Saturday's Michigan State victory over Wisconsin represented a huge program win for coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans were able to successfully deal with the adversity presented by the last-second change of plans in Dantonio's health, and in doing so showed resiliency and toughness in my opinon. They continued to pound the ball as they have all season, and showed an impressive mix of run versus pass against a legitimate Big Ten defense, while managing to deal with 2 early turnovers and 3 giveaways total.
Don Treadwell demonstrated the same gutsy play-calling in key situations that Dantonio has, running a tricky option pitch to Larry Caper on an early fourth-and-one, and calling an over-the-top play action to B.J. Cunningham to seal the victory.
State also received an impressive special teams TD from Keshawn Martin, and didn't allow any big plays on kickoffs or Aaron Bates' lone punt.
The victory sets up a huge, nationally televised showdown in the bowels of Ann Arbor with the Michigan Wolverines and highly touted QB Denard Robinson. The Spartans will need to hit him early and often to neutralize his running abilities.
I'm positive that coach Treadwell and the rest of his staff will have the team ready to play a full 60 miniutes, because Saturday's game will require a wire-to-wire effort.
--Beau
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