The 3-2-1 on MSU for Notre Dame Week
Jim Comparoni | Editor
EAST LANSING | Three things we learned from Tuesday’s Michigan State press conference, two questions heading into Saturday’s game at Notre Dame, and one prediction:
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED:
1. Notre Dame threw deep 20 times against Michigan State the last time these two programs met, in 2013. At least that’s what Mark Dantonio told us during Tuesday’s press conference.
Many of us remember the Irish seemingly abandoning the run, and some parts of their ball-control passing and intermediate passing, in order to jack up an array of 50-50 throws.
Dantonio knew the figure off the top of his head on Tuesday because Michigan State has obviously studied film of that game from three seasons ago in preparation for this year’s meeting, on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium (7:30 p.m., NBC).
The Irish had excellent receivers in 2013, but the deep passes had an air of desperation about them. Three weeks earlier, Western Michigan had employed a similar strategy against Michigan State, with limited success, although WMU kept the game close (26-13).
As the 2013 season unfolded, and Michigan State went the rest of the year without losing, opponents had a terrible time trying to run the ball against that Spartan team. WMU lost confidence in trying to run the ball on opening night, and Notre Dame seemed to as well. But the strategy worked for the Irish, as Michigan State was flagged for downfield penalties on five of those deep-ball pass attempts.
Notre Dame was just 13-of-34 through the air for the day, for 142 yards. But the five penalties, which included four pass interference flags and one downfield holding penalty, contributed to Notre Dame’s three scoring drives in a disputed 17-13 victory over Michigan State.
Michigan State out-gained Notre Dame 254-220 in a defensive battle that day, but the Spartans were penalized 10 times for 115 yards.
Of the 20 deep shots, Notre Dame completed two of them, including a 37-yarder to a youngWill Fuller, who went on to become a first round NFL Draft pick in 2016. The other one was a 24-yarder to then-freshman Corey Robinson.
After that game, Dantonio and then-coordinator Pat Narduzzi said film study revealed that they wouldn’t ask their Spartan defensive backs to defend those deep balls any differently. Michigan State’s DBs continued to be hands-on and combative for the rest of the year, led the nation in pass efficiency defense, won the Rose Bowl, finished ranked No. 3 in the country, with the “No Fly Zone” being a major part of it.
Dantonio studied film from the 2013 game in preparation for this week, probably expects another barrage of deep balls from the Irish, and still feels his DBs did little wrong in that game in 2013.
“From my perspective, we made plays,” Dantonio said.
Darqueze Dennard, who won the Jim Thorpe Award that year and became a first-round NFL Draft pick, was called for holding, and one of the pass interference penalties.
Trae Waynes, who became a first-round pick after the 2014 season, was flagged for two pass interference penalties.
Michigan State coaches argued the calls.
“Flags came out a little bit, but from my perspective, we made plays on the ball,” Dantonio said. “Sometimes those are bang-bang type situations where you're trying to -- everybody's trying to do the right thing. Regardless of what happens, you need to move on and play the next play. I think that's the most important thing. I think we did do a good job of that. We held them to 17 points. That was a positive. So we need to continue to play like we do. We need to be who we are, too. We can't let somebody take us out of who we are.”
Notre Dame has reloaded at wide receiver, following Fuller’s departure. The Irish will attack with 6-foot-4 sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown, a rising star who has 11 catches on the year, two TDs and a long of 49. The Irish like to find him on shallow crossing routes in third down situations, and throw fades to him in the red zone.
Notre Dame also has 5-foot-8 jitterbug CJ Sanders at the wide out position. He has eight catches on the year, including a 25-yarder last week and a pair of TDs.
St. Brown has mismatch ability at WR for Notre Dame.
Quick freshman Kevin Stepherson (6-0, 181, Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in a 4-yard TD catch on an angle route while taking a big hit last week against Nevada. He played in both games despite being one of the six Irish players who were arrested in two separate incidents on Aug. 20. Stepherson was eventually charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Torri Hunter Jr. had four catches for 37 yards in the opening-night loss to Texas, but was knocked out of that game via a blow to the head and a concussion. Hunter, the son of the former Detroit Tiger outfielder of the same name, missed last week’s game against Nevada. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior is back on the depth chart this week, although ND head coachBrian Kelly said Hunter would continue to be evaluated this week in practice.
Hunter had 28 catches a year ago.
