It’s August and the regular football season opens in three weeks, and that means there is an abundance of hype including some indisputable truths: the Sparta Close ns are being overlooked as Big Ten contenders (again), while Michigan is predicted to do something they haven’t done in 15 years, and that is win a Big Ten Championship.
Of course the pundits have been consistently incorrect on both counts. For those who don’t get distracted by media hype (which I think is 100% of my readers), there is a different story…and the Spartans are more likely to win the Big Ten than Michigan and it starts with the Spartans Championship caliber Defense. Let’s take a look.
The Spartans have the “D”:
Here is another indisputable truth: the Spartans have a Championship caliber Defense. They return 9 starters from a unit that ranked among the best Defenses in the land in 2018. When measured against 130 Division 1 teams, the Spartan Defense ranked #1 Rushing; #8 Scoring; and #10 Total Defense.
When measured in Big Ten competition, the Spartan Defense ranked #1 in three “key” Defensive categories: #1 Rushing (yielding just 94 Yards per game); #1 in Scoring Defense (yielding less than 17 Points per game)…and #1 in Red Zone Defense (yielding just 8 TD’s when opponents advanced inside their 20 Yard Line: that’s less than 1 TD per game).
Yet, most impressive is the fact the Spartan Defense was virtually impenetrable in the final 5 games of the season, yielding an average of just 79 Yards Rushing…144 Yards Passing…an average of just 223 Yards per game, while yielding just 55 points total in the final 5 games or an average of just 11 Points per game: those are Championship caliber stats, and that is the launching point for the start of the 2019 season. So it would be a huge mistake to dismiss the Spartans.
In addition, there was great improvement in the Spartan Defense during the season.
The Spartans Pass Defense was exceedingly porous in the first 5 games yielding an average of 305 Yards per game. Yet by the end of the season the Pass Defense was lockdown. The Pass Defense got into a rhythm in the final 5 games under Paul Haynes the newly appointed Defensive Backfield Coach and yielded an average of just 144 Yards Passing in the final 5 games…that’s an improvement of 160 Yards per game (-160) from the start of the season.
By every measure, opposing Defenses were simply unable to move the chains with any consistency vs the Spartans Defense in 2018, and Defensive Coordinator, Mike Tressel deserves huge credit because he has taken the Baton and made a consistently good Defense, one of the best…a Championship caliber Defense if you will!
Of course success on Defense starts up front, and the Line Coaches including Ron Burton (Defensive Line)…Chuck Bullough (Defensive Ends)…and Mike Tressel (Linebackers) should be recognized for shaping a Championship caliber front 7. And from my perspective, Mike Tressel has everything needed to become heir apparent to the Spartans Head Coaching job after Mark Dantonio steps down.
Nevertheless, if the Spartans hope to win a Big Ten Championship in 2019, they have to improve their Offensive production which was among the worst in Spartan history last season.
The Spartans incredible shrinking Offense:
How bad was the Spartan Offense in 2018?
Beyond bad…it was deplorable.
When measured against 130 Division 1 schools, the Spartan Offense ranked #116 in Total Offense, producing less than 350 Yards per game. Of course there were injuries in 2018, but we can’t deny the decline of the Spartan Offense over the past 5 years and the national rankings tell the story:
- 2014…#11
- 2015…#73
- 2016…#75
- 2017…#91
- 2018…#116
To underscore the offensive frustrations in 2018, the Spartans averaged less than 120 Yards Rushing in Big Ten competition and that was “dead last” in the Big Ten…and that is hard to comprehend…and that is exactly “why” Dave Warner (Offensive Coordinator) and Mark Staten (Offensive Line Coach) were replaced by Brad Salem and Jim Bollman respectively.
Warner and Staten are good coaches but clearly a change was needed.
So, I submit the Spartans Championship fortunes in 2019 will ride on the shoulders of Brad Salem and Jim Bollman. It will be incumbent upon Salem and Bollman to turn a dysfunctional Offense into an efficient Offense. Nothing heroic required. When paired with the Spartans Championship caliber Defense, Salem and Bollman need to remodel the Offense to produce a balanced attack of 200 Yards Rushing and 200 Yards Passing per game, yet that’s not heroic.
For example, to put 400 Yards of Offensive production into perspective, in 2018 an average of 400 Yards per game ranked #70 when measured against 130 Division 1 teams, or #8 when measured in Big Ten competition, yet that’s enough Offensive production to compete for a Big Ten Championship when paired with the Spartans “lockdown” Defense.
Of course, the “key” element to improving the Spartan Offense is improving the Offensive Line. Needless to say, the best Quarterbacks, Running Backs and Receivers are marginalized if their Offensive Line is unable to control the Line of Scrimmage.
Count me as one who believe Brad Salem and Jim Bollman can reverse the Offensive decline. It’s worth noting, Jim Bollman was Offensive Line Coach and Offensive Coordinator at Ohio State during Jim Tressel Championship years, so he has the expertise and wherewithal to rebuild the Spartan Offensive Line and I believe the Spartans will be in the Championship conversation throughout the season.
And at the bottom line, the Spartans have won 4 of the last 5 in Ann Arbor, and Mark Dantonio is 2-0 vs Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor…and while the pundits are romanticizing about Jim Harbaugh, nevertheless the smart money is on Mark Dantonio and the Spartans to beat Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor again this season.
