Little Brother Scale after Week 3

Since introducing the Little Brother Scale during the offseason, things had continued to go well for Michigan State.

That all changed on Saturday.

The Spartans were soundly beaten by Notre Dame and their weaknesses coming into the season were amplified by a team that could contain their strengths.

It is too early to know just how good Notre Dame will be, but it is clear that MSU was a bit over-hyped (I include myself in that) after the first two weeks of the season.

With the Spartan performance, the door opens for Michigan to make some progress in the scale.

Not only because Michigan rolled UMass last week, but because the Wolverines face Notre Dame on Saturday.

The Wolverines have a track record of success against the Irish and another win over them would certainly build some confidence for the rest of the season.

Michigan still seems to be battling some issues of its own on the offensive line, which could be a factor on Saturday. Certainly the defense will have to come up with some big plays to keep the Irish to a low point total at home.

Michigan may have the athletes on offense to do what Michigan State couldn’t do, but the Wolverines are going to need someone other than Denard Robinson to step up.

MSU has a cake game against Eastern Michigan, and then the real test of where the Spartans are heading is next week when they host Ohio State.

For now, the Spartans are still ahead, but the gap is a little closer than last week.

LITTLE BROTHER SCALE: MSU 17¼, Michigan 14¾