considering Michigan’s strength in that area opponent. Maryland’s run defense WON a lot of plays in this game.

* Michigan RB Corum got loose for a 33-yard TD run in the final minute of the first half. That was on a quick-snap, fourth-and-one situation. Good ploy by Michigan. Maryland was caught a little off-guard, and the Maryland LBs were all stuck sniffing in the pile while Corum bounced outside to no one. No Maryland player was pounded on this play.

He bounced outside for a 47-yard TD on third-and-four with 3:33 to go. Maryland stuffed the box inside and was weak for the bounce outside, just like the fourth-and-short TD in the first half. He got 80 of his yards on those two bounce-outside speed plays. Error by Maryland in outside containment? Yes. Players getting bulldozed? No.

Conclusion: I don’t think Maryland’s run defense is a weakness. It won’t be a weakness against most teams.


MARYLAND DEFENSIVE TRAITS


* They ran some old school 3-4 against UM’s two-TE sets. They also ran some 4-3. Mostly a two-gapping team with guys who are decently stout against double team blocking.

* They stay home. They don’t gamble. Michigan tried to hit them with a reverse pass, but they stayed home, no one was open and the WR who was looking to throw (Ronnie Bell) was tackled for a loss.

* They allowed 30 plus points per game in each of the last three seasons. But this year they look like they CAN be better on defense. Haven’t proven it yet. This Michigan State game is a big game for Maryland, as it was for Minnesota.


DEFENSIVE LINE


* Big DTs at 300-pounds plus. Solid on the edge. Decent pass rushers, nothing super scary. Solid up front all the way around. No big weaknesses.


DE 30 DURELL NCHAMI (6-4, 260, R-Sr., Silver Spring, Md.)

* Three-star recruit, No. 15 in Maryland.

* Quick north-and-south twitch for his size.

+ Stand-up DE covered Blake Corum pretty well initially on a wheel route last week. QB went elsewhere with the ball for an INC. Corum was coming open after 15 yards but QB McCarthy didn’t stay with him.

+ Fought through a pin-and-pull to his side, recognized it, didn’t hesitate, shot the gap, made the tackle for no gain, early in the 3Q.


DE 95 AUSTIN FONTAINE (6-3, 260, R-Sr., Waldorf, Md.)

* Was a Rivals250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 183 and No. 5 in Maryland.

+ Solid vs Michigan LT Ryan Hayes, getting some knock-back on him, providing room for LB Caleb Wheatland to scrape across for a tacke on Corum for a gain of 1.

- Then was very weak vs a TE down block on a power run right at him, kind of olayed it, ducked out of there, didn’t logjam it. Corum gain of about 15.


92 DL HENRY CHIBUEZE (6-3, 310, Sr., Woodbridge, Va.)

* Was a 5.5 three star. Signed with Liberty.

* Team-high two sacks.

* Transfer from Liberty. Did not play last year.



NT 54 AMI FINAU (6-2, 320, Sr., Kahuku, HI/Independence CC)

+ Solid when two-gapping the LG with a boundary shade on an inside run late in the 3Q, China-Rose bottled Corum up for a loss of 1.



DT 33 MOSIAH NASILI-KITE (6-2, 310, R-Sr., Pittsburg, Calif./Independence CC)

* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit. No. 44 juco player in the country by Rivals.com.

+ Solid when two-gapping the RG with a boundary shade on an inside run late in the 3Q, China-Rose bottled Corum up for a loss of 1.

* Leads team with 2.5 TFLs.



DT 88 Anthony Booker (6-4, 320, R-Jr., Cincinnati Winton Woods)

* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 40 in Ohio. Also visited Cincinnati, Kansas and Toledo.

+ Caused a fumble in the 2Q vs Michigan. Michigan recovered. On the play, he two-gapped into Michigan’s star center, stood his ground, disengaged, reached out, ripped the ball from QB McCarthy on a QB draw.

* Two TFLs on the year.

Solid impact play for a back-up DT.

(When they went to second-string DTs like No. 40, Taizse Johnson, 6-1 ,310, Soph., they weren’t as firm inside against SMU.)



LINEBACKERS

* A deep set of capable linebackers. Not great, but good. No one looks out of place or bad.



OLB 1 JAISHAWN BARHAM (6-3, 230, Fr., District Heights, Md.)

* Rivals250 four-star, ranked No. 122 in the nation and No. 3 in Maryland.

* Looks like this guy is going to be a standout.

* Good feet and wiry strong in bending around the edge to stop Corum on third-and-four for a gain of 2.

+ Good pass drop and leap to get a piece of a pass in the 2Q leading to INT by safety 25.

+ Sack in 2Q against SMU. Well-timed blitz, good job turning the corner.


JACK LB 0 GREG CHINA-ROSE (6-2, 295, R-Sr., Los Angeles/Lackwanna CC/DeMatha Catholic)

* Former walk-on and junior college transfer.

* Plays a stand-up edge/DE position.

* I didn’t see any weaknesses from him.

+ Good job taking on the Michigan LT, two-gapping him, disengaging and tackling low on back-up RB Isaiah Gash of Michigan to hold him to a gain of 2 on third-and-2 in the 3Q. Michigan punted.

+ Had a sack against SMU with a pretty good speed rush and body lean against a mediocre right tackle.


WLB 11 RUEBEN HYPPOLITE (6-0, 230, Jr., Fort Lauderdale)

* Four-star, ranked No. 61 in Florida.

* No real opinion of him other than I didn’t see him do anything poorly.


SLB 8 VANDARIUS COWAN (6-4, 253, Sr., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)

* Transfer from West Virginia. Signed with Alabama, then transferred to West Virginia for four years.

* Was a Rivals100 four-star, ranked No. 67 in the country and No. 13 in Florida.

* Had 38 career tackles and three sacks in 16 games at West Virginia.

+ TFL last week on back-up RB Stokes, caused a fumble. Cowan was left unblocked and a TE kind of ran past him. He didn’t defeat a block to make this play, just came in untouched and got the punch/strip.


LB 44 Caleb Wheatland (6-2, 235, Fr., Centreville, Va.)

* Three-star recruit. Also had offers from Liberty and MAC schools.

+ Good job scraping across to tackle Corum for a gain of 1. Fast. Tough play.

+ Nice TFL vs Corum, scraping and pursuing with a head of steam on a pin-and-pull to his side. That’s the type of play VanSumeren should be capable of making, with his quickness. But VanSumeren is not identifying and hitting the gas pedal like Wheatland.

LB 19 Amhad McCullough (6-2, 225, R-Sr., Baltimore)

* 5.5 three-star, transfer from Hutchinson CC

- Was late reacting to a pin-and-pull to his side, and Corum turned the corner for 21 yards in the 2Q.



PASS DEFENSE


* The two starting CBs are good. If and when No. 6 and/or 26 come into the game, I’ve seen teams attack them with success. They aren’t starters, but they play. I’ve seen No. 17 struggle at CB, too. Another bench player.

* Maryland’s pass rush was a non-factor against Michigan.

* Maryland's corners are quite good. Maryland trusts the CBs enough that they occasionally will send a modified zero blitz with the remaining safety in the middle spying the QB and not really helping the CBs vs WRs.

* Against Michigan, if UM went with two WRs to one side and no receiver to the other, Maryland would match it with “corners over,” both CBs to one side. That usually indicates man-to-man for most teams and that’s the way it was for Maryland. So if you go with twin WRs to one side, it can make the QB reads a little easier.

(Michigan went max pro and looked deep out of this set, but Maryland covered it, so QB McCarthy checked down to the TE for 15 yards).


* Maryland mixed it up and went with cover-two on third-and-eight late in the 3Q. QB McCarthy patted the ball, was blind-side sacked from behind at his own 10-yard line and was very fortunate not to fumble.

Maryland mixes coverages without messing themselves up, which is more than we can say for Michigan State right now.

* Maryland allowed a 51-yard TD to SMU on a TE to the seam. SMU’s tight end can fly. Maryland was playing a lot of two-deep coverage to protect against the pass, but two-deep zone leaves the middle of the field open if you can get to it sneaky fast. That’s what the TE did on this straight seam route. SMU used the wide out to draw the left safety over to the boundary, and the Maryland LB couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with that TE to the empty middle seam.

Does Michigan State have a TE that can fly like that? They can try with Barker or Maliq Carr. I don’t think either is as fast as the SMU TE. But if Maryland sits back in a two-deep zone play after play, look for Michigan State to try to steal that deep TE to the seam play.


CB 2 JAKORIAN BENNETT (5-11, 195, Sr., Mobile, Ala./Hutchinson CC)

* Plays slot CB

* Was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten last year.

* Was Pro Football Focus national Cornerback of the Week for the week of Sept. 7.

* Michigan attacked him deep in the slot vs Roman Wilson, incomplete.



CB 3 DEONTE BANKS (6-2, 205, R-Jr., Baltimore)

* Three-star recruit.

* Four-year starter who was lost for the season after two games last year.

* Looks like an All-Big Ten type of guy to me. He’ll get some votes.

+ solid man to man on scramble rules to break up pass to end Michigan’s second possession last week.

+ Good job with press, off-hand jam, hip turn and coverage vs Michigan’s Cornelius Johnson on a third-and-long in the 2Q (QB McCarthy picked up the first down with a long scramble).

+ Turned and ran vs a Roman Wilson deep shot last week pretty well.

- Allowed a 20-yard TD to Roman Wilson. Outside leverage, inside release, couldn’t make up the grass and air space. That’s the same strange outside leverage and free release that Michigan State’s Angelos Grose allowed to Minnesota last week. I’ll have to ask around to see what the deal is with that. Gave UM a 24-13 lead. But this guy is a good player.



4 CB TARHEEB STILL (6-0, 185, Jr., Sicklerville, NJ)

* Was a 5.7 three star recruit, ranked No. 14 in New Jersey.

* Third-year starter.

* Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as a freshman in 2020.

* In two games, I saw him play a lot of snaps, no noise.



NB 26 GAVIN GIBSON (5-11, 175, Fr., Hickory, N.C.)

* Was a 5.5 three-star, ranked No. 22 in North Carolina.

- Michigan attacked him deep on a third-and-long in the 2Q. The put WR Roman Wilson in the slot and attacked No. 26 on a deep route to the flag. He was open by a step and a half but JJ McCarthy overthrew him.

- He was a little off-balance with his hip turn when Wilson ran by him. Maybe he was a little surprised by Wilson’s speed.

+ Coverage sack in the 3Q vs Michigan as a slot rusher, part of a four-man rush.



CB 17 Lionell Whitaker (5-11, 175, Fr., Miami)

* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 94 in Florida.

* Was in the game for some reason and Ronnie Bell ran by his off man coverage for a deep ball gain of 48 yards to the 24-yard line. Michigan went deep several times and hadn’t connected until that one. Michigan led only 24-19 with 8:37 left when they went deep on this third-and-six for the game changer of the day and turning point.


(Back-up CB Corey Coley, No. 6, 6-2, 180, Soph., Jacksonville, Fla.)

* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit

- was beaten on a corner fade in the red zone against SMU for a short TD. Really good double move by the SMU WR. SMU has some offensive talent.

- beaten deep for an INC by SMU in the fourth quarter. They really picked on him in the fourth quarter. Deonte Banks was out for some reason.

= Maryland took Coley, No. 6 out, moved Bennett from slot to CB and put 26 Gibson in the slot.

+ Then they put him back in and survived by playing a decent version of cover-two.



SAFETIES


* 25 and 12 are hammers. Not the biggest guys, but they will crank you. They play with disregard to their well-being. Good players, good hitters.


S 25 BEAU BRADE (6-1, 200, Jr., Clarksville, Md.)

* Was a 5.5 three-star, ranked No. 36 in Maryland.

* First-year starter, looks good.

* Solid sweep tackle early in the SMU game. Sharp, physical.

* Hard hitter. Will break himself to deliver a hard hit.

+ INT vs SMU out of the two-deep shell they played most of the game. (They didn’t nearly as play much two-deep against Michigan).

+ Hard tackle on the ball caused a fumble by the SMU QB at the Maryland 3-yard line in the third quarter. Big play.

+ Good pass break-up out of cover-four on third-and-long against SMU in the third quarter. Good read and break on the ball.



FS 12 DANTE TRADER (6-0, 190, Soph., Delmar Del.)

* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 25 in Maryland

* Great lacrosse player, No. 5 recruit in the nation for 2021.

* Ran decently well vs Andrel Anthony on a deep post in the fourth quarter last week. Anthony was open by a step, but QB McCarthy missed him. Still, when being isolated one-on-one, this wasn’t a bad run by the safety to track Anthony.

+ INT in the fourth quarter vs SMU out of cover-two zone. QB overthrew over the middle with Maryland’s LBs taking good drops.



SPECIAL TEAMS


Their kicker has a long streak of makes, like the longest in the nation.

Tai Felton is a dangerous kick returner but fumbled one against SMU (SMU recovered). He averages 27.4 yards per return and has a long of 39.

Tarheeb Still is a good punt returner. Is averaging 14.7 yards on three punt returns this year, including a long of 18. Had a 92-yarder for a TD last year.



ADD IT ALL UP



I already wrote an Add It All Up, but the best way I can summarize it is to say that Maryland is trending up at RB, WR, OL and even in run defense despite last week, and they’re good at CB. A really good passing attack and offense, like SMU, can put up numbers against them. But Michigan didn’t or couldn’t.

So that’s what you have to go against in order to outscore a balanced, well-conceived Tagovailoa offense.

Last week, I characterized Minnesota as being a program that has matured. Maryland seems to be getting there too.

Maryland traded blows with Michigan throughout that game and could have won with a couple of favorable bounces and a call. That was no fluke. They were good that day. NOW, the big question is whether Maryland is mature enough of a program to stack weeks of good games together. They had a horrible time with penalty discipline for their last home game, against SMU, and corrected that last week. Now, can they keep building as a team and program? They are getting to uncharted territory in the Locksley era. Can they build momentum or will they fall off? This looks like Maryland's game to lose, if they want to.

If Michigan State wins this game - like I said prior to the Washington game - I’m not sure Michigan State will get enough credit for defeating a solid team. But Michigan State will need to fix a lot of ills from the last two weeks in order to do so, and they’ll have to overcome a slew if injuries to make it happen. I’ll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, Spartan watchers need to be watching for continued effort on defense versus collisions, and less structural slippage. It’s baby steps and damage control at this point, with hopes of getting back to respectability at some point.

Is Thorne the guy?

I’m not one for huge changes at the drop of a hat and as many know I’m as positive as they come but…

Is Thorne the guy? Again, I love his moxie, toughness, and leadership but his play has to match that too.

I am not sure what the right answer is and yes, I understand we have bigger problems right now too (defensively for sure).

Interested in thoughts.
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HOCKEY Athletic: Which coaches are college hockey’s best recruiters? We asked the hockey industry

Which coaches are college hockey’s best recruiters? We asked the hockey industry

From the Athletic, so paywall but here is the good stuff:

3. Jared DeMichiel — Associate Head Coach, Michigan State University

DeMichiel was an assistant to Greg Carvel at UMass for the past six seasons; he was a critical component to the turnaround of that program and a part of their 2021 national title. “He’s an elite recruiter,” said one voter. “He helped build UMass into a national contender. He leaves for MSU and all of a sudden they’re getting top players like Christian Humphreys to commit to them over the usual go-to programs.”

“Success and good players tend to follow him around,” said another voter, referencing his team at St. Lawrence.

A third voter added, “He’s very good at building relationships. You look at how UMass got Cale Makar to stay with them, he was a big part of that.”

I don't follow NCAA that close, so I did not know who he was when we hired him, and admittedly wondered why he would come here for what seemed like a lateral move.

But the more I read, learn, and see of him I am amazed at what a great hire he is. Looking forward to making the trek from Chicago to Munn this winter for a game or two.

Go Green!

Huge test for CMT coming up

To date, Mel has been a force of personality, and most of what he has touched turned to gold last year. He’s been the cool HC, face of the program, the guy with the sneakers & the cigar, the guy who has the pro & NC pedigree, the guy who says “trust the process” “the standard is the standard” and be “relentless”…and until last week, even tho we saw chinks in the armor the first two weeks, it has worked.

Well, now its a farce and a dumpster fire. Only Northwestern and Nebraska are in worse shape than MSU, and Iowa seems to have found some footing after their embarrassing start.

There is no evident “process” that is working, no “standard” that is being attained or maintained, and we are approaching epic levels of failure as a defense and pretty soon as a program.

How much Mel can appear to be decisive, but still process driven? How much can Mel maintain “neutral thinking” without holding on too much to the identity he wants this team to have, but appears unattainable? How long can Mel have no answers, but still appear as cool, calm and one of the smarter guys in the room?

