Michigan State's Edwin Baker (4) rushes for a touchdown during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010, in East Lansing, Mich. At right is Michigan State's Garrett Celek (85). (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
It has been difficult for Michigan State’s football program to attain respect.
Normally, the Spartans are projected to be in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.
Not so bad, but not so good, either. And it has usually played out that way.
Michigan, on the other hand, has had no such problems in the preseason.
If anything, most years, the preseason projections have overrated the Wolverines.
Entering the 2011 season, however, the two programs have essentially flip-flopped.
It’s the Spartans who are getting more respect. A lot more. And it isn’t just based on projections, but the recent past.
It was Michigan State that was 11-1 last regular season, sharing in its first Big Ten title since 1990. It’s the Spartans who have won the Michigan-Michigan State game the last three years.
It’s MSU with the established head coach in Mark Dantonio. Brady Hoke is in first season at Michigan after the ill-fated Rich Rodriguez era.Continued...
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The Associated Press released its preseason poll Saturday. The Spartans are No.17, right in the middle between Notre Dame (No. 16) and Ohio State (No.18). In the coaches poll, the Spartans are also No.17, right in-between Ohio State (No.16) and Notre Dame (No.18).
It’s significant in that traditionally the Holy Trinity of college football in the Midwest is Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan — not Michigan State.
The Wolverines have garnered little respect in either poll. They received seven poll points in the AP rankings. MSU 519. In the USA Today coaches poll, it’s MSU 536 points, Michigan 19.
The two major polls aren’t the only place the Spartans are garnering such respect. Sports Illustrated has MSU ranked 13th nationally.
The two Big Ten teams ahead of MSU in most preseason forecasts are Nebraska and Wisconsin.
Nebraska is 10th in the AP poll, Wisconsin 11th.
The Spartans are a better team this season than last, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will have a better record. Their schedule is more difficult. They play at Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State and Iowa.
Last season, the Spartans didn’t have Ohio State on their schedule at all, Notre Dame was at home and they were drilled by Iowa on the road.
Wisconsin, which MSU plays at home, is in the other division. Kirk Cousins is an experienced and poised quarterback. State has an excellent secondary. There are some questions about the offensive line, but State certainly has good running backs, led by Oak Park’s Edwin Baker.
The Spartans should be able to go on the road and win. Perhaps not all of those tests, but some of them.Continued...
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I see the Spartans winning nine games. I see them going 6-2 or 5-3 in the Big Ten, and either winning or losing the Notre Dame game in close fashion. Notre Dame is better this season, particularly defensively. That will be a tough game to win in South Bend.
Michigan is much more of a wild card. My theory is that the Wolverines’ problems the last three seasons have been more the product of coaching than any other factor. Rich Rodriguez was just the wrong fit at the wrong time at the wrong place.
Brady Hoke will get a lot out of this team. The Wolverines get Nebraska and Ohio State at home in November. Notre Dame will be at Michigan — at night.
To me, the iffy game might be San Diego State. That’s a good football team — and it could be a swing game for whether the Wolverines’ season goes north or south. That, and the Michigan State game. It has traditionally dramatically changed the course of the season for both teams.
I think it will go north. I see the Wolverines winning eight games.
Optimistic? Maybe. Rarely are both Michigan and Michigan State similarly solid in the same season.
This season could be an exception to that rule.
Pat Caputo is a senior sports reporter and a columnist for The Oakland Press. Contact him atpat.caputo@oakpress.comand read his blog attheoaklandpress.com. You can follow him on Twitter @patcaputo98.
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