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Alabama enters its College Football Playoff semifinal against Michigan State as a heavy favorite.
Forgive the Spartans for rolling their eyes at the 9-point line — and then rolling up their sleeves. Michigan State is 6-1 against top-10 teams the past three seasons.
For a closer look at what makes the Spartans the biggest annual overachievers in college football and why that should concern Alabama, we talked with Connor O’Gara, who covers the Spartans and Big Ten football for SaturdayTradition.com.
Question: Michigan State never wins signing day — Rivals ranked its 2013 class No. 40, the past two classes No. 22. But here it is, fighting for a national championship, turning 2- and 3-star recruits into NFL prospects. Were the recruiting rankings wrong? Or is Mark Dantonio the college football version of Brad Stevens and finding perfect fits for a perfect system?
O’Gara: I think a lot of it is Dantonio. In terms of maximizing quarterback talent, there might not be a better coach in the country. The guy has turned East Lansing into a quarterback factory, which makes it much easier for a young quarterback to come in and learn. He simplifies the offense and always has one of the best offensive lines in the country. He gets big-armed pocket passers that might not necessarily be the best athletes, but with the pass protection they get, that really doesn’t matter.
Question: Everything about Michigan State shouts underdog, and yet they’re 6-1 vs. Top 10 teams the past 3 years. How does that feed into the program’s personality?
O’Gara: They’re actually 5-1 against top-five teams in the last three years, too. That’s just the chip-on-the-shoulder thing he always talks about. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dantonio get out-coached, either. He might not admit it, but he takes it personally when people doubt his team. They feed off that. Give him a month and Dantonio will have his team ready for anybody.
Question: Michigan State is No. 7 nationally in run defense. It did to Ezekiel Elliott what Alabama did to Leonard Fournette. Beyond the numbers, what makes this run defense so spectacular, and what impact does 5-star Malik McDowell make in that regard?
O’Gara: They really just have no weak links on that defensive line. Most highly touted defensive ends are pass-rush specialists, but Shilique Calhoun can do both. Between he and Lawrence Thomas, they have two ends that can get off blocks and present horizontal runners from getting the edge.
McDowell benefits from the fact that he’s built more like a defensive end than a tackle. He has speed and athleticism that you rarely see at the position.
He also never gets double teams, which allows MSU’s linebackers to get into the backfield.
MSU actually struggled to defend the run in the middle of the season and the front seven looked gassed at the end of games. But they had three key injuries on their offensive line, so they couldn’t sustain drives on offense.
Since they’ve been back, MSU controls the tempo and the defense doesn’t run out of gas.
Question: Alabama doesn’t allow 10-play scoring drives, much less 22. But it is susceptible to big plays in the passing game. How do you expect Connor Cook to attack that back end? How often does he look to stretch the field, and does Michigan State have playmakers on the outside capable of producing those kinds of plays?
O’Gara: A lot of that depends on how healthy Cook’s shoulder is. He clearly wasn’t 100 percent against Iowa in the B1G Championship.
His downfield balls didn’t have the same touch, and they sort of floated.
But he has plenty of downfield threats. Aaron Bubridge was the receiver of the year in the B1G, and despite being smaller, Macgarrett Kings and R.J. Shelton can go and get jump balls. Burbridge is the best threat to stretch the defense, but he’ll only be able to do that if Cook’s shoulder is fully healed.
Question: Big Ten-SEC … here we go again. This time, it’s the SEC fighting for its reputation a bit, after what happened last year to Alabama. Are Michigan State fans more excited about facing Alabama, the SEC, etc?
O’Gara: I think the playoff factor is bigger for Michigan State fans than facing the SEC.
This has kind of been a team of destiny feel because of all the close games they’ve won. I think it’s more about finally getting over the hump and putting itself in position to play for a national title than anything else.
Don’t get me wrong, Dantonio will probably play the SEC disrespect card to his team a bunch. The Derrick Henry “Michigan” blunder only added to that. It’ll have a little more juice than a matchup against Clemson would, but that’s because of Nick Saban’s MSU roots more than anything.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