….the answers to those questions will determine if we are able to salvage something from what is already looming like a failed season.

The Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Minnesota

Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs. Minnesota


By Jim Comparoni
Publisher, SpartanMag.com


East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State is desperate to get the smell out of their brains of last week’s disaster at Washington, and Minnesota is desperate to show it belongs in the top echelon of the Big Ten.

Beating the Spartans would make the Gophers feel deserving of that residency.

Beating the Gophers would make Michigan State feel good about their football world again, for a few days.

Which team has the greater motivation? That’s debatable. They’ll both be dialed up near 9 or higher on Saturday, with Minnesota trying to prove they have arrived and Michigan State trying to prove they’re still there.

Michigan State needs this win more; that is usually a scale-tipper when handicapping two similarly solid teams. But these teams aren’t comparable in a lot of ways. Michigan State is more talented, but has more significant injuries and isn’t tied together as well as Minnesota right now. Michigan State has been working all week to tighten those screws and reclaim those lost inches which Mel Tucker says cost the Spartans on many occasions at Washington? Is that a one-week fix? I have my doubts, but we’ll learn for sure on Saturday.

Minnesota really wants to take the next step as a program. When they get a bullseye like this in front of them, they have been pretty good, at times, under PJ Fleck. They showed up legendarily well in an ESPN Gameday victory over Penn State while unbeaten in 2019, but couldn’t hold serve and beat Iowa and Wisconsin.

Last year, Minnesota staged the second biggest win of the Fleck era when they beat Wisconsin won the Paul Bunyan Axe for the first time since 2003. That was a solid, carnivorous victory, taking place around the time you were brushing snow off your coats at Spartan Stadium while Michigan State beat Penn State.

Minnesota has recruited solidly under Fleck, but not spectacularly. They have managed to stay in the national Top 45, which I think is the Mendoza line. If you are in the Top 45, and you’ve proven to be good at evaluation and player development, then you have a chance to be a Top 25 program.

Minnesota recruiting in the past five seasons, not counting the current true freshmen:

2018: No. 43
2019: No. 41
2020: No. 38
2021: No. 39

Solid, but unspectacular. Somewhat similar to most Dantonio years.

But I have to say that evaluation, player development and scheme adhesion has been impressive. Minnesota has its crap together, and I don’t see any mediocre athletes or weaklings out there.

THE BOOK ON MINNESOTA

Fleck is 38-23 at Minnesota, a strong mark for a program that has long held some potential to win, but many riddles and obstacles that come along with the job. He’s done a good job of solving them to this point, and this might be his best team, even better than the one in 2019 which began 9-0 and finished 11-2 with an Outback Bowl victory over Auburn and a No. 10 rnaking. However, they don’t have the downfield receiver targets that that team had, especially with top receiver Chris Autman-Bell being lost last week to a torn ACL.

After a mulligan COVID year in 2020 during which Minnesota went 3-4, the Gophers were back over-achieving last year with a 9-4 record, with victories over Wisconsin and Purdue and a win against West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

Fleck garnered a ton of publicity for the 9-0 start in 2019, but the Gophers have quietly been achieving under the radar since then. Perhaps this is the season they get back over the radar, toward a 10-win season. Beating Michigan State would mark one of the most significant wins of Fleck’s career, considering the boost it could generate toward a special season.

If Minnesota wins this game, a 10-2 season will be achievable. They play at Penn State. They face Purdue and Iowa at home. They travel to Wisconsin for the last game of the regular season. Minnesota can win three of those four, without being all that great. Just solidly good.

Minnesota is good. Not as great as all that I just wrote. But they have their crap together. And they have quite a few well-placed veterans, and a difference-maker of a RB behind a reloaded offensive line, and a curiously effective no-name defense. And they have a schedule that is conducive to an inflated accumulation of wins.

Perhaps the chief descriptor in the preceding paragraph is the point that they have their crap together. Michigan State, on the other hand, does not have its crap together. The pass offense looked good last week, with Payton Thorne back on the mark. But run blocking was disappointingly lacking at Washington. And pass defense was a mess, again. Linebacker play was solid-to-functional with Cal Haladay, not solid with Ben VanSumeren, and Washington put a silencer on pass rush threat Jacoby Windmon.

Michigan State has to make a stand this week. If Michigan State loses, the downward slope could tilt toward a 6-6 type of season, or worse.

Both teams need this win badly, for different reasons. And they will meet, helmet-to-helmet, for 60 minutes of grass-stain football amid 60-degree temperatures, just in time for apple season. I’m not sure what apples have to do with it, but you might want to have a stash of hard cider available after this one. And if Michigan State happens to win, it would be worth celebrating.

It will be intriguing theater for those of us on the sidelines, and a violent intersection for those between the lines, trying to prove their divergent points.

It’s going to be physical. Minnesota is big and rugged on offense, with an excellent, 320-pound center. Michigan State hit hard in week one and harder in week two, but not so hard last week. Mel Tucker is preaching, preaching, preaching physicality this week. He knows he needs it. Can his guys provide it?

Fleck knows Michigan State will be in prove-their-manhood mode, so he is preaching for his charges to match and exceed MSU’s physicality.

This is going to have Bronko Nagurski meets Bubba Smith type of intensity. Maybe not all the talent that those two packed, but all of the heart. For a non-rivalry game, this is going to be a slobber-knocker. Players on both sides want to perform for their coach. There are going to be collisions.

Tucker is preaching and toughness. Coaches usually get what they emphasize. But he KNOWS it’s of paramount importance this week because if Michigan State comes with anything less than Grade A physicality and toughness, then they’re going to get flattened. He is preaching it out of respect to Minnesota, and maybe even a little bit of concern.

It’s interesting that PJ Fleck was a wide receiver, and at one point was regarded as a high-flying, envelope-pushing type of offensive guru. They threw the ball all over the place at Western Michigan, yet nicely balanced with the run.

But at Minnesota, he has adapted something that is maybe a mixture of Glen Mason’s zone run schemes and Barry Alvarez’s ground-and-pound Wisconsin. The Gophers aren’t as big and burly as Wisconsin, but there is a north woods method to the Minnesota madness. He hasn’t tried to institute the fun and gun. He’s going with the locally grown fruits, vegetables, walleye and corn-fed livestock from the area pastures, lakes, orchards and mines and built from it. Too many metaphors? Maybe not. These guys eat a lot, and they have the frames to fill.

Barry Alvarez did it that way because he felt that he could get national-class linemen in the western Great Lakes and Plains, but not necessarily any other position group. So he started with that.

Fleck is taking a page from that playbook. Glen Mason tried to, too. And Mason had some good teams, but he was never able to recruit and build a good defense. Fleck has a good defense. On defense, in my estimation, he has taken pages from the Iowa and Hankwitz-Northwestern manual.


FINAL ANALYSIS FIRST

I don’t mean to make Minnesota sound like Georgia. Minnesota isn’t great. But they might be good enough to win almost every Saturday this year. I went through every player and most of their back-ups, and I don’t see many weaknesses, athletically, structurally or mentally. You’ll read a lot of positive checkmarks in this article, maybe not a lot of Hall of Fame endorsements, but just positive checks after positive checks. It kind of reminds me of the Dantonio/Hoyer era. QB Tanner Morgan doesn’t have nearly the arm of Hoyer. I’m just talking about a solid team that plays square on defense, establishes the run and doesn’t beat itself.

So if you hear positive after positive, don’t picture Georgia. Picture 2008 Michigan State.

This is a tough game to game to handicap because Minnesota has cruised past easy opponents while Michigan State is coming off a bad performance in a foreign environment against an annoyingly good, underrated Washington team.

The Minnesota that we’ve seen thus far is just plain better than the most recent body of work we saw from Michigan State. But Michigan State looked pretty good against weak competition (Akron) too.

Will Minnesota look as physical, tied-together and smooth when they move up in weight class and speed class to play a wounded and angry Michigan State team? You’ll know when I know. Maybe not. Maybe I’m overrating Minnesota because they have had such weak opponents. But realize that they finished the season last year playing well tied-together, physical, smart football in beating Wisconsin and going 9-4, without their stud running back. They graduated good offensive linemen and defensive linemen, but have restocked nicely in both areas.

But I thought MSU’s offensive line was in good shape after two games, too, but they were stuffed by a deceptively strong Washington defensive front. Can MSU’s defensive front do the same to Minnesota’s run blockers? I would feel better if Michigan State had Jacob Slade.

Cut to the chase: If Michigan State had Slade, Jayden Reed, Darius Snow and Xavier Henderson, the Spartans would be a much better team, might have won last week, and I’d be picking them this week.

I don’t know if Slade and Reed will be available. I’m not expecting Henderson to be back.

Right now, I lean toward Minnesota winning this game because, most importantly at this stage, they appear to have their crap together, and they finished last season with their crap together, and their difference-making RB is back, along with a bunch of fifth- and sixth-year seniors, and a sixth-year QB. That team seems to have a lot of glue.

I don’t see anything in Minnesota that looks weak. When I look at Michigan State, I see weakness at safety and middle linebacker, plus questionable physicality at one of the defensive end positions (Windmon, when he’s at the point of attack against the run; and he’s going to see plenty of that in his lap this weekend).

If Jacob Slade and Jayden Reed are on the field and at above 85 percent, that MIGHT be enough - along with the home crowd and energy.

But I’m going with the mode of operation and body of work to this point. And, forget the Washington game, Minnesota has just plain been more impressive against weak opponents (Colorado, New Mexico State and Western Illinois) than Michigan State was against Akron and Western Michigan. Add MSU’s bobbles and problems against Washington, and Minnesota’s statistical impressiveness, and the only way you pick Michigan State is if you believe they’re about ready to play better than we’ve seen them play, and Minnesota is about ready to choke in its first confrontation with a talented peer.


APPLES TO APPLES

Analyzing Minnesota’s players in comparison to a known commodity (your team).

* QB: I’ll give Michigan State the edge at QB. It’s a slight edge. I just think Thorne presents more of a downfield threat than Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan. Morgan is good at operating the RPO and throwing slant passes, but I just think Thorne is a little more talented. And Michigan State might need a great performance from Thorne to keep up in this game, because I’m not sure MSU’s running game will produce all that much and I’m not sure Michigan State can keep Minnesota from controlling the ball, the clock and scoring with efficiency.

* Minnesota has a big edge at RB. I think there’s a chance we see more Elijah Collins this week.

* WR: Edge to Michigan State. And it needs to be a pronounced one. Put Reed in the mix, and MSU’s chances of hanging increase substantially.

**

HARD STOP: Wait a minute. You might be thinking, “Michigan State HANGING with Minnesota? These are the Gophers. Not the Buckeyes.” True. I hear you. But that’s the way I see it. If Michigan State hasn’t tightened those screws on defense, and has trouble running the ball, then yes it will be a challenge to hang with this Minnesota team. They’re not great. But is Michigan State?

**

* TIGHT END: The talent edge goes to Michigan State, especially if Maliq Carr is available. He traveled last week but did not get on the field. They need him. They need all of them. Daniel Barker was a plus last week. Minnesota’s tight ends are solid to functional and are probably better blockers than MSU’s.

* OFFENSIVE LINE: Edge to Minnesota. Michigan State is okay at center, Minnesota is very good at center. The RG/RT tandem for Minnesota is better than Carrick/Brown.

My guy Moobie Armstrong made a good point last night on SpartanMag LIVE! when he said crowd noise could have been a factor in Carrick and JD Duplain each getting bashed back on key plays by the Washington defensive tackle. If the o-lineman is a beat late off the ball due to not hearing the cadence, whereas the d-lineman has a better view of seeing the ball snapped, that edge can be a big one when making first contact and winning a two-gap collision. Carrick and Duplain have been firm and proven over the years. Last week might have been an anamoly for them on a few of those plays. But down-in and down-out, Michigan State had trouble getting the inside zone going.

* DEFENSIVE TACKLES: A slight edge to Michigan State, but it’s close with Jacob Slade questionable. DT was a position of strength coming into the year with Slade and Simeon Barrow, backed up by Derrick Harmon and Maverick Hansen. And it’s still a strength. But they are going to have their hands full against this offensive line and running attack. Minnesota’s defensive tackles are pretty good. Not as good as Barrow and Slade at their best.

* DEFENSIVE ENDS. Maybe a slight edge to Michigan State. Windmon will be the best pass rusher on the field. But Washington showed he can be contained. The washed out his dip and rip move by focusing hand placement on his near shoulder and sending him behind the QB. Washington was very good at having a tight end double-team him, or a pulling trap-pass interior offensive lineman fanning out and ready to help. The Washington o-linemen in the area were always very aware of No. 4. They were well tied-together.

MSU’s Khris Bogle is solid against the run but No. 97 for Minnesota is better at it. The other Minnesota DE, Tommy Rush, is better against the run than Windmon. Depth-wise, Michigan State hasn’t gotten much from back-up defensive end Brandon Wright. Zion Young shows flashes. Minnesota’s back-up defensive ends haven’t been on the field much, other than in blowout situations. I don’t have much of an opinion on them.

MLB: Big edge to Minnesota. Their guy, No. 55, is good, kind of like a slightly watered down Max Bullough. He’s good. Runs pretty well sideline to sideline, hits well, plays smart. MSU’s Ben VanSumeren struggled last week, struggled to leverage the ball to help, struggled to read plays, struggled to defeat blocks. He gave effort, but was a downstream catcher. The IQ, knack and physicality really needs to improve, and fast.

WLB: MSU’s Haladay and No. 14 for Minnesota, I would call it a draw 14 is a little faster.

* NICKEL BACK: Chester Kimbrough might be better in pure pass defense, believe it or not, than the Minnesota guy but Minnesota shrouds their guy in zone defenses and he works well within it. Kimbrough is better than you think against the run, setting the edge and so forth. But give the edge to the Gopher nickel back, No. 11, partly due to how comfortable he is in the Minnesota system where Michigan State seems to hang Kimbrough out to dry too much (like the rub routes that got to him last week). Also, No. 11 for Minnesota has linebacker size at 6-2, 210. He’s kind of a nickel plus.

* CORNERBACKS: Ameer Speed has great size and straight-line speed, but his agility is not great. Chuck Brantley has been good, and you didn’t see him get victimized last week. I haven’t seen Minnesota’s corners get tested by anything this year, so that’s a difficult read for me.

*SAFETIES: Big edge to Minnesota. Kendell Brooks is good, and can be a difference-maker with his ability to cause fumbles. But Angelo Grose is still making too many costly mistakes. It’s hard to trust him back there. Every opponent is going to have plans sewn in to try to fool him every week. Grose seemed to be bothered by a hamstring or something last week. I wouldn’t be shocked to see true freshman Jaden Mangham get a shot at some point soon, but playing a true freshman at a cerebral position like safety is like whistling through a graveyard, as Bill Miller used to say.

Meanwhile, I’m impressed with No. 27 and 23 at safety for Minnesota. They are like a pair of Xavier Hendersons. I knew nothing about them prior to watching these blowout games this week. But they look smooth, solid and smart. And they’re very experienced.


APPLES TO ORANGES

How they match up:

* The most critical problem for Michigan State remains pass defense. Minnesota is not an overly-threatening passing attack, especially with Autman-Bell out. Michigan State won’t be terribly stressed in that area, but Minnesota will look to test MSU’s weaknesses at least a couple of times.

Minnesota will throw RPO slants on the first drive, to get the pass game established. But Minnesota won’t want to morph out of what it does best, and what it wants to do (pound the run).

* Minnesota’s OL vs MSU’s defensive front will be great football. But the MLB situation at Michigan State is not great. You need your MLB to fit the run tough and sure, pick through the wash and win collisions.

The right side of Minnesota’s OL is good. The center is very good. Michigan State is very good inside. But Minnesota’s RB is excellent. He will find daylight. You need an expert set of linebackers to play at an All-Big Ten clip to consistently stuff this Minnesota running attack. Michigan State doesn’t have that.

* Michigan State OL/run game vs Minnesota defensive front. Two weeks ago, I thought Michigan State was ahead of schedule in this department. After last week, my confidence in this group has waned. They have a lot to prove, while the running backs seem to be pulling up a little lame.

Minnesota’s defensive line is solid, but unspectacular. The run support from the linebackers and safeties is good to excellent.

* Michigan State pass defense vs Minnesota passing game: Tanner Morgan is a little skittish in the pocket, so they don’t ask him to stand back there and make many reads. He’s a game manager.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan State plays more zone in this game, keeping more eyeballs on run support while playing bend-but-don’t-break vs the pass. Last week, Michigan State bent AND broke. Minnesota won’t stress those areas through the air like Washington did.

