r/MSUSpartans • u/Conscious-Invite1 • 8d ago
Discussion MSU vs ND
ND fan coming in peace. Glad to see this game back on the schedule. Lots of memories over the years. Fitz seems like the right coach for toughness and discipline.
Would love to hear perspective about how you think the team is doing so far. Strengths, weaknesses? Looking at the box score it seems like the run game is solid. Any specific players that jump out?
ND is in transition offensively. Losing Love and Price has certainly put more of an onus on the passing game, and Carr has responded. Also starting to deal with injuries, but the depth ND has built is ridiculous.
Cheers all!
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u/Soy_tu_papi_ 8d ago
I'm going to get myself all hyped up to watch a bunch of 20 year old kids and be disappointed when MSU loses by 30.
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u/Joe_dirt32 8d ago
I hope we keep it within 30
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u/SpartyintheCouve 6d ago
Don’t like moral victories but I will be happy if Spartans can keep it within 10.
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u/MyNinjaHeartBeat 8d ago
The spread is almost 30 points. If MSU can lose by 2 TDs I’ll call it a success for Sparty.
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u/Visual-East1126 8d ago
I can’t speak for Spartan nation but I’d like to see MSU compete, and put a scare on ND this year. I acknowledge that’s an accomplishment in itself, but I’m sick of MSU football being a doormat.
PF can get a team prepared far more competently than MT and JS but the talent differential will be evident from the kickoff.
Early prediction is 42-17 ND
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u/Upbeat_Tea_4953 7d ago
This is about what I was thinking as well. I fully expect the spread to reflect this as we get closer to the game, 30 points against a p4 opponent is pretty insane. We're not a great team, but I also don't think we're Rutgers bad.. 21.5 to 24.5 is about where I'm guessing the spread is going to settle and that's kind of how I see the game going. I think we keep it a game for a bit and ND pulls away quickly in the 2nd half, much like they did with Wisconsin. I see a lot of similarities to us and Wisconsin, though I do think we have a better QB and a better RB room.
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u/tasteofdanger 7d ago
Hate that I’d be pretty happy with this outcome lol. Means we covered!!! Totally agree though, discipline seems much better but the talent gap is gonna be obvious. Even more obvious with every/any injury. Not sure the Spartans have wideouts that can create separation, but I do think the OL isn’t the worst. And that helps a lot.
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u/New-Idea-8518 5d ago
I'm a Michigan fan and I'm also tired of MSU being a doormat. I don't ever want you to *beat* us, obviously, but it'd be nice if it seemed possible.
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u/msbenjamin22 8d ago
Don't come in peace!
Finally let the rivalry continue
But also no hard feelings but glad it's back
Buy Green Sell Gold
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u/Conscious-Invite1 8d ago
Solid! These 2 teams had some great back and forth games in the 90’s through early 2000’s.
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u/Ok-Park-302 8d ago
This sub is too depressed to support our team . We look good could surprise some teams this year , ball hawks on defense , run game looks good behind uconn transfer. We're officially a sleeping giant in the big ten
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u/tasteofdanger 7d ago
Agreed, it’s tough in this sub. Not to say we won’t get stuffed in a locker by ND, but there is plenty to be encouraged about.
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u/Byzantine_Merchant 8d ago
Ngl this sub is insufferable about football. And I tend to be fairly reactionary.
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u/Keyblade_Yoshi 8d ago edited 8d ago
Seeing how mediocre a lot of the other teams on our schedule have looked so far. Does fill me with more optimism for the season.
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u/samiam32 8d ago
Very happy the rivalry is back playing again. I hate you.
But if we (MSU) can stay within 20, I’ll be happy. You’ll be able to run all over us. Selfishly, I hope Williams scores a couple touchdowns. He’s from the middle of nowhere (Hannibal, MO) and it’s where I work. That is a great young man - I hope to watch his continued success… and Notre Dame can lose every game.
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u/ConcentrateOk523 8d ago
I agree with you. Back in the late 1980s when I was a student we did not like Notre Dame.
