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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Breakdown: ‘M’ vs. Michigan State

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

The Michigan football team’s 

first rivalry week is here, and the 
Wolverines are in a position few 
thought they would be in before 
the season.

No. 7 Michigan State (2-0 Big 

Ten, 6-0 overall) comes to town 
Saturday in a four-way tie for the 
Big Ten East and contending for a 
spot in the College Football Playoff. 
But the real surprise has been 
Michigan (2-0 Big Ten, 5-1 overall), 
which is also tied for first in the 
division and enters this weekend’s 
game as a 7.5-point favorite.

Yes, much has changed since the 

Spartans rolled the Wolverines, 
35-11, last season. Michigan coach 
Jim Harbaugh has turned his 
team around, and in many fans’ 
minds, last season’s game is a 
distant memory. The Wolverines 
can put it even further in the rear-
view mirror with a win Saturday.

Here’s how the teams stack up:

Michigan 
pass 
offense 
vs. 

Michigan State pass defense

Michigan hasn’t needed to 

worry about its pass offense much 
lately, leading comfortably in each 
of its past five games. Perhaps 
that’s part of the reason that the 
Wolverines rank 97th nationally 
in passing offense with 189.2 yards 
per game — they have spent most 
of their fourth quarters milking 
the clock.

This Saturday could be different 

(though the same appeared to 
be true when Brigham Young 
and Northwestern visited the 
Big House). The Spartans are 
Michigan’s third ranked opponent 
in four weeks, and they are also 
ranked the highest of the three.

But their secondary also isn’t 

what it has been in the past. The 
Spartans, who lost safety Kurtis 
Drummond and cornerback Trae 
Waynes from last year’s unit, 
are allowing 242 passing yards 
per game (88th in the country) 
and struggle to get off the field 
on third downs. Last week, they 
allowed Rutgers’ Leonte Carroo 
to catch seven passes for 134 yards 
and three touchdowns.

In 
recent 
years, 
Michigan 

State’s pass defense has locked 
down Michigan’s wide receivers, 
and the Wolverines have lacked 
a home-run component in their 
passing game so far. But even a 
big play or two could change the 

nature of the game Saturday.

Edge: Michigan State

Michigan 
rush 
offense 
vs. 

Michigan State rush defense

The 
Spartans’ 
front 
seven 

has stifled Michigan’s running 
game the past two years, but this 
season, the Wolverines might 
have a remedy: junior running 
back De’Veon Smith. Smith has 
390 yards in just five games — he 
missed the Maryland contest with 
an ankle injury — and has shown 
the power ability Michigan has 
sought in the past. Redshirt junior 
running back Drake Johnson has 
played a supporting role, as have 
the Wolverines’ blocking fullbacks 
and tight ends.

The question Saturday will 

be whether that ability holds up 
against a Michigan State front 
led by fifth-year senior defensive 
end Shilique Calhoun. Behind 
Calhoun, middle linebacker Riley 
Bullough leads the team with 55 
tackles to go with three sacks.

Former defensive coordinator 

Pat Narduzzi is gone, and the 
Spartans’ defense doesn’t quite 
have the same teeth this year, 
ranking 34th against the run. 
But with four seniors in the 
front seven, they have plenty 
of firepower to give Michigan 
problems.

Edge: Michigan State

Michigan State pass offense vs. 
Michigan pass defense

Michigan State’s key to the 

Paul 
Bunyan 
Trophy 
doesn’t 

usually include an aerial attack, 
but the Spartans don’t usually 
have a quarterback like Connor 
Cook. 
Their 
fifth-year 
senior 

quarterback is completing 60 
percent of his passes for 1,344 
yards, 12 touchdowns and two 
interceptions. And he’s 2-0 as a 
starter against Michigan, too.