Angelo Grose can’t be trusted in pass defense, but I think he remains the starter because he is good against the run, and Michigan State needs that this weekend.

* MSU’s pass offense vs Minnesota pass defense. In theory, this is where Michigan State needs to make up for any slack the Spartans allow via the excellent Gopher run game and the Spartans’ shaky pass defense. However, Minnesota’s pass defense is square and secure. They keep things in front of them, see things well, rally to the ball on time, tackle well. I don’t see guys in their secondary making mistakes or losing sprints athletically. They play a lot of zone and do it pretty well. And at the end of the day, with their ball control offense, they end up limiting teams on the scoreboard.


THE MUST LIST FOR MSU

* Contain the run, of course. What does that mean in this game? Keeping Minnesota under 130 yards would be a win. I’m expecting Minnesota to exceed 175.

* Minnesota doesn’t have a lot of juice in the downfield passing attack. Michigan State must use that to its advantage. Michigan State doesn’t have to worry (theoretically) about getting beat over the top with deep shots, or the 20-yard out to the wide side of the field. Michigan State should be able to borrow resources from the pass defense, believe it not, and zero them in on the run defense. My guess is that means more three-deep zone (which gives you eight in the box, and more eyes on the backfield).

Minnesota will have answers for three-deep zone, so let Morgan attempt those passes. And if you’re Michigan State, give them a long field with the punt game when you can, put 8 in the box, hope to stop the run, and challenge Tanner Morgan to complete passes in those open windows. He’s not bad at it. He’s not great. He CAN get hot from time to time. Anyone who has played as long as he has, has had moments of hot passing. He had something like 16 straight completions against Nebraska last year. So make him prove he can do that again. That’s the preferred poison this week.

* Be explosive on offense. I expect Minnesota to “win” the majority of the downs in this game, on both sides of the ball. Michigan State will likely need to get equalizers with big-play explosiveness. That’s going to be hard to do without a Kenneth Walker III type of guy, and it will be hard to do against this safety-net style Minnesota defense. It will be very hard to do if Jayden Reed isn’t able to play and isn’t near 100 percent.

This game could be like last year’s Nebraska game, with the opponent winning the majority of the downs, but the home team needing to steal some big plays, perhaps on special teams.

* A huge game from Payton Thorne. He was excellent for most of the game last week, operating with an instant 16-0 deficit, without a running attack, in a deafening environment, against a charged-up defense, and without his favorite receiver. He locked in and delivered Michigan State to the fourth quarter, still with a chance to make it a game. The INT to the left sideline might not have been his fault, in a scramble rules situation and a freshman not coming back to the ball.

Unless I’m pleasantly surprised by MSU’s run defense and running game, I think he will be saddled with needing to be Superman in this game, too. Barker and Coleman are assets, as is Tre Mosley. Jayden Reed will be a pivotal element, if he’s available.

* Dominate special teams. I haen’t seen Minnesota punt much, or return kickoffs, or kick field goals. I’m not sure what they have in that area, but I think Michigan State is going to have enough challenges in other areas of the game that the Spartans must find a way to create a big edge here. I don’t know how that can or should happen, I just know they need it. Last week’s kickoff return game, without Jayden Reed, was weak. The punter, Barringer, remains a strength. But you don’t want to be punting a lot against this team. They don’t give you the ball back.


MINNESOTA OFFENSE AT A GLANCE

Minnesota’s ground-based offense is very good, with equal parts physicality and athletic finesse. If you aren’t in your gaps, hammering blockers, winning collisions and tackling with sound fundamentals, Ibrahim and his batman, Trey Potts, will roll up yards, move the chains and crank their way into the end zone on you, time after time.

They have their crap together. Their o-line has good size, they work well together, good physicality. They’re good. Not great. But RB Ibrahim is very good. The combination of the two, plus Minnesota’s program-wide intentions of establishing a physical, efficient, organized brand of ground-based football makes the operation difficult to stop.

They were 13 of 15 on third down last week against Colorado.


MINNESOTA DEFENSE AT A GLANCE

* Iowa and Wisconsin have been similar in style over the years, but not identical. Well, now Minnesota is like a third cousin in that batch. Similar to Iowa and Wisconsin, to the point that they can grind it out toward a 65–35 run/pass ratio on offense.

And on defense, Minnesota makes you throw underneath, they tackle, they play smart, they don’t get fooled, they don’t take chances, they don’t get out of position. They don’t play exactly like Iowa, but some of the philosophy is the same. And there’s a little bit of keep-it-in-front-of-you Mike Hankwitz (the retired Northwestern defensive coordinator) to the drill as well.

* Last year, in the final game of the regular season, Minnesota held Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen to 47 yards on 17 carries. Allen went into the game with 100 yards rushing in seven straight outings.

Wisconsin, ranked No. 14 at the time, had been averaging 269 yards rushing per game during a seven-game win streak. Minnesota held the Badgers to 62 yards rushing.

* Minnesota quietly ranked No. 2 in the nation in total defense last year, allowing 170.3 yards per game. Part of that is playing in the weak Big Ten West. (Four of the Top 17 teams in total defense last year were in the Big Ten West, becasuse offenses were weak).

* Minnesota was No. 7 in yards allowed per play.

Minnesota was in the Top 10 in scoring defense and total defense last year and has seven returning starters from that unit. Minnesota graduated its top tackler and lockdown cornerback.


GOPHER DC JOE ROSSI

Minnesota defensive coordinator, Joe Rossi, is in his sixth year with the Gophers.

Rossi came to Minnesota after being DC at Rutgers (2014-15). In 2014, Rutgers went 8-5 under Kyle Flood and beat North Carolina in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field. Rutgers hasn’t always been bad.

In 2015, Rutgers went 4-8 in a season marred by off-field misconduct and they fired Flood. Flood is now offensive coordinator and o-line coach at Texas. He was o-line coach at Alabama in 2019.

Fleck hired Rossi as d-line coach in 2016. He worked his way up. Give Minneota credit. They apparently found a good one.

As for Rossi’s staff, he has former Michigan State defensive backs coach Paul Haynes coaching the secondary. Haynes has been there for three years. Michigan State’s secondary did not play or communicate well under Haynes during his second stint at Michigan State, at the end of the Dantonio era. But the secondary at Minnesota looks solid and smart to me right now.


THE LATEST ON MINNESOTA

* Minnesota has won three straight games by 38 points or more fir first time since 1917.

Minnesota 38, New Mexico State 0
Minnesota 62, Western Illinois 10
Minnesota 49, Colorado 7

Colorado was terrible last week. They have lost a lot of transfers since Mel Tucker left.

Colorado has also lost to TCU (38-13) and Air Force (41-10).

New Mexico State, 0-4, is considered by some to be the worst team in the FBS. They have lost to Nevada (23-12), UTEP (20-13) and Wisconsin (66-7).

Western Illinois was 2-9 last year in FCS.

So, naturally, Minnesota’s numbers are going to be inflated. And they are.

For what it’s worth, Minnesota is No. 2 in the nation in total defense, No. 6 in yards allowed per play and No. 3 in yards allowed per pass attempt (Michigan State is No. 66).

Minnesota is averaging 5.8 yards per rush, No. 9 in the Power Five.

* Minnesota leads the nation in yardage differential, outgaining its opponents by an average of 383 yards per game.

* Minnesota is averaging 315 yards rushing per game. You read that right.

* PJ Fleck is 28-23 in six seasons at Minnesota.

“This is a really smart team,” Fleck said of his Gophers. “They know when the concentrate. They have really good focus.”

* The opposition has been terrible. Minnesota has done to them what a good team should do to terrible teams.

* Last week, the blowout score against Colorado was as bad as it looked.

Midway through the second quarter, Minnesota was out-gaining Colorado 201-18. Time of possession was 17:11 to 3:41 and total plays were 28-9.


MINNESOTA OFFENSE AT A GLANCE

There are some old school Tressel ball elements to their offense. They are about 70 percent run. They will huddle at times. They will put the QB under center at times. But they are mostly a pistol offense, with inside zone and outside zone.

With all the zone run plays that they run, they are similar to Iowa. But Iowa is getting lambasted for being terribly behind the times right now. The difference is Minnesota has better offensive players.

In pass protection, they rarely seem to get in passing situations this year, so it’s kind of hard to analyze.

They allowed a sack on an OLB blitz last week when the TE 88 didn’t recognize the rush during a split zone play action fake. 88 helped the RT when he should have fanned out to the blitzer. They didn’t have their crap together on that play.


THE PASS GAME

* They run a lot of RPO slants, off of the run game threat, including RPO double slants. QB Tanner Morgan is pretty good at making easy reads off of those looks.

* Minnesota hit two slant passes to the TE and Autman-Bell on the second and third plays of the game last week. The one to the WR Autman-Bell was an RPO.

* Their opening script against New Mexico State and Colorado included passes on two or three of their first three or four plays. They seem to like to establish the RPO pass on the opening plays of the opening drive before settling into the run.

* Minnesota didn’t have good downfield threats at wide receiver BEFORE Autman-Bell went down with the injury. Now, without him, their lack of downfield passing explosiveness, and the lack of push-the-ball-downfield quarterback, are the biggest differences between this Gopher team and a team that could seriously challenge in the Big Ten Championship Game.


MINNESOTA PERSONNEL: THE MICRO

I feel like I have a pretty good handle on 21 of Minnesota’s 22 starters. But the 22nd starter, the most important one, the QB,

QB TANNER MORGAN 6-2, 215, Union, Ky.
* Was a low three-star recruit, ranked No. 5 in Kentucky. Had offers from Cincinnati and Louisville.
* His sixth season, fourth year as the starter.
* He seemed like an excellent, rising prospect as a sophomore. But his sizzle diminished after offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca left for Penn State in 2020.

Ciarrocca was fired at Penn State after one year. Ciarrocca spent 2021 as an analyst at West Virginia, and returned to Minnesota this season. The Gophers fired Mike Sanford after two years as OC and QB coach in order to make room for Ciarrocca.

Morgan now seems to be operating better with Ciarrocca back in the fold.

Morgan’s numbers:

* 62 percent career completion percentage.
* Has 30 career wins.

* He completed 66 percent of his passes in 2019 and was Second-Team All-Big Ten that year.

* He is 30-12 as a starter, with 30 wins the most in school history by a QB.

* Has 8,690 passing yards, second most in school history.

* Career .619 completion percentage is first in school history.

* But he is not as good as those numbers.

* Last year: Completed 59 percent of his passes, averaging 157 yards passing per game with 10 TDs and nine INTs.

His passing numbers last year (without Ciarrocca):

14-25 for 205 vs Ohio State
112 yards vs Miami of Ohio
164 yards vs Colorado
169 yards vs Bowling Green
20 of 24 for 209 against Nebraska
8 of 12 for 125 yards against Maryland
12 of 17 for 134 yards against Northwestern
183 yards against Iowa
14 of 20 for 196 yards against Indiana
11 of 16 for 199 yards against Wisconsin
8 of 13 for 109 yards in the bowl game against West Virginia

Not a lot of sparkle in those numbers for a guy who was a Davey O’Brien Semifinalist as a sophomore in 2019.

* Three TD passes last week.

* Ciarrocca says Morgan is playing with great anticipation.

* The Ciarocca offense doesn’t ask Morgan to do things outside of his lane, outside of his skill set. I can see why Morgan’s completion percentage suffered while Ciarocca was away. He’s limited.

But Minnesota’s running attack and offensive line are excellent, and the running back is special, and the defense is good, the QB just has to drive the bus. That’s all Ciarocca asks Morgan to do, and Morgan stays in his lane, drives the speed limit, uses his blinker, checks his blind spot.

* He will pat the ball and stare down receivers. That SHOULD give safeties a chance to get a step on the ball here and there if your safeties are experienced, smart and good. Michigan State isn’t strong there, although Kendell Brooks can unload.

- 3-6 early 2Q vs Colorado: telegraphed a 10-yard slot out and should have been intercepted by an undercutting DB in the flat.

+ 39-yard TD pass to Autman-Bell on a deep shot down the right sideline last week vs press.

+ Nice touch pass of 9 yards to Clay Geary in the back corner from the far hash for a TD.

* Lots of RPO slants

* They will ride the mesh point between QB and RB kind of a long time while reading RPO keys, not as long as Wake Forest, but sometimes kind of long.

+ Throws decently well when rolling to his right, whether escaping or off a designed boot. But he’s not real natural doing it.

+ On time with dig route to the slot receiver (Michael Brown-Stephens) on the second play of the game against New Mexico State, caught at 15 yards, gain of 27.

* When they do pass it, it’s a lot of ball control passing. It’s RPO, one read, slant. Or play action boot (which he doesn’t do real well), one read, throw. They don’t ask him to sit in the pocket and make three reads.

* If you can get him to third-and-long in the red zone, that’s when he will struggle to find someone and maybe force a pass.

= Didn’t look completely comfortable on third-and-six in the red zone against New Mexico State, patting the ball, stepping up in the pocket and then finding a wide open TE behind the LBs because a LB messed up like MSU’s did a couple of times last week.


(QB Cole Kramer, 6-1, 205, R-Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.)
* Saw action in the first three games during mop-up time and completed at least one pass in each game. Was 3-of-3 last season.
* Was a low three-star recruit, ranked No. 3 in Minnesota.


GAME WITHIN THE GAME

* An example of Minnesota being well tied-together: When Minnesota saw New Mexico State outnumbered to the strong side, Minnesota checks and runs an RPO to that side, with the handoff sewn in.

The super sixth-year QB doesn’t have to worry whether the super sixth-year RB sees it the same way and hears it correctly. They KNOW that each other sees it the same way, and their communication is exact. When it’s time to get out of one play and into a better play, the experience shows, and then the RB has plus talent to amplify it.

Outside zone to the strong side, outnumbered side, went for about 20 yards.


RUNNING BACKS

RB 24 MOHAMED IBRAHIM (5-10, 210, 6-Sr., Baltimore, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel)


* Was a 5.7 three-star recruit, ranked No. 13 in Maryland and No. 34 RB.

* He also had offers from Iowa, Kentucky, West Virginia and MAC schools.

* He will be the best player on the field, Saturday.

* Averaging 154 yards rushing per game and 6.9 per carry.

* Can skitter and scamper and then real good burst through the line or when turning the corner. Excellent balance, tenacity and toughness to break tackles and keep churning.

* The first tackler hasn’t brought him down very often in the first three games, or last year in the opener against Ohio State.

* He has four career 200-yard rushing games.

* 23 rushes 202 yards 3 TDs vs Colorado last week.

* 19 carries for 177 yards in the first half last week.

* Torn achilles in 2021 season opener against Ohio State.

* Great balance through contact for extra yards.

* Very, very good at picking his way and jostling and finding daylight on those inside and outside zone plays. While he is shifting and hunting, he is also picking up speed, gaining footage, setting up blocks and mystifying tacklers.

* It’s hard to put a good hit on him because he’s shifty and quick while eating up those yards.

* It’s hard to stop him for less than 3 yards on a run.

* Picked up a third-and-21 with an inside run against a light box for a gain of 34. 60 C got out to the MLB.

* Rushed 11 times for 100 yards in the firs tquarter against Colorado.

* In 2018, he rushed for 1,160 yards as a freshman.

* in 2020, he was Big Ten Running Back of the Year with 1,067 yards, 15 TDs.

* Last year, he had rushed 30 times for 163 yards and two TDs against Ohio State before leaving the game in the third quarter with a season-ending injury.

* Where the rubber meets the road, if MSU’s MLB plays like he did last week, it’s going to be hard to prevent this RB from moving the chains. The MLB is so important in run defense. Everyone is important. But if you’re uninstinctive and downstream and lacking pop anywhere in the front six or seven, this Gopher run offense will find you and take advantage.

The Michigan State safeties will need to support the run big-time, which can open up some windows deep for play-action, but that’s the dice Michigan State is going to have to roll.

Minnesota does a lot of RPO read and play-action, but not usually with the intent of going deep. Almost never with the intent of going deep, thus far this year.


RB 3 Trey Potts (5-11, 210, R-Jr., Williamsport, Pa.)

* Was a 5.6 three star recruit, ranked No. 13 in Pennsylvania and No. 48 at RB.

* Also had offers from Rutgers, Virginia, Syracuse.

* Potts is kind of an Elijah Collins type of guy. He cleans up in mop up duty but is a pretty good reliever when Ibrahim needs a blow. Potts gets quality playing time and reps.

* Played in only five games last year, started four, rushed for 552 yards and six TDs, averaging 110 yards rushing per game before going down with an injury.

* 17 rushes for 89 yards against NMSU.

* 10 rushes for 79 yards against Western Illinois.

* 13 rushes for 51 yards against Colorado.