Comp’s Takeaway: Dantonio stopped short on Tuesday of criticizing the Big Ten officiating crew who oversaw that game in 2013, but his comments seemed calculated and purposeful. He might have anticipated that there would be questions about the pass interference penalties that were called on a 2013 secondary that proved to be the best in college football. Coaches are known to work the officials from the sidelines prior to kickoff of games. I think Dantonio did a little bit of ref-working for this game through the press conference on Tuesday.
Michigan State isn’t going to change the way it plays. If the Spartans continue to employ press coverage on the corners and get nosy with safeties helping vs. the run, Notre Dame will likely continue to go deep - perhaps more so than any team Michigan State will see all year. MSU will play as it usually does, with a hands-on approach. And Dantonio is on record as saying, indirectly, that they shouldn’t get flagged for it, if the plays look a lot like they did in 2013.
2. Jon Reschke seems to be back in the playing group. He was listed as a co-starter at Sam linebacker prior to the Furman game, but SpartanMaggers knew, via the Bunker message board, the he wasn’t likely to play. We didn’t break the rumor that he was questionable for the game due to an injury, but once it was out, we confirmed it.
This week, Reschke is listed as a second-string ‘star’ linebacker, with recently-activated Ed Davis the No. 2 man at Sam linebacker, behind Chris Frey.
Frey started the Furman game at Sam linebacker, in Reschke’s place.
Jon Reschke should be a proper mood, Saturday.
MSU coaches and captains said, or indicated indirectly, that Reschke would be back for this game. We’ll take them at their word.
When asked about the impact of getting Reschke and Davis back on the field or this game, senior tri-captain Riley Bullough said:
“It means a lot. Those guys are tremendous players and fun guys to have with you on the field. They bring a lot of energy and a lot of excitement to our defense. So to have them back in practice this week and then for the game, I think, is huge for our defense and our team as a whole.”
Comp’s Takeaway: Reschke has the unique ability to play Sam linebacker as well as 'star' linebacker. He is firm enough to take on tight end blocking at the point of attack as a Sam, and coaches say he is agile and quick enough to play the slot area as a 'star.' Notre Dame might be eager to test the latter.
I can’t say that I’ve actually witnessed Reschke play in the slot area, but coaches say he can do it.
I don’t doubt we’ll see Reschke at ‘star’ linebacker, as is listed in the depth chart. But I suspect he will start at Sam linebacker, in place of Frey.
Frey also has the ability to play the ‘star.’ I think Frey and Reschke might each get a chance to play some downs at the ‘star’ position, against certain personnel groups in certain down-and-distance situations, if and when MSU has time to substitute on the fly against an Irish team that will employ an uptempo offense.
I expect Reschke and Davis to split time at Sam linebacker. In the long term, Davis is probably too good of a player to see playing time on less that 50 percent of the snaps. That’s why Reschke’s ability to play some snaps at ‘star’ linebacker is valuable, because it opens the door for Davis to get on the field a bit more.
Sophomore Andrew Dowell played every down at ‘star’ linebacker against Furman. He played with energy, and made the play of the night with a momentum-changing interception in the fourth quarter. But he also had some deployment errors, and pursuit errors.
Dowell is going to be an outstanding player. But he could benefit nicely from getting a chance to sit out a series or two, in addition to other random plays. Get him to the sideline for some coaching from his cornermen, get Reschke or Frey out on the field in his place, and the Spartans won’t lose a thing while Dowell gets a chance to gain a breather, watch and learn. Playing a little less and watching a pair of venerable juniors play his position for a few downs, could yield a sharper, more efficient Dowell - which could enable him to unleash that speed just a little more.
3. Riley Bullough doesn’t hate the Notre Dame fight song.
Of the four Michigan State representative who were available for interviews on Tuesday - Dantonio, Bullough, Tyler O’Connor and Demetrious Cox - three of them grew up Notre Dame fans, to an extent. The Irish were the team of choice for O’Connor and Dantonio when they were youngsters, growing up in Ohio. Notre Dame was Bullough’s second favorite team, as his mother was an ND graduate, as were several family members on her side of the family.
Bullough said his family often went to Michigan State games one week, and then Notre Dame games the next. Of course when ND squared off with Michigan State, the Bulloughs - who are the unofficial First Family of Spartan football - rooted for the green and white. Riley said even his mother came around to rooting for Michigan State, which was only natural considering that three of her sons (Max, Riley and sophomore Byron) have played for the Spartans, dating back to 2010.