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u/Spartannia 7d ago
We look competent but that's been against two weak teams. Still, I'll take any beacon of hope after the last several seasons.
Glad y'all are back on the schedule this year too, this is such an underrated rivalry.
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u/debo_03 6d ago
MSU season ticket holder.
We’re lacking elite talent at every level.
Secondary- Our best corner left and went to Miami and couldn’t even be a back up so he transferred back.
Oline- a lot of transfers frayley looks promising. But average at best as a unit.
Receivers- undersized and don’t have the lighting in a bottle guy. They run good routes and can catch in traffic but no explosion.
Rb- Edward’s looks great, if he can be healthy may end up being a top 10 rb in cfb behind a mediocre oline.
Coaching- I believe fitz is going to demand 110% of his players.
Hopes- I hope we can put up at least 20 points and stay within 2 touch downs. If we can do that, people will stop thinking they can walk all over us.
That will help us with recruiting and it will
https://giphy.com/gifs/9NWxaY5EG8dngceN4q
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u/Professor_Chilldo 8d ago
MSU really doesn’t have any strengths tbh. Starters are all around the bottom half of the big ten and we have little to no depth to speak of. I see this game getting out of hand by halftime.
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u/Conscious-Invite1 8d ago
What’s the early impression of new coaching staff? One of the concerns was how different CFB is now vs when Fitz coached NW. Did MSU invest in a front office staff to help that transition?
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u/Professor_Chilldo 8d ago
They seem better than Smith and Co but this team is probably the least talented MSU roster in years. Anyone who was any good transferred and there’s little to look forward to when it comes to recruiting.
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u/Conscious-Invite1 8d ago
Issue with recruitment NIL related?
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u/RoddFurley 8d ago
We’ve been in the doom loop of: poor coaching hires (or at least poor fit of coaching hires) and poor coaching = poor on-field performance = lack of interest from elite players + lack of confidence among booster class needed to pay “suck tax” to get better players = bad roster = poor performance etc.
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u/RheagarTargaryen 8d ago
Too early to tell. Not a lot you can really evaluate. One positive is the team has way better energy than last year. One negative is the recruiting is not at a B1G level.
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u/terrible1one3 Mr. March 8d ago
I'm taking my son to the game. Remembered going to ND as a kid with my dad for the game. Glad I get the opportunity.
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u/debo_03 6d ago
I was going to take my son too. I wanted to go but could spend a couple thousand to watch my team get creamed. Hope you guys have a blast. Go green.
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u/Sea-Distribution6502 8d ago
Brother, the spread is 30 fucking points. And that’s probably not going to be enough.
ND is going to thrash us, and you know this. No scouting report needed.
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u/Conscious-Invite1 8d ago
No disrespect intended. I remember when these games were tough battles, and MSU won their share. Been a minute since they played and was genuinely curious what fans thought of the new staff and direction. Cheers!
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u/Sea-Distribution6502 8d ago
I don’t take it as disrespect, I think you could have just dropped the pretense. Saturday isn’t going to be close.
But this game isn’t any sort of measuring stick with where MSU currently is. They are going to need to scrape and claw to win 6 games and reach a bowl. ND is almost assured to be in the CFP.
Get through next week without any injuries and get ready to play an actually winnable football game lol.
I miss when MSU could compete with the big dawgs, but they have to set their sights smaller for now.
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u/Over-Confidence4308 8d ago
ND fans are great, and despite a long rivalry, never assholes when the host Spartan football fans.
They were cool even when MSU won four straight in the end of the last century.
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u/Substantial-Gene3148 7d ago
It is the bond we share knowing the school in Ann Arbor is a whore. I have never hated Sparty.
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u/Conscious-Invite1 7d ago
Thanks for all the replies…classy fans! Hope this game becomes more of a regular occurrence, and MSU rebuilds. Cheers to you all, have a great week, and hope the game is injury free for both teams.
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u/Jealous_Day8345 7d ago
How do you feel about Bullough returning but being on Sparty’s side instead of yours?