WIDE RECEIVERS

The Skinny:
Without Autman-Bell, this is not a strength. It wasn’t a strength before he became injured.

*Chris Autman-Bell was lost last week to a torn ACL. He had receptions in 41 straight games.

He led the team in catches last year, although only with 36.

“He’s one of the most (integral) parts to what we do and how we do it, on and off the field,” Fleck said. “One of the best people, but no matter what, we are trained to Row The Boat.”


22 WR MICHAEL BROWN-STEPHENS (5-11, 195, R-Jr., Springfield, Ohio)
* Was a low 5.5 three-star recruit, ranked No. 54 in Ohio.

* Is Minnesota’s next leading pass catcher among WRs, behind Autman-Bell, with 8 receptions.

* Not much of an opinion on this guy.

* 17.8 yards per catch, 1 TD, long of 35 yards.

+ Dig route from the slot for 27 yards vs New Mexico State.

* 23 catches for 392 yards last year with 1 TD


5 WR DYLAN WRIGHT (6-3, 210, R-Jr., West Mesquite, Texas)

* Transfer from Texas A&M.

* Was a four-star, Top 100 recruit, ranked No. 13 in Texas.

* At Texas A&M, he played in three games and then redshirted as a freshman. Played in five games in 2020. I don’t think he caught a pass.

* 4 catches this year, 58 yards with a long of 20.

* 18 catches for 365 yards last year (20.3 per catch).

+ Really nice leaping 17-yard TD late in the 1H last week. Good pass, dropped in the bucket against off coverage, jump ball to the back shoulder. Nice turn, pirouette to get the foot down. That made it 35-0 at the half.

+ Tunnel screen for about five yards in the red zone against New Mexico State.

* If anyone has a chance to blow up with Autman-Bell out, I would think it would be this guy. But Brown-Stephens and the tight end, Spann-Ford, have been Morgan’s more favored secondary targets.


8 WR Clay Geary (5-10, 200, 6-Sr., Lakeville, Minn.)

* Former walk-on.

* 4 catches, 73 yards with a long of 26.

* 8-yard TD pass last week from left hash to right corner. Smash/seven combination.

9 Daniel Jackson (6-0, 200, Jr., Kansas City)

* 2 catches on the season.

* Had a catch for 8 yards on a tunnel screen last week.

* RPO slant caught at 10 yards and 9 yards after the catch.


TIGHT ENDS

The Skinny: No. 88 is a solid, all-around TE.

88 TE BREVIN SPANN-FORD (6-7, 270, R-Sr., St. Cloud, Minn.)

* Was a 5.6 three-star TE, ranked No. 2 in Minnesota.

* With Autman-Bell gone, he is their leading pass catcher with 8 receptions for 127 yards, with a long of 45. 1 TD.

* 23 catches for 296 yards last year with 1 TD.

* Does a decent job of turning his hips to get a seal when run blocking the back side.

* A little awkward, which is understandable with all that height.

* Had a pass bounce off his hands and shoulder pads for an INT against Colorado. The pass was thrown slightly behind him.

+ Ibrahim gain of 7 on a man iso, second quarter. 88 was a little awkward with the block, not a cruncher but he got it done

+ Decent job with 10 yard crossing route late in the 1H last week, crossed into the zone and sat down and Morgan met him with a high feed.

* If you set a shoulder into him, you can move him off the line a little bit. A good, stout d-end can buckle him as a blocker. Bogle will stalemate him. MSU’s other d-ends not quite stout enough to buckle him right now.

+ 13 yard reception on double slant route on the second play of the game last week.


TE 87 Nick Kallerup (6-5, 270, R-Jr., Wayzata, Minn.)

* Was a no-star recruit. presumably a walk-on.

* 1 catch for 16 yards on the year.

- Didn’t get a seal block on the back side of a zone away from him, allowed DE of Colorado to slant inside and get to the RB for no gain on a play late in the 1Q.



OFFENSIVE LINE

The Skinny: Very good at C, very good at RG/RT. They all work well together. Left tackle has some developing to do. The line graduated four excellent players, but the replacements are quality with the C an all-star.

LT 69 AIREONTAE ERSERY (6-6, 325, R-Soph., Kansas City)

* 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 17 in Missouri, No. 64 OT.

* Spencer Brown type in pass protection. Sometimes I think he’s a little better than Spencer, sometimes I don’t.

* Believe it or not, a guy for New Mexico State had a decent duck and rip pass rush move. Ersery handled it well. Not as good as Windmon’s, but Ersery has seen that curveball before.

+ Real nice job with combo block out to LB on an inside zone on third and three for a gain of 9 yards on the opening drive against Colorado. Good quickness to get out to the LB at the last instant and Ibrahim trusted the clearing would be there when he got there. He accelerated to it and 69 came off onto the LB at the right moment.

* Gets a little awkward at times, over his skis. Missed a block on an inside zone late in the first half last week and Ibrahim was stopped for a loss.

- Got two-gapped and disengaged by Colorado DE who made the tackle for a gain of 3 on Potts late in the 1H when the LG and C had dominated and the run should have went for more.


LG 65 AXEL RUSCHMEYER (6-4, 305, 6th-Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.)

* No-Star recruit, presumably a walk-on.

* 12 career starts.

* Left last week’s game with an apparent injury in the first half.

* Also left the season opener against New Mexico State with an undisclosed injury and did not return.


LG 66 Nathan Boe (6-5, 300, R-Sr., Lakeville, Minn.)

* Was a low 5.5 three-star. Unranked by Rivals.com. Had offers from MAC schools.

* Replaced Ruschmeyer late in the 1Q last week

* Gets low and drives his feet well.

* Looked quick getting out to LB level and erasing the LB on an outside zone for an 18-yard TD, RB broke three tackles in barreling into the end zone to go up 21-0.



C 60 JOHN MICHAEL SCHMITZ (6-4, 320, 6-Sr., Flossmoor, Ill.)

* Was a low 5.5 three-star recruit, unranked by Rivals.com. Had MAC offers.

* Second-team All-Big Ten (coaches) last year.

* Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2020.

* He moves really well for 320. I wouldn’t have thought he weighs that much with the way he can get out and reach block, and turn his hips and feet to seal.

+ Good job getting out to MLB on a third and four gain of 9 by Ibrahim on a wide zone.

+ Quick in getting to double teams, laterally.

++ C/LG double teams were dominant against Colorado.

+ They gained 4 yards on a third-and-1 QB sneak behind him last week. He plowed.


RG 76 CHUCK FILIAGA 6-6, 330, Gr., Aledo, Texas

* Transfer from Michigan

* Was a Top 250 four-star recruit, ranked No. 23 in Texas and No. 175 in the nation.

* Started 11 games at Michigan.

* Powerful with same foot/same shoulder blow on the 5-yard TD run in the first quarter last week.

* Good job combo blocking out to the LB on the first play of Minnesota’s fourth drive vs Colorado. Simple, seamless, effective. Gain of 4.

* Good job double-teaming with RT 77 on a duo run for an easy 3-yard TD run for Ibrahim on the opening drive last week.


RT 77 QUINN CARROLL 6-6, 310, Gr., Edina, Minn

* Transfer from Notre Dame.

* Was a Top 100 four-star recruit, ranked No. 68 in the country.

* Played in 14 games at Notre Dame in three seasons but did not earn a start.

+ Good combo block out to LB on Ibrahim 10 yard run in 1Q.

- Made a false step on a wide zone and allowed a TFL, loss of 4 in the 1Q.

+ Moves well in pass defense, with good balance, gets out quickly to protect against the outside speed rush while having the bend to counter back inside.

* Mediocre strength against a tough, two-gapping d-end. Khris Bogle will be able to long-arm him and set the edge on zone plays to the right when Bogle is in there.


* RG/RT double team destroyed 275-pound DT Justin Jackson of Colorado on a third-and-3 duo run for a 5-yard TD run to give MInnesota a 7-0 lead on the opening possession.


THE 411 ON GOPHER DEFENSE

* Remember that stuff Dantonio used to say about “playing square”? These guys play square.

The linebacker spacing is good, they don’t overlap or over-pursue, they are good at using hands to shed blocks, and they do it with pretty quick feet. They pursue with good angles to leverage the ball back to the help, whether it’s the linebacker, the nickel or the safeties.

* They were one of the best in the nation last year in total defense but only had one player make third team All Big Ten (d-lineman, graduated), and two guys made HM All-Big Ten, a graduated safety and returning MLB Mariano Sori-Marin.

That’s why I call them a no-name defense. But they are good individually and I’d say they are very good collectively. They don’t have great pass rushers, but the rest of it is square and stout.

* Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi likes to send early-down blitzes, especially the first play of a drive.

* None of their d-line regular graded above 69 percent in pass rush by PFF against Colorado.

* On defense they play with excellent togetherness and group enthusiasm. They celebrate as one, and they are energetic when it comes to communication and situational awareness.

When your offense fails on third down, their defensive players all raise their fists to indicate fourth down like puppy dogs wagging their tales.

They play as one and I don’t see any athletic weaknesses out there like you used to see with Minnesota and tier-three Big Ten teams because they are not a tier three Big Ten team anymore.

* On third-down passing situations, they like to play a deep five-man shell with the other six crowding the line of scrimmage, and you don’t know which of the six are rushing. Sometimes only three are rushing. Even with a three-man rush, they still created an overload on the Colorado left tackle and back-up DE Danny Stiggow got a sack out of it last week.

* In pass defense, they play a lot of deep zones. Between the 20-yard lines, they will give you the 8 to 12 yard out and some hooks and curls to the inside, if you are patient enough to take it and accurate enough to complete passes without penalties or dropped passes.

But they don’t sit in that shell all day every day.

They will send blitzes, such as corner blitzes, and rotate cover-three zone behind it, kind of like Narduzzi used to do - some pressure but with a safety net built behind it.

* Like any good defense, they CAN mix up the coverages. On third-and-nine, they went press, cover-one, blitz to end New Mexico State’s third drive. Just to work on it. It looked functional.


DEFENSIVE LINE

The Skinny: They’ve got sturdy guys. Not as sturdy as Washington.

DE 8 THOMAS RUSH (6-3, 250, R-Sr., Marysville, Ohio)
* Second-year starter.

* Was a three-star recruit, ranked No. 52 in Ohio, played linebacker in high school at 205 pounds. Had MAC offers.

+ Decent speed to the outside, and an even better job maintaining speed and balance at the junction point

* Stand-up defensive end. Jeff Pietrowski type, but stronger.


DE 97 JALEN LOGAN-REDDING 6-4, 275, R-Soph.

* Three-star recruit ranked No. 16 in Missouri. Had offers from Missouri, Kansas, Purdue and the like.

* Michigan State could use a guy like this.

+ Plays the run extremely well.

+ Looks solid at point of attack against outside zone, getting penetration when one-gapping, setting the edge. That’s what he does best. He will clog up an outside zone to his side.

* Usually plays to the field.

+ Consistently did a good job last week of moving OTs off the line of scrimmage, setting the edge on outside runs.


1 DT TRILL CARTER (6-2, 300, R-Jr., Leesburg, Ga.)

* Three-star recruit, ranked No. 81 in Georgia. Also had offers from Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryladn, UNC, South Carolina, Ga Tech and others, but it’s unclear how hard each of those schools went after him.

* Three technique DT.

* Not bad vs a double team on the first play of Colorado’s third drive.

* Decent quickness as DT on third down running the hoop. Kind of squatty.

+ Firm against double team on fourth-and-one in the 3Q last week.

* They will occasionally mix in some one-gapping with a LB blitz, and it’s hard to run on them when they do that.


DT 93 KYLER BAUGH (6-2, 300, Sr., Talihina, Okla.)

* Transfer from Houston Baptist.

* Not great against double-teams.

* One technique (nose guard) DT.


DE 17 Jah Joyner (6-5, 250, R-Soph., Danbury, Conn.)

* Designated pass rusher. Better than Brandon Wright, so far this year.

+ Pretty good bull rush pressure late in the 1H vs a bad Colorado right tackle.

* Decent speed rusher.


DL 96 Logan Richter (6-4, 325, R-Jr., Perham, Minn.)
* No opinion.

DE 99 Lorenza Surgers (6-5, 275, Gr., Cary, NC)

* Transfer from Vanderbilt.
* Sack against Colorado.
* A little awkward.

DE 92 Danny Striggow (6-5, 250, R-Soph., Long Lake, Minn.)

* Had a sack and a hurry in nine pass rush snaps. Came untouched from the blind side, didn’t beat anyone. The pressure came due to sliding the protection to the right, when the overload on that side ended up dropping into coverage. Good defensive scheming for what amounted to a three man rush. Minnesota showed six at the line of scrimmage on second-and-10 and dropped three of those six, and one of the three still managed to come untouched.

LINEBACKERS
The Skinny: Good and smart at the LB level

MLB 55 MARIANO SORI-MARIN (6-3, 245, Sr., Mokena, Ill.)

* Was a low 5.5 three-star recruit, unranked.

* HM All-Big Ten last year.

* Rugged guy who has grown an inch since high school

* Does a good job starting, stopping, fending off blocks and surging to the ball.

* Good sideline to sideline. Smart, physical. He’s a leader. Leads the communication. Michigan State needs a guy like this right now.

* He is kind of a Max Bullough type, but not as good. But he’s good.

* If Michigan State is winning up front against the Minnesota d-line, 55 is the type of guy who will limit the gain. And his wing men at LB and nickel back are fast and capable too, as are the safeties.


LB 14 BRAELEN OLIVER (6-0, 230, R-Sr., Douglasville, Ga.)

* Was a 5.5 low three star recruit, unranked. Had MAC offers and offers from Duke and Arkansas State and Colorado.

* Started seven games last year.

* Good quickness in breaking on the ball in zone defense. Good job reading the route (probably from film study) and making his break.

* Quick feet, quicker than Cal Haladay at the same position.

* A sign of program maturity, this guy redshirted, waited his turn and is now starting and playing quality, smart football.


NB 11 MICHAEL DIXON 6-2, 210, Jr. Statesboro, Ga.

* Was a 5.6 three-star recruit, ranked No. 90 in Georgia and No. 43 at safety.

* First-year starter

* Has grown an inch since high school.

* Runs really well, effective blitzer, smooth stride.

* Uses his hands well to shed blocks, and sees backfield flow, two things that Ben VanSumeren is struggling with between the tackles right now, and in alley pursuit.

* Colorado tried to beat Dixon with a flea flicker, releasing the man Dixon was covering with a late wheel, but Dixon covered it pretty well for an INC.



(NB 22 Ryan Stapp, 6-0, 175, Jr., College Station, Texas)

* He looks smaller than 6-0, and not all that quick.

* He comes in on passing downs. If you can isolate him on your best receiver, go to town. But it’s usually zone and he usually has help. He might be a weakness.


(LB 15 Donald Willis, 6-2, 220, R-Jr., Garfield Heights, Ohio)

* No opinion.



PASS DEFENSE

* They play off-coverage zones, but they are coiled, smart and break on the ball on time, and arrive at the reception area on time for the tackle and sometimes the pass break-up, reminding me of Iowa a little bit in that way. It’s a sticky zone. Not as good as some of the top Iowa zones, and not as good as Indiana in 2020, but extremely functional.


CORNERBACKS:

CB 4 TERRELL SMITH (6-1, 215, 5-Sr., Snellville, Ga.)

* Started seven games last year then missed the last portion of the season with an injury.

* Another five-year program guy who waited his turn and is playing veteran football.

GAME WITHIN THE GAME PART II

Smith on a corner blitz forced a fumble with a sack, sloppy play by Colorado. The cool and impressive thing about that play is that I’m pretty sure the blitz was an automatic based on Colorado’s formation (confirmed by great communication).

Colorado had two WRs to the right, and the TE to the left. The CB, No. 4, stayed on the TE side rather than going “corners over” to the two-WR side.

When the CB, Smith, stayed on the non-WR side, a lot of hand signals and communication commenced. He was blitzing. There were not WRs to his side, so it had all the looks of a blitz automatic.

With him blitzing, the d-line morphed to one-gapping. If the CB is blitzing, he has an edge gap, so the DE could cross face of the offensive tackle and press the B-gap, and so on down the line.

He blitzed, the RB didn’t block him, sack, fumble, Minnesota recovers at the 11-yard line, already up 7-0 and Colorado was in the process of getting TKOed early.

The communication, 11 defenders with one brain, and excitedly relaying the plan to one another, was … something that Michigan State isn’t very good at doing right now.


CB 5 JUSTIN WALLEY (5-11, 185, Soph. D’Iberville, Miss.)

* Three-star recruit, ranked No. 9 in Mississippi and No. 56 at CB.

* Started six games last year as a true freshman.

