After two decent performances at home against middling competition, this is a big step for a relatively young Irish team: a road game against an opponent that appears on paper to be well ahead of Notre Dame's first two conquests. I think the visiting Irish catch a break with this game not being at night, and when you consider the fluky tendency in this series of the road team winning, it makes you ponder if that line, which has ballooned towards double digits, may be getting a little high. Any sort of victory will revolve around stopping Ringer and a Spartan rushing attack that has gouged the Irish over the last few years, and I'm not sure the Irish have the beef up front to slow him. I would advocate just cramming the box and putting the pressure on the Notre Dame secondary, a unit whose depth and talent impress me more and more every time I think about them. Michigan State has a clear advantage when its their rushing attack against the Notre Dame front four, but when it becomes Hoyer against David Bruton and Kyle McCarthy and their merry bunch of corners, I would say the pendulum swings completely to the other side.
For the Irish, the biggest match up in this game will be Clausen, Tate, Floyd, Grimes and everyone else against the Michigan State secondary, because if the Irish can explode like it appears to have the ability to do, the pressure being firmly put on Hoyer is a great benefit. If Otis Wiley and the gang can pick Clausen off a few times and throw Weis' offense out of whack, things could get ugly, especially if the offensive line can't continue their level of play in regards to pass protection.
I was very optimistic going into the Michigan game, and despite my general attitude towards Irish football of "Don't get your hopes up," I'm not feeling very gloomy about the trip to East Lansing, either. Expectations are rather low, because as long as the Irish don't embarrass themselves, not many people are giving them a chance at victory here. I wouldn't be surprised if they stumbled their way to 3-0, but the final score isn't as important as the team continuing to make strides in the right direction as the season continues.
Sparty 31 Irish 21
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