Michigan State (3-0) at Notre Dame (0-3)

Last Week/This Year/Last Year
Spartacus nipped Pitt in East Lansing last Saturday in lackluster fashion, 17-13, in a game that ended up much closer than the wise guys expected. MSU was an 11 point favorite going in. State handled UAB in their opener without incident (55-18) but struggled for a half vs. a stubborn Bowling Green team in Week #2 before pulling away (28-17). The trip to South Bend is Sparty’s first road game of 2007.

Michigan State lost a head-scratching heartbreaker to #12 ranked Notre Dame in soaking wet East Lansing last year, 40-37, and tanked in spectacular fashion from that point on in 2006. State’s 1-7 free-fall in conference after the Notre Dame game, low lighted by a 3-point loss at home to Illinois and a 25-point loss at Indiana, cost their mountain-climbing hotdog of a head coach, John L. Smith, his job. MSU reportedly ate $3.0MM remaining on Smith’s incredibly overblown contract to send him packing back to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Hindsight being 20-20, there really was no reason for Michigan State to lose to the Irish on that stormy night a year ago in East Lansing, blowing 17-0 and 31-14 leads en route. Inexplicable 4th quarter turnovers sealed MSU’s fate; Terrail Lambert’s INT return for a touchdown with 2:53 remaining was the back breaker.

Michigan State Offense
Three-year starting QB Drew Stanton is now toting a clipboard for the Detroit Lions (second round pick). His replacement is junior Brian Hoyer (6-2, 215). Hoyer is not as mobile as Stanton, per the rags, but has a bigger arm. Hoyer got his feet wet when Stanton was down last year, completing 82 of 144 passes (57%) for 863 yards, 4 TDs, 3 INTs and has provided quite similar production in three 2007 starts: 45-74 (61%), 634 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs. Not spectacular, by any stretch, but more than solid.

The MSU running game was expected to be a team strength going into the 2007 season and that has pretty much been the case. Junior Javon Ringer (5-9, 205), now healthy following a bum knee-plagued 2006, and bruising fifth-year senior Jehuu Caulcrick (6-0, 255) provide a solid one-two punch at TB. The two have combined for 472 rushing yards in three games. Ringer is the feature back, but Caulcrick gets a lot of carries and is the short yardage option -- he has 6 TDs to date. Former walk-on Jeff McPherson started the Pitt game at FB.

Leading the way for Ringer/Caulcrick are four big-uns with starting experience on the Spartan O-Line (looking forward to the day we can say the same for the Irish). Juniors Jesse Miller (6-6, 310) and Roland Martin (6-5, 325) start on the right side (Miller = RT, Martin = RG). Both likewise started as sophomores. Senior Kenny Shane (6-5, 325) starts at LG and is coming off a 2006 back injury. 5th year senior Pete Clifford (6-7, 320) started the Pitt game at LT. Soph Joel Nitchman (6-3, 295) starts at center.

The MSU wide receiver corps from 2006, however, is fully depleted. Jerramy Scott, Matt Trannon, and Kerry Reed all moved on. Devin Thomas leads the team with 12 catches for 315 yards/2 TDs and Ringer has 6 catches out of the backfield. Sophomore T. J. Williams, a highly touted sophomore who was (is) expected to help fill with WR void, has only one catch so far this year.

Michigan State Defense
MSU’s defense has actually played pretty well (16 ppg, 23 sacks), but should feel some heat as they leave the preseason. Per the numbers, anyway, State is thin defensively along the line and in the corners. Two JUCO signees from the Smith era, senior nose tackle Ogemdi Nwagbuo (6-4, 290) and senior DE Jonal Saint-Dic (6-1, 250), start along with converted DE/current DT Justin Kershaw (6-4, 260) and DE Ervin Baldwin (6-2, 270). Baldwin, a senior, is probably MSU’s best defensive lineman. When healthy, 5th year senior MLB Kaleb Thornhill (6-1, 240) might be MSU’s best defender, but he has fought a variety of injuries off and on throughout his Spartan career. Red-shirt frosh Eric Gordon (6-0, 225) starts at OLB and might be a player. Senior SirDarean Adams (6-0, 230) moves from SS to fill the other OLB slot this year. Gordon and Adams combined for 15 tackles vs. Pittsburgh.

