Re: MSU. I think it's pretty simple why MSU is struggling...

[Reality Man]

it's the defense. There is no Cousins or Cook but it's not the like the offense is terrible. They just can't play ball control/Tressell/Dantonio ball because their defense is a sieve.

That is the problem. They lost guys on the DL and in the secondary and they have a below average defense which is not conducive to playing mistake free ball. Look at all their games...their opponents score frequently and MSU isn't running some wide open spread team. If they had a better qb like Cousins/Cook then they probably would be 4-3 right now but what made them a GREAT Big Ten program over the past 5 years was DEFENSE.

MSU didn't have to score a ton of points to win. MSU cuts the number of points down in 1/2 in these games they are above .500. The TO's are a result of trying to have to do too much on the offensive side. They aren't built that way.




RM

 

[maelfan]

it's the defense. There is no Cousins or Cook but it's not the like the offense is terrible. They just can't play ball control/Tressell/Dantonio ball because their defense is a sieve.

That is the problem. They lost guys on the DL and in the secondary and they have a below average defense which is not conducive to playing mistake free ball. Look at all their games...their opponents score frequently and MSU isn't running some wide open spread team. If they had a better qb like Cousins/Cook then they probably would be 4-3 right now but what made them a GREAT Big Ten program over the past 5 years was DEFENSE.

MSU didn't have to score a ton of points to win. MSU cuts the number of points down in 1/2 in these games they are above .500. The TO's are a result of trying to have to do too much on the offensive side. They aren't built that way.




RM

I think it's a bit more complicated but mostly I agree. They are 1-6 in their last 7 vs. FBS and regardless of the scores I don't think have looked good in one of those games. I also think they clearly have major locker room issues, some of which I think are due to Dantonio completely botching his QB situation.

The reality is while they have obviously created a lot of their own success and deserve credit for that, especially Dantonio, they have had a lot of breaks fall their way endlessly since Carr announced his retirement. Those breaks have included completely dormant programs for the most part in Ann Arbor, Happy Valley, and South Bend other than a good year or two for each program the last 9 years. Not to mention numerous other issues. Certain breaks, including internally such as injuries, recruiting misses or just barely average recruiting compared to their biggest recruiting rivals. There is a lot more in my opinion, not to mention the Harbaugh effect. Too bad for MSU.

 

[BigHouseBallin]

Narduzzi is gone. Unless they get a comparable replacement their run is over..

 

[jemblue]

I think they actually peaked in 2013, and weren't nearly as good in '14 and '15, but superb QB play by Cook (and some good luck) allowed them to squeak out a lot of games. They should have been more like an 8-4 team last year. This year the lack of good QB play really highlights how many other deficiencies they have. They really aren't all that talented overall.

I agree with others that there probably is dissension in the locker room at this point, also. When you get outscored in the 4th quarter by a huge amount, something's not right. They're not pulling together when it counts.