MSU/UAB unit breakdown (unabridged)

[Spartan4ever]

Originally Posted by arfabe16

If you can control our rushing game, Hoyer will go for 300 yards and win us the game.

Sorry.

Hoyer won't throw for 300 yards in any game this year let alone the first, especially with who he will be throwing to this coming Saturday. Until TJ Williams is back in the line up and the Spartans have discovered a second receiving threat.

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by Spartan4ever

Hoyer won't throw for 300 yards in any game this year let alone the first, especially with who he will be throwing to this coming Saturday. Until TJ Williams is back in the line up and the Spartans have discovered a second receiving threat.

Kellen Davis is the key

[H-town Spartan]

Originally Posted by Spartan4ever

Hoyer won't throw for 300 yards in any game this year let alone the first, especially with who he will be throwing to this coming Saturday. Until TJ Williams is back in the line up and the Spartans have discovered a second receiving threat.

Hoyer threw for 291 yards in his first (i think it was his first) start against Penn State last year.

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by H-town Spartan

Hoyer threw for 291 yards in his first (i think it was his first) start against Penn State last year.

keep in mind:

lost 3 starting receivers
hoyer set the MSU record for pass attempts that game

[Cuchulainn]

Originally Posted by UABinBHM

I'd say that's a pretty fair, unbiased assessment. UAB's biggest strength in terms of experience and talent combined would have to be our secondary. UAB's biggest strength in terms of raw talent would have to be at our RB and H-Back positions... but most of that talent is quite young. In fact, alot of our talent in general is quite young and that's what I see as our major obstacle this year.

UAB is already worlds ahead of last year's team in terms of conditioning and discipline, but it will be interesting to see how the freshmen react to a large, hostile crowd. The sophomores and above at UAB won't be phased as they've already played at some of the most hostile places in the country (@ Tennessee, @ Georgia, @ Florida State, etc).

I have to say, you are reflecting well on your school. It is appreciated when fans of opposing teams contribute in a positive way in sports discussions.

That said, I don't see UAB winning this game. 17 point win sounds about right.

[Gary in Bradenton]

Based on that huge size different between their DL and our OL I can easily see MSU running the ball for 300 yards. With that type of difference we could score a ton of points by just pounding them into physical submission. That is just a huge physical difference.

[UABinBHM]

Originally Posted by Gary in Bradenton

Based on that huge size different between their DL and our OL I can easily see MSU running the ball for 300 yards. With that type of difference we could score a ton of points by just pounding them into physical submission. That is just a huge physical difference.

Again, that's possible, but don't be so sure. Last year, a big Oklahoma OL and a little ole RB named Adrian Peterson managed just 143 yards rushing against a UAB DL of roughly that same size as our DL this year. I could see 200 yards rushing maybe, but I'm doubting this 300 yards rushing thing... I guess anything is possible though.

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by UABinBHM

Again, that's possible, but don't be so sure. Last year, a big Oklahoma OL and a little ole RB named Adrian Peterson managed just 143 yards rushing against a UAB DL of roughly that same size as our DL this year. I could see 200 yards rushing maybe, but I'm doubting this 300 yards rushing thing... I guess anything is possible though.

we dont care what your team did last year. 1/2 the players are freshmen.

on one account you are talking up that you have fresh blood, etc etc. then you go off on what you did last year? which one is it?

[CORNER BLITZ]

Originally Posted by UABinBHM

Again, that's possible, but don't be so sure. Last year, a big Oklahoma OL and a little ole RB named Adrian Peterson managed just 143 yards rushing against a UAB DL of roughly that same size as our DL this year. I could see 200 yards rushing maybe, but I'm doubting this 300 yards rushing thing... I guess anything is possible though.

[UABinBHM]

Originally Posted by fw190bvi

we dont care what your team did last year. 1/2 the players are freshmen.

on one account you are talking up that you have fresh blood, etc etc. then you go off on what you did last year? which one is it?

If you followed the logic, I wouldn't have to be explaining this... but oh well. The reason the fresh blood is good is because it means a totally new attitude. UAB has had a loser leading this program for more than a decade. Losing (much like winning) is infectious.

