After two straight upset victories on the road to start the season, the 10th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish begin their home slate with Saturday's matchup against rival Michigan State. The Spartans are also undefeated heading into this matchup, as they have trounced Kent State and Hawaii in successive weeks. Last weekend, they posted a 42-14 decision over the Warriors, a team from the WAC that usually generates big offensive numbers. Saturday's game is the final non-league tilt for Michigan State before it dives into an always challenging Big Ten slate. As for Notre Dame, it seems to have a renewed sense of superiority under the guidance of first- year head coach Charlie Weis. After thoroughly beating Pittsburgh in the opener, the Fighting Irish walked into "The Big House" last weekend and emerged with a thrilling 17-10 decision over No. 3 Michigan. Weis and his group have the nation's toughest schedule this season, but the back-to-back road victories to open the season has created quite an early buzz. Notre Dame holds a 43-24-1 advantage in the all-time series with Michigan State, and the Irish have won two of the last three meetings.
It is difficult to imagine the Michigan State offense playing any better than it has thus far. Quarterback Drew Stanton seems to be in complete control of his offensive unit, as he completed 21-of-26 passes against Hawaii for 301 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His top target in that game was Jerramy Scott who made six grabs for 85 yards and a score. As for the ground attack, which accounted for 198 yards, it was led by Jehuu Caulcrick's 89 yards on 20 carries. Javon Ringer was the more impressive of the two backs, as he racked up 80 yards and a pair of scores on only 10 carries. Michigan State did not suffer a single turnover and it permitted only one sack. Also, the offense made good on 7-of-10 third down conversion attempts. Through two games, Stanton has completed a stellar 78.2 percent of his passes for 598 yards with five touchdowns and only one pick. He has thrown scoring strikes to four different players, and Kyle Brown leads the Spartans with 12 grabs. Keep an eye on Terry Love, as he has game-breaking ability on the outside. Ringer has four rushing touchdowns to pace the club, and Caulcrick has run for 229 yards and three scores thanks to a huge effort against Kent State in the opener.
Holding Hawaii to 14 points is not easy, but that is exactly what Michigan State was able to accomplish last weekend. The Spartans yielded 359 total yards in the tilt, many of which came after the outcome had long been decided. Although MSU managed just one takeaway on the night, the four sacks posted by the defense were impressive. SirDarean Adams was in on 12 tackles in the game to led all players by a comfortable margin. He made only four stops in the opener against Kent State. Speaking of that win over the Golden Flashes to kick off the season, the Spartans permitted just 14 rushing yards in that contest. While KSU was able to throw for a shade over 300 yards, the team was forced to pass on almost every down because of the lopsided nature of the score. If there is any knock of the Michigan State defense thus far, it is that only two turnovers have been generated.
Coach Weis helped turn Tom Brady into arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, and he seems to have had an enormously positive impact on Notre Dame signal caller Brady Quinn. Through two games, Quinn has completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 367 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. While there are plenty of quarterbacks that have more gaudy numbers thus far, no one has looked more comfortable under center. It certainly helps to have a player like Darius Walker in the backfield, as he has gained 204 rushing yards and 74 receiving yards through two outings. The Irish offense was limited to 240 yards by Michigan last weekend, but Quinn did not turn the ball over, a major key to the victory. He completed 19-of-30 passes for 140 yards and two scores. Walker did not have a ton of room to roam, but still he was able to pound out 104 yard on 26 carries. Quinn and the offense made good on only 4-of-15 third down conversion attempts in the tilt, and the group must be more efficient in that area against the Spartans.
Defensively, Notre Dame was simply outstanding against Michigan. The Irish came away with a pair of big takeaways and enabled the Wolverines to gain fewer than four yards per carry on the ground. Against the pass, Notre Dame permitted just 19-of-44 throws to connect and rattled UM quarterback Chad Henne all afternoon. Henne has never looked so uncomfortable as the leader of the Wolverine offense, and that is due to a combination of tremendous effort and terrific scheming by Notre Dame. In the opener, the Fighting Irish surrendered only 10 points to Pitt over the final three quarters after allowing 10 points in the first quarter alone. Weis and company were always notorious for making in-game adjustments when he was with the Patriots, and it seems that the quick thinking has followed him to the college ranks. Notre Dame limited the Panthers to 103 rushing yards on 31 carries, and it will be interesting to see if the defense can stop what appears to be a strong MSU backfield duo.
Weis is the first Notre Dame coach to win his first two games on the road since Knute Rockne back in 1918. This game against Michigan State is a dangerous one for a couple of reasons. First, the Spartans are strong on both sides of the ball and have looked tremendous through two games. Secondly, Michigan State has proven capable of winning on the road in this series.
*Michigan st. has won in Notre Dame the last 4 meetings.*
By the way i am just looking for the cover,i do not stress a SU win.
But i would like to say that the Irish have played well winning both games on the road.
But i have to admit the Panthers were ranked to start the season with high expectations and they have flopped, losing both there games,plain and simple they are not a good football team.