- missed a tackle on a hitch in the 1Q against Colorado.

* Has a good reputation as a rising young player.


SAFETIES

The Skinny: Smart, solid, Veterans, Square.

S 27 TYLER NUBIN (6-2, 210, Sr., St. Charles, Ill.)

* Four-star recruit, ranked No. 4 in Illinois and No. 25 at safety.

* Spring commitment. Had offers from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee and others.

* He’s the only four-star recruit signed by Minnesota that I found in the starting lineup.

* Honorable mention All-Big Ten last year.

* Good tackler.

* Good job closing the cover-two window on a cover-two hole pass attempt INC last week with CB 4 Terrell Smith.



S 23 JORDEN HOWDEN (6-0, 210, R-Sr., San Diego/Desert Pines, Nev., High School)

Field Safety

* Has grown two inches since high school. I don’t know if Minnesota is inflating the size of these guys, but I’m going by their heights in the Rivals.com database.

* Was a no-star recruit. I can’t find him on the Minnesota Rivals.com signing list. He must have been a walk-on, but I don’t have time to research it. But Minnesota gets this no-star guy from Nevada and he starts as a true freshman. With 32 starts he returns for his extra COVID year. This is a unique, unique roster.

* 32 career starts.

* Supports the run with good leverage to his help.

* Smart and quick in supporting with leverage on swing passes.


DB 7 Beanie Bishop

* Good open-field tackle on third down last week.


SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker Matthew Trickett was 17 of 25 last year. Was 1 of 4 from 50 yards are longer. Transfer from Kent State.

Punter is averaging 33.3 yards per punt. He is a weakness, if you can make him punt. He has only punted three times this year in three games.

Return man: Quentin Redding (5-7, 150, R-Fr., Menominee Falls, Wis.) doesn't look special.

4.5 yards per punt return.

22.5 yards per kickoff return with a long of 23.


ADD IT ALL UP

To win this game, Michigan State is going to need to get it done with explosive plays. I think Minnesota will “win” the majority of the snaps in this game, maybe the vast majority. Michigan State will need to equalize that edge with big plays. It’s not a comfortable situation, and maybe even a low-odds situation, but that’s the way I see it, based on what we’ve seen from each team thus far this year. Things can change when the season goes from non-conference to Big Ten. But that’s what the eyeball test tells me at this point, with the asterisk that Minnesota has been beating up lightweights.

Minnesota doesn’t have great WRs or the pass game philosophy to take advantag of MSU’s pass defense blemishes. But, overall, you can just trust Minnesota to be better-organized and less mistake-prone on defense than Michigan State. As for game-changing offensive talent, Michigan State has an edge with wide receiver play and had better get amplified results in that area to keep up with whatever Ibrahim does.

Why would you pick Michigan State? Because Michigan State won a lot of games last year, has a bigger name, and no one is used to thinking of Minnesota as a quality program. That’s why. If that’s enough for you.

Minnesota’s o-line looked very good in the first three games. But realize I would have said the same thing about MSU’s o-line after the first two weak opponents, and I did say it. But the Michigan State o-line didn’t look as good as Minnesota’s, when punching down at weaklings. For Michigan State to win this game, the Gopher o-line needs to be not quite as good as I think it is and the Michigan State run defense, especially at linebacker, needs to be better than I think it is.

Minnesota’s roster is packed with seniors, fifth-year seniors and key sixth-year seniors. The togetherness seems strong. Like I said last week, if Michigan State wins this game, it probably won’t get the credit it deserves. A win by Michigan State in this game will look very good as the season progresses. It will be very difficult to achieve, and in order to do it, the Spartans will need to have erased those negative inches Tucker talked about, and will need to have improved immensely from week three to week four, just a few days after it seemed Michigan State REGRESSED from weeks two to week three.

Michigan State needs a win to restore faith that this isn’t going to be a step-backward season. The opponent has no intentions of cooperating. That stuff about relentlessness and keep chopping? It needs to be in full effect on Saturday.

The Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Washington

PRE-SNAP READ: Michigan State vs Washington

By Jim Comparoni
Publisher, SpartanMag.com



Seattle - Mel Tucker always talks about having a sense of urgency and attention to detail. This week, he ratcheted those things up a few more notches.

Watching Washington’s game film, and the difficult challenge that QB Michael Pennix Jr. will present, is requiring Michigan State’s operation to hit mid-season form right now if the Spartans want to come back from Seattle with a 3-0 record.

Washington is 2-0 after a pair of blowout victories over a decent mid-major in Kent State and a weak FCS team in Portland State. They have looked better than Michigan State on offense, but worse than Michigan State on defense.

If Michigan State is truly a Top 10 team, the Spartans should be able to find a way to win this game, maybe with increasing muscle and flair. But anything less than a Top 25 level performance, such as the way the Spartans played in the first two games of the season, will land Michigan State in trouble in this game.


FINAL ANALYSIS FIRST

Washington had one of the worst offenses in the country last year, averaging fewer than 22 points per game. They were atrocious. They fired their head coach, changed the scheme, welcomed in a host of transfers, including QB Pennix.

At this time last year, in this space, I wrote that little-known QB Bailey Zappie, of Western Kentucky, looked like an NFL QB to my untrained eye, the type of guy a team like the Detroit Lions should take in the late rounds if he were still available.

Zappie came out of nowhere to become a Fourth Round draft pick of the New England Patriots.

A few weeks later, I said little-known former walk-on QB Aidan O’Connell of Purdue looked like an NFL QB to my untrained eye.

O’Connell came out of nowhere to become one of the top QB prospects for the 2023 Draft.

Michael Pennix isn’t coming out of nowhere. He made a name for himself at Indiana, despite a rash of injuries.

Michigan State fans remember him from the day he completed 20 straight passes in a losing effort at Spartan Stadium in 2019. College football fans remember him diving for the pylon for a successful 2-point conversion in beating Penn State in 2020 for an Indiana team which became a surprise Top 20 unit.

He was pretty good then. Kind of streaky. Talented.

He is better now.

I realize he played against two week opponents in the first two games of this season, and he has yet, in his career, to really light it up against a quality opponent. But that time is coming.

When I heard he had transferred to Washington, I was like, ‘Okay, no big deal.’ But after watching him play in the first two games, I understand Tucker’s ratcheted up urgency and attention to detail this week. Pennix looks like an NFL quarterback to me, if he can stay healthy.

The Pennix that I’m seeing right now, I’d like to see what he would do with Ohio State’s receivers and run game, and defense. I am starting to think he would be just as effective as CJ Stroud, but without as much of the QB run threat (only because Pennix has to be careful with that stuff, with his history of injuries).

He has arm strength, quick release, good accuracy with all of the throws, reads the whole feel and makes quick decisions. That was against the middling defenses of the first two weeks, but still, there are some things that translate.

If he plays the way he has been playing and Payton Thorne plays the way he has been playing, then Washington will have an edge at the QB position in this game, perhaps a big edge. The home team with a big edge at QB? Add those two things together and you can understand why Vegas has moved Washington to a 3-point favorite.

“He is decisive,” said Fox college football commentator Petros Papadakis during Washington’s 45-20 victory over Kent State in week one. “I knew he was a strong player. I did not know he would be this efficient and look that comfortable in Deboer’s offense.”

I agree.

“There is nowhere that Pennix can’t and won’t throw the ball,” Papadakis said. “He knows exactly where he wants to go with the ball. Smooth. Good release, gets that ball out perfectly.”

There are some Michigan State fans who read Pre-Snap Read who get angry when I’m complimentary of an opponent. I don’t understand that psychology. Would you rather I berate the opponent, fluff up the home team and wave pom-pons and tell you there is no way this upstart Washington team can possibly hang with your beloved Spartans?

I realize that’s only a small percentage of the readers, but if you can’t handle it, go ahead and stop reading now.

Washington looks to me like an all-around quality of team somewhere between Maryland and Purdue. If Washington beats Michigan State and does it convincingly, then obviously my opinion of the Huskies would elevate Washington somewhere between Purdue and Penn State. That’s a possibility.

I think MSU’s pass defense will go from being bad last year to pretty good this year. I still think that, with the real tests pending.

The tests are coming a week earlier than I would have expected. Washington is going to cut Michigan State through the air.

I think you can have a “pretty good” pass defense and still give up 310-plus yards to good quarterbacks and good passing attacks. Washington has a better-than-good quarterback and a good passing attack.

In macro terms, I would say Wisconsin is a Grade B+ offense vs what I would call a Michigan State Grade B- defense.

I would say Michigan State is a grade B-minus offense, going against a Grade C+ Washington defense.

How does that shake out?

Maybe the Michigan State defense will prove to be better than a B- defense. We’ll learn as we go. If Michigan State holds Pennix below 280 yards passing, I would have to see how it was done but I would think that would be worthy of an upgrade from B- to a B defense. Yes, I would boost MSU’s defensive grade for the season if the Spartans can “hold” Pennix to 280 yards passing.

Before we get into the task of stopping or containing Pennix and his receivers, let’s compare the other areas of Washington’s team to the team you know well.


APPLES TO APPLES

* Michigan State has a good receiving corps. I would say Washington’s is just as good, maybe even a tad better.

The expectation is that Jayden Reed will play. Michigan State needs him to play. Payton Thorne needs his huckleberry, and the Michigan State return units need the explosiveness that Reed can provide.

This game could turn on punt return or kick return. Washington has a very good returner as well, in Michigan transfer Giles Jackson.

* At the tight end position, Washington has better blockers but Michigan State has better receivers.

* MSU’s running backs are better than Washington’s.

* I would give Michigan State’s offensive line the edge over Washington’s. Washington’s o-line is solid, competent and capable, but I thought MSU’s offensive line was one of the more pleasant surprises of the first two weeks. I’m not saying the Michigan State o-line was great, but I liked the way they handled their business with inside zone runs, and I like the way they are working together in pass protection. So far, so good (against mid-major competition).

* Washington’s defensive line interior is good. If Jacob Slade is healthy and right, and so is Simeon Barrow, I give Michigan State the edge here. Both teams have good depth inside.

* Washington’s defensive ends are good. I give Michigan State the edge with Jacoby Windmon and his surprising play-making ability. But Washington’s starting two defensive ends (and Washington’s first defensive end off the bench) have been better than MSU’s other starting defensive end, Jeff Pietrowski.

* UW’s back seven isn’t nearly as hard-hitting and tough as MSU’s. Whereas Michigan State hit harder and tougher as the WMU game progressed, UW’s back seven became a little more arm-tackleish in the second half against KSU.

In the first two games, Washington has not tackled well at linebacker or in the secondary. In fact, their defensive linemen have allowed a couple of sacks to slip away, too.

Meanwhile, Michigan State’s defense has become a hard-hitting group. They know where to be, they have big frames and good quickness, and they have been trained to arrive with evil intentions. That part of the Mel Tucker program is reaching maturity, even if all of the players don’t look and run exactly the way he wants them to look and run. But they’re pretty good for now. And the hard-hitting nature of MSU’s defense could be the intangible component that leads Michigan State out of this thing with a victory.

The hard-hitting defense has created turnovers, and has made teams want to quit. Akron quit against Michigan State. I don’t think Washington will quit, but it’s going to be interesting to see if Michigan State can land some of the blows on Washington receivers that it landed on Akron receivers, and what the response and reaction will be.

On the negative side, those Washington receivers are going to get fed the ball. Pennix will get it to them on time and on target. He will roll up numbers and they will roll up reception numbers.

Michigan State has done a good job of tackling receivers on the spot and limiting yards after the catch. Michigan State has been able to do this, largely, because it has mostly played zone defense. It’s easier to limit yards after the catch when playing zone than man-to-man. But receivers usually have an easier time getting open against zone. So there’s a cost/benefit analysis to which coverage you play. The goal is to play both extremely well, hit hard in zone, and cover tightly in man, mix them up and delay the QB’s ability to make reads. Michigan State is working toward that end.

* Getting back to the apples: MSU’s inside linebackers are better than Washington’s by a healthy margin.

* MSU’s slot (nickel) linebacker is different than Washington’s. I haven’t decided which team I think is better off in this area. Chester Kimbrough has been good in coverage and productive as a pass rusher. His tackling has been decent.

Washington uses a bigger guy in the slot, 6-foot-3, 221-pound junior Dominique Hampton.

Hampton survives against the pass, and plays the run better than Kimbrough.

Michigan State likes to try to establish the run. Washington’s use of a big guy at slot linebacker is more of a Midwestern approach than a West Coast approach. But it matches up well against a team that wants to run the ball.

I think Michigan State will establish the run and have success on the ground due to some occasional slippage elsewhere for Washington, but this bigger guy Hampton at nickel gives Washington a decent face card in trying to stop the run. He isn’t the MAIN element in stopping the run, but he’s a plus for Washington in run defense.

* MSU’s cornerbacks are better than Washington’s, especially after Washington’s best cornerback, Jordan Perryman, went down with a non-contact injury late in the Kent State game.

* MSU’s safeties are better than Washington’s, even with Xavier Henderson expected to be out. Kendell Brooks has been a pleasant surprise, and is a big piece of MSU’s hard-hitting identity.

With Angelo Grose, so far, so good. He has improved his deep ball judgement and ability to make plays on the ball.

MSU’s safeties are much better tacklers than Washington’s. Whether or not Michigan State can get out of this game without its safeties being exposed in coverage is one of the biggest x-factors of this game.

Brooks and Grose are about to be tested by extreme heat from Pennix and his deep cast of receivers. Brooks and Grose have been okay so far, but our outlook on them could change based on how Saturday unfolds.

I honestly am not sure how the Washington pass game vs Michigan State safeties (and pass defense in general) will end up. I know how part of it will go. There will parts and portions of the game in which Washington carves up MSU’s pass defense, churns out first downs, and scores points.

Michigan State will try to be tough on defense in the red zone. That was a strength for Michigan State last year.

Washington has used some effective, quirky little pass routes to finish in the red zone this year. I’m sure they have more. You might think you can stiffen up in the red zone and force field goals, but right about the time you think you can do that, Washington changes the questions with some quirky little pass routes that make it just that much harder to track them.

I think Washington will score points on Michigan State through the air. I think they will score plenty. What I don’t know is whether they will be able to get the big play at the key junctures, as I think there’s a good chance this game will be a Pac 12 type of shootout. Michigan State might need to score 30 to win.

* At QB, I’m expecting Washington to have the edge.


APPLES TO ORANGES


Now in terms of football matchups, we all know that MSU’s offensive line does not play against Washington’s offensive line.

Washington’s offensive line, of course, plays against MSU’s defensive front.

So how do these key matchups look?

Well, the age old truism of football is that nothing can stop a quality passing attack better than a quality pass rush.

Michigan State has had a quality pass rush thus far this season, led by Windmon. Michigan State ranks No. 1 in the nation in sacks.

Can Michigan State maintain heat and pressure this week against a better offensive front?

This is one of the key, key questions about this game. Can the Michigan State pass rush affect Pennix?

It had better. If it doesn’t, if Pennix consistently has time to throw, then he’ll get deep into the 300s in passing yardage.


KEYS TO THE GAME

Any fool in any game can say the keys to this game are:

1. Getting heat on the opposing QB.

2. Establishing the run.

3. Getting quality play from QB Payton Thorne.

Duh.

What about the micro analysis within those keys to the game? That’s where we try to make the Pre-Snap Read worth reading.


I. MSU’S PASS RUSH VS UW PASS PROTECTION:


Washington’s offensive tackles looks solid to me. Their entire starting offensive line, individually and collectively, looks solid to me.

During SpartanMag LIVE!, one of our valued posters at SpartanMag.com, Mr. Strategic, mentioned that he felt the center position was a weakness for Washington.

That made me pause because Mr. Strategic really knows offensive line play.

I had studied the first half of the Washington vs Kent State game at that point, but I hadn’t watched the second half.

On the flight to Seattle, I studied the second half and I think I saw what Mr. Strategic saw.

I suspect that he saw No. 78 playing center rather than No. 74.

No. 74 is their starter. Luciano is his name. He’s solid, and nicely athletic.

No. 78 came off the bench to start the second half. He was not solid. The Kent State nose guard knocked him back when two-gapping several times.

I didn’t ask Mr. Strategic, but I think that must have been what he saw when watching the game live, and maybe hadn’t watched the first half as closely.

Anyway, I respect what Mr. Strategic said, but I do not think they have a problem at center when No. 74 Luciano is in the game.


Pass protection looks good at the tackle positions, but they haven’t seen a guy quite like Windmon yet. Meanwhile, Khris Bogle has done a decent job with wiry strength as a long-arm guy, who occasionally disengages and affects the QB.

