Hello Broncos fans, I’m Jameson Draper, from Michigan State blog BanksOfTheRedCedar.com. Just by saying that, you probably already know why I’m here. If you jump on over to my site, you’ll see Dale did his own little preview for the game on my blog, so to return the favor, I’m putting one here.
To be frank, no one knows how the game will truly go. Both Boise State AND Michigan State lost some pretty key starters, most importantly QB Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore. Let’s look at that first.
Michigan State’s former QB Kirk Cousins was undoubtedly the best quarterback to come through MSU, setting records and winning more games than any other QB in MSU history has. On the flip side, Boise State’s former QB Kellen Moore was also one of the best in Boise State’s history, and also was a part of many of the Bronco’s best teams.
However, if you’re looking at it closely, MSU has the upper hand. This year’s starting QB, junior Andrew Maxwell, was a lock for the position by this time last year. He’s had a lot of time to be mentored by Kirk Cousins (and scouts say he’s better than Cousins). On Boise State’s side, Junior Joe Southwick was named the starter only yesterday.
Another way to look at the offense to see possible production is going to the wide receivers. While Boise State did lose key wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker, they have Mitch Burroughs coming back, which is huge. The Spartans literally lost all of their wide receiver starters: Keshawn Martin, BJ Cunningham, Keith Nichol, Tight End Brian Linthicum, and Tight End Garret Celek. Every single starter. The star receivers this year will most likely be Bennie Fowler, Tony Lippett, and the returning starter with the most receptions last season, Tight End Dion Sims (11 receptions).
While Boise State has MSU beat in the receiving department, with BSU losing Doug Martin , MSU and dark horse Heisman Candidate Le’Veon Bell clearly have the better running game.
Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, Boise State will have another pretty good defense. They may have lost safety George Iloka and Defensive End Shea McLellin, but they will still have a pretty strong defense.
To the Spartans defense. Coming into the season, the Spartans boast an SEC Caliber defense. The only starters they lost last season were Jerel Worthy and Trenton Robinson. Granted, they were good, but the players taking over their spot may be better. Johnny Adams (DB) and terror William Gholston (DE) have both been named to the Preseason All-American Watchlist, and Adams, Gholston and safety Isaiah Lewis have also been named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Watchlist. Not to mention other Spartans on defense, including our stacked linebacking core that consist of Chris Norman, Darien Harris, Taiwan Jones, Max Bullough and Denicos Allen. The Spartans defense is a force to be reckoned with, and that’s what’s going to keep them in the Rose Bowl hunt all year.
Judging by this post, it’s evident that this game could go any way possible. Truthfully, I think it will go the Spartans way purely because of the incredible defense they possess. It’s going to be a fun game to watch. Now it’s just a matter of waiting until Friday.
Check out DarthProphet’s post at our site here.
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