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2 0 1 8 S E A S O N P R E V I E W 2017 RECORD 10-3, 7-2 Big Ten COACH Mark Dantonio (100-45 in 11 seasons at Michigan State; career record: 118-62) SERIES RECORD The Spartans lead the all-time series, 16-15. MOST RECENT MEETING Brian Lewerke completed 33 of 56 passes for 400 yards, and Michigan State rallied past the Nit- tany Lions, 27-24, in East Lansing fol- lowing a three-and-a-half-hour weather delay on Nov. 4, 2017. EXPECTED STRENGTHS Lewerke threw for 2,793 yards and added 559 on the ground last season, and he'll have a lot of skill position talent around him this coming season. The redshirt junior will be sharing the back=eld with veteran running back L.J. Scott, Michigan State's rushing leader each of the past three seasons. Meanwhile, the receiver corps features Felton Davis, Darrell Stewart and Cody White, who combined for 140 catches last season. The defense, which ranked second in the Football Bowl Subdivision against the run last season (95.3 yards per game), will have nine starters back. The secondary should be especially tough. All four starters are back, including safety David Dowell, who =nished with =ve intercep- tions. Michigan State also welcomes back two excellent specialists in kicker Matt Coughlin (14 of 19 on =eld goals last year) and punter Jake Hartbarger (42.0 yards per attempt). POTENTIAL CONCERNS The Spartans need to get their running game operating at a higher level if they're going to vie for a Big Ten championship, and they'll need to do it without All-Big Ten center Brian Allen, a fourth-round draA pick of the Los Angeles Rams. They have four returning starters on the o?ensive line, but the ground game wasn't consistently e?ective last year. Michigan State ranked seventh in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (167.8), and its average of 4.0 yards per carry was tied for ninth. Allen's younger brother, Matt, a 6-foot- 3, 296-pound redshirt sophomore, ap- pears to be the most likely candidate to =ll the vacancy in the middle of the line. SCHEDULE This looks to be a pretty challenging slate. The nonconference schedule includes a visit to Arizona State in week two, while the Big Ten portion serves up back-to-back games against Penn State and Michigan in Oc- tober, and Ohio State and Nebraska in November. The Michigan and Ohio State games will be in East Lansing, but Michigan State hasn't had much luck against the Buckeyes in recent years, having dropped three of its past four games in the series. Also, Dantonio probably wishes his bye week were in October or early November rather than September, in between the trip to Tempe and the Spartans' Big Ten opener at In- diana. He might also wish that someone in the Big Ten o@ce would rid him of Northwestern for a couple of years. The Wildcats have won three of the past four, including a 39-31 triple-overtime victory last year. They will meet again on Oct. 6 in East Lansing. GAME OF THE YEAR Only seven days aAer facing Penn State on the road, the Spartans will host in-state rival Michi- gan in a game that could go a long way toward determining which of these two longtime antagonists will vie for the Big Ten title. Dantonio has had the Wolver- ines' number, as Michigan State has won eight of the the past 10 meetings. It has won two of three since Jim Harbaugh took over in Ann Arbor, which might make this an even bigger game for the Wolverines than it is for the Spartans. OUTLOOK Michigan State was one of college football's most improved teams last year, erasing memories of a 3-9 de- bacle in 2016 with a 10-3 =nish, includ- ing a 42-17 romp over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. With 10 starters back on o?ense and nine on defense, the Spartans don't =gure to take a step backward this fall. The real question is whether they are capable of holding o? Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan in what =gures to be a four-way battle for East Division supremacy in 2018. Even if they only come away with a split aAer facing the Nittany Lions and Wolverines in an eight-day span, they =gure to be in the mix come November. That would make Ohio State's visit to East Lansing a very consequential game. The Buckeyes romped at the Horseshoe last year, 48-3, so the Spartans will be well-motivated, no matter how the divisional standings look come Nov. 10. –M.H. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS TOP RETURNEES PASSING Brian Lewerke 246 of 417 | 2,793 yds. | 20 TD | 7 int. RUSHING L.J. Scott 201 att. | 898 yds. | 8 TD RECEIVING Felton Davis III 55 rec. | 776 yds. | 9 TD TACKLING Joe Bachie 46 solo | 54 asst. | 100 total INTERCEPTIONS Andrew Dowell 5 int. | 78 yds. W E E K 6 | O C T O B E R 1 3 | B E A V E R S T A D I U M Steve Manuel BRIAN LEWERKE

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