MSU’s four-man stunt games in passing situations has been good. I haven’t seen Washington face a good stunting d-line yet. Their ability to filter out those stunts will be a key to Pennix’s night.

Here’s the x-factor in this pass rush vs pass pro matchup:

* Washington is comfortable playing with two tight ends. They often keep one or even BOTH tight ends for max pro (maximum protection).

The second play of the second half against lowly Kent State, with a 31-13 lead, Washington had two TEs on the field and kept both in for pass pro, and threw a swing pass to the RB Davis for a gain of 8.

That’s a Lloyd Carr type of approach to things. They don’t stick with that type of max pro all that often, but it’s obviously a comfortable staple in their playbook. When used properly, max pro can be a thorn in the paw to a previously effective pass rush.

IF Michigan State starts having success with its pass rush, UW has a lot of pages in its playbook to operate with extra protection from tight ends.

The drawback for UW when going with max pro is that they will only have three receivers out in the pattern. Sometimes it’s hard to find open receivers when three are working against seven. But if it’s a quick-hitting play to a RB, those windows can be open.

That’s fine on first down. But if it’s third-and-long, and UW has max pro in, and Pennix has time to throw, but he has three receivers working against six or seven in coverage … well, that’s where the football rubber meets the road. That’s football. That’s why we watch. And no, I don’t have the answer as to how those micro episodes will turn out.

My hunch is that you don’t want to give Pennix time to throw even if he only has ONE receiver out on a route. I’m exaggerating, but my point is that he is good at making reads, good at moving in the pocket to buy time, and good at throwing on the run in either direction, with arm strength and accuracy. You don’t want him to have time.


II. MSU’s RUN GAME v WASHINGTON’S RUN DEFENSE


Let’s back up for a moment. I think Washington is going to have a lot of success through the air in the first half. Michigan State will probably play zone, feel things out, and Washington will probably pick it apart.

Even if Michigan State tries to tighten up and play man, and bring blitzes, I think Washington will have the answers through the air.

Whether or not Washington can punch it in, in the red zone, is a big key. That’s something Michigan couldn’t do last year, and it cost them the game.

Washington is going to move the ball. Washington is going to score points, in my opinion (unless the Michigan State defense is better than I think it is. I think MSU’s defense is pretty good, B- good, but I think Washington can score 24 on a B-minus defense. They can score 30 if the team with the B- defense isn’t getting enough complementary help from its offense).

So that brings us to MSU’s run game.

Ground offense has been a strength for Michigan State. Not a superpower strength, but a nice, old fashioned, reliable, respectable strength. I think there’s a chance it can get even better from here.

Washington’s run defense is a little harder to trust. Washington has some big, tough, rotund defensive tackles. They have 10 guys in the playing group on the defensive line. They just keep sending them out there, and they are all pretty solid. Not all of them are fast. But they are solid.

However, Kent State rushed for 147 yards against Washington (3.8 per carry). 47 of those net yards came from the QB. Kent State has a Payton Thorne type of runner at QB. Not the greatest runner, but he’s timely with his choices and can slip quick for nice gainers here and there.

Kent State found success with the QB run game, off of zone read keepers.

Meanwhile, Washington had spats of missed tackles. They don’t tackle well.

My guy Paul K likes to point out that when I discover a weakness for a team in one game, often times that’s no longer a weakness by the time that opponent faces Michigan State because the opponent realizes it’s a weakness, they work on it, and they improve.

Well, Washington had better improve its tackling.

There were a few times when leverage and containment got a little swirly too.

Now, Washington will be facing a quality run game from a quality Big Ten team. Washington coach Kalen Deboer made an interesting comment in his press conference this week. He described Michigan State as having put together a good all-weather offense (or words to that affect). He said he recognizes that type of football from his time as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan.

Translation: He respects MSU’s ability to pound the rock, Big Ten style. And he knows his team needed to work on meeting that challenge head-up, this week.

He’s a respected, hard-nose, no-nonsense ball coach. Can he get this Washington defense, with tough, rotund defensive tackles, and questionable tacklers at linebacker and safety, whipped together enough to contain an Michigan State running attack that might be a little better than anyone expected?

That’s a good question. That’s a key question. That’s why these are the keys to the game.

The thing that impressed me the most about Michigan State’s ground game, and maybe the thing that impressed me the most about MSU’s operation in general last week, was the Spartans’ success with inside zone runs.

Michigan State began the game against Akron with inside zone runs on the first three plays of the game, for gains of 4, 3 and 19.

Michigan State rushed for 260 yards against Akron, and did it almost entire with inside zone runs.

All of those 1-yard rushing touchdowns, and all of those running plays from the 10-yard line in, were inside zones. Very vanilla. Strong vanilla. Deliciously vanilla. Effective vanilla. Manly vanilla.

Michigan State was solid with its double-team blocks across the board with its inside zone run, whether it was Samac/Carrick, or Samac/Duplain, or Duplain/Horst, or Carrick/Brown. All of them made dents, when it was their time to make a dent.

The fourth-down stoppage was a negative. I’m still not entirely sure what went wrong there. No one was defeated. It’s not like anyone physically or athletically missed a block. I haven’t talked to Michigan State coaches or players about that play specifically, but my slightly educated guess is that tight end Tyler Hunt and right tackle Spencer Brown simply didn’t interpret the Akron front the same way on that play. It looked like Hunt thought Brown was going to do one thing, but he did another thing. And Brown thought Hunt was going to do one thing, but it seemed like Hunt was kind of out to try.

I’m not sure whose fault it was. Doesn’t matter. Needs to get cleaned up.

If you commit a mistake and it costs you a possession in this game against Washington, you might be chasing those 7 points the rest of the night.


**

As for Washington’s ability to play vs inside zone running attacks, well, Kent State sent a fair share of those type of plays at the Huskies. Washington was pretty good, most of the time, against those double teams. But not all of their deep well of d-tackles were great against Kent State double teams on all plays. And Michigan State will send a tougher batch of double-teams at them than Kent State did.

And that’s not all.

Here’s where the ice cream changes flavors. Michigan State was vanilla with its run game against Akron. And the inside zone will undoubtedly remain a bread-and-butter play for the Spartans, if I can mix food metaphors. But I expect Michigan State to present Washington’s semi-suspect run defense with more than just inside zone plays.

I suspect there will be counters, powers and other snacks that we haven’t seen Michigan State deploy a ton. I’m not talking about major tricks. These will be subtle things that most observers won’t notice. But I think Michigan State could be packing for some quality blunt force trauma run game.

I’ve been impressed by how well tied-together MSU’s blocking has been in its first two games. The combo blocks coming out of the double teams, when one of the linemen heads out to a linebacker, has been pretty tidy this year.

And I’ve been impressed with some aspects of pass protection, such as a few plays when left guard Duplain has fanned out to take the end man in pass pro while left tackle Horst hinged back inside. It was like those guys did a man-to-man basketball switch for pass pro. That’s next-level stuff, and they did it seamlessly, with each man improving the angle he had to work with, because of this scheme.

Simply put, this o-line looks like it’s starting to operation with a single brain (most of the time). That’s what you want. This o-line is further along at this point in September than either of the two previous years. Chris Kapolivic has had these guys long enough that we’re starting to see the combination of physicality AND brainwork start to gain more traction.

Last year, I thought the o-line peaked in terms of run blocking during the Michigan game. Physical, smart, working as one, getting stronger as the game wore on. (And then Horst didn’t play the rest of the season, causing AJ Arcuri to go to LT, and Kevin Jarvis to move from RG to RT, and causing Blake Beuter to start at RG. The o-line was pretty good, for the most part, for the rest of the season, but not as good as it was against Michigan.

That being said, there are signs that the o-line is further along at this point in the season than in Kapilovic’s first two year as o-line coach.

One thing to consider when watching Saturday’s game: Michigan State might not have immediate success on the ground. Washington’s d-tackles are sturdy. Their d-ends are excitable. But over the course of time, despite Washington’s depth on the d-line, there’s a chance Michigan State can exact a wearing-down process on the Huskies’ defensive front.

I don’t know if Washington lost interest or took the foot off the pedal, but their starters on defense weren’t as sharp against the run midway through the second half of the Kent State game. Maybe they lost focus. But I’ll be interested to see if Michigan State starts having more success on the ground as the game progresses into the second half. If Michigan State doesn’t have immediate success on the ground, keep chopping.


III. THE PAYTON THORNE FACTOR


No one is as primed and eager to play this game as Payton Thorne. He had huge plans for this season, as a team and an individual, and although the team has won, he has not played as well as he imagined.

I thought Thorne was going to rebound with a big game last week against Akron. It didn’t quite happen.

Now in this game, it will be interesting to see how much Michigan State uses the QB run element. Washington did not defend the QB run well last week. If you scout Michigan State, you might not think the QB run element is a big part of what they do. But will that change this week? Will Michigan State employ MORE QB run game this week while probing a potential weakness of the Washington defense? I think we will see more of the QB run game. Of course that comes with a risk, but Michigan State is out there to get to 3-0 by any means necessary.

As for Thorne’s passing game, I haven’t been all that impressed with Washington’s pass defense. There have been times when safety Asa Turner has jumped routes and come up with a pair of interceptions. Washington will mix zone and man like most defenses. Their zone work doesn’t seem overly tricky. Their man-to-man doesn’t seem to be impressively physical or fast.

The Washington pass rush is decent, not great.

A good passing attack SHOULD be able to move the ball through the air against Washington. Is Michigan State a quality passing attack? With a healthy Jayden Reed and an on-point Payton Thorne, yes Michigan State is a quality passing attack. But we’ve only seen that in spurts this year. It needs to be a consistent flow in this game.

Washington had trouble covering Kent State WR Dante Cephas. Cephas might be the best WR in the MAC. He had 82 catches last year and was first-team All-MAC.

Cephas had six catches for 105 yards (17.5 per) against Washington. His long gainer was 33 yards.

Washington put its best CB on him, No. 1, Jordan Perryman, most of the time. Perryman had trouble covering him. And now Perryman’s availability is in question. Two days after the injury, Deboer and his offensive coordinator said Perryman was day-to-day. So there’s a chance he could be back for this game.

“He’s more day to day,” co-defensive coordinator William Inge said on Sept. 5. “He has an upper leg injury. We’re going to be planning for him to be all right.”

Added DeBoer: “We are hoping that he plays. It’s definitely not anything that seems to be long-term. He’ll be working day-to-day through it.”

With or without Perryman on the field. Thorne will have open receivers. And I expect that he will have time to throw. His accuracy needs to improve, and he’s working on it. His risk-taking needs to chill down a little bit, especially on first down, and he knows it.

Pennix is likely going to be quite productive. It’s on Thorne to match that challenge not only with his arm, but also with his legs, and also in continuing to get Michigan State into the right play, which has mostly been a strength this year.


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WASHINGTON


COACH: Kalen Deboer, 47, born in South Dakota, played college ball at the University of Sioux Falls.

He had a 67-3 record as head coach at Sioux Falls from 2005 to 2009, including three NAIA National Championships.

He then bounced around as an offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan (2014-16), Fresno State and Indiana (2019).

He was the OC when Pennix completed all those consecutive passes against Michigan State in 2019. (Michigan State won that game on a late field goal, and then added a defensive touchdown on the game’s final play to win, 40-31.

Pennix ended up 33 of 42 for 286 yards that day. DeBoer’s relationship with Pennix led Pennix to transfer to Washington from Indiana after DeBoer got the head coaching job in Seattle. Not the greatest vote of confidence in current Indiana head coach Tom Allen, but that’s another story.

DeBoer was then hired as head coach at Fresno State when Fresno’s successful head coach, Jeff Tedford, stepped down due to health reasons.

DeBoer went 3-3 during the COVID season, and 9-3 last year, making him a candidate for the Washington job.

* Washington is 2-0 after a 45-20 victory over Kent State, and 52-6 over Portland State.

(Kent State last last week, 33-3, at Oklahoma).

Last year, Kent State went 7-7, with losses to Texas A&M (41-10), Iowa (30-7) and Maryland (37-16). Kent State also lost to Western Michigan, 64-31.

Kent State won a Division Championship in the MAC, then lost to Rocky Lombardi and Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game, 41-23, and then lost to Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 52-38.

So defense wasn’t exactly Kent State’s calling card last year. Or thus far this year.

So those of you who want me to quit comparing Pennix to CJ Stroud have a valid point. We’ll see how Pennix does on Saturday against a hard-hitting Michigan State defense which is rushing the passer well and (so far) has had good “same-pageness” in pass defense.

* In week one, Portland State lost at San Jose State, 21-17.

Last year, Portland State was 5-6 including a 49-35 loss at Hawaii and a 44-24 loss at Washington State.

By my estimation, MSU’s opposition this year has been a little stronger than Washington’s.

That being said, Washington’s first seven drives against Kent State went like this:

4 plays 37 yards, TD.

10 plays, 90 yards, TD.

10 plays, 75 yards, TD.

10 plays, 83 yards, TD.

11 plays, 52 yards, FG.

Second Half:

12 plays, 74 yards, TD.

3 plays, punt:

(KSU finally forced a punt in the last minute of the third quarter. Pennix hooked up with McMillan for a 20-yard pass to the wide side of the field and McMillan went high and wide for a picturesque catch, but he didn’t get a foot down in-bounds. So even their one offensive failure ended with a talent flash from the thrower and receiver)

next drive: 4 plays, 55 yards, TD.

* Pennix was 19 of 28 for 230 yards in the first half.

**

The Venue: Husky Stadium is one of the more unique stadiums in college football. Like most great stadiums in college football, it was built in the 1920s (1920 to be exact).

It seats 70,083. They have had a lot of empty seats in the first two games but it will be full and rocking on Saturday.

With two covered grandstands (fit for rain), the crowd noise bounces off the ceilings of those grandstands and angles right onto the field. Husky Stadium is regarded as one of the loudest stadiums in the country, for that reason.

The stadium is on the banks of Lake Washington. Some tailgates arrive via boat, added to the unique charm of the stadium.

When Washington scores a touchdown, they a siren goes off. When I was a kid, I seem to remember the siren going on and on and on like a tornado drill siren. But recently it seems a little bit more like a whimsical clown-with-a-squirting-daisy, mocking type of siren. Maybe I’m just old with a difference sense of humor. But the siren can get on your nerves if Washington is scoring and scoring and scoring.



TWO UW TRAITS: OFFENSE


1. Washington is a modern, conventional, pistol, three-WR, spread offense, similar to Michigan State.

They were one of the rare non-spread teams last year, and it failed.

Washington is also similar to Michigan State in that they will occasionally put the QB under center. And they want to establish a physical run game, occasionally with two tight ends on the field (“12 personnel).

Like Michigan State, they will run some uptempo, but they aren’t married to it.

* In the red zone, they like to run tricky little double moves for their inside receivers. Little return routes, stop-and-go routes. 11-yard TD to McMillan on a jerk route, which is a stop-and-go.

McMillan, as the No. 3 receiver, ran a short out then a pivot double move to the post. It was a tricky, squiggly little route. Pennix was into his release before he came out of his break. Pretty impressive little pass play there. However, it was made ultra easy against a Kent State 8-man pass defense with two safeties inexplicably dropping deep into the end zone.

How to stop these? It’s a team game. Pressure the QB, hands up in the passing lane, quick feet in coverage, smart help from the safety.

But realize that the routes that UW runs in the red zone are different than what they run between the 20s. And they are tough to cover when Pennix and his receivers are on the same page.

2. Washington began both halves against Kent State in two tight end/pistol. Will Michigan State match this with its base 4-2-5 with Chester Kimbrough at nickel back? Or will Michigan State match UW’s two-TE personnel with a third linebacker?

Darius Snow would have been the candidate to slide over to the nickel slot area as a third LB and a true 4-3 in these situations. He slid to nickel a few times in the first half against WMU. In the second half against WMU, Aaron Brulé played a few snaps as a nickel as a third linebacker in a 4-3, next to Cal Haladay and Ben VanSumeren.

If UW comes out in a two-TE formation, I would guess that Michigan State would match it with Brulé starting at nickel instead of Kimbrough. Just an educated guess.

How long will UW stay with 12 personnel (one back and two tight ends)? Not long. But they mix it in throughout the game, while going with today’s standard of three WRs more often, which means Kimbrough is going to play the majority of the snaps at nickel back. But don’t be surprised if Brulé starts, in order to match two-TE personnel.


WASHINGTON DEFENSE: WHAT WORKED AGAINST IT?


* Washington’s defensive line has some solid, rotund figures but they don’t have good closing speed. A QB with some escape talent can get away in order to continue to look downfield, or to tuck and run. Thorne’s legs can be a weapon in this game, on designed keepers, zone read keepers, or scrambles.

