After a mediocre 7-6 season, Mark Dantonio and Michigan State look to take advantage of what could be a chance to take over the Big 10. With Urban Meyer’s retirement mixed with some key Ohio State departures. The very obvious key for them to succeed is finding some sort of rhythm on offense, as they ranked 116th in yards per game and 126th in points per game. That’s out of 130 teams. Most of what will determine will fall on the shoulders on who their starter is (more than likely Brian Lewerke) and the offensive line.
Prestige Ranking (If NCAA Football 20 Existed): 4 Stars
2018 Record: 7-6 (5-4 Big 10) Lost to Oregon in Redbox Bowl
Returning Offensive Starters: 9
- Brian Lewerke, QB
- Connor Heyward, RB
- Cody White, WR
- Darrell Stewart Jr, WR
- Matt Dotson, TE
- Cole Chewins, T
- Tyler Higby, G
- Matt Allen, C
- Kevin Jarvis, G
- Jordan Reid, T
As I mentioned this was one of the worst offenses in college football. Part of that was due to injury where LJ Scott missed most of the season, and the offensive line also had some injuries. However, that doesn’t really excuse a lot of poor performances. Such as the ones vs Arizona State, Oregon, and Nebraska. Not saying these were terrible teams (even though Nebraksa was pretty bad) but when you go 0-3 vs these teams scoring a combined 25 points…that’s just FCS level stuff. They have some playmaking on the outside, and in the backfield, but with a lot of these guys returning there should be some sort of improvement as it can’t get much worse than what they did.
Returning Defensive Starter: 9
- Kenny Willekes, DE
- Mike Panasiuk, DT
- Raequan Williams, DT
- Jacub Panasiuk, DE
- Antjuan Simmons, LB
- Joe Bachie, LB
- Josiah Scott, DB
- David Dowell, DB
- Xavier Henderson, DB
While the offense was one of the worst in the country the Spartans defense was one of the best in the country. Having Joe Bachie–the leader of their defense–returning for his senior season is why they will still be one of the best defensive teams. They lost a few starters, but they have pretty good depth across the board on the defense. That mixed with a lot of experience that chose to return will keep Michigan State in the conversation.
Returning Special Teams Starters: 2
Michigan State seems to be one of the few lucky schools who have a decent kicker. Matt Coughlin isn’t great or anything, but I’ll take a college kicker who went 18-20 within 50 yards including going 4-5 in kicks between 40-49. As for punting they will get Jake Hartbarger back for a 6th season at Michigan State…talk about living in the glory days.
Key Losses
They lost LJ Scott for most of the season, but overall him not being there anymore is still a loss. They also lost Felton Davis III, their team leader in touchdown receptions. And on the defensive end, they lost Justin Layne–their best DB–and Andrew Dowell, their second-leading tackler.
Key Newcomer: Tre Mosely
Even though I mentioned that Michigan State has some ok skilled players, I am sure they are hoping someone comes in and just provides a spark, and Mosley could be that guy.
Wins Conference If:
They win the games they are supposed to. They have to win all their OOC games. Then between Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin they have to win at least two out of three and hope they get a tiebreaker. But really all this is on the hopes that Ohio State takes a deeper fall than people think and Michigan continues to be #FakeNews. And Michigan State will go as far as their defense takes them.
Circle This Game On The Calendar: at Ohio State, October 5th
Obviously, your biggest test will be against a team like Ohio State. Again, there could be a bigger drop off than anticipated, but until that happens we will treat Ohio State like their still a top 10 team. So playing at Ohio State in one of the loudest stadiums will really test this teams legitimacy.
Alcohol Prediction: Bourbon w/beer chaser
Bourbon with no rocks or something to cut with is tough to swallow. The beer chaser is supposed to warm you up. Then comes the challenge of drinking a neat bourbon. If you can tough it out you gain some respect, if not then no one will think any less because they thought you were a wuss anyway.
2019 Outlook:
vs Tulsa. W
vs Western Michigan. W
vs Arizona State. W
at Northwestern. W
vs Indiana. W
at Ohio State. L
at Wisconsin. L
vs Penn State. W
vs Illinois. W
at Michigan. L
at Rutgers. W
vs Maryland. W
Overall 9-3 (6-3)
