Saturday, September 14, 2013

Reaction to Michigan State's 55-17 win over Youngstown State

I was at Spartan Stadium on Saturday and saw the Michigan State scoring outburst in person.
It was a good showing for Michigan State, and a much-needed breakout performance for its offense.
I wrote a column on the importance of Saturday’s performance for the offense and quarterback Connor Cook.
It’s easy to say Cook was the reason that Michigan State put up 55 points, but the performance was a collective improvement by all parts.
Receivers caught the tough passes and got separation from the defenders. The offensive line provided protection and created running lanes. Ball carries found open space and made tacklers miss. The quarterbacks didn’t turn the ball over. It all came together for the offense.
Now, the real question is, can Michigan State repeat its performance going forward?
If Michigan State is going to do anything this season, it will need Saturday’s offense to show up more often than not. The MSU defense is always going to give the Spartans a chance to win, but the offense will have to score some points from time-to-time.
Michigan State likely won’t play a defense as bad as Youngstown State’s for the rest of the season, but that doesn’t mean we should look past what the Spartans did on Saturday. It was a step in the right direction and it gave the Spartans some clarity about the quarterback position going forward.
Connor Cook is the guy, and the Spartans are going to win or lose with him under center.
Next week’s game at Notre Dame should give a clearer picture if Michigan State really has solved some of its issues on offense.

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