Now as for why I brought up last year in that respect is not to say that we have those same players, but to point out the fallacy in the assumption that a larger OL means success in the ground game. Oklahoma's OL was much larger than our DL last year and no offense, but Oklahoma had a much better RB... and they only got 143 yards against us. That's not to say MSU can't get more, but the assumption that a size difference of any amount means 300 yards rushing is easily attainable is what I challenge.

So the point is not that we'll have that DL playing for us this year. That's not the case and I think that point has been discussed ad nauseum. The point of that statements was to emphasize the faulty logic being applied by the poster above in saying that a OL that much larger should translate to 300 yards on the ground.

[msuferd]

Let's put it this way, if MSU loses to a UAB team that has only 65 players, over of 40 of whom are freshman, we should scrap the program.

That's how bad this loss would be.

[TeamCaptainJohn]

Originally Posted by UABinBHM

If you followed the logic, I wouldn't have to be explaining this... but oh well. The reason the fresh blood is good is because it means a totally new attitude. UAB has had a loser leading this program for more than a decade. Losing (much like winning) is infectious.

Now as for why I brought up last year in that respect is not to say that we have those same players, but to point out the fallacy in the assumption that a larger OL means success in the ground game. Oklahoma's OL was much larger than our DL last year and no offense, but Oklahoma had a much better RB... and they only got 143 yards against us. That's not to say MSU can't get more, but the assumption that a size difference of any amount means 300 yards rushing is easily attainable is what I challenge.

So the point is not that we'll have that DL playing for us this year. That's not the case and I think that point has been discussed ad nauseum. The point of that statements was to emphasize the faulty logic being applied by the poster above in saying that a OL that much larger should translate to 300 yards on the ground.

that is madness

THIS IS SPARTA

[UABinBHM]

Originally Posted by Spartan Pride

You talk of all the good changes your coaches are bringing and stuff and then you go on to talk about a game under a different coach last year.

Let me reiterate. The point is NOT about the skill of UAB's DL last year. If you all read it closely, you would understand that I was addressing the size reference that the other poster was discussing. The poster indicated that the "huge size difference" should translate to "easily 300 yards rushing." Well, that's the reason why I chose last year's OU game (just for example) as a means of disputing this claim that a larger size means success on the ground. It doesn't. In fact, if you talk to just about any line coach out there, speed and footwork are as important (if not moreso) than sheer size. If you're big, but so slow that you can't block out and stay in front of your man, are you really there?

[Gary in Bradenton]

Fresh blood may be good for competing and trying hard but 44 college freshman, especially undersized ones, will get their asses kicked against a much larger opponent in their first game. This is why I said that 300 yards could easily be reached in this game.

Also, in the initial post it talks about the shift in how MSU's OL blocks. If they are road grading off the snap, your DL probably has no shot in hell. They are being taught now to be aggressive out of the blocks so to speak. 300 pounds flying at you on the snap when you are only 250 is not going to result in good things for that 250 guy on most snaps.

[msuferd]

Well, if we're going to use examples from last year, MSU faced a Pitt team that was vastly undersized on the DL. MSU blasted them for well over 300 yards, IIRC.

While I won't predict 300 yards, I'd be shocked if MSU didn't get around 200.

[UABinBHM]

Originally Posted by Gary in Bradenton

Fresh blood may be good for competing and trying hard but 44 college freshman, especially undersized ones, will get their asses kicked against a much larger opponent in their first game. This is why I said that 300 yards could easily be reached in this game.

Also, in the initial post it talks about the shift in how MSU's OL blocks. If they are road grading off the snap, your DL probably has no shot in hell. They are being taught now to be aggressive out of the blocks so to speak. 300 pounds flying at you on the snap when you are only 250 is not going to result in good things for that 250 guy on most snaps.

