Spartans look to come back from Ohio State loss with victory against rival

MSU defense vs. Michigan offense

Ohio State exposed MSU’s biggest flaw that everyone already knew about — speed kills the Spartans. With Michigan becoming the latest Big Ten team to employ a version of the spread offense, this could theoretically be another long day for the MSU defense. That being said, U-M’s offense lacks playmakers, and the Spartans — with the exception of last week — have played their “bend but don’t break” defense to perfection.

EDGE: MSU — True, MSU’s defense has struggled at times against faster teams, but one can only look at the Ohio State game so long until coming up with two inevitable facts that led to MSU’s loss: Terrelle Pryor and Chris “Beanie” Wells. The Wolverines don’t have either of those guys, and they also struggle with holding onto the ball, fumbling 25 times through seven games.

MSU running back Javon Ringer vs. U-M defense

Javon Ringer’s Heisman Trophy hopes are almost nonexistent now, but that doesn’t make him any less of a player. The 5-foot-9 senior still has 14 rushing touchdowns and 1,249 rushing yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Ringer emphatically stated at practice this week that he and his teammates are not overlooking U-M’s defense, which Ringer called the strength of its team. Although the Wolverines return seven starters from last year’s defense, they have struggled this season, allowing nearly 28 points a game.

EDGE: Ringer — If you think Ringer’s workload was high during the first few games of the season, just wait until you see his statistics after this game. MSU head coach Mark Dantonio doesn’t only want to beat the Wolverines on the scoreboard, he wants to physically beat them on the field. If Dantonio’s team is able to execute his game plan, there will be no question which team is the toughest in the state of Michigan.

MSU quarterback Brian Hoyer vs. MSU fans calling for his head

Brian Hoyer struggled last week against Ohio State, throwing for a paltry attempts before being sidelined to begin the second half with injuries to his left hand and head. The senior captain said he wanted to re-enter the game, but it took him until the middle of the third quarter to pass concussion tests. When Hoyer finally passed the tests, Dantonio played it safe with him. With Hoyer on the sideline, his backup, redshirt freshman Kirk Cousins, completed 18-of-25 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown and one interception, giving Hoyer haters even more ammunition to demand that he is benched.

EDGE: Hoyer — Let’s end it right now: Hoyer is the starter this week, he’ll be the starter next week against Wisconsin and barring injury, he’ll be the starter for the rest of the year. There is no reason to change quarterbacks when your team is 6-2 overall and 3-1 in its conference. Also, for as well as Cousins played, remember that he was playing against an Ohio State team that was winning 28-0 and guarding against the big play.

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio vs. U-M head coach Rich Rodriguez

In his second season as MSU’s head coach, no one can argue against Dantonio’s success. In his first year, he took the program to its first bowl game since 2003 and has the Spartans bowl eligible again this season with a 6-2 record. He also has worked hard to restore the program’s pride and tradition.

Down the road, Rich Rodriguez is struggling in his first year with the Wolverines, who are having trouble adjusting to his system and at 2-5, could miss their first bowl game since 1974. In Rich-Rod’s defense, he did inherit a Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Mario Manningham-less team.

EDGE: Dantonio — First and foremost, nobody ever accused MSU’s family values of “eroding” under Dantonio, like former U-M offensive lineman Justin Boren said about the Wolverines under Rodriguez. Granted, it might be unfair to judge Rodriguez after just seven games, but as of now, the edge goes to Dantonio.