2020 Michigan State Offseason Thread

[Mdot21]

I knew it was bad, hadn't fully realized it was this bad.


https://twitter.com/chrissolari/status/1162030149145104386

Led Arizona State 13-3 going into the 4th, lost 16-13
Led Northwestern 19-14 with 15 seconds left in the 3rd, lost 29-19
Tied with Michigan 7-7, with 2 minutes left in the 3rd, lost 21-7
Trailed Ohio State 9-6 going into the 4th, lost 26-6
Led Nebraska 6-0 midway through the 4th, lost 9-6
Led Oregon 6-0 going into the 4th, lost 7-6

We were even outscored in a couple wins, against CMU (granted against our backups) and Indiana

that Michigan-MSU game never even felt like a game to me. One of those ones where game was won by 14, but it felt like it was won by 50. 

MSU couldn't get a 1st down all game long. The only points they got were off a Chris Evans fumble at Michigan's own 9 yard line, and honestly the fumble was kinda unforced. It was wet out and Evans just dropped it. MSU got 9 yards for the TD, and that was the only points they got all game long and they were never even remotely close to scoring a single point at any other point in that game.

[Anonymous Coward]

ELA may not dispute that. I vaguely recall him saying something similar.

[ELA]

Yeah, I don't disagree.  Prior to that fumble I had texted family that this was going to be the biggest 10-3 whipping of all time.  MSU had a similar game against OSU in 2011.  I think we won 10-3?  But we recorded like 7 or 8 sacks, and you knew it was going to take a fluke play for OSU to score, but MSU couldn't pull away themselves.

Above I was just laying out how many times MSU was in the game late (whether deserved or not) and just nothing down the stretch.

[ELA]

Hey, feel free to steal the neon green ones.  As in please come to our facilities and steal them, so we can't wear them.



https://twitter.com/SJSUSpartanFB/status/1159620594159112192


https://twitter.com/RBOkerstrom/status/1162383668159160325

[Mdot21]

Yeah, I don't disagree.  Prior to that fumble I had texted family that this was going to be the biggest 10-3 whipping of all time.  MSU had a similar game against OSU in 2011.  I think we won 10-3?  But we recorded like 7 or 8 sacks, and you knew it was going to take a fluke play for OSU to score, but MSU couldn't pull away themselves.

Above I was just laying out how many times MSU was in the game late (whether deserved or not) and just nothing down the stretch.

MSU was in so many games last year because that defense was just excellent. 

The MSU offense was just terrible. So hard to watch. Looked a lot like that 2017 Michigan offense which was just complete ass.

[ELA]

MSU was in so many games last year because that defense was just excellent. 

The MSU offense was just terrible. So hard to watch. Looked a lot like that 2017 Michigan offense which was just complete ass.

They were MUCH worse than Michigan's 2017 offense.  They were #112 in S&P+, but #2 in defense.

2017 Michigan was #49 in offense and #5 in defense.

Since 2012 MSU's offense has only been ranked as high as #49 twice (2014 and 2015).  Even the 2013 team was #66.  They've gotten by with offense plenty bad, but #112 is just bottoming out.  I mean the other teams with offenses like that were Georgia State (#108) who went 2-10 in the Sun Belt, Tulsa (#109) who went 3-9 in the AAC and Ball State (#110) who went 4-8 in the MAC.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, if MSU's offense had been as good as M's 2017 version, they might have won the Big Ten. Instead they had a version closer to 2008 Michigan (RR's first year).

[ELA]

Yeah, if MSU's offense had been as good as M's 2017 version, they might have won the Big Ten. Instead they had a version closer to 2008 Michigan (RR's first year).

If MSU had UM's 2017 offense, they would be #49/#2.  The 2013 13-1 Rose Bowl champion MSU team was #66/#3, so with even UMs 2017 offense, 2018 MSU would have been Dantonio's best team.

I will say those offensive numbers are better once you remove the first four games prior to it going fully to Cook.  The first quarter of the season was every bit as bad as 2018, but the remainder was probably closer to UM's #49 number.

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the Big Ten East looks to be down this year. Would be particularly ideal timing for Dantonio to approach or exceed his best team. What's your kneejerk guess for the offense's eventual rank?

[ELA]

I think back up to the 60s or 70s.  Still no speed back, hell I'd say no RB at all, and I'm concerned about the OL.  I think the WRs should be good, and a healthy Lewerke makes the difference.  But that's just enough to go from horrible, to not great.  With road trips to Madison, Columbus, Ann Arbor and Evanston, a repeat of 7-5 looks likely.

[Anonymous Coward]

I keep going back and forth: "MSU will definitely want to run Lewerke a lot (to even out the ground game)" and then "But can they afford to take that chance?"

[bayareabadger]

I knew it was bad, hadn't fully realized it was this bad.


https://twitter.com/chrissolari/status/1162030149145104386

Led Arizona State 13-3 going into the 4th, lost 16-13
Led Northwestern 19-14 with 15 seconds left in the 3rd, lost 29-19
Tied with Michigan 7-7, with 2 minutes left in the 3rd, lost 21-7
Trailed Ohio State 9-6 going into the 4th, lost 26-6
Led Nebraska 6-0 midway through the 4th, lost 9-6
Led Oregon 6-0 going into the 4th, lost 7-6

We were even outscored in a couple wins, against CMU (granted against our backups) and Indiana

MSU is fascinating because it just plays so very many close games every year. And they can swing very oddly. 

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, you could argue that the 2016, 2017 and 2018 teams were all of the same "7-5 caliber plus high variance." In 2016, the dice (random swerves) underproduced a 3-9 season with a 7-5 caliber team. In 2017, the dice swung hard the opposite way to overproduce 9 wins. And in 2018, the team earned precisely the record you'd expect, 7-5.

[ELA]

Bruce Feldman said on his podcast yesterday that he's heard rumors Dantonio is retiring after the year.

As I've said before, wouldn't mind dipping back into the former OSU DC/current UC HC well to replace him.