Grinz on Green: Spartans Making Best of Unique Bye Week
9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist
EAST LANSING, Mich. â€" After a satisfying win, a football team typically wants to play its next game as soon as possible to keep the momentum going.
And, the next contest can't come quickly enough for a losing team anxious for the opportunity to get the sour taste of defeat out of its mouth.
Neither scenario applies to Michigan State because of a quirk in the schedule placing a bye smack dab in the middle of the 28-13 season opening win against Furman and Game No. 2, at Notre Dame, on Sept. 17.
So while the Fighting Irish try to heal the wounds left over from the 50-47 double-overtime loss at Texas at Nevada's expense, the Spartans will be working in a college football version of a flight simulator.
Unlike bye weeks later in the season, when teams back off a bit to give ailing players a rest, MSU coach Mark Dantonio is treating this like a regular game week to maintain, if not improve, conditioning. Some of the players are likening it to Training Camp II.
They have extra time to chafe from mistakes, such as an uncharacteristic 10 penalties for 120 yards.
Senior co-captain and middle linebacker Riley Bullough said having two games of Notre Dame game film to study "is an advantage but at the same time I kind of think it might be a disadvantage for us because a bye week the second week is kind of strange. But we'll adapt."
Another benefit, also known as a coach's dream, is being able to solve problems thankfully exposed in victory. Nobody should be afflicted with overconfidence heading into South Bend, according to Bullough.
"We made some mistakes we feel are easily correctable," he said. "We think we've already corrected a lot of them. I think it's also good to get this bye week now so we can go over them right away and not let them happen again, especially in the big game we have coming up in a couple weeks.
"In the first game there's always a lot going on in your head, a lot of jitters sometime. So it's good to get those out of the way and hopefully we won't do that again and will be able to play cleaner football against N.D. This weekend we'll have another chance to see Notre Dame play, so that's a good thing for us. We're trying to spin it into a positive."
Quarterback Tyler O'Connor, who had to wait more than four years to be the No. 1 quarterback now has to wait an extra week for his second start.
He's looking at the road-opener at Notre Dame like a second season-opener.
"Coach D and none of us have ever had bye week in Week 2," O'Connor said. "Also, the first game was on a Friday so now we're having two Saturdays off in a row, which is a little strange.
"But that's why Coach D said he wants us to stay with game conditions. That also means we're going to try to stay healthy, keep our legs fresh and get strong in the weight room, and then really dig deep into the knowledge base for Notre Dame maybe more than the physical.
"Coming out after two weeks, it's almost going to feel like we went through a whole other camp." While MSU may not have performed up to expectations against Furman, it's not concerning.
"Coach D put up every opener since he's been here and there've been more close games than not-close games," O'Connor said. "I think a lot of that has to do with how our offense works and how difficult it is and how much meshing and chemistry has to go with our pro-style offense.
"A lot of it's going to be tough, initially, because we have to get on the same page with a lot of different people. Maybe that's it. But, it doesn't really faze us. We know what we did well, we know what we didn't do well and we can always fix those things."
Other observations from Week 1:
A Saturday off at this time of the season isn't unprecedented in the modern era. In 2001, MSU's second game, against Missouri on Sept. 11, was postponed to December after the World Trade Center bombing.
Two weeks after topping Central Michigan in the opener, 35-21, the Spartans went on the road to defeat Notre Dame, 17-10.
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Penalties, an all-too common bugaboo with MSU teams pre-Dantonio, have rarely been an issue in recent seasons. Last season, MSU had the Big Ten's third-lowest assessment at 42.9 yards per game.
The penalties proved to be drive-stoppers against Furman, which might not have kept the game as close as it was for as long as it was â€" a one-score game until late in the fourth quarter â€" if the Spartans simply matched their average of five fouls per game in '15.
"We went over every penalty and just we said that we've got to get them corrected," Bullough said. "It's really the only thing you can do."
Statistically, O'Connor's debut was close to flawless. He completed 13 of 18 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns, but he said he should have done better.
"I think the biggest thing on two or three plays is I came off my read too early," O'Connor said. "On one of the routes, I could have stuck with Josiah (Price, tight end) longer. And then on the other one, I looked down on Josiah too long â€" on the interception.
"Both are on me. At the same time, we made good decisions, whether it was throwing the ball outside and getting it to playmakers' hands, or throwing the ball downfield. But, there are a few plays you always want to fix."
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Linebacker Andrew Dowell made the best of his first career start with his first interception as a Spartan. It came at a crucial time. Michigan State was nursing an eight-point lead when the Paladins intercepted an O'Connor pass. Dowell returned the favor with his one-handed grab on the next play to set up MSU's final touchdown.
Lauded by Dantonio as a "100-mile-an-hour-guy," Dowell's knowledge base is catching up with his outstanding athletic ability.
"I had to bury my head in the playbook more to get a better aspect of the game," said Dowell, a sophomore. "I was able to fly around and combine that with my playmaking ability and do well. Mentally, I'm light years ahead of where I was at but I've still got more to go."
Although executing the interception took amazing dexterity, Dowell said a diagnosis of Furman's formation made it possible.
"I got a great tip from my linebackers coach, Coach (Mark) Snyder," Dowell said. "I was reading the QB and then the rest, I just reacted and trusted my instincts. I also got a fresh pair of gloves before the game and that made it happen."