Dantonio was 10-years-old when Notre Dame and Michigan State played to a 10-10 tie in the “Game of the Century” in 1966. Dantonio said he probably watched the game, but doesn’t remember it specifically.
“No, I wasn't a Spartan then,” Dantonio said. “I was just a happy kid and didn't have all these pressures on me.”
TWO QUESTIONS:
1. How much will Ed Davis play?
He was honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2014 when he led the Spartan defense in production points. But we haven’t seen him play since Michigan State beat Baylor in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic.
Dantonio didn’t give a clue as to how much Davis will play, or how he has looked in practice.
“I think the question is; Is Ed at 90 percent, 95 percent? Is he at a 100 percent or 3 percent?" Dantonio said. "Whatever he is, where is he relative to the other guys that are playing?”
In other words, even if he is completely healthy, has he shaken off enough rust and proved himself worthy of taking snaps away from guys like Reschke, Frey and, indirectly, Dowell?
We haven't seen Ed Davis on the field since the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic.
“We've got deep linebacker situation,” Dantonio said. “We've got good players. Do I expect him to play? I expect him to play. How much he plays will be determined by how much he comes yet this week.
“I know we're only four days away or so, but we need to see him today (in practice) for Tuesday’s practice because last Tuesday's practice is a week removed.”
Tuesday practice is usually the most physical practice of the week, and therefore the most telling for a guy making a comeback like Davis. Last Tuesday, Davis wasn’t yet reinstated for a sixth year of eligibility. He received reinstatement last Friday.
“So, too early to tell, I guess, is the thing I would say,” Dantonio said about Davis’ role for Saturday.
Comp’s Take: I would expect to see Davis, at least, in third down situations as a pass rusher. MSU missed him in passing situations last year. Is he ready to make an impact? I haven’t heard. But I wouldn’t be surprised.
2. Has Michigan State ironed out its errors and negativity from the Furman game?
Players indicated that they did some extra running last week, during a hot weather week, partly as punishment for the penalty problem the Spartans had against Furman. Dantonio said retaining a level of high-end conditioning was also on the agenda last week. So the running served that purpose as well.
Dantonio said an unnamed fifth-year senior told him that one of the practices last week was the toughest practice of that player’s five-year career at Michigan State.
Bye weeks are usually a time to rest weary legs. But with MSU’s bye week coming so early in the season, MSU won’t have that luxury of resting legs any time during the regular season, and instead regarded the week off as a challenge in conditioning maintenance. MSU needed to do it that way in order to prepare for Notre Dame. It remains to be seen whether it will cost them fuel mileage for the long haul of the season. But they had little choice.
As for corrections, it’s impossible to forecast whether Michigan State will eradicate the unforced errors from the Furman game. Michigan State probably needed to get back on the field last Saturday to test themselves in that area. Instead, the Spartans will have waited 15 days to test themselves in the game management department by the time kickoff arrives on Saturday.
“I think we have to learn a lot about our football team,” Dantonio said. “I don't think there is any question about that. We've only played one game. We've been working for six weeks, and only played one game.
“You don't know a lot about it. You know there is going to be growth. You have some people that are going to fail, some people are going to be successful in this game. I mean, that's the nature of it. That's what football is.
“But you've got to be able to get back up in either case and play the next play, and then you also have to move forward and learn to adapt and handle those situations.”
Notre Dame has already encountered those tasks. They came back from a double-digit deficit at Texas to force overtime. The Irish didn’t win that game, but they showed they could withstand a blow, and punch back, in a 50-47 double-overtime loss.
Michigan State hasn’t faced that type of challenge.
Notre Dame came back on a short week of prep after travel and played a respectable game in a 39-10 victory over Nevada last weekend.
Notre Dame is entering midseason form. Michigan State is still getting out of the crib.
“So that's a part of the game experience, and we're going to get that,” Dantonio said. “That's why every year when people say so-and-so is preseason number this, number that, at the end of the season, it sort of all washes out.
“I think we have a good football team. I think we've got players. We're looking forward to this opportunity.
“Again, we've waited. I don't think there is anybody in our program that wanted to sit last weekend. So I anticipate our guys being ready to go, enthusiastic, and it will be fun to go down there. There will be 10, 15,000 Spartan fans there as well. Always has been, that makes it exciting as well.”
