Michigan State 56, Wyoming 14

The Spartans rolled over their final non-conference foe Wyoming, 56-14.

 

Overall, it was a good performance by MSU, but there are some areas of concern, namely the safeties, who continue to get burned for big plays. This was a glaring problem against Oregon, and even Eastern Michigan has some open receivers, though Eagles' quarterback Rob Bolden had no time to throw the ball and when he was able to throw, his receivers dropped the ball almost every time.

 

It's not fair to expect "No Fly Zone Mach II," but there is definitely room for improvement.

It was also odd to see how many holding penalties the offensive line had, and the tough day had by Travis Jackson. I hope that's just a blip on the radar screen.

 

Despite those holding calls,the good news is the offense is clicking, albeit against subpar competition. This may end up being a year in which the Spartans win with a great offense and a serviceable defense, a reversal of last season.

 

Wyoming presented a much tougher opponent than Eastern Michigan. They are hardnosed and well coached--just outmanned.

 

Next week, the competition is ratcheted up considerably with Nebraska. This is the first Big Ten game of the season for Michigan State and we will know more about the Spartans, and the Cornhuskers, when it's over.

My weekly (and somewhat "weak") football post

Michigan State 73, Eastern Michigan 14. Looking at that score, one might assume that the Spartans had left their starters in maybe a bit too long, or perhaps tried to run up the score to impress pollsters...but nothing could be further from the truth. MSU emptied the bench in the first half, and four Spartan quarterbacks saw action.

That was the worst Eastern Michigan football team I've ever seen. They were terrible even by the low historical standards of the EMU program.

The first half of the game was such a mismatch that I felt sorry for the Eagles. That was not a football game, it was an annihilation. I have no doubt that Michigan State has had practices and scrimmages more challenging than what passed as a football game last Saturday.

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I'm back after several days of not being able to find enough computer time to write and post this.

So now the Spartans are on to the homecoming game against Wyoming. This is the earliest date I can ever remember homecoming arriving at Michigan State. Looking at MSU's upcoming schedule, I can see why homecoming is on September 27. October 4 would have been the more natural homecoming date, but it's a night game against Nebraska. Night games are no good for homecoming, and tough opponents like Nebraska are rarely homecoming opponents. MSU is then on the road for two weeks, with the final game in October against Michigan. Michigan is never the homecoming opponent (for reasons that should be obvious) and October 25 is way too late for homecoming, anyway.

The Wyoming Cowboys should be a big step up in competition after Eastern Michigan. (Then again, almost anyone would be step up compared to EMU). Wyoming comes to East Lansing with a 3-1 record and played Oregon tough at Autzen Stadium. Though they lost 48-14, the game was much more competitive than the score indicates. The way the Cowboys play the game is a mirror image of MSU, so this could be quite a battle in the trenches. Still, I see the Spartans pulling away in the second half and winning by a score in the neighborhood of 34-13.