Boise State vs. Michigan State (-7)
Michigan State is returning 8 starters from one of the nation’s
best defenses last year, however they do lose worthy whom was a stud both
stuffing the run and creating pressure up the middle. This really helped stud
hot head defensive lineman Gholston. Gholston played like his cousin was
supposed to for the jets, and when he isn’t causing dumb penalty’s he is making
big time plays. He will go up against Nate Potter’s (former all American)
replacement Faraji Wright. After doing some research on right he is an
undersized athletic tackle who struggles with his strength… Ghoslton won’t be
able to run right around him, but should be able to run through him... Also
Boise states two (of 3) returning starters were out this spring so this line
will only have the fall to come together as a patch work unit. The line backing
core for Michigan State is one of the best in the country, all three have a specialty
including run stuffing pass rushing and coverage. This will be important as DJ harper is an
explosive 6th year runner that is very excited for his shot to be
the main ball carrier. The secondary is also outstanding with 3 returning
starters with great corners who have the ability to shut down receivers which
will be key against Boise state because the strength of this team is in the
wide receiver position especially Matt Miller who set freshman records (how
much of that was due to kellen Moore his brother though). On offense Michigan State
has some questions to answer, but can lean on 4/5 returning offense lineman and
power back bell to ease Jr. quarterback Andrew Maxwell into his role. Bell is a
stud back who has the advantage of what is being called the best Michigan state
returning o line in years. They also have baker who is a stud himself giving
them one of the country’s best running back duos. Maxwell is a kid who has watched cousins get
the job done for two years, and understands what it takes to play quarterback.
He has better physical tools then cousins did, but cousin’s leadership kept Michigan
State together so that will be a big loss. The wide receivers are deep they have
5 players that can contribute. They have 5 players that have both size and
speed, I like 3rd wr soph Tony lipset a lot. The advantage that
Maxwell will have is that he has thrown to a lot of these guys a lot as they went
the starters, Cunningham and martin were. However the sprained knee in spring
ball did cause him to lose half of his reps with the new wr this spring. Boise Counters on defense with only 2
returning starter. They have virtually no experience at defensive end with only
one player from the unit having ever played a collegiate down before. The best
way to rattle a new qb is to get pressure on him, and Boise will struggle to do
that without blitzing. However Boise state does have a promising JC transfer named
Demarcus Lawrence who did have a big spring game. I’m not worried too much about
him in his first game on a stage like this. Michigan State should be able to run the ball
right down Boise throat. The only real counter is JC Percy who is a tackling
machine, but could get caught up in blocks. It’s a lot harder to roam when you
three stud dlinemen have gone onto the NFL. Jamar Taylor is a stud corner, and
there other corner Jarrell Gavin’s is a playmaker coming off a knee injury. Boise safeties have potential to end up as a
dynamic duo. In close games such as this could be it becomes important to look
at special teams. While Boise has been bad in the past at field goals this year
is likely to just get worse they have 4 kickers trying out for the job and according
to reports they will all struggling during spring practice. Spartans have a
proven two year kicker who is 32/39 in the last two years. I love D’Anotoni as
a coach, he always gets his teams ready to play (doesn’t keep them the most discipline)
however I think you can make a very strong case that Peterson is the best coach
in the country, and giving him a whole offseason to prepare makes me nervous,
but this is a major rebuilding job and will take some time for him to get Boise
back to the powerhouse they have come to be known by. The crowd should be
insane, as it is the only game that matters on Friday night in prime time. It’s
not every day that East Lansing gets a night game that means this much! The
line makers are giving Boise respect, but I think too much.
Michigan State by 13 (-7)