Can they play sharp football? Did the bye week help tighten some screws?
No idea. That’s why this was Question No. 2.
ONE PREDICTION:
1. Malik McDowell is going to enjoy a decided advantage over Notre Dame center, No. 53, Sam Mustipher.
In closely watching ND’s games against Texas and Nevada, I felt the center position is the main weakness on the Irish offense. Mustipher (6-2 and a half, 310, Jr., Olney, Md.) gives good effort, and has the potential to improve. But he has missed blocks at times. And now he is going to face arguably the best nose tackle in the country.
McDowell has the flexibility to move to the three technique of defensive end, which he played for one series last week and occasionally on passing downs. But I suspect Michigan State will keep him right there at his primary position of nose tackle for the match-up with No. 53 in this game. And McDowell has the ability to win, or dominate, that matchup and put a dent in the backfield.
It’s not a bold prediction to forecast a big game for McDowell. But in this case, it should be noted that a Michigan State strength matches up directly with a Notre Dame weakness.
Dantonio rejects the idea that MSU will have a decided advantage anywhere:
“All of our players, every single one of our players, will have their hands full when we go down there, that's the nature of this and they'll have to play to a high level,” Dantonio said. “I think that our defensive line is going to have to come to play. Going to have to pressure the quarterback. Going to have to stop the run, do those type of things. Obviously, Malik will be a catalyst involved in helping to do that.
“When you look at it, he's going into his third year. So he's still a relatively young player. I don't think we ever stop growing. We're always ready to take that next step, and that's what you have to do as a competitor, be prepared to do that. But he's got an enormous amount of ability, and I expect him to play very well down there and play with a lot of effort."
DANTONIO UNPLUGGED:
* Dantonio reiterated that the coaches are more challenged than ever to whittle their roster down to a traveling team of 70 for the trip.
“We’ve got depth on this football team. So it's very difficult to even pick who the travelers are, really. We've got some good players we'll have to leave back here. But that's what happens when you've been successful for a while. That's a natural occurrence.”
* Is this a friendly rivalry?
“I’ll let you know after this weekend, I guess. But I think there are things that happened in this rivalry that led to the emergence of Michigan State being a major football player in the country. And that's because people got together, whether it was John Hannah and people at Notre Dame, and they made it happen. So from that point of view, I think there will always be a respect from the people of Michigan State in place because of that aspect.”
* Is the o-line ready to expand beyond the six-man playing group from game one?
“That remains to be seen whether we've got to go deeper or not. We want to play as many guys as we can that are game-ready. So we'll see.
“As far as our offensive line, I thought they played well this last game, and we'll need to play well again. We'll need to protect the quarterback and run the football. That starts up front. It always does.”
* On special teams, yielding Dantonio’s most candid remarks of the day:
“As I remember, we kicked the ball out of bounds in the first kickoff, which wasn't good. We punted extremely well. Got two inside the 10, a 58-yarder.
“Kickoff return, we missed two seams which could have went to the house. Punt return, we missed one seam that could have went to the house. Missed a field goal. Does that about cover it? I thought we played hard.”
RJ Shelton and Brandon Sowards each had a pair of punt returns for the Spartans. Shelton left the game with an undisclosed injury, but said last week he will be back for the ND game.
No word on which player missed the seam that Dantonio was talking about.
Shelton had one kickoff return for 18 yards and redshirt-freshman Darrell Stewart looked explosive on a pair of kickoff returns, one of which went for 27 yards.
Again, no word on which player or players missed the two seams Dantonio was talking about.
But it sounds like the blocking for the return units graded out well, which is a good sign for improvement for the return game in 2016, something that is much-needed after the Spartans ranked at the bottom of the Big Ten in kick and punt returns last year.
AND FINALLY …
How many current Spartans saw the field for Michigan State in the 2013 game in South Bend?
Only Davis and cornerback Darian Hicks saw time in regular roles, as part of the nickel defense and Shelton saw some time as a fly sweep threat.
Others who saw the field: Demetrious Cox, Jamal Lyles, Riley Bullough, Kodi Kieler, Matt Macksood and Brandon Clemons as a defensive tackle. Clemons is now the starting right guard.
Macksood, by the way, blocked a Notre Dame punt in the first quarter in 2013.