And lets face it.How good is Michigan?Another team living off the past coming into the season ranked 3rd,they have already been pushed to #14 I believe.Wolverines are no power house.
*If the Irish can cover this spread they will prove to me that they are here to stay for the season.*
I don`t see that happening,look for the Spartens to be a handful and cover the 6.
BET ID=121630957
Straight Wager 09/17/05 00:12 ET
200.00/181.82 Result: Pending
MichiganSt
NotreDame 09/17/05 (15:35 ET)
MichiganSt +6
It is difficult to imagine the Michigan State offense playing any better than it has thus far. Quarterback Drew Stanton seems to be in complete control of his offensive unit, as he completed 21-of-26 passes against Hawaii for 301 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His top target in that game was Jerramy Scott who made six grabs for 85 yards and a score. As for the ground attack, which accounted for 198 yards, it was led by Jehuu Caulcrick's 89 yards on 20 carries. Javon Ringer was the more impressive of the two backs, as he racked up 80 yards and a pair of scores on only 10 carries. Michigan State did not suffer a single turnover and it permitted only one sack. Also, the offense made good on 7-of-10 third down conversion attempts. Through two games, Stanton has completed a stellar 78.2 percent of his passes for 598 yards with five touchdowns and only one pick. He has thrown scoring strikes to four different players, and Kyle Brown leads the Spartans with 12 grabs. Keep an eye on Terry Love, as he has game-breaking ability on the outside. Ringer has four rushing touchdowns to pace the club, and Caulcrick has run for 229 yards and three scores thanks to a huge effort against Kent State in the opener.
Holding Hawaii to 14 points is not easy, but that is exactly what Michigan State was able to accomplish last weekend. The Spartans yielded 359 total yards in the tilt, many of which came after the outcome had long been decided. Although MSU managed just one takeaway on the night, the four sacks posted by the defense were impressive. SirDarean Adams was in on 12 tackles in the game to led all players by a comfortable margin. He made only four stops in the opener against Kent State. Speaking of that win over the Golden Flashes to kick off the season, the Spartans permitted just 14 rushing yards in that contest. While KSU was able to throw for a shade over 300 yards, the team was forced to pass on almost every down because of the lopsided nature of the score. If there is any knock of the Michigan State defense thus far, it is that only two turnovers have been generated.
Coach Weis helped turn Tom Brady into arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, and he seems to have had an enormously positive impact on Notre Dame signal caller Brady Quinn. Through two games, Quinn has completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 367 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. While there are plenty of quarterbacks that have more gaudy numbers thus far, no one has looked more comfortable under center. It certainly helps to have a player like Darius Walker in the backfield, as he has gained 204 rushing yards and 74 receiving yards through two outings. The Irish offense was limited to 240 yards by Michigan last weekend, but Quinn did not turn the ball over, a major key to the victory. He completed 19-of-30 passes for 140 yards and two scores. Walker did not have a ton of room to roam, but still he was able to pound out 104 yard on 26 carries. Quinn and the offense made good on only 4-of-15 third down conversion attempts in the tilt, and the group must be more efficient in that area against the Spartans.
Defensively, Notre Dame was simply outstanding against Michigan. The Irish came away with a pair of big takeaways and enabled the Wolverines to gain fewer than four yards per carry on the ground. Against the pass, Notre Dame permitted just 19-of-44 throws to connect and rattled UM quarterback Chad Henne all afternoon. Henne has never looked so uncomfortable as the leader of the Wolverine offense, and that is due to a combination of tremendous effort and terrific scheming by Notre Dame. In the opener, the Fighting Irish surrendered only 10 points to Pitt over the final three quarters after allowing 10 points in the first quarter alone. Weis and company were always notorious for making in-game adjustments when he was with the Patriots, and it seems that the quick thinking has followed him to the college ranks. Notre Dame limited the Panthers to 103 rushing yards on 31 carries, and it will be interesting to see if the defense can stop what appears to be a strong MSU backfield duo.
Weis is the first Notre Dame coach to win his first two games on the road since Knute Rockne back in 1918. This game against Michigan State is a dangerous one for a couple of reasons. First, the Spartans are strong on both sides of the ball and have looked tremendous through two games. Secondly, Michigan State has proven capable of winning on the road in this series.
*Michigan st. has won in Notre Dame the last 4 meetings.*
By the way i am just looking for the cover,i do not stress a SU win.
But i would like to say that the Irish have played well winning both games on the road.
But i have to admit the Panthers were ranked to start the season with high expectations and they have flopped, losing both there games,plain and simple they are not a good football team.
And lets face it.How good is Michigan?Another team living off the past coming into the season ranked 3rd,they have already been pushed to #14 I believe.Wolverines are no power house.
*If the Irish can cover this spread they will prove to me that they are here to stay for the season.*
I don`t see that happening,look for the Spartens to be a handful and cover the 6.
BET ID=121630957
Straight Wager 09/17/05 00:12 ET
200.00/181.82 Result: Pending
MichiganSt
NotreDame 09/17/05 (15:35 ET)
MichiganSt +6
hope ya hit it..........i have a headache already and the games haven't even started
