“This is one last chance for us as seniors to get some respect for the Big Ten conference and for our program, where people question how we do in big games,” senior quarterback Brian Hoyer said Tuesday.

When facing a ranked team this season, the Spartans were 0-2 while losing by a combined score of 94-25. MSU’s most trying tests this season, against Ohio State at home and at Penn State to close the season, were blowout wins for the opposition, leaving much to prove for an MSU squad that has not performed well on the biggest of stages.

“To be honest with you, we didn’t play up to our level when we played those teams,” Hoyer said. “Coach Dantonio will tell you that we didn’t play up. We played down. We have one last shot to go out and show the country what this team really is, and what better team to play against than Georgia, the preseason No. 1 team.”

In Georgia, the Spartans will meet a loaded offense led by a surefire first-round NFL Draft pick in junior quarterback Matthew Stafford, multi-talented sophomore tailback Knowshon Moreno and an explosive corps of vertical receivers. It will fall upon the MSU defense to slow the Southeastern Conference’s second-ranked offense after surrendering 45 points to Ohio State and 49 points to Penn State in the season finale.

“After November, we kind of had a salty taste after getting ready for the Big Ten championship and having the bye week and we didn’t really answer up to the hype,” senior safety Otis Wiley said of the team’s response to the Penn State blowout.

“We want to prove to the nation that we have a great team and we can answer to the hype and we can definitely play.”

Senior health
Two of MSU’s star seniors that have battled injuries all season are expected to be near full health for Thursday’s game.

Running back Javon Ringer, who led the nation in carries this season with 370, said his body is “just about how I felt at the beginning of the season.”

“I haven’t really been doing too much hitting,” said Ringer, who hasn’t missed a game but injured his hamstring and came down with a debilitating virus in the middle of the conference season. “A lot of it has been a lot of running and staying in shape, but thus far my body’s feeling pretty good.”

Strong safety Otis Wiley, who injured his knee in MSU’s third conference game and didn’t play at Michigan, has been practicing without a knee brace and will be close to 100 percent against Georgia.

Hoyer also said he expects to have a full complement of healthy wide receivers for his first time in several games. Freshman Keshawn Martin (shoulder) and sophomore Mark Dell (knee) will be the biggest impact receivers to return.

Taking note of coverage
Hoyer and MSU’s receivers are expecting to see the largest amount of man coverage it has battled all season when the Bulldogs are on defense.

The Spartans have mostly faced zone coverage but Hoyer said Georgia likely will leave its cornerbacks more vulnerable against the pass while adding pressure to the quarterback and stacking the line against running backs.

“It’s the (Southeastern Conference) and they have a lot of speed so I feel like they think they can play a lot of man coverage,” Hoyer said. “We haven’t seen a lot of teams teams that have played man (coverage) this year. Skill-wise, I would maybe compare them to California, maybe like an Ohio State-type secondary to have that type of speed.”