Jim Comparoni | Editor
EAST LANSING | Three things we learned from Tuesday’s Michigan State press conference, two questions heading into Saturday’s game at Notre Dame, and one prediction:
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED:
1. Notre Dame threw deep 20 times against Michigan State the last time these two programs met, in 2013. At least that’s what Mark Dantonio told us during Tuesday’s press conference.
Many of us remember the Irish seemingly abandoning the run, and some parts of their ball-control passing and intermediate passing, in order to jack up an array of 50-50 throws.
Dantonio knew the figure off the top of his head on Tuesday because Michigan State has obviously studied film of that game from three seasons ago in preparation for this year’s meeting, on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium (7:30 p.m., NBC).
The Irish had excellent receivers in 2013, but the deep passes had an air of desperation about them. Three weeks earlier, Western Michigan had employed a similar strategy against Michigan State, with limited success, although WMU kept the game close (26-13).
As the 2013 season unfolded, and Michigan State went the rest of the year without losing, opponents had a terrible time trying to run the ball against that Spartan team. WMU lost confidence in trying to run the ball on opening night, and Notre Dame seemed to as well. But the strategy worked for the Irish, as Michigan State was flagged for downfield penalties on five of those deep-ball pass attempts.
Notre Dame was just 13-of-34 through the air for the day, for 142 yards. But the five penalties, which included four pass interference flags and one downfield holding penalty, contributed to Notre Dame’s three scoring drives in a disputed 17-13 victory over Michigan State.
Michigan State out-gained Notre Dame 254-220 in a defensive battle that day, but the Spartans were penalized 10 times for 115 yards.
Of the 20 deep shots, Notre Dame completed two of them, including a 37-yarder to a youngWill Fuller, who went on to become a first round NFL Draft pick in 2016. The other one was a 24-yarder to then-freshman Corey Robinson.
After that game, Dantonio and then-coordinator Pat Narduzzi said film study revealed that they wouldn’t ask their Spartan defensive backs to defend those deep balls any differently. Michigan State’s DBs continued to be hands-on and combative for the rest of the year, led the nation in pass efficiency defense, won the Rose Bowl, finished ranked No. 3 in the country, with the “No Fly Zone” being a major part of it.
Dantonio studied film from the 2013 game in preparation for this week, probably expects another barrage of deep balls from the Irish, and still feels his DBs did little wrong in that game in 2013.
“From my perspective, we made plays,” Dantonio said.
Darqueze Dennard, who won the Jim Thorpe Award that year and became a first-round NFL Draft pick, was called for holding, and one of the pass interference penalties.
Trae Waynes, who became a first-round pick after the 2014 season, was flagged for two pass interference penalties.
Michigan State coaches argued the calls.
“Flags came out a little bit, but from my perspective, we made plays on the ball,” Dantonio said. “Sometimes those are bang-bang type situations where you're trying to -- everybody's trying to do the right thing. Regardless of what happens, you need to move on and play the next play. I think that's the most important thing. I think we did do a good job of that. We held them to 17 points. That was a positive. So we need to continue to play like we do. We need to be who we are, too. We can't let somebody take us out of who we are.”
Notre Dame has reloaded at wide receiver, following Fuller’s departure. The Irish will attack with 6-foot-4 sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown, a rising star who has 11 catches on the year, two TDs and a long of 49. The Irish like to find him on shallow crossing routes in third down situations, and throw fades to him in the red zone.
Notre Dame also has 5-foot-8 jitterbug CJ Sanders at the wide out position. He has eight catches on the year, including a 25-yarder last week and a pair of TDs.
St. Brown has mismatch ability at WR for Notre Dame.
Quick freshman Kevin Stepherson (6-0, 181, Jacksonville, Fla.) turned in a 4-yard TD catch on an angle route while taking a big hit last week against Nevada. He played in both games despite being one of the six Irish players who were arrested in two separate incidents on Aug. 20. Stepherson was eventually charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Torri Hunter Jr. had four catches for 37 yards in the opening-night loss to Texas, but was knocked out of that game via a blow to the head and a concussion. Hunter, the son of the former Detroit Tiger outfielder of the same name, missed last week’s game against Nevada. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior is back on the depth chart this week, although ND head coachBrian Kelly said Hunter would continue to be evaluated this week in practice.
Hunter had 28 catches a year ago.