You're right in that UAB's DL isn't going to be pancaking any MSU OLs. But what UAB and smaller DLs in general try to do is clog up the middle. UAB is probably not going to get much penetration unless it's off a LB blitz. UAB is going to be probably rely on stopping up the middle with bodies so that the running game is forced to the outside where the speed of our LBs and secondary can attack them. I'm not saying UAB is going to shut down MSU's rushing game... never have, in fact. MSU will probably get more than Oklahoma did against us if for no other reason but that MSU will probably be running the ball more than OU did. But I will be surprised if MSU exceeds 300 yards on the ground.

And just FYI... I keep seeing this 44 freshmen number being thrown around. I know of only about 25 true freshmen. If there are 44 "freshmen," then that is including guys that were redshirted last year. A redshirt freshman is a bit different than your straight-out-of-high school true freshman. But even so, I don't think we redshirted 20 guys last year.

[Gary in Bradenton]

Ringer has tremendous speed and Caulcrick very good speed for a big man. You have to have SIZE to block the middle. Look at the NFL (I know up a major level) and check out the most successful defenses at blocking the run, the interior DL that block up the middle are big ole ****ing 300 pound bowling balls like Ted Washington (well he's more like 600 pounds but you get my drift). 250 lb interior DL aren't going to block up a thing in the middle.

[goState18]

Originally Posted by UABinBHM

Whoa now. I'm a little nervous about making predictions this year since we're so short on numbers, but you act as though UAB has not ever been competitive.

Since UAB moved to Division I about 10 years ago, only a handful of teams from BCS conferences have scored 40pts or more against UAB: Virginia Tech (1998), Wake Forrest (1999), Florida (2002), and South Carolina (2003). That's only 4 times out of the 20-25 BCS opponents we've played in that time.

In addition, UAB (and probably MSU as well) will be more run-oriented, so I would expect this to be a fairly quick, relatively lower scoring game. But again, having little idea what to expect from our team, MSU could score 40pts on us... I just kind of doubt it. In fact, I kind of even doubt MSU scores 30. I think both MSU and UAB will score 30pts or less.

Run oriented, but our QB has an above average arm, might be a better passer than Stanton, and Stanton was a hell of a passer.

[UABinBHM]

Not all of our DL are in that 250lbs range... just the best ones. But if they're getting pushed around too much, they'll probably bring in some of the bigger DL. All I know is that UAB has had quite a bit of success against some big OL. UAB has never really had a huge DL even back when we had a Top 5 defense.

[rob]

What most of you forget is that UAB has been practicing in 95 degree heat for the past 3 weeks and is likely in very good condition. MSU should win but it won't be a blow out by any stretch. It could be close. I expect UAB to be well coached and I wouldn't be shocked by a UAB win. Disapointed? Yes.

[DantonIzzo]

Originally Posted by rob

What most of you forget is that UAB has been practicing in 95 degree heat for the past 3 weeks and is likely in very good condition. MSU should win but it won't be a blow out by any stretch. It could be close. I expect UAB to be well coached and I wouldn't be shocked by a UAB win. Disapointed? Yes.

[UABinBHM]

TopDog... I would say you're about right... I just don't think it will be that kind of offensive explosion. As I said, I would say 28-13, MSU if we can't control the run game at all really. Mostly, I just don't want to see our team quit and I don't want to see alot of injuries. I want a solid, disciplined team that has character. Wins and losses won't be a measure of success for this team anyway. I wish you guys luck as well... particularly after our game.

[UABinBHM]

Originally Posted by rob

What most of you forget is that UAB has been practicing in 95 degree heat for the past 3 weeks and is likely in very good condition. MSU should win but it won't be a blow out by any stretch. It could be close. I expect UAB to be well coached and I wouldn't be shocked by a UAB win. Disapointed? Yes.

You raise a good point, rob. But just a minor correction... for a significant part of this month, Birmingham has been over 100 and several times over 105. Up in Michigan in the morning for kickoff, it is going to feel like fall in Alabama.

[Simple Jack]

MSU 26
UAB 20

Ugly game. Lots of 3 and outs and punting. Both offenses will look bad, droped passes, ints. A win is a win.

[PASpartan85]

Originally Posted by Chewy Goodness

Why is our D-line so light? Somebody get these guys a pizza.

Trying to win with speed on the dline