Michigan State Football 2011: 11 Reasons Why the Spartans Beat Michigan (again)
The Michigan State Spartans have dominated the Paul Bunyan Trophy game for the last three seasons.
There's no reason why the dominance won't continue this season.
The Spartans return a majority of their starters on both sides of the ball and will contend for the Big Ten title with Ohio State now out of the picture.
The Wolverines are in a much different state.
Rich Rodriguez was fired after his Michigan squad was throttled 52-14 by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl.
New head coach Brady Hoke will face the challenge of righting the ship in Ann Arbor.
It's unlikely that his team will come anywhere close to challenging Mark Dantonio's Michigan State team.
Follow along as we count down the 11 reasons why the Spartans will beat Michigan this season.
11. Denard Robinson Will Struggle in Michigan's New Offense
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New head coach Brady Hoke is scrapping Rich Rodriguez's spread option attack and replacing it with a pro-style scheme.
That means quarterback Denard Robinson will be taking a majority of the snaps from under center and won't have a lot of opportunities to run out of the shotgun.
Denard Robinson was a decent passer in the old offense, but it remains to be seen if he will be an effective quarterback throwing the ball in a pro-style offense—the difference between the spread option and pro-style is night and day.
The struggles Denard Robinson will face in the new offense will make things a lot easier for the Spartan defense when the two teams match up.
10. Brady Hoke Will Be in First Season as Michigan's Head Coach
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Brady Hoke is the new man atop the thrown of the Michigan football program.
His previous two head coaching gigs were at Ball State and San Diego State.
His combined record at the two schools was 47-50.
That's not pretty in the eyes of a college football fan.
His best season as a head coach came in 2008 when he led Ball State to a 12-2 record and a trip to the GMAC Bowl.
Michigan fans will have to wait and see if Brady Hoke has what it takes to return Michigan to its winning ways.
Michigan State will certainly take advantage of the fact that Brady Hoke is in his first year at a BCS school.
9. Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell
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Every Michigan State fan knows that the Spartan offense revolves around the ground game.
That's a good thing if you have two excellent running backs like Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell.
The two combined for 1,806 rushing yards last season and will only improve upon that figure this season.
One of the biggest games the Spartan rushing attack will have will be against Michigan.
The Wolverine defense has been a porous unit in recent seasons, and there's no doubt that the Spartans will have an easy time racking up yards in this year's edition of the Paul Bunyan Trophy game.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
8. The Game Will Be at Spartan Stadium
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Having home-field advantage is always a plus in college football.
It's certainly a factor in this rivalry.
The Wolverines haven't had much success in Spartan Stadium in recent memory.
A Mark Dantonio-coached Michigan State team does an excellent job of protecting its own turf and sending opposing teams packing.
7. Michigan's Awful Defense
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Michigan's defense is coming off its worst season in school history.
The Wolverine D ranked 110th nationally in total defense in 2010.
While the unit does return seven starters, it doesn't look like it's going to get any better this season.
Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison must pull off a miracle for his defense to present a challenge to Michigan State's offense this season.
6. Michigan State's Passing Game
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While the Spartan offense revolves around the running game, the passing game should not be overlooked.
Kirk Cousins will be in his third year as Michigan State's starting quarterback and will have more than a few stud wide receivers to get the ball to in Keshawn Martin, B.J. Cunningham, and Keith Nichol.
The play-action pass is a staple in Mark Dantonio's offense and always seems to be effective due to the Spartans' consistent running game.
Expect to see big passing yards from Michigan State against Michigan this season.
5. Michigan State's Defense
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Although Michigan State has to find a way to replace All-American linebacker Greg Jones, the Spartan defense will be a solid unit once again.
With Michigan implementing a new offensive scheme, the experienced Spartan defense should have no problem wreaking havoc and causing turnovers.
Because Denard Robinson will be taking the majority of his snaps from under center, there will be more opportunities for Michigan State defenders to get into the backfield and get a hand on him.
Expect to see Denard Robinson throw a lot of errant passes and interceptions due to Michigan State's pass rush.
4. Kirk Cousins
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Kirk Cousins is undeniably the leader of Michigan State's football team—the Spartans go as he goes.
Cousins may not be a flashy quarterback, but he certainly gets the job done. The argument can even be made that he is the best quarterback in the Big Ten.
Last season saw him complete 226 passes on 338 attempts for 2,825 yards and 20 touchdowns.
He will only improve upon those numbers this season as he has a solid group of receivers to throw to.
3. Pride
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Remember when a former Michigan running back referred to Michigan State as the "little brother"?
He must feel a little stupid about that now as Michigan State has gone on to dominate this rivalry ever since his departure to the NFL.
While that nickname may not seem like a big deal, it has more than fired up the Spartans for this rivalry.
Winning this game is a matter of pride, and the Spartans want to show Michigan who the little brother truly is.
2. Mark Dantonio
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Mark Dantonio is an excellent head coach, having compiled a 33-19 record in his four seasons in East Lansing.
He's a steady leader who is always in control of his team.
Last season was his best as Michigan State finished with an 11-2 record and a share of the Big Ten title.
With Mark Dantonio on the sidelines, Spartan fans should feel at ease.
1. Michigan State's Quest for the BCS
11 of 11The Spartans will be in hot pursuit of a BCS berth coming into this game, especially with Ohio State now out of the picture.
The BCS berth is only extra motivation for what is already a heated rivalry.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
