Here's a quick post before the MSU/Western Michigan game starts, about a half hour from the point I've begun typing this.
The Spartans don't have any easy non-conference games this season. All four of the teams they play-- Western, Oregon, Air Force, and Central Michigan--played in bowl games last season. Oregon, of course, played in the national championship game, and strangely enough, Western Michigan and Air Force played each other in a bowl game, with Air Force prevailing.
Western comes into this game with a potent offense featuring some excellent skill players. The quarterback , Zach Terrell (3443 yds in 2014 with 26 TD and only 10 INTs, 67.9 completion percentage) is in his 3rd season and is already 22 years old. Jarvion Franklin, the starting running back, has been compared to Le'Veon Bell, and wide receivers Daniel Braverman, Kendrick Roberts, and Corey Davis are good players. The Broncos also have an experienced offensive line.
Western may be able to put some points on the board in this game and hang with the Spartans at least through the end of the first half and maybe into the third quarter, but the Spartans should have too much depth for them and wear down Western in the second half. The score should be somewhere in the neighborhood of MSU 38, WMU 20.
It'll be interesting to see just how good MSU's defense is. Will there be any noticeable differences in schemes with Harlon Barnett as co-defensive coordinator.
There are still question marks with the Spartans. Jeremy Langford is gone and Madre London, L.J. Scott, Gerald Holmes, and Delton Williams are most likely challenging each other for the starting position--though Delton Williams, with his difficulties over the off-season, is a wild card. The receiving corps is also a puzzle. Aaron Burbridge should have a good year, but what of Macgarrett Kings, A.J. Troup, R.J. Shelton, and DeAnthony Arnett? Presumably, they will all be ready to roll, but who knows.
Well, there's my two-bit, half-hour analysis. The game is about to start.
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