Friday, October 8, 2010

Game of the Week: Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Wolverines

This edition of the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans rivalry is one of the biggest in several years. The important thing is that both teams are 5-0, but this game features so much more.

On the Michigan State side, you have a bunch of upstarts. The Spartans are the biggest feel good story of college football this year. They used a fake field goal to beat Notre Dame. Following that win, their coach suffers a heart attack but never missed a game.

On the Michigan side, you have the one man wrecking crew: Denard Robinson. He is the nation’s leading rusher and the Heisman Trophy front runner. Did I mention that he doesn’t tie his shoelaces?

One other story line that makes this game particularly interesting is that with all that Robinson has done that Tate Forcier did not last year, Michigan still needs to do something to show that they are better than last year. In 2009, Michigan started 4-0 and won five games. That fifth win was Indiana, the rest were non-conference games. All Michigan has done in 2010 is sweep the non-conference slate and beat Indiana. This week is the first chance for the Wolverines to actually do something they did not do last year, to show the nation that they are better than a year ago, and to do something of substance to save Rich Rodriguez’s job. Another meltdown like last year and Rodriguez will be gone.

With Robinson, you would think that Michigan should win this game going away. However, as good as Robinson is, the Michigan defense is that bad. If the defense can’t step up, not just this week but the rest of the year, Robinson will have the burden of turning in a 200 yard passing and 200 yard rushing game every week for the Wolverines to win and get bowl eligible.

Other recent posts on COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAVEN:
Game Predictions, Week 6, 2010
USC Trojans: Still No Institutional Control
Weekly Trivia: Single Season Rushing Leader
Heisman Trophy Hopefuls, Week 5, 2010
Monday Musings: 10 Thoughts About Week 5
Poll Results: Which top 5 team will lose first?
College Football Haven Top 25, Week 5, 2010

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