Comp’s Takeaway: Dantonio stopped short on Tuesday of criticizing the Big Ten officiating crew who oversaw that game in 2013, but his comments seemed calculated and purposeful. He might have anticipated that there would be questions about the pass interference penalties that were called on a 2013 secondary that proved to be the best in college football. Coaches are known to work the officials from the sidelines prior to kickoff of games. I think Dantonio did a little bit of ref-working for this game through the press conference on Tuesday.
Michigan State isn’t going to change the way it plays. If the Spartans continue to employ press coverage on the corners and get nosy with safeties helping vs. the run, Notre Dame will likely continue to go deep - perhaps more so than any team Michigan State will see all year. MSU will play as it usually does, with a hands-on approach. And Dantonio is on record as saying, indirectly, that they shouldn’t get flagged for it, if the plays look a lot like they did in 2013.
2. Jon Reschke seems to be back in the playing group. He was listed as a co-starter at Sam linebacker prior to the Furman game, but SpartanMaggers knew, via the Bunker message board, the he wasn’t likely to play. We didn’t break the rumor that he was questionable for the game due to an injury, but once it was out, we confirmed it.
This week, Reschke is listed as a second-string ‘star’ linebacker, with recently-activated Ed Davis the No. 2 man at Sam linebacker, behind Chris Frey.
Frey started the Furman game at Sam linebacker, in Reschke’s place.
Jon Reschke should be a proper mood, Saturday.
MSU coaches and captains said, or indicated indirectly, that Reschke would be back for this game. We’ll take them at their word.
When asked about the impact of getting Reschke and Davis back on the field or this game, senior tri-captain Riley Bullough said:
“It means a lot. Those guys are tremendous players and fun guys to have with you on the field. They bring a lot of energy and a lot of excitement to our defense. So to have them back in practice this week and then for the game, I think, is huge for our defense and our team as a whole.”
Comp’s Takeaway: Reschke has the unique ability to play Sam linebacker as well as 'star' linebacker. He is firm enough to take on tight end blocking at the point of attack as a Sam, and coaches say he is agile and quick enough to play the slot area as a 'star.' Notre Dame might be eager to test the latter.
I can’t say that I’ve actually witnessed Reschke play in the slot area, but coaches say he can do it.
I don’t doubt we’ll see Reschke at ‘star’ linebacker, as is listed in the depth chart. But I suspect he will start at Sam linebacker, in place of Frey.
Frey also has the ability to play the ‘star.’ I think Frey and Reschke might each get a chance to play some downs at the ‘star’ position, against certain personnel groups in certain down-and-distance situations, if and when MSU has time to substitute on the fly against an Irish team that will employ an uptempo offense.
I expect Reschke and Davis to split time at Sam linebacker. In the long term, Davis is probably too good of a player to see playing time on less that 50 percent of the snaps. That’s why Reschke’s ability to play some snaps at ‘star’ linebacker is valuable, because it opens the door for Davis to get on the field a bit more.
Sophomore Andrew Dowell played every down at ‘star’ linebacker against Furman. He played with energy, and made the play of the night with a momentum-changing interception in the fourth quarter. But he also had some deployment errors, and pursuit errors.
Dowell is going to be an outstanding player. But he could benefit nicely from getting a chance to sit out a series or two, in addition to other random plays. Get him to the sideline for some coaching from his cornermen, get Reschke or Frey out on the field in his place, and the Spartans won’t lose a thing while Dowell gets a chance to gain a breather, watch and learn. Playing a little less and watching a pair of venerable juniors play his position for a few downs, could yield a sharper, more efficient Dowell - which could enable him to unleash that speed just a little more.
3. Riley Bullough doesn’t hate the Notre Dame fight song.
Of the four Michigan State representative who were available for interviews on Tuesday - Dantonio, Bullough, Tyler O’Connor and Demetrious Cox - three of them grew up Notre Dame fans, to an extent. The Irish were the team of choice for O’Connor and Dantonio when they were youngsters, growing up in Ohio. Notre Dame was Bullough’s second favorite team, as his mother was an ND graduate, as were several family members on her side of the family.
Bullough said his family often went to Michigan State games one week, and then Notre Dame games the next. Of course when ND squared off with Michigan State, the Bulloughs - who are the unofficial First Family of Spartan football - rooted for the green and white. Riley said even his mother came around to rooting for Michigan State, which was only natural considering that three of her sons (Max, Riley and sophomore Byron) have played for the Spartans, dating back to 2010.
