I'm glad Spartan football finally has a good coach who is a tough leader who takes charge and has high expectations for his team. John L. Smith was just too soft of a coach and Dantonio is the man. All of those close loss games were truly winnable games. Although stat wise the Spartans lose a good deal, I think it'll end up being better for them. The offense sort of lived and died with Thomas. The defense held up v. BC without Saint-Dic. Just need to strengthen the secondary a bit and make sure Hoyer becomes more assertive and doesn't fold under pressure in the second year of being a starter.
Looking at the schedule...
Cal: Not sure how their recruiting went this past year, but showed some bits of brilliance being a top ranked team in the nation before spiraling out of control and barely saving their season (and even then, not really) with a win over Air Force. Probably a tougher game, give Sparty the nod (1-0)
EMU: No brainer (2-0)
FAU: No brainer (3-0)
Notre Dame: Sure hope so. Depends if Weiss can really make drastic changes from last year. Something tells me ND is going to be better than what most expect, but without seeing any progress yet I give State the nod (4-0)
Indiana: Did well last year, don't know if they can sustain that success. (5-0)
Iowa: Always a tough team to play, but the game isn't in Iowa. (6-0)
Northwestern: Hopefully State does what it should and not give Northwestern even a glimmer of hope to win this game. That game last year was a sad loss. (7-0)
Here's where things get tricky for a variety of reasons. (1) If they win these games and aren't worse than 6-1 like they should, expectations will be high. (2) Should probably be ranked depending on how the season goes for other teams, so add in more pressure on the team. That kind of pressure really hasn't gone over well the past few seasons...
Ohio State: Buckeyes are the class of the Big Ten yet again, but State played them tough last year. I remember the one play where if the Spartan defensive player just fell on the ball (for the 3rd? turnover in a row for OSU... or something) instead of trying to pick it up and run, I say game over. Close call. OSU victory, (7-1)
Michigan: I believe RR will have the Wolverines fighting, even if their record doesn't end up being great. They could have a season like Sparty last year and if they lose games, they will probably be close, I think. Think State somehow pulls out the W, very close call. (8-1)
Wisconsin: Hate those pesky Badgers in Football and Basketball. You always want to pick against them, yet they usually keep on winning. The only thing going for Sparty is it's not in Madison and their QB is gone. If Madison, I'd still take Wisc. I want to pick State, but I just don't know. (8-2)
Purdue: I just see Sparty able to contain these Boilermakers at home. (9-2)
Penn State: It's always rough playing at PSU. I think State can win, but I like JoePa at home. (9-3)
Things look so promising for MSU this year. Then again they could totally fall apart for them and be a huge letdown. I can see State winning 11, with their only loss to OSU. However, if they can't finish games or self-destruct, I can see them losing 5 games again and hoping for a decent bowl at best
