Grinz on Green Blog: Running Game Critical When Facing Wolverines

Oct. 23, 2014

By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen

EAST LANSING, Mich. - It's often said that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Well, Michigan State respectfully disagrees with the old maxim in principle and on practical grounds with regard to Saturday's game against Michigan at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans have closely studied a trend in the series indicating that since 1970, the team that has rung up the most running yards has won 41 times and was defeated on just three occasions. Consequently, even though they have learned plenty from history, they sure hope it repeats itself again because their goal is to once outrush the Wolverines just as they did while winning five of the last six meetings under head coach Mark Dantonio.

"If you look at the past games, the team that rushes the most wins the game," said MSU offensive guard Travis Jackson. "It's going to be very important to get our rushing game going (and) that's definitely something we're going to focus on this week. Their front seven is very physical. They play really fast.

"They're going to come ready to play, and that's going to be a difficult task for us. But we need to get the run game going and have it be consistent through all four quarters."

The trend is such a charmed predictor, Michigan State offensive planners would be negligent to ignore it. Even in 2012, when U-M prevailed 12-10 without the benefit of a touchdown, it outrushed MSU, 163-112.

"We're Michigan State so we look at that about every week," said co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Dave Warner. "But I think the statistics for this game probably are even a little more lopsided as far as who wins that rushing battle, so we look at it, Coach D reminds us of that all the time and we certainly game-plan, like every week, to win the battle of who's going to rush for more yards."

Warner has an array of weapons to use against Michigan's defense, which is second in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in rushing defense with 93.6 yards allowed per game.

Tailback Jeremy Langford is fifth in the league with 94.9 yards per game and has rushed for more than 100 against 11 conference opponents in a row. Nick Hill is coming off a career-high 178-yard performance against Indiana and Delton Williams had 55 yards on just five carries against the Hoosiers.

Furthermore, wide receivers R.J. Shelton (15 carries, including one for a 6-yard touchdown), Aaron Burbridge (seven), Macgarrett Kings Jr. (six), Keith Mumphery (four) and Tony Lippett (one for a 32-yard TD) have a combined 33 rushes for 315 yards (9.5-yard average, two TDs) on a variety of jet sweeps, end-arounds, reverses and even inside handoffs.

While the Spartans are fourth in the league in rushing offense with 260 yards per game (up from eighth with 173.8 last season), Warner expects the Wolverines to give up the yards begrudgingly, just as they did in last season's 29-6 MSU victory.

Michigan State had only 37 rushing yards until its second-to-last possession, which consisted of eight running plays and was capped by Langford's 40-yard touchdown. (The Spartans got the ball one last time and ran out the clock from victory formation that netted minus-8 yards).

"Everybody looks back at last year and we didn't run the ball very well against them until the last drive," Warner said. "People forget that. I'm not sure we've faced a defense like we're going to face here in a couple days. I think they're very good, very experienced, play very physical and they're going to challenge us in the run game."

Jackson wouldn't want it any other way.

"You kind of go out there and it's a slobber-knocker of a game," Jackson said. "That's how it's been for a long time and that's the way we like it."

GoG Notes & Quotes: The MSU defense is cognizant of its role in the ground-game battle as its puts its third-ranked unit (100.3 rushing yards allowed in the Big Ten) against Michigan's No. 8 rushing attack (164.1). Michigan State held the Wolverines to a minus-48 rushing yards, a historic low for the program, on 29 carries (including seven quarterback sacks).

After all, the Spartans would have easily won the rushing battle even without that last drive thanks to the defense. However, they aren't getting caught up in numbers going into this game.

"That's not something we talk about," said senior free safety and co-captain Kurtis Drummond. "We understand it's a new year and a new team. What we did last year means nothing this year. We have the same goals every week. I think everyone will come ready to play and everybody will be excited for practice, but there's no talk about last year."

Junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun noted the defense wasn't perfect against U-M, and it was only the third-best performance in school history behind the minus-63 yards it held Pittsburgh to in 1950 and the minus-60 effort against Northwestern in '81.

"We definitely watch the film and we watch what we've done well, but we've also been very critical of that game when it was negative-48 yards," he said. "We're not looking at a goal or anything, but we're trying to improve upon it more-so than look upon it and say, `Wow, we did a great job,' because there is always room for improvement."

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Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is putting more emphasis on letters than numbers this week.

"It's just making plays," he said. "It's on our board everywhere, M-A-P, make a play. You can't over-coach that. We do plenty of tackle drills and we go pretty live in practice. I don't think there's anybody going into the (eighth) week of the season where they're hitting like we are.

"It's just a matter of making a play and getting the right guys on the field that will make that play."

The Spartans have been successful against U-M, Narduzzi added, "because of our attitude. We come out with an attitude that we're coming to play every week."

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Suppose this game is an exception to the trend, such as in 2007 when Michigan lost the rushing contest, 191-100, but won the game 28-24 on two touchdown passes in the final 6:47.

The Wolverine coaching staff has openly made stopping Lippett, a midseason All-American who leads the Big Ten in receiving yards per game (112.3), yards per catch (20.2) and touchdowns (eight), a priority.

Warner won't pass up a victory that comes on the arm of quarterback Connor Cook, who's leading the league's highest-scoring (47 points per game) and second-most productive (1,820 yards rushing, 1,856 passing).

"They're going to pack the box and play man-to-man outside and sort of challenge us to beat them in the passing game," Warner predicted. "They may have had some ups and downs, but they have some players there and in the back end have some talent to be able to play with our receivers in man-to-man coverage.

"We've been playing well in the pass game and it's something that's been consistent for us, but they've got some talent back there. They'll challenge us and our receivers need to get open and our quarterback needs to go to the right place at the right time."

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Lippett isn't backing down from the challenge.

"It's a good thing for them to say I'm one of the players that they need to stop," he said. "But I don't look at it like that because I still know there is a lot more room for me to get better. So that's basically what I'm going to be focusing on."

Although Indiana tried to stop Lippett with double-coverage, he still caught seven passes for 123 yards.

"If they came up to me and tried to double-team me, I just tried to manipulate as much as I can and get open," Lippett said. "It will be something I have to adjust on the fly. A few teams have double-covered me before, and I guess I kind of figured out a little way to attack it just a little bit better."