| Both teams got blown out last weekend, but Rutgers showed some fight, while Michigan State showed none, at least none within the rules of the game. Is that enough to overcome what should still be a fairly large talent discrepancy? Michigan State is the only Big Ten school to never lose to Rutgers in either football or men's basketball, so I guess they still have that to play for. Even sneaking into the Quick Lane Bowl, as awful as that would be, may not necessarily help, if there is going to be massive coaching changes, as those practices mean little. Considering how many seniors this team has though, how many even bother playing in that game, so at least you get some younger kids some game run, against a team with a pulse (Florida State?). Rutgers has at time given Michigan State fits in this game, including last year, when a similarly .500 Michigan State team needed a touchdown with 4 minutes left to hold off a similarly awful Rutgers team. While last year Michigan State had an elite defense, and a horrific offense, this year they defense looked plenty good early, but has begun backsliding hard, while early season efforts against Arizona State and Northwestern look much less impressive at this point. But what is lost in the slight improvement on offense, and slight regression on defense, is how the special teams has completely cratered, now ranked #111 in SP+. The Spartans (#40) are actually the only team ranked that low in any of the three phases ranked anywhere in the top 50. How much credit are we giving to Rutgers' fight though? They tallied 14 points and 145 yards of offense against the Buckeye reserves, once down 49-7, with Ohio State having a 5 (hopefully for them) game gauntlet coming up. Through the first 2.5 quarters, Rutgers had 7 points (on a 33 yard drive after a fumble) and 86 total yards of offense. What they did do surprisingly well, was limit the Buckeyes rushing game, which had been leading the Big Ten at 6.5 ypc, holding them to "only" 4.9 ypc, and being the first team all year to hold Ohio State without a run of 20 or more yards, for what is the nation's most explosive run offense. The Spartan offense has looked ok against the lesser Big Ten teams they've faced, averaging 35 ppg against Northwestern, Indiana and Illinois. I think they can get about there again, and unlike Illinois, I'm not certain Rutgers can break 35, even if the Spartan defense continues to play uninspired. |