Spartans Prepare For Baylor's Up-Tempo Offense
12/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Stopping Baylor's hyper-speed offense in the Cotton Bowl won't be as difficult for the Michigan State defense if it responds with an equal and opposite reaction.
From facing a relentless barrage of plays out of three offensive huddles by the first, second and third scout teams to making full use of their experienced depth, the Spartans have been taking very quick steps during bowl practice to match the Bears' nation-best pace of snapping the ball every 10 seconds.
"The first day was rough, but as the days go on, we're starting to get more comfortable with it and are able to adjust to it more," senior middle linebacker Taiwan Jones said. "On a scale of one to 10, I'm going to be honest, when we first started it was like a one.
"The next day, it was like a three, the next day a five and the day after that a seven. We're starting to get more conditioned after having a couple weeks off."
Michigan State wrapped up a 10-2 regular season with a 34-10 victory at Penn State on Nov. 29. The Spartans haven't faced an offense comparable to Baylor's since Sept. 6 when they ran out of gas at Oregon.
The Bears lead the nation in total offense and scoring with 581.3 yards and 48.8 points per game. By comparison, the Ducks are third in each category at 546.2 and 46.3.
Getting the first and second defensive units in top shape is one way MSU will try to keep up with Baylor's withering tempo.
"Even when we're tired, we can't be giving plays up," Jones said. "You see on film of their games, when guys get tired they start to lean on the guys coming to block them and they start to not give it their full ability because they're winded and don't have the energy to do it.
"But those guys who played them during the season probably only had a week to get adjusted to it. Fortunately for us, we're going to have three-to-four weeks. Against Oregon, we had a lot of new guys in new positions and we just didn't finish the game. That comes with conditioning and not getting tired and being able to give it your all on every play. We feel like we've fixed that now."
The high heat MSU experienced in the early season game at Oregon also won't be a factor in the climate-controlled environment of AT&T Stadium, where the temperature will be a comfortable 72 degrees.
"When I got tired (at Oregon), I didn't always read my keys," Jones said. "That was when I was young at the position, but now, I get the position a lot more and know what it takes to win and that's keeping the same intensity and engine level the whole game whether I'm tired or not."
The players will be responsible for monitoring their own physical condition after each play. If a player is drained, it will be up to him to head to the sideline and "tap out" for his substitute, who is preapproved to go in.
"If I'm tired, I'll tap out and get somebody else in for a play or two and then come right back in fresh," Jones said. "I feel like we're doing a good job with that."
Because of the way defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi has rotated players all season long, every starter is backed up by someone with a familiar name. The Spartans' depth was bolstered at the end of the regular season by the return from injury of outside linebacker Mylan Hicks and Big Ten Receiver of the Year Tony Lippett, who is also taking turns at cornerback.
"Obviously (Baylor) is going to come at us with a very fast tempo, probably the fastest in the country right now, and they have the No. 1 offense," said outside linebacker Darien Harris. "They can hit on all cylinders, whether it's with the run game or the passing game, so we've got to be able to defend all facets of the game.
"We have to make sure we don't take a play off and make sure we rotate guys when they get tired. Having 22-26 guys that can go for a period of time and still have the defense run smoothly is going to be crucial to our success."
The Bears won't run plays MSU hasn't seen before from the likes of no-huddle, spread offenses such as Oregon or Indiana. The object will be to always line up in the right place on time.
"It's all about making sure you're back to what we call our home position before the play is snapped, making sure we get the call in and then just reading our keys," Harris said. "Those are the three things we have to focus on. If we do that, everybody should be good to go. At the end of the day, it's just about conditioning, knowing that the next play has got to be your best play and if you can't go, getting somebody else in there that's fresh.
"We trust each other as a defense. I'm going to have my eyes on the guy that needs to come out and I know that if I'm in there, the guy that's going to come and get me is going to have his eyes on me. If I tap out, I know he's going to be right there, and if he taps out, I'm going to be right back in."
A wealth of experienced depth is a strength MSU has that other teams the Bears faced may have lacked.
Baylor will try to stretch the defense and run the defenders into the ground with deep pass routes, but MSU defensive backfield coach Harlon Barnett is comfortable with the 11 players he has for four or five positions, depending on the scheme.
No one Barnett has on the field should evoke a response of, "who's that?" by Spartan fans.
"Their goal, when they go with a fast pace, is to get you to misalign and miss tackles," Barnett said. "You're so tired that you can't line up properly and maybe they can hit a big run on you. Or, they get you so tired you miss tackles because of the misalignments. Exhaustion is the goal for them, so we have to stay on top of our substitutions.
"Even in the midst of series, you've got to have guys ready to go and sub in and out. They spread the field out and it will be a great challenge, but we look forward to it. We're going to try to use everybody that's at our disposal. It's better to have a fresh guy out there than to have a tired guy who's better than the guy behind him. I don't think anybody can play better at 75 or 85 percent than someone who's 100 percent."
The Spartans defense will counter the way Baylor signals in plays from the sideline by mirroring its no-huddle look.
"We're getting it done," Barnett said. "We practice no-huddle all the time. Even from the beginning of camp, we haven't lined up in a huddle ourselves. We call it a muddle huddle. Everybody on the whole defense gets the signal because all these (offenses) are doing it. It's better to practice that way than the old traditional: huddle up, ready, break.
"Everyone can stand where they need to stand and be in their area so nothing catches you off guard."
The only team that slowed the Bears down is West Virginia, which held them to their season-low for points while beating them, 41-27.
"They made plays," junior cornerback Trae Waynes said the Mountaineers. "They stopped the deep balls and tackled in the open field. We just have to make place and tackle in open space."
