FootballSaturday, November 15, 2019
6B
223 North Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan
734-665-5340
What to watch for: Michigan State
There are, realistically, two ways in which
Saturday’s
rivalry
showdown
between
Michigan (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) and
Michigan State (4-5, 2-4) plays out.
The first, and the most likely, follows
down the path of least resistance. The
Spartans rank 61st in offensive efficiency,
according to ESPN.com’s rankings. They
haven’t won a game since Sept. 28 and come
into this matchup with the Wolverines
fresh off blowing a 25-point lead at home to
Illinois.
In that respect, the 13.5-point spread
seems low, a direct nod to the emphasis
Michigan State and its coach, Mark
Dantonio, place on this game.
But that emphasis — which, it should be
noted, has guided the Spartans to victories
in eight of the previous 12 matchups between
the sides — cannot be ignored, even in the
bleakest of times in East Lansing.
Asked Monday what the common thread
has been in his team’s games against
Michigan
State,
Michigan
coach
Jim
Harbaugh offered a cagey retort.
“Common
thread
would
be
very
competitive and intense.”
It’s to be seen whether Saturday will be
competitive, but high intensity is a foregone
conclusion. Here’s what to watch for in
Saturday’s rivalry bout.
Any antics?
Indelible images of Devin Bush scraping
his cleats across the logo
at Spartan Stadium last
year no doubt still linger
in Michigan State’s mind.
The then-junior linebacker
had no problem letting his
feelings out before the game,
hours before his defense
held the Spartans to 94 total
yards.
There are rivalries in
which
mutual
respect
breeds a kind of pageantry —
take the Red River Rivalry,
for example. This is nothing of the sort.
Michigan-Michigan State is a slap fight in
which each side keeps its hands dutifully by
its sides until they step on the field. Then it
convulses left, right, up and down for three
hours.
That kind of attitude often breeds
altercation,
sometimes
premeditated,
often not. Michigan players and coaches
hardly indicated a desire for such events to
transpire.
“You watch it, you kind of get the feel
of the rivalry,” said sophomore defensive
lineman Aidan Hutchinson on Monday. “But
when you’re actually in it — you’re hitting
them, you’re talking a little bit — that’s when
things kind of intensify.”
Trick plays
By now, you, a dutiful
observer of this game and
these
teams,
probably
understand
the
threat
Dantonio’s
trick
plays
pose. There’s plenty more
about this in Aria’s film
breakdown, but the threat
behind those off-schedule,
unusual looks is to derail and
dethrone the superior team.
Last
year,
Michigan
State’s
lone
touchdown
came off a reverse that ended in a four-
yard pass from receiver Darrell Stewart
Jr. to quarterback Brian Lewerke. All of a
sudden, an offense that had shown nothing
but ineptitude was locked in a 7-7 game in
the middle of the third quarter. Momentum
swung. The crowd came to life.
It’s quite clear Dantonio’s tactics have
kept Harbaugh up at night this week.
“You look at everything a team has done
in terms of fakes or misdirection. Deceptive
type of plays,” Harbaugh said. “And what
they’ve done, and OK, we’ve prepared for
that, but also what is a possible complement
to something that they’ve already done that
they could be working on, they could be
practicing? Alert for everything.”
It seems unlikely a couple successful trick
plays will be enough to overcome everything
else. But perhaps one early in the game to
re-configure the expectations, or one late in
a game that unfolds tighter than expected,
could be the spark the underdog Spartans
need.
Rushing game
There’s not a ton to glean from Michigan
State rushing for 275 yards last week against
Illinois, as the Illini rank 101st in the nation
in rushing defense. But the roadmap for a
Spartans’ upset runs through its rushing
attack.
Running back Elijah Collins offers a
formidable threat against a Michigan
defense that will be foaming at the mouth.
On the flip side, the Wolverines will
undoubtedly look to establish their running
game at the outset. In its last four games,
Michigan has averaged 223.5 rushing
yards per game. Meanwhile, the Spartans’
strength, no matter the skid, remains their
rush defense, which ranks 16th in the nation.
The only way Michigan State comes out of
this victorious — nabbing one of the bigger
upsets in the recent history of this rivalry —
is mucking up the game, making it ugly and
then winning through smoke and mirrors.
Scoff, if you want. The Spartans have only
built their entire program off their ability
to do just that.
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
The Michigan football team enters the game against Michigan State as a 13.5-point favorite.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor
The Spartans, 4-5 on the season, come to Ann Arbor desperately seeking a win to turn things around
When you’re
actually in it
... that’s when
things intensify.