Spartans prepare for Saturday showdown

With a host of Ohio State playmakers making their way to Spartan Stadium on Saturday, the MSU defense is going to have its hands full in a showdown featuring two of the last three unbeaten Big Ten teams.

Not only do the No. 12 Buckeyes have preseason Heisman Trophy favorite Chris “Beanie” Wells, who is now fully healthy after struggling with a toe injury early in the season, but the addition of freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor to the starting lineup has given Ohio State one of the most dynamic one-two punches in the nation.

Knowing full well the big-play potential of Wells, Pryor and the rest of the Buckeyes, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio said there’s no question about No. 20 MSU’s main goal heading into Saturday.

“We have to prevent big plays — there’s no doubt about that, whether it’s by the run or by the pass,” Dantonio said. “We have to tackle effectively in space. Against gap football you have to attack your gap and be at the right place relative to the defense, but that’s the nature of it in every single game that we play.”

Wells, who was named firstteam All-Big Ten a year ago, has continued to be one of the Big Ten’s most explosive backs.

While Wells was out, the 6-foot-6, 235-pound Pryor — who became the starter following Ohio State’s Sept. 13 loss to Southern Cal — has become the Buckeyes’ most dynamic weapon.

Although Pryor averages less than 100 passing yards per game, he is a 66 percent passer, who has thrown five touchdowns and shown steady improvement.

And he can run.

“We may have everything defended perfectly well down the field and he may take it, tuck it and make a play,” Dantonio said of Pryor, who has 339 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. “That’s what being a quarterback — taking a bad play and making a good play — is all about, in my mind.”

Bend, but don’t break

A quick look at the stat sheet might leave some people scratching their heads as to how MSU can be a 6-1 football team. Considering where the Spartans stand in the Big Ten in total offense (No. 7) and total defense (No. 9), being undefeated seems like quite an accomplishment.

But further investigation shows two of the key reasons for MSU’s success are its plus-10 turnover margin (second in the Big Ten, sixth in the nation) and conference-best red zone defense, which also ranks sixth in the country.

“We’re making enough plays to be successful in the end,” Dantonio said.

“We have the No. 1 red zone defense in the conference right now, which when you look at it as a coach, just means that your players are developing confidence and figuring out that they can win when their backs are up against the wall.”

Learning experience

Dantonio, who is never one to get overly excited about something on the football field, has constantly preached that program success with a new coach is a process.

Part of that process is playing in big games like Saturday’s, which he said can be a great experience for both players and coaches.

“There’s going to be experiences that you go through — positive and negative — that you’re going to learn from and we need to take lessons from every opportunity,” Dantonio said. “The bottom line is, regardless of what happens, if we play hard and we come to play and we play with excitement and we play loose, etc. — I’ll be able to handle what happens, and we’ll all be able to handle what happens.”

Published on Tuesday, October 14, 2008