Michigan State, the team that has been known as the underdogs but have proven time and time again that they are a force to be reckoned with. Michigan State Football Coach Mark Dantonio has created an era as he began coaching the Spartans, and has shown nothing but the best results.
As an incoming freshmen at MSU in 2012, it was hard to watch our team at times, even when we still had a winning season and won the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl. But, in 2014, it was a year every Spartan fan had been waiting for and couldn’t be more proud of. As we took on Standford and returned to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1984, we wont the "Granddaddy of them all", and man was it a thrill. As we were neck and neck with the Cardinals the whole game, it came down to a 4th and 1 on Stanford and Kyle Elsworth jumped over everyone to stop the runner. That gave the ball back to MSU to run out the rest of the clock.
Then came last year, the year of College Playoffs. And although MSU lost to Oregon and OSU, they were constantly being praised and talked about. We may have not gone to the National Championship, but we still got to play in a huge bowl game: the Cotton Bowl. Up until the fourth quarter of this game, Michigan State was lagging behind. Suddenly, the tides turned in our favor. It began with two touchdowns, then a block kick to take MSU back down the field for another touchdown giving MSU the lead for the first time by one. There was 33 seconds left of the clock for Baylor who ended up throwing an interception giving MSU the game.
So obviously after these couple of years as Spartan fans we are expecting big things from our football team this year. Even though we lost Tony Lippit, Trey Waynes and Langford, we are still keeping our expectations high. So what happened when MSU took the field for the first time of the season against Western on Friday, Sept. 4?
MSU had a solid lead and were performing quite well up until the second half when they started to slowly let Western back into the game. Even though we did end up winning the game, I think for a lot of fans are a bit concerned as we are prepare to take on Oregon this Saturday.
Our first worry is how our defense needs a little more work. Yes, they are still a top defensive program, but there is definitely room for improvement. It got a little sloppy in the second half, and we need to make sure this doesn't happen this next game. If we want to contend with Oregon, we have to be on point every second of the game.
The second concern is our receivers being able to catch the ball. There were quite a few dropped passes through out the game, and that is something that as a program we have been very good about and have slowly gotten better.
Overall, the Western game just showed that there is definitely things the team has to work on, but it is nothing that Dantonio has not had to deal with and overcome. I am sure he will have us ready for the Oregon game on Saturday 8 p.m. Not only will he be prepared for Oregon, but for OSU later on in the year. I expect nothing but big things from this year. Maybe we will even find our way into the College Playoffs and a victory in the National Championship.