* Kent State had some gains on QB keepers off the zone read option, exploiting poor containment discipline and leverage by Washington’s edge defenders. We can assume UW has been drilling this since then. Secondly, how much does Michigan State want Payton Thorne out there carrying the mail?

Plays that worked:

* 3rd-and—5: Slant to Cephas vs Perryman in man-to-man.

* 3-10 in the third quarter: KSU ran a power read keeper for the QB, a quick-hitting keeper all the way, gained 14.

* 3-15: vs press, two deep man, KSU ran a counter read option vs a light box and sprang the RB into the secondary. Both UW safeties missed a tackle on this play and he picked up 18 on third-and-15 with a run play. That was the second straight third-and-long that KSU converted on the ground.

* 3-5 throwback sneak route to the TE for about 20 yards found an opening in the UW zone. Eye control in the back seven hasn’t been great for UW, kind of like Michigan State two years ago. Michigan State is better at it now, but these are the type of things that can take longer for a new head coach to establish.



KENT STATE’S ATTEMPTED DEFENSIVE ADJUSTMENT VS PENNIX


Early in the second half, Kent State tried to go with a three-man rush while covering with eight. Even with Kent State’s nose guard beating UW’s second-string center, Kent State wasn’t able to cover five receivers while dropping eight into coverage. It culminated with a 13-yard TD pass to 11 McMillan.


McMillan, as the No. 3 receiver, ran a short out then a pivot double move to the post. It was a tricky, squiggly little route. Pennix was into his release before he came out of his break. Pretty impressive little pass play there. However, it was made ultra easy against a Kent State 8-man pass defense with two safeties inexplicably dropping deep into the end zone.



ONE MORE THING ABOUT THE KENT STATE GAM


* Kent State had a TD pass in the red zone taken off the board due to pass interference. Kind of a questionable call. Replays didn’t really show anything egregious. Without that flag, it would have been 28-14. KSU settled for a field goal and 28-10. Giles Jackson fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Kent State gained a first down and kicked a field goal to make it 28-13.



THE MICOR: WASHINGTON PERSONNEL


Comparing last year’s dreadful Washington offense to this year. Fox color commentator Petros Papadakis:

“This is the exact opposite of that. They have a purpose, an identity. Everyone knowing what their job is, a lot of people touching the ball.

“They have created depth where it didn’t exist, at receiver, they have depth on the offensive line that they feel good about and at running back.”

Washington has quietly recruited pretty well. Their recruiting class rankings since 2018
2021: No. 42
2020: No. 19
2019: No. 16
2018: No. 15

During that same timeframe, MSU’s recruiting classes looked like this:

2021: No. 45
2020: No. 36
2019: No. 32
2018: No. 26

Of course Michigan State has changed out many of the recruits in those classes with transfers, but let the record show that Washington has recruited better than Michigan State, for what it’s worth, since 2018.


INSIDE WASHINGTON’S PERSONNEL


* Go over the 14 or 15 guys in the offensive playing group. The opposition was not good, but I didn’t see an individual weakness in this group.


9 MICHAEL PENNIX JR (6-3, 213, Jr., Tampa)

* Transfer from Indiana.
* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 55 in Florida and No. 14 at pro style QB.
* Could not stay healthy in any of his three seasons at Indiana. Suffered season-ending injuries in two of his four seasons.
* At Indiana: 59.4 pct, 35 TDs, 15 INTs, 4,197 yards.
* He played in only 20 games at Indiana.

* 26 of 39 for 345 vs KSU with four TDs no INTs, four carries 27 yards

* 20 of 27 for 337 with 2 TDs 1 INT vs Portland State

* The one INT vs Portland State was a high throw on a 15-yard crossing route.

* His most famed game at Indiana was when he dove for the pylon in OT to beat Penn State, 36-35 during the COVID season.

Pennix’s numbers weren’t great in that game: 19 of 36 for 170.

* Pennix still has some mobility. He doesn’t want to tuck and run, but he did it a couple of times on third down against KSU.

Plus and Minus Notes, mostly from the KSU game:

+ vs cover two, smash concept, pump fake to the flat, opened up the cover two hole, threw a completion for 20 yards.

Makes good use of those pump fakes to manipulate the safety. He makes a read, pumps, and knows where he going with the ball, and it’s usually on a line and accurate to good receivers who are good at getting separation and are part of a well-conceived pass scheme. That part reminds me of Purdue last year.

++ 32-yard TD pass to WR (3) Taj Davis on an out route from the left hash to the far flag. Rope with touch. Excellent pass. Froze the safety with a pump.

- Threw behind WR (1) Odunze on a square-in, in the red zone, vs KSU. INC.

+ 15-yard pass to Odunze into cover two hole early in the 2H against an 8-man coverage with a later rusher.

He had all kinds of time against the three man rush, flushed gently to the left to buy more time and found the open window, then rarely misses with the pass. He connected with this pass while moving to his left.

* He has mobility, accuracy, strong arm, and he can read/process. He can throw while moving to the left or right, very well.

- 1-10 at +23: KSU came with a five man rush, plus a spy. The spy, at LB level, batted down a pass, a slant intended for an outside receiver. Receiver Odunze was wide open.

+ Deep post to McMillan for 44 yards early in the 4Q.

+ Great throw rolling to his right, his non-throwing hand, throwing on the run, perfect touch to McMillan down the right sideline, rolling right to escape a five-man blitz. McMillan, the middle receiver in a trips formation, ran an out-and-up (more of an old-school out-and-up than a wheel). Deadly accurate.


QB 5 DYLAN MORRIS (6-0, 197, Soph., Puyallup, Wash.)

* Back-up QB. He’s notable due to Pennix’s history of injuries.

* Is not impressive. Noah Kim looks better right now.

- Sacked on his first snap vs KSU.

+ Complete to Taj Davis on a post, thrown a little low.

* Started 11 game last year. Led the Pac-12 in interceptions.

* HM All-PAC 12 in 2020 in the short season.

* Last year; Completed 60 percent of his passes with 14 TDs, 12 INTs, 2,458 yards.


QB Sam Huard (6-2, 193, Bellevue, Wash.)

* Is a redshirt freshman.

* Was a FIVE-STAR prospect, No. 17 in the country.

* Played 14 snaps this year. I haven’t gotten a good look at him. If something happened to Pennix, I wouldn’t be surprised if Huard got the call over Morris.

* He is 2 of 2 for 24 yards this year.




RUNNING BACKS
* Decent group. Dependable. Nothing scary.

21 Wayne Taulapapa, averaging 75 yards a game and 6.6 per carry
22 Cam Davis, averaging 44 yards a game and 4.9 per carry.



21 RB WAYNE TAULAPAPA (5-11, 207, Sr., Honolulu)

* Transfer from Virginia. Started 27 games at Virginia.

* Was a two-star recruit.

* Voted captain at UW.

* 11 carries 57 yards vs KSU.

* 12 carries 94 yards vs Portland State.

* Rushed 62 times for 324 yards last year, 5.2 per. 1,192 career rushing yards at Virginia.


* Solid ball carrier, nothing spectacular. I wouldn’t say he is better than Eli Collins.

* Fumbled in the 2Q vs Kent State but Washington recovered.

* Played some Wildcat last week, gained 24 on a keeper the first time they showed it. Ran it to the TE (88) side. 88, the TE, is a plus blocker. They go to 88’s side in short yardage. Does Michigan State have a d-end who can bash 88 at the point of attack against the run? I don’t think so. We’ll learn more about MSU’s point-of-attack run defense in those situations in this game, and it will be telling regarding MSU’s competency in that department heading into the Minnesota game.


22 RB Cameron Davis (6-0, 208, Soph., Upland, Calif.)

* Four-star recruit, ranked No. 207 in the nation and No. 32 in California.

* Jordon Simmons type

* I think this guy is a little better than Taulapapa. Davis started the second half against KSU.

+ Swing pass in the red zone vs zone defense, lowered his shoulder for extra yardage for 12 yards. Then carried twice for 6 and 1 (TD) yard to finish the drive.

* Their fastest running back.

* Rushed 8 times for 18 yards vs KSU. Rushed 10 times for 70 yards against Portland State, with a long of 14.

* Rushed for 308 yards last year (3.6 per carry)


8 RB/WR Will Nixon (5-11, 192, R-Fr., Waco, Texas)

* Transfer from Nebraska.

* Was a three-star recruit, ranked No. 86 in Texas.

* (Played WR at Nebraska UW likes him as a RB)

* Flare reception for gain of 7.

+ Gain of 10 early in the 2H vs KSU on an inside zone. UW was in a 1 by 3 formation with five blockers. KSU had five in the box and covered with six.

When UW had five vs five in the box, they checked to a run, got a hat on a hat, plus WR Odunze blocked the safety, Nixon did a good job using that block and, bang, it’s 10 yards against a MAC defense. Someone has to defeat a block, but no one did.

UW will check to the run, and do it well, if you leave the box light.


WASHINGTON PASS GAME IN A NUTSHELL


* They have good receivers who run good routes as part of good schematic concepts and Pennix finds them with catchable passes. They will juice it up with a trick play or two. The run game is just okay.


WASHINGTON RECEIVERS


Leaders:

11 Jalen McMillan 9 catches, 3 TDs, 107 yards per game
0 Giles Jackson, 8 catches, 63 yards per game.
2 Ja’Lynn Polk, 6 catches, 46 yards per game
1 Rome Odunze, 7 catches, 84 yards per game. (Did not play last week).

RB 22 Cam Davis, 4 catches, 18 yards per game.

* McMillan and Odunze were big-time recruits who are really starting to come into their own. Jackson was a four-star. Taj Davis is good.

How do they compare to Jayden Reed, Trey Mosley, Keon Coleman and Germie Bernard?

It's close. Probably an edge to Washington. A big game from Coleman could change my viewpoint. It's possible. But he and Thorne need to continue to find the right pag

A closer look:

1 WR ROME ODUNZE (6-3, 201, Soph., Las Vegas)


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 239 in the nation and No. 2 in Nevada.

* 41 catches last year

* Did not play last week as a “health precaution” but was in uniform. He is expected to play this week.

* Big, physical WR, good blocker.

+ Good route on 14-yard out vs KSU two-deep zone.

+ Will use him in goal line situations as a pull blocker in super power.

+ 4 yard TD on a return route to the outside, Penix on time, accurate, TD vs KSU, made it 28-7.

They like these short, tight, change-of-direction routes in the red zone. Hard to cover.

+ Gain of 12 on a third-and-four slant. Pennix looked him up the way Thorne looks up Jayden Reed.

+ 8 yard catch on third-and-six, Pennix with excellent velocity on that one.



11 WR JALEN McMILLAN (6-1, 186, Soph, Fresno)


* Was a four-star, Top 100 recruit, ranked No. 84 in the nation and No. 8 in California.

* 5 catches for 87 yards vs KSU

* 4 catches foe 127 including 84 yard Td vs Portland state

* 2021: 39 catches last year.

+ Gain of 19 vs KSU on a crossing route vs zone. Pretty pass from Pennix.

* First deep shot vs KSU. UW was in in an unbalanced formation, kept the TE in to protect, Deep Inc to mcMillan.

+ 13-yard TD pass on a squiggly double move to the post.

+ 84-yard TD vs Portland State. Lined up as the inside receiver, seam route, ran past a slow Portland State safety. UW will try to isolate 11 on Kendell Brooks with similar plays.


3 WR TAJ DAVIS (6-2, 193, Soph, Upland, Calif)


* Three-star recxruit, ranked No. 50 in California.

* 26 catches last year.

+ 32 yard TD pass vs KSU on a post corner route. Post corner vs man to man, very good route. Good nod to the post then broke off his route sharply. Great pass from Pennix from the left hash to the far right pylon.

+ Drew pass interference on a deep hitch and go vs KSU in the 1Q.


0 WR GILES JACKSON (5-9, 185, Jr, Antioch, Calif)



* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 233 in the nation, signed with Michigan.

* Quick feet as a punt and kickoff returner.

* Quick feet utilized on a jet pop pass for 6 yards vs KSU.

* 6 catches vs Portland State, 2 catches vs KSU

* 8 catches last season. Is being used more this year.

+ Gain of 15 on third and eight vs KSU. Really good route combination. Trips to left. Jackson was the middle receiver of the three. Jackson and the outside WR ran a high low to the sideline. The inside receiver ran a rub for each of them in what amounted to a sail flood.


2 WR Ja’Lynn Polk (6-2, 199, R-Fr., Lufkin, Tex)

* Texas Tech transfer.

+ Comeback vs bailing zone at 15 yards, for a gain of 20, early in the 2H against KSU. Pennix hit him like candy from a baby.


TIGHT ENDS


* They have three good tight ends. They don’t feature them in the pass game a lot, but they are there if needed. They use two- and even three-TE sets regularly. These guys get playing time and they do their job:


83 TE Devin Culp (6-4, 239, Jr., Spokane)

* Was a high 5.7 three star recruit, ranked No. 4 in Washington.

* Maliq Carr type, though not quite as muscular and physical. But he is athletic for a TE.

* He only has two catches for 13 yards (both against Kent State) but he’s a threat.

* 20 catches last year with 1 TD and a long of 33 yards.

- Dropped a pass against KSU on a counter boot drag. Excellent pass on the move by Pennix.

* They went deep to him off a reverse flea flicker, drawing pass interference.


37 TE Jack Westover (6-3, 245, Jr., Bellevue, Wash.)

* Former walk-on.

+ Good insert block on a zone read vs KSU, gain of 5.

* Can really run his feet as a down blocker, quick.


88 TE Quentin Moore ((6-4, 259)

* 2021 juco transfer
* Good run blocker

* One catch 8 yards vs KSU, one catch 5 yards vs Portland State

+ Very good combo and kickout block to spring Talapapa 27-yard TD run against KSU.

+ Very good block on a pair of goal line powers vs KSU as the right TE.


OFFENSIVE LINE



* Aside from the second-string C who started the second half against Kent State, I didn’t see any negatives from any of these five players, and saw some positives. Looks like a solid group.

And when I look deeper, I’m not surprised to find that three of the five starters were four-star recruits.



LT 55 TROY FAUTANU 6-4, 312, Soph. Henderson Nev


* 5.7 three-star recruit ranked No. 3 in Nevada.

* 3 starts last year.

* Looks decent. Jacoby Windmon might be able to beat him once or twice, but I don’t think 55 is out of his league. Not a guy that Windmon would beat all day every day, like the Western Michigan guy. But I could be wrong. We’ll see. Key matchup.

55 will get help from tight ends.


LG 71 NATE KALEPO 6-6, 316, Soph, Renton, Wash.


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 2 in Washington.

* First year starter

+ Good job coming off DT to pick up blitzing LB on third down vs KSU in 1Q. Good awareness and feet.

+ Good mobility as a pull blocker on power.

+ Good combo block on a zone read vs KSU, gain of 5. Quick getting out to the LB after establishing the initial double team.

* This guy is 6-6? Looks like a future NFL guy to me.



C 74 COREY LUCIANO 6-4, 294, Sr., juco transfer Danville, Calif.


* first year starter.

+ Good block on a third-and-one inside zone in the first quarter against KSU. Got into the nose guard, turned him with help from a chip from the left guard. Tackled him, might have gotten away with holding.

* (Played RG in the 2H vs KSU)

* Came back to start again at C vs Portland State. Ran behind him for gain of 10 on inside zone. He turned the NG pretty well.


[C 78 Matteo Mele, 6-6, 300, Jr., Tucson, Ariz.)


* Started second half against KSU and did not play well.


- Got pressed backward by two-gapping 330-pound CJ West of KSU pretty badly on the third play of the second half, and West made the tackle for a loss of 1.


* If 78 is at center, MSU’s d-tackle of choice should be able to put a dent in him.



RG 66 HENRY BAINIVALU 6-7, 307, Sr, Sammamish, Wash


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 5 in Washington. Also visited Oregon.

+ Good pop on double-team during Taulapapa’s 27-yard TD run vs KSU

* three year starter.

* HM All Pac 12 in 2020.

* Good quickness as a puller on power.

* Good footwork when pulling and turning the corner. Mobile. At 6-7? That’s a pro prospect, too.


RT 73 ROGER ROSENGARTEN 6-6, 303, R-Fr, Highland Ranch Colo.


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 2 in Colorado.

+ Good down block on goal line power vs KSU. Looks very capable.

+ Pretty good lateral movement in pass pro.



WASHINGTON DEFENSE



* They have spats of shaky tackling, and their run fits and leverage get a little leaky a times. Not all the time. Just here and there. Michigan State MUST capitalize on those “here and theres.”


