“We’ve had some disappointing losses here the last few weeks,” running backs coach Dan Enos said Thursday. “In a different kind of way, it’s nice we get to play these guys this week, because they have our attention and our players had their attention on Sunday and coach Dantonio does such an outstanding job getting our players in the right frame of mind every week and he’s done a great job again this week. We’ll be ready Saturday.”

Enos said he felt the team practiced hard this week and emphasized the running game, especially with the current forecast calling for showers.

Redshirt freshman Caulton Ray, freshman Larry Caper and sophomore Glenn Winston were listed as tri-starters on the depth chart and Enos said the plan is to rotate all three, but that Winston, fresh off a nine-carry, 55-yard performance against Wisconsin, will start seeing more carries.

“In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter who starts, they’re going to play and that’s what I’ve stressed to those guys,” Enos said. “You saw against Notre Dame that Larry Caper was hot, so he got the majority of the carries. Then last week Glenn was running hard so he ended up getting the majority of the carries. The same thing is going to happen this week. We want to use those guys and get them all in the flow of the game early and then we’re going to wait and see how it’s going, but Glenn Winston is a guy that has improved every week. We’re starting to see the Glenn that we saw at the end of last season.”

Winston’s hard, bruising running style both on carries and kick returns have made him a fan favorite.

Winston had 191 yards of total offense against the Badgers, including a one kick return that stuck out in Enos’ mind.

“We had everybody blocked and it was him and the kicker and he ran the kicker over,” Enos said. “I said, ‘Glenn, we don’t want to take your personality away, but if you make him miss, you might score.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘OK, coach.’ He runs with an attitude.”

But overall, the running game has not been MSU’s strength this season. The Spartans have averaged 117.8 yards per game on the ground, down from 130.2 yards per game last season.

“We have not been pleased at all with the way we’ve run the ball on offense and controlled the clock,” Enos said. “Some of it’s been based on the score and down and distances and things like that, but as we go throughout the season and we become more successful I think it’s going to hopefully be due to that fact that our running game got better.”

On the defensive

Defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was happy with what he saw in practice this week, saying the team had four strong practices. Heading into Saturday’s game with a dangerous U-M offense, Narduzzi’s struggling unit will have to be at its best against Michigan’s spread offense, which features potent passing and rushing attacks.

“The best thing about their spread right now is their offensive line,” Narduzzi said Thursday. “They’re coming off the ball and when you watch them move laterally, they’re going to zone to the right, zone to the left and they are all together and they’re flying. … They’re not huge upfront like Wisconsin, but they move together well.”

U-M’s offense averages 422.2 yards and 37.5 points per game and will present a new challenge for MSU, which hasn’t faced an offense that regularly runs and passes the ball so well. MSU’s secondary, which has been under fire, will be put to the test in the open field.

“The secondary’s feeling pretty good,” Narduzzi said. “We had a great week of practice and went back to fundamentals and we’ll see how they play.”