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Notre Dame and Michigan State Look to Bounce Back
Irish Favored by 10
9/19/09
Everyone seems tired of Charlie Weis. The referees didn’t do him and the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish any favors last week. A TD was revoked in the first
half with very inconclusive evidence, and nearly everyone I spoke with thought
it was an extremely bad call. That revoked TD would’ve put the Fighting Irish
over the top. Despite the loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor, they will fight on.
This week they will do battle with the Michigan State Spartans, a team that lost
to Central Michigan last week. Notre Dame is favored by 10 but you can get a
free half point at Skybook
making it -9.5 or +10.5 depending on which side you like. Our pick is below.
Mark Dantonio probably didn’t have losing to Central Michigan in his plan for
this season, but it happened. QB Kirk Cousins looked sharp in the loss, throwing
for 164 yards and a TD. Keith Nichol also saw action behind center, picking up
51 yards and a TD. It appears that Cousins will be the man for Michigan State.
He is getting better with each game and will provide a strong nucleus for the
offense. WR Blair White played a heck of a game, catching 7 passes for 108
yards. The running game was largely ineffective, picking up just 101 yards in
the game.
The defense played well for three quarter, and then collapsed in the fourth
giving up 16 points and losing the game in the process. They stopped a two point
conversion attempt, but then allowed Central Michigan to recover an onsides
kick. After a botched 47 yard FG attempt, the Spartans were called off sides,
giving the Chippewas another shot at glory. This time they didn’t miss the FG,
winning 29-26. Michigan State made too many mistakes and didn’t play effective
football. Trevor Anderson and Greg Jones have to make things happen against
Notre Dame. That starts with pass rushing Jimmy Clausen all day long, and making
the RB pay every time he touches the ball.
Notre Dame will enter this game with a chip on their shoulder after last week.
They played a great game, but ultimately could not defeat the Michigan
Wolverines in Ann Arbor. QB Jimmy Clausen looked like a star, throwing for 336
yards and 3 TDs. His best receiver of the night was Golden Tate, who had 9
catches for 115 yards and 2 TDs. Tate played well, but he had a few drops that
could’ve made the difference between a win and a loss. WR Michael Floyd had 7
catches for 131 yards and a TD. RB Armando Allen played strong, rushing for 139
yards and a TD. The game came down to Notre Dame’s failure to make problems for
freshman QB Tate Forcier on defense. They also allowed Michigan to return a
kickoff for a TD.
QB Jimmy Clausen is the strength of Notre Dame, and he has been improving with
each game. He has several strong WRs, with the best being Golden Tate. I’d like
to see him air the ball out early, and go after the home run pass. He has a
strong offensive line protecting him. The run should continue to do well thanks
to Armando Allen. The defense needs to do a better job of blitzing and getting
to opposing QBs. If they could’ve got Tate Forcier off balance they would’ve won
last week. I usually don’t mention kickers, but Brandon Walker missed a FG early
last week. Notre Dame needs all the points they can get so that isn’t
acceptable.
Both squads need a win here off last weeks losses. Both teams plenty capable,
which has us interested in the big spot here. This is a much better Notre Dame
team than a year ago, no question, but Michigan State also returns a good chunk
of last years starters, a team that went 9-4. We're aware of some sharp action
on Michigan State and see no reason to disagree.
Michigan State +10
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