Ok guys, here's my take, again. I said last week that a three-pronged attack against Michigan all geared at field position and ball control was how to win. Against an explosive offense this week, that becomes even more important.
Offense
This isn't just a cliche, games are won and lost in the trenches. Our offensive line needs to play well in order to win this game. They need to be physical, they need to dominate the line of scrimmage and they need to open up the holes for the running game. If we can't run the ball, we will lose. We have to get better on first and second down. If we go more than a few 3 and outs I think we will lose. We can't give MSU a short field to work with and we can't leave our defense on the field for a long portion of the game. They hold up, but no defense can be out on the field all game. The offensive line is the key to us being able to control the clock and converting on third down.
On a slight side note to running the ball effectively, MSU's number one and two tacklers on defense are their safeties. We have to be able to run the ball well and keep them committed to stoping it. Then we need to take advantage of play action and one-on-one matchups down field.
We need to get back to the Weis offense of spreading the field and making the opposing defense defend everything and everyone. We don't have great speed at wide out and running back so we have to make sure we stretch the field by creating for all of our players. Part of this may be going no huddle in an attempt to force the defense into a base package and creating personel mismatches. Part of it may be getting the ball into the hands of multiple receivers, backs, tight ends, etc. All of it will start with the offensive line giving Brady and Darius enough time to operate the offense.
Defense
Contain Stanton. This doesn't mean pressure or sack Stanton, but watch out for his ability to run and pass. You can bet MSU has seen the GT game film and watched Reggie Ball run up the middle on QB draws for 20+ yards. We need to be ready for the option, for roll out passes, for read plays, and for the designed QB run. This doesn't mean we have to get sacks, we just need to get pressure and contain him. We can't let his scrambling ability get them a ton of first downs like Troy Smith did in the Fiesta Bowl last year. We need to get their explosive offense off the field.
To the tune of my first point above, we need to get them off the field on third down. This is the exact type of offense our defense got geared for in the summer. Let's stay back, keep everything in front of us, and make them work for everything. Our increased speed in the secondary and at linebacker should play right into this. And it isn't like they are going to line up and run the ball down our throats so Zibi and Duke can play the deep ball and not worry about stopping the run.
We need to generate some turnovers. We won PSU not because we played that much better but because we forced them into mistakes early on in the game and capitalized on those mistakes. It was the same last weekend except we were on the opposite side of things.
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