OK, so the Big Green has popped into the coaches poll at #24, and is a 6-point dog at the hated #21 Irish on Saturday.  Before we get to the polls, let's look at where the Spartans and Irish stand statistically through the first three weeks.  A big thank you to scheduling a FCS school in Youngstown State to help pad the Spartan offensive stat category. 

OFFENSE:
Rushing:  MSU 44th (209.7 ypg), ND 92nd (125.0 ypg)
Passing: MSU 105th (160.0 ypg), ND 16th (326.0 ypg)
Total: MSU 84th (369.7 ypg), ND 50th (451.0 ypg)
Scoring: MSU 49th (34.0 ppg), ND 65th (29.7 ppg)
Third Downs: MSU 70th (39.6%), ND 19th (54.5%)

DEFENSE:
Rushing: MSU 4th (50.3 ypg), ND 26th (112.7 ypg)
Passing MSU 5th (126.7 ypg), ND 89th (259.3 ypg)
Total: MSU 1st (177.0 ypg), ND 56th (372.0 ypg)
Scoring: MSU 12th (12.0 ppg), ND 57th (23.7 ppg)
Third Downs: MSU 2nd (15.6%), ND 93rd (44.3%)

The ES certainly sees an advantage for the Spartan defense, but can the offense use the momentum - particularly from the passing game - to take advantage of an Irish defense ranked 89th in the country giving up yards through the air?  ND won't be able to run the ball against the Spartans, but will they pass the ball effectively enough?  The point being - the Spartan offense NEEDS to move the ball and give the defense a rest.  More on this throughout the week. 

I hate Notre Dame football.

USA TODAY COACHES POLL:

RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (61)	2-0	1549
2	Oregon (1)	3-0	1477
3	Ohio State	3-0	1398
4	Clemson	2-0	1331
5	Stanford	2-0	1314
6	Louisville	3-0	1128
7	LSU	3-0	1121
8	Florida State	2-0	1113
9	Texas A&M	2-1	1033
10	Georgia	1-1	1022
11	Oklahoma State	3-0	908
12	Oklahoma	3-0	839
13	South Carolina	2-1	811
14	Michigan	3-0	743
15	UCLA	2-0	699
16	Northwestern	3-0	582
17	Miami (FL)	2-0	559
18	Florida	1-1	398
19	Baylor	2-0	375
20	Washington	2-0	361
21	Notre Dame	2-1	331
22	Ole Miss	3-0	303
23	Arizona State	2-0	176
24	Michigan State	3-0	131
25	Fresno State	2-0	75

• Dropped from rankings: Nebraska 15, Wisconsin 18, TCU 24

• Others receiving votes: Nebraska 55, Wisconsin 53, Texas Tech 49, Georgia Tech 37, Arkansas 34, UCF 33, Arizona 29, Northern Illinois 26, Auburn 15, Virginia Tech 9, Brigham Young 8, USC 7, Kansas State 6, Boise State 5, Utah State 5, Rutgers 2