Last Week/This Week

Last Week = W/40-37 over Purdue

Wow! Great win for the Spartans last Saturday against Purdue. According to all the statistics, especially total yards (524 - Purdue, 362 - MSU), the Boilers should've won that game. However, another great performance in the special teams arena by Keyshawn Martin, and some really clutch kicking from, in my mind the best kicker in the country, Brett Swenson, allowed the Spartans to get it done. One of my favorite points from the broadcast was the ESPN crew really pumping up Carson Wiggs' ability to hit from over 60 yards pre-game, and then missing a 49 yarder before the half. Then Swenson came out and nailed two 52 yarders in the third quarter to really put his mark on the game.

Holding Bolden to under 80 yards on 20 carries was huge as far as I'm concerned. However, I would've thought that'd result in some sloppy play by Joey Elliott, which it didn't, as he was brilliant. Going for 373 yards off 39/55 passing is phenomenal, and a QB with those stats doesn't usually lose games. Luckily, again, it was the special teams that stepped up, especially with the blocked FG late, to give MSU the upper hand.

This Week = vs. Penn State, @ 3:30pm – ABC

Two things I was surprised about regarding this game off the bat: 1) It was at 3:30, 2) Not only is it on ABC, it's basically being broadcast nationwide. The other game on at that time is Virginia @ Clemson, and that broadcast isn't even covering all of ACC country. I believe Ohio State @ Michigan is covering the entire country on ABC at Noon, but it's really strange to me that we seemingly get the more prime, late afternoon slot, and are going to have such a large viewing area.

With that in mind, the Spartans may have more TV viewers this week than any other game this season, and they need to step it up for the bowl committees. Last week's gutsy (I love using that word for the PU game) win over the Boilers gave us the needed win, but another W this week could possibly bring the Alamo Bowl to the forefront. I digress though, and I'll get back on the topic of this week's game by saying that the running games between these two teams are drastically different. Evan Royster is averaging 5.7 YPC on the season, and even backup RB Stephfon Green is averaging 4.7, more YPC than either Larry Caper or Edwin Baker. I know I tend to focus on yards per carry as a stat way to often, but I think it's important in terms of making it difficult for an opposing defense to gameplan.

The Nittany Lions didn't play well against the other two Big Ten heavyweights, Ohio State and Iowa, and Daryll Clark threw one and three interceptions in those games respectively. Keeping Clark on his toes with pressure from the front four of MSU is vital, and should happen at least a handful of times as linemen such as Colin Neely have stepped up in recent weeks. The Spartans also hold an advantage in special teams, where Penn State is one of the worst teams in the nation in punt return (107th) and kick return (113th) averages. Kicker Collin Wagner is also only 1/4 from beyond 40 yards so far this season.

Last Week/This Week

Last Week = W/49-14 over Western Michigan

WHOOOOOOOOOOOO! Celebrate good times!

Well, not quite. Even though the Spartans actually looked somewhat impressive, especially Captain Kirk and his 353 yards through the air, this was, as I mentioned last week, a Bronco team that was practically running on empty. They had just lost to Kent State the week before, and Tim Hiller’s stats this season, particularly in their loss to Central Michigan, make it clear that team has zero running game. Against the Chips, Hiller fired for 410 yards off 66 attempts! West actually ran for 96 yards with a 4.6 YPC average, but that still puts a crazy load on your QB.

Ashton Leggett (right) was the big story that everyone liked to talk about for the Spartans this weekend, as he went for 110, including a 71 yard TD run early in the game, as the team’s primary runner. Leggett got the playing time coming off the news of Caulton Ray and Andre Anderson’s dismissals from the team for “unspecified reasons.” It’s great that MSU has a lot of depth at the running back position, but it makes it difficult when it’s clear that the freshman, especially Edwin Baker, may be talented, but aren’t quite ready for the spotlight. Baker had a solid 5.2 YPC average against Western, but runs of 37 and 39 yards helped his average drastically in games against Iowa and Western Michigan respectively.

This Week = at Purdue, @ 12pm – ESPN

Can the Spartans go bowling? This week will probably be the key. Bruce Feldman’s bowl projections for ESPN have MSU heading to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl, a game that is affiliating itself for one of the last times with the Big Ten. But, I digress, especially since the Spartans actually have to win to be eligible. MSU’s 5-5 right now, needing 6 wins to become eligible. Even though the Penn State game is at home, and they didn’t look all that great last week against the Buckeyes, most would still agree that the Purdue game is the more winnable of the two.

The key to beating the Boilers is stopping Ralph Bolden. Joey Elliott went buck wild against Michigan last week for 367 yards, but that’s because Bolden opened him up, going for 98 on 16 carries. Against Wisconsin, where Elliott threw for only 5 completions, 59 yards and a pick, Bolden ran for only 37 yards on 10 carries. That’s a 2.4 YPC difference folks, and 3.7 YPC isn’t going to open up the passing lanes quite like 6.1 will. Greg Jones and Co. will have to be on their game to make sure they keep Bolden between the tackles and don’t let him outside, where he can be dangerous for the big gain.