Dantonio was 10-years-old when Notre Dame and Michigan State played to a 10-10 tie in the “Game of the Century” in 1966. Dantonio said he probably watched the game, but doesn’t remember it specifically.
“No, I wasn't a Spartan then,” Dantonio said. “I was just a happy kid and didn't have all these pressures on me.”
TWO QUESTIONS:
1. How much will Ed Davis play?
He was honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2014 when he led the Spartan defense in production points. But we haven’t seen him play since Michigan State beat Baylor in the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic.
Dantonio didn’t give a clue as to how much Davis will play, or how he has looked in practice.
“I think the question is; Is Ed at 90 percent, 95 percent? Is he at a 100 percent or 3 percent?" Dantonio said. "Whatever he is, where is he relative to the other guys that are playing?”
In other words, even if he is completely healthy, has he shaken off enough rust and proved himself worthy of taking snaps away from guys like Reschke, Frey and, indirectly, Dowell?
We haven't seen Ed Davis on the field since the 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic.
“We've got deep linebacker situation,” Dantonio said. “We've got good players. Do I expect him to play? I expect him to play. How much he plays will be determined by how much he comes yet this week.
“I know we're only four days away or so, but we need to see him today (in practice) for Tuesday’s practice because last Tuesday's practice is a week removed.”
Tuesday practice is usually the most physical practice of the week, and therefore the most telling for a guy making a comeback like Davis. Last Tuesday, Davis wasn’t yet reinstated for a sixth year of eligibility. He received reinstatement last Friday.
“So, too early to tell, I guess, is the thing I would say,” Dantonio said about Davis’ role for Saturday.
Comp’s Take: I would expect to see Davis, at least, in third down situations as a pass rusher. MSU missed him in passing situations last year. Is he ready to make an impact? I haven’t heard. But I wouldn’t be surprised.
2. Has Michigan State ironed out its errors and negativity from the Furman game?
Players indicated that they did some extra running last week, during a hot weather week, partly as punishment for the penalty problem the Spartans had against Furman. Dantonio said retaining a level of high-end conditioning was also on the agenda last week. So the running served that purpose as well.
Dantonio said an unnamed fifth-year senior told him that one of the practices last week was the toughest practice of that player’s five-year career at Michigan State.
Bye weeks are usually a time to rest weary legs. But with MSU’s bye week coming so early in the season, MSU won’t have that luxury of resting legs any time during the regular season, and instead regarded the week off as a challenge in conditioning maintenance. MSU needed to do it that way in order to prepare for Notre Dame. It remains to be seen whether it will cost them fuel mileage for the long haul of the season. But they had little choice.
As for corrections, it’s impossible to forecast whether Michigan State will eradicate the unforced errors from the Furman game. Michigan State probably needed to get back on the field last Saturday to test themselves in that area. Instead, the Spartans will have waited 15 days to test themselves in the game management department by the time kickoff arrives on Saturday.
“I think we have to learn a lot about our football team,” Dantonio said. “I don't think there is any question about that. We've only played one game. We've been working for six weeks, and only played one game.
“You don't know a lot about it. You know there is going to be growth. You have some people that are going to fail, some people are going to be successful in this game. I mean, that's the nature of it. That's what football is.
“But you've got to be able to get back up in either case and play the next play, and then you also have to move forward and learn to adapt and handle those situations.”
Notre Dame has already encountered those tasks. They came back from a double-digit deficit at Texas to force overtime. The Irish didn’t win that game, but they showed they could withstand a blow, and punch back, in a 50-47 double-overtime loss.
Michigan State hasn’t faced that type of challenge.
Notre Dame came back on a short week of prep after travel and played a respectable game in a 39-10 victory over Nevada last weekend.
Notre Dame is entering midseason form. Michigan State is still getting out of the crib.
“So that's a part of the game experience, and we're going to get that,” Dantonio said. “That's why every year when people say so-and-so is preseason number this, number that, at the end of the season, it sort of all washes out.
“I think we have a good football team. I think we've got players. We're looking forward to this opportunity.
“Again, we've waited. I don't think there is anybody in our program that wanted to sit last weekend. So I anticipate our guys being ready to go, enthusiastic, and it will be fun to go down there. There will be 10, 15,000 Spartan fans there as well. Always has been, that makes it exciting as well.”
