Victory 4 MSU

This Saturday will be the first meeting between the Spartans of Michigan State and the Florida Atlantic Owls of the Sun Belt Conference. The Owls have experienced a meteoric rise in the college football world since becoming a division 1-A program only four years ago. Under the instruction of head coach Howard Schnellenberger the team went 8-5 in 2007 and defeated the Memphis Tigers of C-USA in the New Orleans Bowl. For a more detailed look at FAU check out my Opponent Overview of them right here.

Let’s take a look at what they’ve done so far in 2008 and look ahead to our matchup Saturday. The Owls kicked off their ‘08 campaign in Austin, Texas against the Longhorns in front of 98,000+ fans. There was a bit of talk coming from the upstart Owls prior to the season opener, and surprisingly the best bulletin board material came from coach Schnellenberger himself. In a FAU student newspaper the coach was quoted as saying “Texas always has been a very polished team that has great talent, but they aren’t tough. They aren’t a physically tough team.”

The Longhorns apparently took offense to this and displayed just how tough they are, slaughtering the Owls 52-10. Texas was also able to stifle the potent Owl passing game while starting two freshmen at safety in their very first collegiate game. The first half may have been a wake-up call to the Texas secondary as they allowed 226 yards through the air, but they shut it down in the second; allowing only 53 total yards to FAU. Click through for this week’s matchups.

The Owls wanted to restore some pride after their epic failure in Austin when they hosted UAB in week two. The Spartans hosted UAB for their 2007 season opener and handled them easily 55-18. The Owls hoped to do something similar but gave up a few points to the Blazers along the way, winning 49-32. It was disappointing to surrender that many points to a struggling UAB team and MSU certainly won’t be any easier to defend.

The Spartans are coming off a very close loss to Cal in Berkeley 38-31 and a big win over Eastern 42-10 in East Lansing. My postgame wrap of the Eastern game can be read here.

The Matchups

MSU Offensive Line vs FAU Defensive Line

The defensive ends for Florida Atlantic are woefully undersized. Their starting left DE Julian Myers is listed at 6′3 218. The Spartans’ starting right tackle Jesse Miller is listed at 6′6 318. Miller has a 100 pound advantage on him, so it should basically feel like he is blocking his little sister out there. On the other end for the Owls, Michael Hancock is listed at 6′7 230. 230 is quite skinny for someone who is 6′7. Again, the Spartans will have a huge advantage as left tackle Rocco Cironi is 6′6 308: a 78 pound size differential. The Owls’ defensive tackles appear to be of good size at 280 and 300 pounds. However, with their ends blocked one-on-one by Miller and Cironi, this leaves Joel Foreman, Joel Nitchman and Roland Martin free to provide massive holes for Ringer to bust a move and copious time for Hoyer make plays.

Advantage: MSU

MSU Wide Receivers vs FAU Defensive Backs

Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham are both big guys; Dell is 6′2 188 and Cunningham is also 6′2, but a little thicker at 205 pounds. I expect this to create some mismatches because the starting corners for FAU are both 5′10: senior Corey Small and sophomore Tavious Polo. The Owls’ safeties are a little bigger, and both are seniors: 6′1 200 lb Carldayle Brantley and 5′11 195 lb Greg Joseph. Even if the Owls had the size on Mark and B.J. I would still be confident that their playmaking ability would come through; this just makes it easier.

Advantage: MSU

MSU Running Backs vs FAU Linebackers

The Owls start three fifth-year seniors with good size at linebacker, but after Texas put up 232 yards on the ground and UAB managed 156, I’m confident that Javon Ringer can easily go over 100 yards again this season. I expect to see Andre Anderson, A.J. Jimmerson and Ashton Leggett getting some carries as well and all will be successful.

Advantage: MSU

FAU Offensive Line vs MSU Defensive Line

One interesting fact from this season: the Owls have not allowed one sack. After playing Texas and UAB they have protected Rusty Smith well even though the left side of their line is extremely undersized. How they managed to do this, especially on the quarterback’s blind side, with a 250 lb left tackle and a 255 lb left guard is a mystery. I will give them credit for that. On our side, Trevor Anderson and Brandon Long have been playing very well and improving every game. Justin Kershaw is also having a great senior season. This will be an interesting matchup to watch.

Advantage: Even

FAU Wide Receivers vs MSU Defensive Backs

We may see Ross Weaver move to safety this game with true freshman Johnny Adams and junior Jeremy Ware splitting time at his corner spot. Each of those guys provide a desperately needed speed boost at the position. The other corner spot will be manned by Chris L. Rucker who has played well and has good size at 6′2. The only true star player in the MSU secondary is senior strong safety Otis Wiley. Wiley will need help from his younger teammates to contain the Owls. The Owls’ top three receivers all have good size standing 6′2, 6′3 and 6′3. Their two 6′5 tight ends could also present a problem; and they are utilized extensively in the FAU offense. EMU’s tight ends were able to get open far too easily last week, so if our linebackers can’t pick them up better FAU will be able to rack up some yards.

Advantage: FAU

FAU Running Backs vs MSU Linebackers

I expect we will see the quicker combination of Brandon Denson, Greg Jones and Eric Gordon for a majority of this game. FAU hasn’t shown they can run, managing only 37 yards on the ground at Texas and on top of that, defending the run is a strength on our defense. I’m not sure they will even try.

Advantage: MSU

Keys to the Game

Michigan State

1. Run the ball on offense and eat up clock. This provides a dual benefit in that our defense will remain well-rested and it keeps the Owls’ potent offense off the field. I think the Spartans will be able to do this with our size advantage on the line and of course Javon Ringer in the backfield.
2. Get pressure on Owls quarterback Rusty Smith. Our best option for pass defense may be a quality pass rush. Giving a star quarterback such as Rusty too much time allows him to pick apart the secondary for big gains. Expect many blitzes from Narduzzi as the Spartans attempt to give Rusty his first sack of the season and keep him on his toes.

Florida Atlantic

1. Find a way to contain Javon Ringer. If the Owls cannot stop the run, this will be a long game for them. Forcing Hoyer to go to the air gives them a chance.
2. Run quick, short pass routes with a few long balls thrown in on offense. The Spartans are vulnerable to dink-dunk passing games, and this might act like an established running game in that it could open up the deep play.

Final Thoughts

I think the Spartans win this one. Our offense will be able to score almost at will and eat up time on the game clock. When the Owls offense gets on the field they will be able to move the ball and they will score some points; just not enough to win the game. I want to see if our defense can handle a pass-first team going into the spread-happy Big 10 conference. Hopefully our defensive backs can step up their play and we make some stops.

Prediction:

Michigan State Spartans 42 - Florida Atlantic Owls 27

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Tags: Florida Atlantic Owls

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 12:27 am and is filed under Gameday Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.