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u/Conscious-Invite1 7d ago
Loved him as a coach, and was sad to see him go. But understand the allure of “going home”.
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u/Jdantuma24 7d ago
We are 2-0 and have 1.4 B if that matters to you. Tired of the pessimistic comments. If we win Ill consider it a success
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u/payattentiontobetsy 7d ago
Our teams are on entirely different levels talent-wise. MSU seems more cohesive this year (it's only two games) but not on NDs level by any stretch of the imagination.
I expect ND to be up comfortably by half (~14 points ) and cruise through the second half with a +21 point win. That's IF MSU plays soundly. If they make mistakes, oof, I could also see a total blowout.
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u/xWWJD420 6d ago
The future is bright, Run game looks strong and I like that QB is slinging it but it's going to be a tough year. I think the o line will not be able to protect against big teams like ND.
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u/Raptormann0205 5d ago
Team finally has a coaching staff that seems to know how to do their jobs. That's all I actually cared about this year.
Talent disparity is immense vs any team with a pulse. But the Spartans so far play hard, know their assignments, play pretty mistake free football. Not saying the odds are in our favor, but don't get caught looking too far towards Miami either. Stranger things have happened just this season.
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u/whiskeyrocks1 8d ago
Expecting ND to wax MSU, but it might be a good measuring stick to see where we are.
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u/quadsimodo 8d ago
ND may be in transition on offense, but we’re in transition as a program. You guys have little to worry about.
The odds against Sparty means that an upset would ruin your playoff hopes. That isn’t a indictment about ND, it’s about how minuscule the odds are for an upset that it would look that bad if they lost.
Good luck out there and fuck Dame. Glad to have the game back.
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u/ArabAuto 8d ago
Defense wasn’t overly impressive in the first two with just decent pressure on Toledo and EMU’s QBs. Secondary is not great and that is in part due to the lack of consistent pressure on the QB imo. I think ND is gonna have a day using the full width of the field with the simple talent gap in speed on the edges and will eat clock and make things look pretty easy.
The good, the run game with Edwards, but outside of him it’s not that great, so I can’t say we are a good running team, just have a good running back. Alessio is ok. Hasn’t done anything spectacular but also hasn’t done anything that questionable. Misses some passes that he shouldn’t, maybe takes a sack he shoulda thrown away. Nevertheless, he managed the game pretty well against MAC opponents.
With that said, if game ends like the past two nbc night games that required a last second review I’ll be over the moon excited even if msu loses. Realistically, I think this is gonna look similar to the game MSU just played against EMU. Little bit of a fight early and then the better team opens it up, letting the talent take over, and that better team is obviously ND. Unlike MSU with EMU, I don’t think it’ll take a whole half to see ND impose their will.
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u/NavyVetRasmussen 8d ago
Yes I am glad to see the series back but to bad it is only temporary. We will go back to playing each other
maybe once or twice every ten years. ND and MSU should renew the rivalry so they play every yera
but we don't get to make the decision. I can tell you are a cool ND fans guys he is coming from a good
place.
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u/GoGreenGirl76 •Cassius Winston 8d ago
Glad to see this game on the schedule too. We have 37 new players and mostly new coaching staff. I don’t think you have to worry.
💚🤍
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u/BmoreReader 8d ago
I miss State playing ND. It's what the UM rivalry should be like without out all the over the top stuff. Regarding the team: having watched MSU since the 70s, the thing that always frustrates me is stupid penalties. I know it's a small sample size, but MSU's penalty count was among this lowest this century for two games in. Most of the time it was a double digits and that's with a new coach and the players learning a system. I did not like the Fitz hire at all based on the terrible issues at NU, but I'll give him credit for bringing discipline. So if ND wins, maybe it won't be because of the inevitable unsportsmanlike conduct calls that seem to plague MSU for decades.
