Give credit to Wisconsin’s formidable Defense, yet the Spartans Offense virtually disappeared yesterday.
On Saturday, Wisconsin had a lot to play for: they were playing for a Big Ten West title, a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game, and they were also playing for a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
On the other hand, the Spartans were playing for pride, and Pride wasn’t enough and the Spartans got dismantled by a score of 38-0.
An imperfect stage was set for the Spartans: the loss to Arizona State took a goal of playing in Football’s Final Four off the table…the loss to Ohio State took the Big Ten Championship off the table, and with diminished incentives, the Spartans melted away. The Spartans Offense was virtually unable to move the football against Wisconsin and at the end of the day, the Spartans left Camp Randall Stadium dazed and confused.
Now the Spartans will go quietly into a “Bye Week” with lots of questions and very few answers.
The largest question facing the Spartans Coaching staff is: are there any “fixes” for the Spartans Offense which has declined dramatically after the 2014 season?
In the 1st Half, the Spartans Offense had the football for just 18 plays, thereby eking out just 11 Yards Rushing…27 Yards Passing…and possessed the football for just 6 min & 34 sec.
And at the end of the game, the Spartans Offense compiled just 30 Yards Rushing (net)…a meager 119 Yards Passing (net)…converted just 2 of 14, 3rd Down opportunities, and controlled the football for just 20 minutes, and those miniscule stats enabled Wisconsin to relentlessly attack the Spartans Defense for nearly 40 minutes, and there is not a Defense in the land that can withstand the magnitude of that onslaught.
And if we dial back the calendar to the Ohio State game, the Spartans Rushing Offense posted just 67 Yards Rushing (net) just one week ago. So in the past two football games, the Spartans Rushing Offense has posted just 97 Yards Rushing total. Let that sink in: the Spartans Rushing Offense has compiled just 97 Yards total in the last two football games: so where is this headed?
I have been saying since the beginning of the season the minimum Rushing threshold to compete for Championships is 200 Yards per game, yet that is a threshold the Spartans haven’t achieved since 2014.
In fact, when we count 2015, the Spartans Rushing Offense has only averaged about 150 Yards per game. Of course, last year the Rushing Offense fell to an historic low of just 125 Yards per game, yet this year the Rushing Offense has fallen even further, averaging just 117 Yards Rushing per game.
So, the Offense is floundering but where does it go from here?
There were Defensive mistakes as well:
And while the Spartans only committed 5 penalties for negative 40 yards, nevertheless they committed critical penalties, at critical times, such as Kenny Willikes lining up Offside.
Lining up Offside is an unthinkable mistake, and the Spartans paid a price and here is how it played out. With about 10 minutes remaining in the 2nd Qtr, the score was 14-0 in favor of Wisconsin, and at that point, the scoring differential was manageable. Nevertheless, Wisconsin had the football 3rd & 2 at the Wisconsin 45 Yard Line.
At that point, Wisconsin Quarterback Jack Coan threw an incomplete pass to force 4th Down and Wisconsin would arguably be forced to punt the football back to the Spartans, yet Willikes was flagged for Lining up Offside: that’s an inexcusable foul. After all, as a Defensive End the football was clearly visible to Willikes who is by all accounts a smart player, yet Lining up Offside is a decidedly dumb mistake. Yet it has happened to Willikes more than once this season.
Due to the infraction, Wisconsin was given a 1st Down at the 50, but most importantly a dynamic Offense such as Wisconsin was given a gift to sustain their drive.
It’s also noteworthy, at that point, the Spartans Defense was forcing Wisconsin to work exceedingly hard, and it took Wisconsin 11 plays to move the football 39 Yards to the Spartans 11 Yard Line, whereby Jack Coan completed a pass for no gain and thereby failed to convert on 3rd & 8. And so, on 4th & 8, Wisconsin lined up to kick a 29 Yard Field Goal: the Kick was good, and Wisconsin was able to take a 17-0 lead into Halftime.
Willikes penalty didn’t “lose the football game” but Willikes penalty was emblematic of the Spartans committing a mistake here, committing a mistake there, and it added up to helping Wisconsin win a football game.
The normally disciplined Spartans have committed critical mistakes the past two seasons, but then have developed a painful penchant for beating themselves.
Where do the Spartans go from here?
This season started with so much optimism, but it is now at a crossroads inasmuch as the Spartans have a Big Ten record of 2-2 and tied for 6th place overall behind Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan.
It’s also worth noting, since the start of the 2016 season, the Spartans have posted a woeful Big Ten won/lost record of 15 wins and 16 losses.
In his postgame news conferences, Mark Dantonio, a man who has had an abundance of answers since taking over the reins of Michigan State Football, seemingly didn’t have answers for the Spartans swoon and he sounded deflated if not defeated: it was painful to watch and listen. Yet, Mark Dantonio and his staff have a “Bye Week” to try to find some answers, unfortunately it’s nearly impossible to correct course in mid-season.
There will be plenty more to look into in the next few days, but we’ll leave it there for now.
