The season's biggest challenge (and yet also the biggest reward) looms for Michigan State on Saturday. After pulling off incredible victories over Notre Dame and Wisconsin, then powering through the rest of a challenging Big Ten season, the Spartans have earned a much-deserved trip to a New Year's Day bowl game. They now find themselves closer than ever before to reaching that elusive plateau dominated by college football's top teams-a victory over Alabama, coupled with the return of their entire offensive backfield, could turn heads, and put the Spartans in the early national conversation for next year. For a coach that places huge emphasis on tangible success and recognition, that would be a huge accomplishment for a Spartan program that's struggled in their climb to the top.
A much bigger accomplishment in the present though, would be to knock off that aforementioned Alabama team, and that looks to be an extremely tough test. The 16th-ranked Crimson Tide ripped off five straight wins to start the season, and if not for losses to South Carolina and LSU, would be in the top 10 right now.
'Bama is extremely talented across the board, and has depth at key skill positions, including running back. Trent Richardson and a recovering Mark Ingram have combined for 248 carries, 1,474 yards, and 16 touchdowns this year. What's more, both backs have prototypical NFL size, and share the load well-in the three games where both Richardson and Ingram got double-digit carries, the Crimson Tide won by an average of 23 points. With Ingram having had plenty of time to recover and prepare for this bowl game, the Spartans defense should see a heavy dose of the former Michigan State recruit. The head-on collisons between those two backs and experienced Spartan LB's Greg Jones and Eric Gordon should be both hard-hitting and fun to watch, and with 755 career tackles between them, the two should fly to the ball often.
Alabama isn't simply a two-man show, though. The man under center, Greg McElroy, can definitely play ball as well-he's completed over 70% of his passes this year, and has delivered long throws of over 50 yards in five games this season. His 166.9 passer rating is also impressive, and in his second year under center he's looked a great deal more comfortable in the pocket. To boot, he's throw at least one score in 10 of Alabama's games this season-if he finds top target Julio Jones open as often as he has this season (the junior wideout has 41 more receptions than his closest teammate), Michigan State's DB's are in for a long day.
MSU has faced no greater challenge than the one that's in front of them in Orlando on New Year's Day. We've seen the Spartans' resiliency, toughness and heart all throughout the season. The reason that formula's worked though, results from not only their talent level, but their performance. How will they respond to the pressure of a huge bowl game? How will they handle a pro-Alabama crowd? How will they deal with the loss of receiver B.J. Cunningham? Those are all questions that beg asking, but on Saturday, we'll know the answers. For more on the Spartans' trip to Orlando, check out Beau Knows later this week, and if you can't get enough of MSU football, head to greenandwhite.com, an excellent MSU athletics website ran by the Lansing State Journal.
--Beau
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