The #15 Michigan State Spartans head to South Bend Saturday to take on the reeling Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any tougher for the Irish, they get an opponent that is one of the best in the Big 10.
Even though the Spartans are ranked #15 (one spot ahead of where the Irish started the season) they are a team that has not been tested at all. The Spartans have played against mighty Florida Atlantic and Youngtown State; both were home games for the Sparty. If Notre Dame played weak opponents we’d be sitting at 2-0 too. The Spartans have something to prove on the field too, not just Notre Dame.
It’s hard to really judge what the Spartans bring to the game because they haven’t played any quality opponents yet. All you can really go off of is the players that returned from last season. One of those players is senior quarterback, Kirk Cousins. Unfortunately Notre Dame’s secondary doesn’t get a week off as Cousins can really throw the ball. Michigan’s Denard Robinson lit up the Irish cornerbacks and safeties last week, so I’m sure Cousins will want to try and do the same.
Keys to a Victory
NO TURNOVERS- What happens if they commit a lot of turnover and lose? Where can I go after writing in “all caps” and bold? I’m not sure about that question, but I know that the Irish desperately need to lower the number of turnovers. Maybe a good goal would be one turnover a quarter. If they commit a lot of turnovers, then the defense needs to produce some turnovers themselves.
Stop the Run- I know what you’re thinking, besides that this is the best blog ever, didn’t I just write that Kirk Cousins is great and will be hard to stop? Yes I did just write that, but stopping the run is Notre Dame’s strength on defense. The front seven of Notre Dame is full of playmakers and have only given up 324 rushing yards. That sounds like a lot but Notre Dame has gone against two quarterbacks that not only pass but run, run a lot. I’m sure the Fighting Irish coaches and players are all excited about going up against a quarterback that doesn’t scramble every play. Ok, back to stopping the run. Kirk Cousins is the heart of the Spartans offense, so stopping the run shouldn’t be hard. The Spartans have no definitive “best” running back, they rotate between four of them, so have fun keeping track of which back is in the game. If the Irish defense can force Cousins to throw they’ll have a better chance of interceptions and sacks.
Keep passing to Floyd- Floyd has three touchdowns and over 300 receiving yards in the past two games. The Spartans secondary will be focusing their whole defense on stopping him. Until they prove they can do that, keep passing to Floyd! While the Spartans are using extra players to stop Floyd, quarterback Tommy Rees needs to get the ball to receivers T.J. Jones and Theo Riddick. Then while the Spartans are stopping all the receivers, hand the ball of Cierre Wood.
-This is how a productive offense should work, which Notre Dame hasn’t had since the days of Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis in 2005 and 2006.
This should be a game between two of the top ranked teams in the country. This should be a showdown that everybody in the country is talking about. Instead, Notre Dame has gone and blown the last two games. The Irish need this win, badly. It will probably be another close game and won’t be decided until the final minutes. The past 9 of the 11 games have been decided by 7 points or less. Last year’s game was won in overtime by Michigan State on a fake field goal.
Predicted Score: Notre Dame-28, Michigan State-14.
Recently, my loyalty to Notre Dame has been tested (thanks to Michigan) and questioned, particularly by girlfriend and younger brother. Let me say this, for the past ten years that I have been a fan of Notre Dame I always looked forward to the upcoming season, just like every other Irish faithful, as the season that the Irish finally "returned to glory" None of those seasons ever resulted in any kind of glory and some of them ended up being losing seasons. Needless to say, this past decade has been the least successful in Notre Dame Football history. Yet I still wear my official Notre Dame Football T-shirt every game day. I still drink out of only Notre Dame cups. I still have a wall in my bedroom covered in everything Notre Dame. I still argue with people every week about how Notre Dame is still a powerhouse program. I will always be Blue & Gold, through and through.
GO IRISH!
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