The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 139 BY RYAN TICE Michigan State got the break of all breaks last year in The Big House in mid‑October and took advantage. A 17‑14 win over Ohio State five weeks later basically sealed their spot in the conference championship game, an eventual 16‑13 victory over Iowa. Sparty would like to forget how the season ended — a 38‑0 thwacking at the hands of national champion Alabama in the semifi‑ nals — much like the Wolverines want to put the muffed punt snap out of their memories … but in actuality, there is little chance Jim Harbaugh — or his team — have developed amnesia about how his first game against Michigan State as the head coach ended. That could spell trouble for MSU, which still boasts six returning starters on defense. However, with just three returning starters on offense, at least a temporary step back from an incredible stretch over the last six years — which included three conference titles and a 65‑16 overall mark — looks like it could be coming in East Lansing. Then again, Mark Dantonio has estab‑ lished himself as one of the nation's elite coaches and has plenty to build around after losing just a pair of Big Ten games in the last three seasons. His calling card has always been a strong ground game and defense, and he should have both once again this fall. Last fall's top three rushers — who com‑ bined for 1,739 yards and 22 scores on the ground — all return, led by super sopho‑ more LJ Scott. Star middle linebacker Riley Bullough is also back, playing behind rising star Malik McDowell on the defensive line and in front of arguably the Big Ten's best safety tandem in fifth‑year senior Demetrious Cox and junior Montae Nicholson, who combined for 162 tackles and six interceptions last year. The best quarterback in school history, Connor Cook, is off to the NFL, and so are three of his starting linemen, his top weapon out wide and three‑time All‑Big Ten defen‑ sive end Shilique Calhoun. Some of their replacements are primed to break out — junior interior lineman Brian Al‑ len is expected to be the new leader in the trenches after being named second‑team All‑ Big Ten; McDowell, who ranked second on the team last year with 13 tackles for loss and third with 4.5 sacks, will help make up for Calhoun while moving all over the defensive front; and fifth‑year senior Tyler O'Connor has patiently waited for his time to take over for Cook. O'Connor, a more mobile option than his predecessor, started in the three‑point win over Ohio State last year and went 7‑of‑12 passing for 89 yards with a score while not turning it over. Redshirt junior Damion Terry is also in the running after receiving limited action last year at both quarterback and wide receiver. There are even strong options poised to fill the void out wide — led by senior R.J. Shel‑ ton, who caught 43 passes for 503 yards and four scores in 2015. He also boasts 428 career rushing yards with four ground touchdowns and is a dangerous kickoff returner. True fresh‑ man wide receiver Donnie Corley is also ex‑ pected to make an impact after enrolling early. Senior tight end Josiah Price is another intriguing weapon for the passing attack — he has 851 career receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, the latter a school record for his position. A fourth consecutive top‑10 finish in the Associated Press poll — Alabama is the only other school to have done so in each of the last three years — is hard to envision, but the Spartans shouldn't be far off from that either and will always be in contention with Dantonio at the helm. Even if MSU takes a dip in 2016, it won't be down for long. Notes Head coach Mark Dantonio's 7-2 mark against the Wol- verines is the best winning percentage for any MSU mentor who coached more than once against U-M … Dantonio is also the only Big Ten coach to beat Urban Meyer in his four years at Ohio State — doing so twice in the last three sea - sons … Athlon ranks Michigan State 13th nationally, but the magazine projects them to finish third in the Big Ten East … In addition to returning starters Riley Bullough and Jon Re- schke at linebacker, sixth-year senior Ed Davis was the most productive defender in 2014 with seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss but missed last year with a torn ACL. ❏ Numerous Losses Will Make It Hard For Spartans To Continue Success MICHIGAN STATE • OCT. 29 • GAME 8 2016 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2015 Result Sept. 2 Furman — Sept. 17 at Notre Dame — Sept. 24 Wisconsin — Oct. 1 at Indiana W, 52-26 Oct. 8 BYU — Oct. 15 Northwestern — Oct. 22 at Maryland W, 24-7 Oct. 29 Michigan W, 27-23 Nov. 5 at Illinois — Nov. 12 Rutgers W, 31-24 Nov. 19 Ohio State W, 17-14 Nov. 26 at Penn State W, 55-16 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: U-M leads 68-35-5 First Meeting: U-M 39, MSU 0 (Oct. 12, 1898, at Ann Arbor) Last Meeting: MSU 27, U-M 23 (Oct. 17, 2015, at Ann Arbor) Head Coach: Mark Dantonio, 87-33 at MSU (10th year) and 105-50 overall (13th year) Off./Def. Systems: Multiple/Multiple 4-3 2015 in Review: 12-2 overall, 7-1 Big Ten (T-1st East) Final 2015 Ranking: No. 6 in Associated Press and coaches' polls Returning Starters: 11 (3 offense, 6 defense, 2 specialists) Last Bowl Appearance: 2015 (Goodyear Cotton, vs. Alabama, L 38-0) Big Ten Conference Championships (last): 9 (2015) RETURNING LEADERS Passing: Tyler O'Connor (133 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) Rushing: LJ Scott (699 yards, 11 TD) Receiving: R.J. Shelton (503 yards, 4 TD) Tackles: Riley Bullough (106) Sacks: Demetrius Cooper (5) Interceptions: Montae Nicholson and Demetrious Cox (3) PLAYERS TO WATCH Offense: LJ Scott, So., RB — The former four-star recruit debuted with a team-best 699 rushing yards and 11 scores despite starting just once … The 6-0, 238-pounder led all rushers with 73 yards, including a one-yard TD plunge that won the game with 27 seconds left, in the Big Ten Championship Game … He is the biggest of MSU's three-headed monster in the backfield. Defense: Riley Bullough, 5th-Sr., LB — In 2015, he became the first Spartan to post 100 tackles since older brother Max in 2012 … Marked the seventh time a Bullough paced MSU in stops; he finished with 106 … Also had 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries. An NFL scout told MLive.com this spring that junior defensive tackle Malik McDowell would be the Big Ten's best defensive player in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS