Postgame Wrap: Eastern Michigan
Yesterday truly was a “beautiful day for football” in East Lansing. Mostly sunny (maybe too sunny; I got a nice burn), temperature in the low 70s with a cool breeze and a delicious cupcake to dine on as our opponent. I really expected more of a fight from the Eagles after their 52-0 dismantling of Indiana State the previous week, but as the game unfolded it became clear that our players were simply bigger, faster and stronger than the opposition. As they say, talent trumps everything else, and the Spartans had more of that on the field Saturday.
This game was a chance for the team to regain some confidence after a crushing loss last week to a very good Cal squad. Just a reminder: we lost to Cal by only 7 points (38-31) after playing a below-average game, committing more penalties than usual, having some controversial calls go against us and having to play 2,000 miles away in a hostile environment all on the very first game of the year. This same Cal team then went on to destroy Washington State 66-3 in their house. Now, WSU may be a mediocre Pac-10 team, but they are still a quality, division 1-A, BCS opponent and the Bears completely embarassed them in their own backyard. After the Eastern game and knowing what the Bears did to Wash St, that 1st week loss isn’t looking nearly as bad as it seemed immediately following the game.
The Hard Facts
Getting back to week 2, let’s take a look at the notable statistics from the matchup with the Eastern Michigan Eagles. First, the final score of 42-10. I thought the offense could have put up a bigger number than this, and they certainly would have if it weren’t for a Javon Ringer fumble on the first drive of the game as he dived into the endzone and a dropped touchdown pass to B.J. Cunningham on the second drive. Also factoring into the lower score (hard to call 42 points a “low” score) was the vanilla playcalling from Dantonio and Treadwell. Dantonio wanted to establish the power running game and he made sure of it by telling Don Treadwell at times to just run it. When the other team knows you are going to run the ball and you can still just run it down their throats, that is the sign of a good power football team.
The individual stat of the day belongs to Javon Ringer and his 5 touchdown performance, which would have been 6 if it weren’t for the fumble. Ringer has shown he can carry the load and be the workhorse for this team with a career-high 34 carries for 135 yards. Where last year Jehuu Caulcrick would have pounded the ball into the endzone, it’s now Ringer going in for six points. Javon worked hard in the offseason to build his lower body strength (he can squat 600+) so he can punish defenders and run through them; and it is certainly paying off.
The passing game went very well this week; a marked improvement (at least in efficiency) over the game in California. Hoyer went 8 of 12 for 148 yards and backup quarterback Kirk Cousins saw some playing time, going 3 of 4 for 32 yards. Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham continue to amaze and impress, each getting 3 receptions for 71 and 76 yards respectively. Cunningham made a spectacular one-handed catch in the third quarter for a gain of 46 yards to the EMU 7, setting up another Javon Ringer touchdown. I believe the play made ESPN’s top ten.
On the defensive side, Eric Gordon led with 7 total tackles including 2 solo, while Dan Fortener had an impressive 5 solo tackles with 6 total. Justin Kershaw and Trevor Anderson each had a solo sack in the game.
The Negatives
I’ll start out with the negative aspects of the Spartan’s performance on Saturday so you can read some positives at the end of the article and feel all warm and fuzzy when you finish. In a game like this there aren’t too many glaring mistakes or anything to get too upset over. It truly was a dominating performance for the Spartans with a few little setbacks along the way.
The most obvious negative is the average play of our secondary. There were a couple of plays where they got torched for big gains by the Eagles, and several occasions where they would have been torched if the Eagles receiver had caught the ball. The secondary needs to step up their performance soon because Florida Atlantic, Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan and Purdue won’t be as forgiving as EMU in that respect. Each of those teams run a version of the spread and could present serious problems if we can’t defend receivers. The Spartans cannot afford to continue giving up big plays.
The other slightly negative aspect of the game was the offensive and defensive line play. I’m not saying that the line play was poor, in fact in many instances it was great. But in some cases it could have and should have been better. Beginning with the offense, Javon had to really work hard for every yard he gained because often there wasn’t anywhere for him to run. The line needs to be able to create holes and sustain blocks for the running game to be successful against the larger defensive lines of the Big-10. The OL is young on the left side with Rocco Cironi and Joel Foreman seeing their first extensive playing time, so I expect them to improve greatly as the year goes on and they gain experience.
