Big Ten’s Big Matchup: Michigan State at Northwestern

Oct / 10 / 08 - 3:26pm › Kaner
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There’s a big one happening north of the Windy City this weekend when the Spartans make the trek to Evanston to match up with the unbeaten Northwestern Wildcats. I’ve been patrolling the message boards, blogs etc. the tension is high. Big-Ten fans seem split, MSU fans contest, “Don’t be fooled, this isn’t a game” with an air of confidence that seems to say, “I’m a little nervous but I got a chip on my shoulder to hold off the cats”. Outsiders see it differently, people want to see David slay Goliath (MSU isn’t really Goliath this year but they are the toughest opponent the Cats have seen to this point) claiming that NW will slow down the Spartans and have an upset on their hands.

Being the ACC man that I am, I ensure that I will maintain a fair and balanced approach to the game (because I don’t believe in the Big-Ten that much. We will discuss that come bowl season.)

The Cats show up 5-0 but let’s run down the opponent list – Syracuse, Duke, Southern Illinois, Ohio and Iowa. Had the Cats dropped any of those games no one would have been shocked, but they haven’t. They won all of those games. They have proved to be a consistently higher caliber but those aren’t great teams.

The Iowa win was big, but the Hawkeyes coughed the ball up 5 times, giving up their 14 point lead. One of those came on a Wildcat punt, right before the first half. Iowa mishandled the punt on the 33 yard line with a minute to go. Northwestern managed to get 7 on the board right before the half, and cut the deficit in half. You can’t underestimate that momentum change going into a locker room. If Iowa could have kept NW on the ropes until halftime, the home team may have had the confidence to finish the game. They didn’t. Iowa needs to put in a call to Rich Rodriguez for the memo he already received: you can’t win games when you don’t have the ball.

The Cats are certainly an opportunistic team, a balanced team with a quality quarterback in CJ Bacher and a running game that averages almost 5 yards per carry. Really, they can manage to win games. This isn’t Oklahoma we’re talking about. So the defense is the real question for the Cats. Can they hope to stop, or even slow Javon Ringer?

Off the top of your head you would say, “Have you seen Ringer? There’s no way.” That’s not an unreasonable claim. He is a horse, he has three 200 yard games. Those came, though, on an average of 40 plus carries and against ND, Florida Atlantic and Indiana.

The reality is the Wildcats could slow him down. Iowa did it last week. Ringer touched the ball 25 times and only went for 91 yards. The Spartans came away with the W, but if the Cats can limit the time of possession for MSU and play with a lead this week, then State will be forced to give the ball to QB Brian Hoyer rather than Ringer.

Then again, the Wildcats secondary has to stop Brian Hoyer, who, while he has only found the end zone 4 times this year, has thrown for almost 1200 yards this year. He can move the ball. He’s not Juice Williams or Terrelle Pryor but he’s a quality QB. If the Spartans can convert first downs and get in the red-zone you can be sure Ringer will do his best to find the end zone, he has 12 times this year.

On the other side of the ball, defense has had quite a bit to do with the 5-0 record of Northwestern. They haven’t given up more than 20 points this year and on average give up on 12 points a game. They did however allow 400 plus yards of offense for Iowa and I’m sure Hawkeyes fans agree, if Iowa held on to the football like they should have, the Wildcats would be sitting at 4-1.

Let’s cut to the chase. Northwestern has been tough to this point but if the Northwestern defense slips and Hoyer and Ringer get a lead then Dantonio’s Spartans won’t fall in Evanston. On the other hand, if Fitzgerald’s boys get on the board early, and scrap for some turnovers than the Wildcats could come out 6-0. It will be a battle, but I say look for mistakes, letting up big plays or turnovers are what will decide the game.

Personally, I’m siding with Ringer, any dude that is 5’9” and can carry a workload like his, has my respect. I say he brings his lunch pail to work gets 130 on almost 30 touches and breaks one for at least 40 yards. That breakout is the difference maker. 21-13, Spartans win.