The Daily Libels (Football) Football vs. The State News vs. Michigan State Today, 4:30 p.m. Tomorrow, 3:30 p.m. (ABC-TV) Palmer Field Michigan Stadium The Michigan Daily Friday, October 9, 1992 Page 11 Spartans just don't stack up by Albert Lin Daily Football Writer QUARTERBACKS: Elvis Grbac showed signs of his layoff last week against Iowa, throwing two intercep- tions, but he should be fine now that he's returned to his normal routine. Who is State's QB? First it's Jim Miller, then it's BretJohnson. Some- times it's Mill Coleman. Not one has been able to lead the offense capably. RECEIVERS: Michigan wideouts had the week offagainst the H awkeyes in terms of receptions, making only five grabs. But their blocking helped pave the way for the running backs. Tight end Tony McGee had another three catches last week, giving him 14 for the year. Coleman is the Spartans' multi- purpose threat. He leads the team with 18 receptions and is also tops in kick return yardage. Tight end Mitch Lyons is No. 2 in catches with 11. Advantage: Michigan RUNNING BACKS: Craig Thomas and Tico Duckett have combined for over800 yards and more than six yards per carry. State's weekly football re- lease includes an item heralding Duckett as "a long-distance threat." The note says that Duckett's 55-yard run last week against Indiana was the fourth-longest of his career. But lest the Spartans forget, the Wolverines boastback-to-back AT&T Long Distance Award winner Tyrone Wheatley. And that's not even men- tioning Ricky Powers and Jesse Johnson.OrEd Davis, who has rushed for more yards in each of the last two games than either Powers or Johnson. Advantage: Michigan Advantage: Michigan OFFENSIVE LINE: All the questions were answered last week with Michigan's 480-yard ground effort. And the coaching staff wins again by shifting left tackle Doug Skene back inside, where he played last year, and inserting redshirt freshman Tree Jenkins in Skene's vacated spot. Michigan State's line was young to begin with, featuring three sopho- mores. But it got even younger when right guard Brett Lorius, a junior, suffered a season-ending injury. His replacement is a redshirt freshman. At least they're all big. Advantage: Michigan DEFENSIVE LINE: Michigan's front three have had more success recently pressuring the opposing quarterback, but it is usually the rest of the defense that makes the stop. The starters have a total of 42 tackles on the year. The Spartan line lost three of four starters to graduation, but the replace- ments have stepped in admirably - the 1992 starters have combined for 73 tackles. And don't forget, head coach George Perles started his pro coaching career as the defensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 5 Advantage: Michigan State LINEBACKERS: Depth outside has been hurt with the losses of Greg McThomas and Martin Davis. Matt Dyson stepped up last week, leading the team with nine tackles, including a sack, and adding his first career interception. Shawn Collins is young but talented. Inside, Steve Morrison continues to lead the team in tackles, and Marcus Walker produced a big game against Iowa with eight stops. Michigan State's Rob Fredrickson is an all-Big Ten candi- date. He and fellow starters Ty Hallock and Matt Christensen are fourth, second and first, respectively, on the team in tackles. But Michigan's linebackers have gotten better every week and seem to have developed a penchant for the big stop. Advantage: Michigan SECONDARY: The Wolverines are proving they may have the best group of DBs in the country. The new wrinkle in the Michigan defense is blitzing members of the secondary, and it's paid off with two sacks each for Shonte Peoples and Alfie Burch, along with a several hurries. The Spartans have a young but experienced group, with three return- ing starters among a trio of juniors and one sophomore. But Michigan has a second unit that would start at most schools around the country. Advantage: Michigan KICKERS: The Spartans have long been known for their kickers, but this isdefinitely a down year. Punter Chris Salani averages only 32.4 yards a punt, and kicker Jim DelVerne has hit only one of four field goals. He did connect from 44 yards out, but he isO- for-3 inside the 40. Go figure. Pete Elezovic has improved the distance on his kickoffs, but because the Wolverines keep finding a way to the end zone, he has rarely had a chance to show any proficiency on field goals. Chris Stapleton is now the starting punter, and he got off a couple good kicks last week. But he also shanked one for nine yards. Look for both coaches to go for a bunch of fourth downs. Advantage: Michigan (by default) Michigan's Tyrone Wheatley breaks free for some of his 224 yards against Iowa last weekend. Wheatley and the rest of the Wolverines will seek revenge and their second Big Ten victory Saturday versus Michigan State. STATE Continued from page 1 "Michigan State is always the biggest game," inside linebacker Steve Morrison (Birmingham) said. "This is the best game of the year to watch. The rivalry is tremendous. When I was growing up, I switched who I cheered for depending on who I knew was on the team." Not all of the Wolverines grew up without allegiances to either :school. "Whenever I think about Michi- gan State, I always want to beat them," wide receiver Derrick Alexander (Detroit) said. "I always cheered for Michigan. I don't know why. Maybe it's a green thing. I don't like green and white. "Touchdowns are a lot sweeter when they come against State," 'Alexander added. "It's a big game. It's for the state championship. Whoever wins has the bragging rights for the state." Michigan State struggled in its first three games before beating In- diana last week, 42-31, in the con- ference opener. The Hoosiers jumped on top of the Spartans, 14-0, before MSU game back with a strong, diversified offensive attack. "We had success offensively with running and throwing the football," Michigan State coach George Perles said. "We threw well and deep which allowed us to open up our running game. Indiana's defense was pretty good, but Michigan's defense is outstanding." The Spartans were able to move the ball on the ground last week as well as for most of the season. MSU has a two-pronged running attack led by Tico Duckett and Craig Thomas. Duckett averages 108 yards per game and has reached the end zone four times. Thomas, who comes off the bench, averages 88.3 yards and has seven TDs. "They have a fine running at- tack," Moeller said. "They have some good backs and a big solid line. We ran into a solid line last week and had a hard time, but these backs are better than Iowa's backs. They have three 300-pounders on the offensive line, and they can move. I worry about them possess- ing the ball and their running game." Michigan State also has the abil- ity to get the ball to the outside. Quarterback Jim Miller threw for a season-high 274 yards last week. His main target is sophomore receiver Mill Coleman. Coleman has 18 catches so far this season and also is a threat on end arounds and returns. Perles' biggest worries come on the defensive side of the ball. The Spartans have given up over 30 points and nearly 400 yards a game, while the Wolverines average over 500 yards of total offense and over 40 points a game. "We need to play more man de- fense in order to have tighter cover- age," Perles said. "We can't let them throw the ball up and down the field. We can't let them get blocking to open up holes for their backs. 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