Cook throws to an experienced 

receiving corps, including senior 
Aaron 
Burbridge 
(570 
yards, 

four touchdowns). The bigger 
issue might be protecting Cook, 
though. Two of Michigan State’s 
starting offensive linemen — left 
tackle Jack Conklin and center 
Jack Allen — are questionable 
for Saturday’s game, though the 
Wolverines are preparing as if 
they will play. If one or both of 
them can’t go, stopping Michigan’s 
fierce defensive line becomes that 
much tougher.

Across the line of scrimmage, 

the 
Wolverines’ 
pass 
rush 

is 
rolling. 
Michigan 
sacked 

Northwestern four times last 
week and has made life miserable 
for opposing quarterbacks in five 
straight games. Despite losing 
sophomore 
defensive 
tackle 

Bryan Mone to injury before the 
season and senior defensive end 
Mario Ojemudia to injury against 
Maryland, the Wolverines haven’t 

missed a beat.

Their secondary doesn’t make 

life easy on opponents, either, 
ranking second in the nation in 
pass defense. Junior cornerback 
Jourdan Lewis stripped the ball 
away from a receiver last week 
en route to a 37-yard pick-six, 
and junior cornerback Channing 
Stribling should return from an 
injury opposite Lewis this week.

Edge: Michigan

Michigan State rush offense vs. 
Michigan rush defense

The 
Spartans 
haven’t 
yet 

established a feature back in their 
offense, instead splitting carries 
between running backs LJ Scott 
and 
Madre 
London. 
London 

injured his foot in the third 
quarter against Rutgers, and his 
status is also unknown. Between 
Scott, London and Gerald Holmes, 
Michigan State’s rushing attack 
ranks 67th in the country.

Michigan, meanwhile, is just 

as stingy against the run as 
the pass. The Wolverines are 
allowing just 65.8 yards per game 
on the ground (third nationally), 
stopping even talented running 
backs such as Northwestern’s 
Justin Jackson. Their front is also 
a big reason for the defense’s No. 1 
third-down defense. If Michigan 
can limit the opposition on first 
and second down, it creates 
difficult 3rd-and-long situations, 

when the secondary does its best 
work and the blitz schemes create 
pressure.

Much of the battle in the 

trenches depends on the health 
of Michigan State’s offensive line. 
The Wolverines, too, are short-
handed: They will play the first 
half without senior linebacker 
James Ross, who was ejected for 
targeting in the third quarter last 
week. Senior linebacker Allen 
Gant is listed behind Ross on 
the depth chart, so he could play 
until halftime, with fellow senior 
linebacker Royce Jenkins-Stone 
already filling in for Ojemudia on 
the other side of the field.

Edge: Michigan

Special teams

Michigan 
special 
teams 

coordinator 
John 
Baxter’s 

methods are beginning to pay off. 
The most explosive result came on 
last week’s opening kickoff, when 
redshirt junior wide receiver Jehu 
Chesson returned the kick 96 
yards for a touchdown.

But the dividends have come 

in other areas, too. Senior kicker 
Kenny Allen is now 7-for-9 on field 
goals and has also been good on 
kickoffs. Meanwhile, Michigan 
State’s Michael Geiger is just 
5-for-9 on field goals.

Edge: Michigan

Intangibles

Both 
teams 
have 
avoided 

giving the other any bulletin-
board material all week, knowing 
the energy it could incite on the 
other side of the rivalry. The 
vandalism of the Magic Johnson 
statue in East Lansing will rile up 
the Spartans a bit, and Michigan 
heads into the game as the favorite 
despite being far outmatched in 
the last two meetings.

The Wolverines could find a 

reason for a chip on their shoulder, 
too: They have been outclassed for 
two straight years and have the 
pieces to do something about it this 
season. And the game is back in 
Ann Arbor after two years in East 
Lansing, so Michigan Stadium 
should provide a noticeable home-
field advantage.

Edge: Michigan

Pick: Michigan 21, Michigan 
State 19

LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily

Junior running back De’Veon Smith could make an impact against Michigan State, which has stifled Michigan in recent years.

