ES Preview: Spartans host the Chippewas

Fire Up Chips????  Indeed.

#21 Michigan State Spartans (2-1, 1-0) vs Central Michigan Chippewas (1-3)
Spartan Stadium
September 29, 2018.  12 noon
Fox Sports 1

Weather:  58 and sunny

Sagarin Ratings:  MSU #15, CMU #122

Line:  MSU by 29

Can we run the fucking ball?  We'll do it all day long today.  I hate the damn Chips.  We're going to obliterate these bastards.

Picks:

Kat:  MSU 42-10
Carter:  MSU 45-10. I predicted the ASU game and got the 14 point spread in the IU game...CMU is 1-3....so being the point spread is 29...
CHock: MSU 35-13
Bob:  MSU 27-10.  No o-line. No run game. MSU ranks 112th in the nation rushing.
RGM3:  MSU 31-7
Big Joe and Phantom 309:  MSU 35-6 and I'm tailgating
Gregger:  MSU 45-7
Skooz:  MSU 42-10
Lex: we gonna woop their ass; destroy the city.

ES sez:  MSU 56-7

ES Preview: Spartans at Hoosiers

Really?  Hoosier pride in the kitchen!

#24 Michigan State Spartans
(1-1, 0-0) at
Indiana Hoosiers (3-0, 0-0)
Sept. 22, 2018.  7:30 pm.
TV:  Big Ten Network.
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN.

Weather:  64, cloudy, no wind.  Good passing weather.

Sagarin Ratings:  MSU #22, Indiana #55.

Line out of Vegas:  MSU by 5.

How did we get here?

Well, whaddya know.  Here are our Spartans in the middle of September, having played just one game at home and looking like crap in both games.  This underwhelming team's biggest deficiency has reared its ugly head, that being the Offensive Line... which is more like the Maginot Line.  In two games, and specifically in the loss to Arizona State, the left side of that offensive line had no push, and no protection for Brian Lewerke.   We certainly miss Cole Chewins on the left side of that line.   LJ Scott hasn't been much of a help, either.  If the Maginot Line has been poor, then Scott's protection for Lewerke has been poorerer.  Oh yeah, he's a running back.  Well, his running has been just as poor - in the first two games, he's dancing like Justin Timberlake instead of running like Jim Brown: just 103 yards and averaging 3.4 yards per carry against powerhouses Utah State and Arizona State.  And on the other side of the ball?  Let's be honest, the defense was LUCKY against Arizona State, as their QB overthrew pass after pass after pass after pass... and finally  connected on the last drive when MSU DBs had to make a stop.  Bend bend bend break!  Just too many mental mistakes, too many opportunities lost (e.g. Lewerke INT in the endzone) - mistakes do not make a mark of a good team.

So, now Indiana?

The Hoosier nation is in constant desire of football mediocrity.  Indiana is 3-0, again.  So, expect another 5-7 season out of the Hoosiers... unless they find a way to trip up our Spartans.

Make note of the Little Pink House on the Indiana Campus.   Yes, it's pink. 

Stat chat

Well... other than MSU's run defense... well.... offense averaging 114 yards on the ground per game???  Screw that, who are we?

MSU has won 16 of the last 20 against Indiana... and 7 of the last 10 played at Indiana.  Doesn't matter much, unless you are considering this against expectations.

Pix:

Kat:  MSU 30-17
Smig:  MSU 32-26
Carter:  MSU 24-10
CHock:  MSU 24-23
Keith:   MSU 35-32. "trap game."
Dr. Tom:  MSU 24-7. "This has become infinitely harder after ASU game… Honestly they could rebound and drop a bomb on Indiana or continue to look like a bag of hot dicks. And their o-line looks like such a piece of shit I don’t even know. I think we win 24-13 because Lewerke takes over the game. Wait. 24-7. Dantonio is pissed."
GR Gregger:  MSU 38-20
Big Joe and Phantom 309: MSU 24-22
RGM3: MSU 31-10.

ES sez:  MSU 21,  John Cougar Mellencamp 17.  

ES Preview: MSU vs Arizona State

Michigan State Spartans (#13, 1-0) at
Arizona State Sun Demons (1-0)
September 8, 2018.  10:45 pm ET.
ESPN.
Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe AZ.

Kickoff weather is 102 degrees!  Hades in Tempe!

Line: MSU by 5 1/2

Sagarin Ratings:
MSU #17, Arizona State #48

Rewind:  About those Spartans vs the Other Mormons

We can make this quick.  What was difficult to stomach in Spartan Stadium was two fold.  Or three fold.  Or four fold.  Or more 1.  Needing a last minute drive to beat a pedestrian Utah State.  2.  Allowing slant plays time and again without MSU dropping a lineman into zone to pick off a pass.  3.   The play of the offensive line, particularly the left side, which couldn't block my dead grandma out of the way.  4.  The play of RG LJ Scott - not only did he dance too much and was ineffective running, but he whiffed on several blocks that led to hurries for QB Brian Lewerke.  5.  J Rand finding the biggest cooler on earth, filling it with beer and ice, then realizing the need to move it without wheels.  That's what friends are for!

What was good to watch was:  1.  The tailgate by J Rand, hosting friends, food, and beer!  2.  The play of Connor Heyward, who ran like a beast without those dance moves.  3.  A full stadium on a beautiful fall day.  4.  The play of Felton Davis, who can flat out run and catch - he is a stud at wideout.

Bottom line:  After watching the Buckeyes take Oregon State to the woodshed and giving them 70 lashings, MSU had better plug those holes and move them lines - and fast - if they have any chance of making a move in the B1G East.

Methinks the Sun Demons aren't as scary as they think they are.... Nice atomic age art here!

Back to the Present:  About the Spartans TODAY in the desert heat

C Hock had a pretty damn succinct writeup:  "No way we blow them out.  3 year starter at QB (Manny Wilkins) will air it to the 6'4" receiver over Josh Butler for at least 3 TDs."  Defense better get a push or it can be a long day.  The Sun Demons will roll out the hard red earth for the Spartans, changing the field from grass to hard clay baked under the desert sun.  After the first drive, Lewerke notes: "These cleats don't work so good on dirt."  And the Spartans get the advantage playing in their bare feet on that clay.  It's so damn hot, the Gatorade will evaporate and Spartans will turn to drinking each other's sweat.  Meanwhile, the Sun Demons, overconfident as they are, roll out their black uniforms and realize that dark colors don't mix well with 100+ heat.   All advantages for the Spartans.

C is in Tempe, AZ, with G to root on the Big Green in the scorching heat.   This may be a first - Spartans playing a football game in a lava flow of a heat wave; first time playing football in over 100 degrees heat. Meanwhile, the ES is going to Defiance College to watch his Yellow Jackets play the Hope Flying Dutchmen in 65 degrees and rain.  Steamy.

Predictions: 

Freep says: 27-17 MSU
ESPN staff give it a toss up
Sloth: 31-17 MSU
Keith: 27-24 MSU
C Hock: 31-28 MSU
Carter: 31-21 Sun Demons
RGM3: 38-34 MSU, defense makes stop at the end
Big Joe and Phantom 309: 27-14 MSU, defense steps up big but Lewerke has two turnovers
Tom, the Heart Doctor:  24-14 MSU
Kat: 31-14 MSU...

ES sez:  Defiance 24, Hope 23.   I mean, MSU 32, Sun Demons 28