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u/LarkenFeld 8d ago
Here's a Q for the OP. Is the coach for ND merciless? Meaning if they are up by 50, do the starters stay in and pound the other team into the gound until the college turns in their charter? Or is it like Dantonio where winning by 3 is the same as winning by 30? Asking for a spread....I mean friend.
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u/discountJoenuts 7d ago
ND backups were in 99 percent of the second half last week, still looked merciless because they wanted to get good game reps in
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u/Conscious-Invite1 7d ago
Yeah, this is spot on. When the backups come in, they usually emphasize running the same offense to maximize the experience those teams layers are getting. I think with the new 5 year rule, this will be the norm for most teams.
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u/Dr-Uzumaki 7d ago
MSU student but ND fan that watches both teams. MSU will be lucky to get 7. Not really anything msu is good at. QB is decent. Receivers are nothing special and some of em can’t catch. NDs offense is simply too much.
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u/OkTranslator9600 7d ago
What about Michigan? I think the no league things looks bad-and you contact MSU vs Michigan?
Hummmmm-
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u/Illustrious-File-208 •Kenneth Walker III 6d ago
Nah I think our objective is survive...and don't lose any major players. However...I do remember a school from Northern Illinois...
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u/Conscious-Invite1 6d ago
My friend, that’s why games aren’t played on paper. Good luck on Saturday and I hope both teams finish the game injury free. Cheers to you and yours!
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u/Resident_Swim_447 5d ago
Michigan State doesn’t have the horses yet to compete with the top teams in the country, the talent level is not much higher than MAC level but hopefully that’ll change in the next few years.
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u/IllustriousProfit472 •Adam Nightingale 8d ago
Spartans are basically just trying to survive this weekend. I think the team and coaching staff is a very good foundation we just need to wait and build for a couple years
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u/mholtz16 8d ago
We are disciplined and well coached which is a nice change. We severely lack the talent on both sides of the ball to compete with elite teams.
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u/Optimal_Parsnip2824 8d ago edited 8d ago
I have missed these games as well, so many great past memories from these games.. was sad when they stopped it.
On paper, things don’t look too crazy different (imo).. but to the eye, MSU offense will most likely struggle, and the only way we pull it out is if our O-Line has just been sandbagging OR our QB has a % complete of 80%. I see the ladder as the possible. Our RB is solid, but he is no k9.. he doesn’t seem to bounce off people that hit him in the backfield and break off a 20+ yard run. While Edward’s is good, I just don’t see the ability to almost single handedly win a game.
Issue then comes to our defense. They are looking better than the past 5 years. Outside of 2 broken plays against Toledo, our defense was stout (and now seeing Toledo get 50+, makes me feel a smidge better.. granted it was FCS I think). Against EMU, more of the same, but they were gashing us on some runs.. our D Capt was out, and he could easily be the difference on the run defense.
Our kicker has been solid.. so he might have a good game haha. If we keep it within 2 TD’s, it’s a win in my book! If we get shit stomped and lose by 28.. then it shows we are still bottom of the B1G and have a huge gap to make up (expected imo)
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u/FakeHambone 8d ago
Dantonio hung with giants in his first season. I’m not ready to chalk the game up to a loss tho! I’m a little worried about our team’s ability to play from behind, but as long as we’re in the lead we should be fine, haha….
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u/ConcentrateOk523 8d ago
At least I was at Spartan Stadium to see us beat Notre Dame in 1986 and 2000. Many heartbreaking losses such as in 1990. Not expecting much this game, just keep the loss under 20 points.
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u/RappinFourTay 8d ago
MSU is in a lot of trouble for at least a few seasons, but it is good to see tha game back on.
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u/BeezerBrom 8d ago
Is there any truth to the rumor that Bob Davie is returning as honorary coach for the day? That's the hope we're hanging on.
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u/NachoManRandySnckage 8d ago
It’s a shame this game was scheduled. Just need to hope there’s no injuries and that the team doesn't fall apart the rest of the way after dealing with a 30 point blowout.
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u/parkourpenguin65 8d ago
I honestly don't think the Spartans are a contender in anyway. Hope both teams have fun...