On the other side of the ball, the line played very well for much of the game. Both Kershaw and Anderson had sacks and a bit of pressure was applied to Eagles quarterback Andrew Schmitt. However, on more than one occasion Schmitt had all the time in the world back in the pocket to make a play. It may have been a combination of Brandon Long not being 100% and possibly Pat Narduzzi keeping things vanilla, but the defensive line will need to apply more pressure to the upcoming teams on our schedule. Giving too much time to the quarterback of a spread offense team will allow him to pick apart our secondary… a known weakness.
The Positives
I think the positives overshadow the negatives this week. Starting with the ground game, Javon Ringer proved he can be relied upon to get yards on the ground and punch it into the endzone. As the offensive line matures and gels this year look for those holes to open up and for Ringer to break a few long runs. Another important development in the running game is the emergence of redshirt freshman Andre Anderson. Anderson established himself as the number two back with an eight-carry, 75 yard game. Anderson is a little quicker than Ringer and hits the hole quickly with less side-to-side juking. Running back will definitely be a strength at MSU for several years to come.
Going to the air, the dynamic duo of Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham continues to impress as they each made big plays for the Spartan offense. These two receivers may be the best tandem in the Big-10; not in the future, but right now. Both possess a talent for making big, explosive, spectacular plays and will certainly factor into the future of this program. Maybe the best news is that Dell is a true sophomore and Cunningham is only a redshirt freshman.
Brian Hoyer looked improved from last week, connecting for 8 of 12 and appearing calm and poised on the field. His backup Kirk Cousins got some playing time as well, and he looked solid going 3 of 4. This team isn’t doomed if Cousins has to step in at some point.
On the defensive side, Otis Wiley continued his high level of play this week not only at safety, but as a playmaking punt returner, nearly taking one to the house. True freshman Johnny Adams got some time at corner and made a few good plays including blowing up a receiver to force an incompletion. He is very quick and will be a great cornerback in the very near future. Chris L. Rucker also continued his good play at corner. On the line, senior Justin Kershaw looked solid and had a sack along with defensive end Trevor Anderson, who has improved his play since Cal.
Overall, the team only committed 3 penalties; half as much as the Cal game, so that’s an improvement. Also, I have to give props to the student section which is larger than ever this year at 16,000+. They really brought it strong for the game and disrupted the Eagles on offense. I think they deserve another entrance gate so they can actually get into the game on-time. The total attendance was also a positive at 71,789 which is very good for Eastern Michigan.
Final Thoughts and Looking Ahead
What I learned from this game: buy a hat and apply sunblock. I also learned that we have a very solid future at wide receiver, running back and corner back. Florida Atlantic comes to East Lansing next week with their high-scoring offense which should make for a good game. I’ll post a preview on Wednesday or Thursday. Later!
Game MVP
Javon Ringer
The Spartans are 1-1 (0-0)
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September 9th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
After viewing the game again, it appears that the play(s) where Andy Schmitt had a lot of time in the pocket was when we were only rushing 3 up front. This gave him the time to find an open receiver or dump off to the tight end, who was unfortunately wide open on several plays. In upcoming games Narduzzi needs to rush four and keep pressure on the quarterback, especially against spread teams like Northwestern and Indiana.
Looking more closely at the secondary and defense in general, I made a couple more observations. Chris L. Rucker was actually beat a couple of times including one play where he pushed the receiver out of bounds. Ross Weaver just plain got burned a couple times, so hopefully KDC can make a quick recovery and get back on the field.
On several plays the Eagles’ tight end simply ran ahead 5 or so yards and was wide open to make a play. Our linebackers need to be quicker in picking that up, especially with FAU coming in. They often utilize a two tight end set to go with their wide receivers.
Against the run the defense was excellent with the exception of one play, I’m sure you know which one I’m talking about. On that play defensive end Colin Neely lost containment on the edge by trying to make a play inside. He’s not the starter, but I’m sure he will adjust either way.
On the line, Joel Foreman looked very good at LG as a redshirt freshman. On one of the plays that senior backup Mike Bacon played he allowed the Eagles linebacker to get in the backfield unblocked to sack Hoyer. I expect Foreman to be the starter there from now on.
Also, Brandon Denson looked very good at linebacker. I think we may see more of the Gordon - Jones - Denson lineup there. Dan Fortener made some nice plays as well.