GAME WITHIN THE GAME


This game could become a shootout. Michigan State needs to keep up on the scoreboard. Michigan State isn’t as sharp in the passing game as Washington. Michigan State NEEDS to create a big dent with the run game, and UW knows it. Michigan State has been burly in the run game thus far this year. UW will be bent on trying to prove itself as a worthy run-stopping unit. That game within the game, Michigan State’s blunt force football vs UW’s excitement in trying to stop it, will be pivotal and interesting.


WEAKNESSES


* Attack No. 6 in the slot. He’s a big guy. Can he cover well enough? Can you isolate him on Jayden Reed? If not, can he cover Tre Mosley or your tight ends? Test No. 6.

* Go after No. 10 and 29 at cornerback. They will be replacing No. 1.

No. 1 is questionable with an injury. No. 1 is their best CB and he wasn’t all that great. So how good are his replacements? Go find out.


GUESS THE GAMEPLAN



* They are sloppy in their defense of the zone read option. Michigan State runs zone read option maybe a couple of times a game. But will Michigan State run MORE zone read option in this game? The film suggests they should or could. But do you want to expose Thorne to that contact?

In key third down situations, don’t be surprised to see zone read - even on third-and-medium.



DEFENSIVE LINE



* They have several rotund d-linemen, built to two-gap. They occasionally one-gap but aren’t that great at it. Allowed a 7-yard run on an inside zone while one-gapping on a third-and-medium against a bad, weak Portland State team in the 2Q. Probably did Portland State a favor by one-gapping on that play, but UW probably thought they could catch them with a quick-hitting changeup.

* 10 defensive linemen have played 31 or more snaps this year. By comparison, Michigan State has eight defensive linemen who have played 31 or more snaps, and Michigan State is pretty deep on the d-line. Not as deep as Washington, but Washington plays more guys with questionable mobility.

* Their pass rush is respectable but not problematic. If they want to blitz, fine. Eat against their man coverage.


STARTING DTs:

*DT 99 FAATUI TUITELE (6-3, 302, Soph., Honolulu)


* Was a four-star Top 100 recruit, ranked No. 100 and No. 1 in Hawaii by Rivals.com.

* Looks solid. I didn’t happen to see anything spectacular.


* DT 91 TULI LETULIGASENOA (6-1, 307, Jr., Concord, Calif.)


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 145 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 22 in California.

* Plays DE in a 30 front when they go with three down linemen against two-TE personnel.

* Stubby. Mediocre mobility and lateral movement.

* Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 last year. 6.5 TFLs last year, led UW.

- Moved back a yard by a double team on an inside zone, gain of 9 early in the second half.

+ Solid job getting a half yard of penetration on the center, disengaging and making a TFL on a counter play vs KSU in the 3Q.

* Looked okay. Has big accolades but I didn’t necessarily see anything spectacular from him. Maybe I’m underrating No. 91 and 99 inside. They don’t look great, but that doesn’t mean they will be hard to move when Michigan State runs its inside zone right at them. That’s going to be intriguing football when that happens. And can they play hard for all 60 minutes? Maybe not. Maybe that’s why they sub so much.


DEFENSIVE ENDS


DE 3 JEREMIAH MARTIN (6-4, 267, Sr., San Bernardino, Calif.)


* Transfer from Texas A&M.

* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 194 in the country and No. 28 in Califronia.

* Slippery arm over move in run defense for tackle for gain of 1 vs KSU in the first quarter.

+ Solid job taking on lead blocker at POA on a power to his side vs KSU, spilling it to 11.

* Decent with the bull rush. Feet are pretty quick as a stand-up defensive end, and has wiry strength to continue running his feet after engaging.



DE 8 Bralen Trice (6-4, 269, Soph., Phoenix.)


* Listed as an outside LB, but he plays stand-up DE.

* Had a QB pressure in the 2Q against KSU, with a decent outside move, some flexibility and good quickness to close. Good pass rusher for a second-stringer.

+ Pretty good shoulder-club pass rush vs a struggling KSU left tackle, but then Trice got too high and missed the sack.


(DE 58 ZION TUPUOLA-FETUI)

* Torne achilles in April of 2020. Was not himself last year.

+ Slant inside, got a QB pressure/flush against KSU in the third quarter. Not a great move. KSU with decreasing resistance as the second half continued.

* Decent take-off as a stand-up DE.

+ Pretty good wheels. Good lateral quickness to close daylight.

+ Pretty good counter move to the inside to get a pressure/flush early in the 4Q vs KSU but missed the sack.

* He is a better second-string DE than Brandon Wright. Nothing against Wright, but 58 is better.




ARMY OF RESERVES


(DE 0 Sav’ell Smalls, 6-3, 259, Soph., Seattle)

* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 48 in the nation and No. 1 in Washington.

+ Good play on draw, disengage fro KSU left tackle and made the tackle for a gain of line.

- Lost contain on a zone read QB keeper vs KSU. And then did it again.

* Has talent but might be a little unsound in run fits.


(DT 98 KUAO PEIHOPA, 6-3, 304, R-Fr., Makakilo, Hawaii)

* Decent against double-team in the 2Q vs KSU.

* Good against KSU double-teams. MSU’s double-teams will be harder.


(DT 68 Ulumoo Ale, 6-6, 340, Jr., Tacoma)

* OK against double team vs inside zone at the 3-yard line in the 4Q.

* Former offensive lineman. Great size, decent mobility, was banged up in camp.



(90 Voi Tonuufi, 6-1, 258, Soph., South Jordan, Utah)

* Serviceable for a few snaps.



(NG 55 Jacob Bandes, 6-2, 292, Soph., Pittsburg, Calif.)

+ Pretty good arm over vs center for a sack in the red zone vs KSU



LINEBACKERS


* These guys are kind of pedestrian. They tip-toe a little bit, aren’t thumpers, aren’t terribly fast, and I’ve seen them miss a couple of tackles.

11 ILB ALPHONSO TUPUTALA (6-2, 238, Soph., Federal Way, Wash.)


* Was a 5.5 three-star recruit and summer commitment with mid-major offers.

* Early in the game he looked solid all the way around vs the run on a power at him vs KSU in the first half.

* Not the fastest sideline to sideline. Has a Maa Gaoteote type of build and speed. Doesn’t hit as hard.

* Solid vs power again in the 1H after Martin closed in tight and won his collision, combining for a TFL on third down.

- A little hesitant in the hole.

* Not a great tackler.


2 ILB CAM BRIGHT (6-0, 222, Sr., Montgomery, Ala.0



* Transfer from Pitt.

* Former three-star recruit

* Started eight games at Pitt last year.

* Had 20.5 TFLs at Pitt and 182 career tackles.

* Why did he leave Pitt? I don’t know. Maybe he lost his starting job last year.

* He didn’t stand out in the two UW games I watched. Maybe he is having trouble adapting to a two-gap system, similar to the slowness Noah Harvey had in adapting in 2020.

* This guy has been solid in the past. If the light goes on for him, there’s a chance the UW linebacker situation is better than I’m making it out to be at first glance.



THE SECONDARY


Their top CB, No. 1, Jordan Perryman is a question mark after missing last week with a lower body injury. The other guys don’t look great.


CORNERBACKS


23 CB MISHAEL POWELL (6-1, 204, Soph., Seattle)


* Former walk-on, had no offers.

* Started three games last year.

- beaten deep for a 47-yard TD vs KSU. He played outside technique, seemed to think 7 safety (Dominique Hampton) would help to the inside (especially after the No. 2 WR motioned to the other side), but 7 covered no one. From there, 23 didn’t have great make up speed.

+ Pretty solid and energetic in run defense.

- Defensive holding on a fourth down deep ball against Portland State. Not a good look.



1 CB JORDAN PERRYMAN (6-0, 202, Sr., Hanford, Calif)


* Transfer from UC Davis.

* Unranked recruit.

* UW coaches say he had the best camp of an of the DBs.

* Went down with an unknown injury late in the KSU game. Non-contact injury, had to be helped out very gingerly.

* Was first-team All-Big Sky last year.

- Had trouble matching WR Dante Cephas, an All-MAC player, on an over route on third-and-six in the first quarter. Gain of 32. Cephas had 82 catches last year for Kent State. Not the easiest cover.

= Decent coverage on Cephas on a deep route, from press coverage.

- Missed a tackle along the sideline on an out route to Cephas, costing Washington about 12 more yards.

* 3-5: Slant to Cephas vs 1 in man-to-man. Perryman fell when trying to mirror him through traffic.



29 JULIUS IRVIN (6-1, 179, Jr., Anaheim, Calif.)


* Was a four-star, Top 100 recruit, ranked No. 95 in the nation and No. 12 in California.

* Started two games last year. Has been slow to live up to his Top 100 billing.

* The likely starter if Perryman can’t go.

* Started and played 36 snaps last week. PFF graded him as a C in pass defense, 65.1.

* Played some mop up CB against KSU and was flagged for defensive holding.



(10 CB Davon Banks, 5-11, 185, R-Fr., San Jacinto, Calif.)

* Two-star recruit.

* Played 13 snaps last week, might be one of the replacements if Perryman can’t play.

- Portland State burned him with a double pass in the 1Q last week for about 40 yards but it was called back for an illegal shift.



SLOT NICKEL


7 DOMINIQUE HAMPTON (6-3, 221, Jr., Glendale, Ariz.)

* Three-star recruit, 5.5.

* Started three games last year.

* Is a big body to be playing slot nickel. Kind of has Dantonio size for the position. Is he quick enough to play it? Find out.

* They call his position the HUSKY position, not a slot nickel. It’s bigger than a bandit.

* For a big guy, they aren’t afraid to put him in press man-to-man at times. If Michigan State sees that, go ahead and attack him deep. KSU tried once, didn’t connect, but don’t let a guy with that size play press vs your slot WR without testing him deep.

+ KSU tried to go deep to him with a slot fade late in the 3Q. He turned and ran pretty well, covered it, possibly could have gotten flagged for not getting his head around. Was a little awkward at the end of the route, but that’s excusable for a guy with his size.

* good hit early in the KSU game in run support. More physical than Chester Kimbrough in the slot, as he should be with his size.

+ Strong play defeating a WR block and stopping a zone read run in the red zone after the LBs didn’t replace. (Error by the LB. They make sloppy errors in run fits and assignments once in awhile).



SAFETIES

20 ASA TURNER (6-3, 201, Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.)


* Was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 37 in California.

* Guy with the long blondish hair.

* He’s an excitable, run-around guy.

+ INT on first play of the game vs Kent State, rotating up from a two-deep zone.

* Has at least one interception in each of his four seasons at Washington.

* Is not grading out well as a tackler by PFF (26.1, F).

+ INT on third-and-long vs KSU late in the 3q. He was the single safety deep in man-to-man and benefitted from a forced pass.



5 S ALEX COOK (6-1, 196, Sr., Sacramento)


* Was a three-star recruit as a WR.

* Three-year starter.

* deep safety. Right safety. boundary safety.

* Not much of an opinion on him, other than a missed tackle.


6 FS CAMERON WILLIAMS (6-0, 207, Jr., Bakersfield, Calif.)

* Was a three-star recruit.

* Had three starts last year.

- Holding, in pass coverage man to man vs KSU just outside of the red zone.

- Missed a tackle in run defense in the fourth quarter.

* This guy is slowish. Portland State ran No. 7, a decently slippery receiver, right at him and ran by him on a fourth-and-long in the 2Q last week, he was open by a step and a half but was overthrown. No trick play, no hitch-and-go, Williams should have been protecting against the deep ball and he STILL was beaten with ease.



SPECIAL TEAMS


* UW kickoff coverage team seems a little shaky. Allowed a 48-yard return against KSU.

* Giles Jackson fumbled a kickoff return vs KSU. was honorable mention all big ten as a return specialist in 2020

* Their punter is averaging only 39 yards per punt. He has only attempted 3.

If stats hold up, Michigan State could have a nice edge in the net punt game. Must cover Giles Jackson to make it stand up.

* UW’s kicker, Peyton Henry, is 2 of 2 on the year with a couple coming from the 30-39 range.

He has 23 touchbacks this year. I wouldn’t expect much from MSU’s kickoff return team.

He was 11 of 14 last year but only had a long of 38 yards.

He hit a 45-yarder in 2020 and a 49-yarder in 2019. So he is proven.

Give Washington an edge-plus at place kicker, due to MSU’s inexperience at the position.


ADD IT ALL UP


Pressure Pennix. That’s the age-old answer to stopping a very good QB.

Can Michigan State pressure him AND cover tightly in man-to-man?

Can Michigan State pressure him with four? And cover tightly wish six or seven?

We’ll learn a lot about Michigan State and where its pass defense stands after this game.

And we’ll learn a lot about MSU’s running game and whether it can become a weekly menace to opponents with a potentially improving offensive line?

And we’ll learn whether Payton Thorne can climb out of his three-game funk (dating back to the bowl game).

At key points in the game, it will come down to five- and six-man Michigan State pressures backed by man-to-man coverage. It’s a risk/reward situation for Michigan State. It might be the best way to stop Pennix and his receivers, but IF you lose a particular play, it can get out for a long gain vs man-to-man.

Michigan State has played a lot of soft zone thus far this year, challenging WMU and Akron to “go the long way” and “snap it again and again” in order to score. Michigan State has not given up many big plays; the QB draw against man-to-man in the WMU game was somewhat of an outlier, but also an example of how things can get out against blitz man-to-man.

Akron and WMU weren’t good enough to carve and carve and carve against MSU’s zone defenses. But Washington is good enough.

If Michigan State is able to get an edge in the turnover department, a sound running attack would provide a much-needed hammer to build toward victory.

Can Michigan State pound the run for 150-plus yards? UW has a decent, deep defensive line. A lot of interchangeable, functional d-linemen but I don’t see any world-beaters up front. Their linebackers are medicore. It wouldn’t take a great running attack to rush for 150 yards against UW. Michigan State needs to get 175-plus.

If Michigan State wins this game comfortably, don’t slam me and Petros Papadakis for overrating an opponent. Give credit to Michigan State for taking down a solid opponent in a difficult environment.

Potential difference makers:

* There’s a chance UW will be a little less accountable on defense than Michigan State, a little more prone to mistakes.

Washington will pop off some pretty pass plays, but they will earn them.

There’s a chance Michigan State could get some chain-mover gifts against Washington. Enough to turn the game? Maybe no. But Michigan State might need every inch it can get.

* In terms of big play potential in the passing game, both teams have it. In terms of affecting the opponent with the pass rush, Michigan State has the edge there. In terms of reading defenses and delivering sharp, accurate passes, Washington will have the edge there.

* It might not look like it in the final stat sheet, but I expect Michigan State’s pass defense personnel and schemes to be better than Washington’s. It might not look like it because the QB probing MSU’s pass defense will likely be better than the QB probing Washington’s defense.

I don’t mean to criticize Thorne. I think he is a good player, capable of becoming very good. Great kid. I’m just giving the edge to Pennix for now.

At the end of the day, Pennix and his receiving corps seems more consistent and able than MSU’s. Thorne has a chance to change that trend in this game, and Michigan State needs him to.

Michigan State needs its run game to keep chugging. Washington will be a solid obstacle in run defense here and there, but if you keep chopping, there will be slippage in their run defense, especially vs the QB run (unless they have really tightened up that area of their game. Michigan State will test them there).

The Michigan State pass rush vs UW’s pass pro? UW is good in this area, and will use tight ends to help. The pass rush might not be as impactful as some might expect. But if the pass rush is indeed forceful for a third straight week, and if Michigan State continues to hit hard and force turnovers, and it comes with a B+ or better performance from Michigan State, then it could be a constructive day for Michigan State. Those are big ifs. That’s what the regular season is for, after all the talking season ends.

My guess is Pennix will do well, even if MSU's pass rush is pretty good. MSU's pass defense might be pretty good, but it might not look like it in this game. I wouldn't be surprised if Pennix throw for 330-plus. But I wouldn't be surprised if that's not enough. A shootout with both teams scoring in the 30s is a 51 percent possibility in my opinion. Michigan State might have more trouble keeping up, offensively, than Washington.

HOCKEY Can you 'hockey guys' translate recruiting for us?

With the excitement of our new coach, looks like I need to start following hockey recruiting. :) But I don't know what a 3.75, or an '06 recruit means. Can you pin some sort of Primer so we can decipher this, or relate it to Hoops/Football? I'm a throwback from the Mason days, attended the 1984 Frozen Four and have been on the ice in Munn. But never followed hockey recruiting. God help me, but I need some help getting acclimated to your world. Hopefully this would help drive traffic to this board and increase everyone's hockey IQ. I feel like the GIF, not knowing what's coming at me! Thanks a bunch if anyone is able to put something together.
Philadelphia Flyers Hockey GIF
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