The Spartan faithful want to continue to believe in Mark Dantonio and his program’s resilience. They responded to a season that saw them win only three games by winning ten. Last year, they brought back a ton of talent and production from that ten-win team. With that came some very real expectations. After a 7-6 season, the Spartans again return a bunch of pieces.
That’s all great. A lot of contributors are back in the fold. Some leaders from 2018 are missing but back is Kenny Willekes, Joe Bachie, and Josiah Scott. Michigan State’s elite defense should be just that again. In today’s world, that’s necessary but not sufficient. You have to score. Michigan State is flat-out not good at that.
Brian Lewerke needs to be a better quarterback. I believe that a healthy, confident Brian Lewerke can be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten. We didn’t see that version of him very much last season. Apparently, he’s back in form and ready for fall 2019. He needs to play much better football, especially in the big moments and games.
The offensive line was soft last year. They’ve added some weight and hopefully some strength. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’ve gotta be able to run the ball. You have to be confident that as an offense, you can grind out two or three yards when you need to. Furthermore, your quarterback can’t operate if he’s not confident in the offensive line. The offensive line has got to improve.
The death of the MSU offense truly occurred when Felton Davis went down for the year. The MSU receivers were nagged by injuries all season. I like to think that a healthy group at receiver will go a long way in maintaining an effective passing game.
The Spartans have the leadership and talent to be a contender. But the success of the 2019 team will rely on their ability to score. If they can’t, then we’ll see a repeat of last season’s result.
Outlook
The schedule itself is favorable. Trips to Columbus and Ann Arbor are never fun. Penn State and Arizona State both come into East Lansing. It’s a very manageable slate.
New offensive coordinator Brad Salem will need to have that offense ready to go from the onset of the season.
So to answer my own question, yes they are. But the execution is a whole other matter.