Can they play sharp football? Did the bye week help tighten some screws?
No idea. That’s why this was Question No. 2.
ONE PREDICTION:
1. Malik McDowell is going to enjoy a decided advantage over Notre Dame center, No. 53, Sam Mustipher.
In closely watching ND’s games against Texas and Nevada, I felt the center position is the main weakness on the Irish offense. Mustipher (6-2 and a half, 310, Jr., Olney, Md.) gives good effort, and has the potential to improve. But he has missed blocks at times. And now he is going to face arguably the best nose tackle in the country.
McDowell has the flexibility to move to the three technique of defensive end, which he played for one series last week and occasionally on passing downs. But I suspect Michigan State will keep him right there at his primary position of nose tackle for the match-up with No. 53 in this game. And McDowell has the ability to win, or dominate, that matchup and put a dent in the backfield.
It’s not a bold prediction to forecast a big game for McDowell. But in this case, it should be noted that a Michigan State strength matches up directly with a Notre Dame weakness.
Dantonio rejects the idea that MSU will have a decided advantage anywhere:
“All of our players, every single one of our players, will have their hands full when we go down there, that's the nature of this and they'll have to play to a high level,” Dantonio said. “I think that our defensive line is going to have to come to play. Going to have to pressure the quarterback. Going to have to stop the run, do those type of things. Obviously, Malik will be a catalyst involved in helping to do that.
“When you look at it, he's going into his third year. So he's still a relatively young player. I don't think we ever stop growing. We're always ready to take that next step, and that's what you have to do as a competitor, be prepared to do that. But he's got an enormous amount of ability, and I expect him to play very well down there and play with a lot of effort."
DANTONIO UNPLUGGED:
* Dantonio reiterated that the coaches are more challenged than ever to whittle their roster down to a traveling team of 70 for the trip.
“We’ve got depth on this football team. So it's very difficult to even pick who the travelers are, really. We've got some good players we'll have to leave back here. But that's what happens when you've been successful for a while. That's a natural occurrence.”
* Is this a friendly rivalry?
“I’ll let you know after this weekend, I guess. But I think there are things that happened in this rivalry that led to the emergence of Michigan State being a major football player in the country. And that's because people got together, whether it was John Hannah and people at Notre Dame, and they made it happen. So from that point of view, I think there will always be a respect from the people of Michigan State in place because of that aspect.”
* Is the o-line ready to expand beyond the six-man playing group from game one?
“That remains to be seen whether we've got to go deeper or not. We want to play as many guys as we can that are game-ready. So we'll see.
“As far as our offensive line, I thought they played well this last game, and we'll need to play well again. We'll need to protect the quarterback and run the football. That starts up front. It always does.”
* On special teams, yielding Dantonio’s most candid remarks of the day:
“As I remember, we kicked the ball out of bounds in the first kickoff, which wasn't good. We punted extremely well. Got two inside the 10, a 58-yarder.
“Kickoff return, we missed two seams which could have went to the house. Punt return, we missed one seam that could have went to the house. Missed a field goal. Does that about cover it? I thought we played hard.”
RJ Shelton and Brandon Sowards each had a pair of punt returns for the Spartans. Shelton left the game with an undisclosed injury, but said last week he will be back for the ND game.
No word on which player missed the seam that Dantonio was talking about.
Shelton had one kickoff return for 18 yards and redshirt-freshman Darrell Stewart looked explosive on a pair of kickoff returns, one of which went for 27 yards.
Again, no word on which player or players missed the two seams Dantonio was talking about.
But it sounds like the blocking for the return units graded out well, which is a good sign for improvement for the return game in 2016, something that is much-needed after the Spartans ranked at the bottom of the Big Ten in kick and punt returns last year.
AND FINALLY …
How many current Spartans saw the field for Michigan State in the 2013 game in South Bend?
Only Davis and cornerback Darian Hicks saw time in regular roles, as part of the nickel defense and Shelton saw some time as a fly sweep threat.
Others who saw the field: Demetrious Cox, Jamal Lyles, Riley Bullough, Kodi Kieler, Matt Macksood and Brandon Clemons as a defensive tackle. Clemons is now the starting right guard.
Macksood, by the way, blocked a Notre Dame punt in the first quarter in 2013.