Two new corners, junior Kendell Davis-Clark and freshman Chris L. Rucker, are likely starters as are junior FS Otis Wiley (6-2, 210) and senior SS Travis Key (5-10, 185). Wiley blew up in the spring and a lot is expected from him. Key is a former walk-on and has hit his way into the lineup despite his size.

Michigan State Special Teams
Frosh All American Brett Swenson was a more than respectable 15-19 on FGs in 2006. He’s back and appears to be a four-year solution to a traditional Spartan problem. Swenson has hit 3 of 5 FGs this year (long = 45 yds), is easily the best opposing place kicker the Irish have faced so far this year, and may be one of the better kickers ND sees all season. Something to bear in mind if this is a wire job.

Michigan State Coaches
Michigan State, a program that runs through head football coaches more rapidly than the Chicago Cubs run through managers, turns to former Spartan assistant, former Ohio State assistant, and former U. of Cincinnati head coach Mark Dantonio to right the ship in 2007. A solid choice, by all the soft measures anyway, Dantonio has vowed to return to a more conventional, straight up, pound-the-rock approach on offense, a departure from Smith’s spread option pyrotechnics. Don Treadwell runs the offense, coming with Dantonio from UC. Treadwell, like Dantonio, served a couple years on Nick “Snake Oil” Saban’s MSU staff (WR coach). Pat Narduzzi is the defensive coordinator and, likewise, a Cincinnati Bearcat coaching staff import. Narduzzi was the DC for Cincinnati for three years and at Miami-OH for one year before that.

Worth Noting
Michigan State has won an unthinkable five straight in Notre Dame Stadium. Where have you gone, George Perles, our nation turns it’s lonely eyes to you.

Vegas
The rats have officially fled the ship. MSU opened as a 13.5 point favorite. Michigan State (-12.5) as of Wednesday morning.

Summary/Prediction
Despite the glaring lack of a running game to date, documented pass protection problems, the power ratings spewing out of Jeff Sagarin’s Dell that have ND in the Ohio University Bobcat-Idaho Vandal-Middle Tennessee Blue Raider neighborhood, the combined wisdom of talking heads from coast-to-coast, sports talk radio pot-shot takers too numerous count, etc., I am going will lean on the intangibles this week and take the points. This might end up being a good Michigan State team but I suspect it is not a great Michigan State team. And while MSU might actually end up making a little hay in a down Big Ten this year, they could very easily have lost to a pretty weak Pitt team at home last weekend. Spartacus walks into a bad spot for a road opener on Saturday and falls in a tight one to a surprisingly focused Irish squad that is now, officially, backed into a corner. Notre Dame 23 – Michigan State 20.

Notre Dame Opponents Schedule – September 22, 2007:
Georgia Tech at Virginia
Penn State at Michigan
Michigan State at NOTRE DAME
Purdue at Minnesota
UCLA vs. Washington
USC vs. Washington StateNavy vs. Duke
Air Force at BYU
Stanford vs. Oregon

Other Games of Interest – September 22, 2007
#2 LSU vs. #12 South Carolina
Georgia at #16 Alabama
#17 Virginia Tech vs. William and Mary (T.Roland, IFP needs a written explanation for this.)
Indiana vs. Illinois
Ball State at Nebraska
Butler vs. Missouri-Rolla
Rose-Hulman vs. North Park

National Perspective - Miscellaneous Chatter
Purdue QB Curtis Painter has a 13-0 TD-to-INT ratio and has thrown for 952 yards in three games this year vs. Indianapolis Pike, Indianapolis Roncalli, and Indianapolis Bishop Chatard HS. Actually the Boilers have played 2 MACs and a Gateway and step down in class from that level with week’s assignment at Minnesota, losers to Sun Belt Conference powerhouse Florida Atlantic last week.

#21 Boston College QB Matt Ryan shredded #15 Georgia Tech for 435 passing yards and BC held Georgia Tech to 63 yards rushing in last Saturday’s surprisingly easy 24-10 BC win in Atlanta. Boston College will be 6-0 and talking BCS when they visit Notre Dame Stadium on October 13th. No more needs to be said there…

#11 UCLA’s shocking loss at previously winless Utah (44-7) was even more surprising given the Utes reliance on back-up QB Tommy Grady, making his second start as a fill-in for Brian Johnson who separated his shoulder in the Utah opener at Oregon State. Grady threw 3 TDs vs. the imploding Bruins who coughed up the ball 5 times and were outscored 30-0 in the second half.

The Indiana Hoosiers are going to a bowl game this year. Write it down.