Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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120 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY BRYAN DRISKELL Michigan State suffered significant losses from a team that won the Big Ten title, ad- vanced to the College Football Playoff and finished the 2015 season with a 12-2 record. Gone are five consensus first-team All-Big Ten players, including Sporting News first-team All-American left tackle Jack Conklin, Associ- ated Press first-team All-American center Jack Allen and defensive end Shilique Calhoun. Despite the losses, expectations remain high, which happens when you have the success Michigan State has enjoyed under head coach Mark Dantonio. "I would forecast it around eight or nine wins," noted Jim Comparoni, publisher of SpartanMag.com. "I think fans around the program it's … expecting that they can get back to 11 wins … but it's going to be hard to get there." Offensively, the Spartans should thrive thanks to the return of sophomore running backs L.J. Scott and Madre London, and ju- nior Gerald Holmes, a group that combined for 1,739 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns last fall. Even without Conklin and Allen, the of- fensive line is in good shape. Michigan State returns a unit with 42 career starts, including second-team All-Big Ten selection Brian Allen, who moves from guard to center to replace his older brother Jack. "They think they're going to be able to re- build and reload there quite well," Comparoni said. "Collectively, the offensive line should be fine. Last year they had all that talent, but they had to start like seven different lineups. They had a lot of injuries, so as much indi- vidual talent as they had they kept running into problems." The starting quarterback is likely going to be fifth-year senior Tyler O'Connor, whose lone career start was the Spartans' 17-14 victory at Ohio State last season. Michigan State's top question mark is the de- fensive front, which served as the backbone of the Spartans' rise to prominence. A productive linebacking corps and a pair of veteran safeties return, but the concerns up front overshadow the back seven talent. "Michigan State … is very suspect on the defensive line," Comparoni said. "I don't think they're reloading, they're rebuilding. They're left relying on unproven players." Standout junior nose tackle Malik McDowell returns, and classmate Demetrius Cooper, who finished last season second on the team with five sacks, will also likely be in the starting lineup. Behind them, the Spartans will be rely- ing on players with no experience, including what Comparoni believes is the best class of defensive line recruits of the Dantonio era. "Usually, championship teams don't have these types of questions along the defensive line," he said. "There's some talent there, but it's unproven." ✦ 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: Notre Dame leads 48-28-1 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 17, Michigan State 13 (Sept. 21, 2013; South Bend) Head Coach: Mark Dantonio, 87-33 (10th year) and 105-50 overall (13th year) 2015 Results: 12-2 overall, 7-1 conference (1st East); defeated Iowa 16-13 in the Big Ten championship; lost to Alabama 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl. Returning Starters: 10 (4 offense, 6 defense) 2016 Preseason Rankings: No. 11 by Sporting News, No. 13 by Athlon and Phil Steele's, No. 14 by Colleg - eFootballNews.com, No. 22 by Lindy's and No. 33 by ESPN's Football Power Index Did You Know?: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is 3-1 against the Spartans … Michigan State assis- tant strength and conditioning coach Lorenzo Guess worked for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame in the same position from 2010-11, and was the tight ends coach for Kelly at Cincinnati in 2009 … Michigan State is 7-2 in its last nine games against Associated Press top-10 teams. Prediction: Notre Dame 28, Michigan State 20 STRENGTH: Linebackers Michigan State could field one of the best linebacker units in the country. The anchor of the defense will be fifth-year senior Riley Bullough, the team's leader in tackles last season with 106 (7.5 for loss). In his final season, Bullough will be counted on to be highly pro- ductive and provide leadership. Injuries forced junior Jon Reschke into the starting lineup, and when given the opportunity he shined. Reschke finished the season with 75 total stops (5.5 tackles for loss), and his eight quarterback hurries tied for the second-best mark on the team. Going into his second year as a starter, Reschke is in position to provide even more production. Just how good the Spartans are at linebacker could depend on the return of sixth-year senior Ed Davis, who is still working on gaining his final season of eligi - bility. Davis missed all of last season with a knee injury, but he should be healthy when fall practice kicks off. Davis racked up 12.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks during the 2014 season. Michigan State has depth here at well thanks to the return of junior Shane Jones (23 tackles in 2015), junior Chris Frey (23 tackles, five for loss) and sophomore An- drew Dowell (22 tackles). Dowell would likely replace Davis if he does not return. WEAKNESS: Defensive Line Replacing ends Shilique Calhoun and Lawrence Thomas plus defensive tackle Joel Heath was always going to be difficult, but there was hope in East Lansing. Days before its spring game, though, Michigan State kicked linemen Craig Evans and Montez Sweat off the team. Less than a month later, senior Damon Knox decided to retire in order to pursue a career in law en- forcement. Those departures left major holes on a line already thin on experience. One reason for optimism is the return of nose tackle Malik McDowell, a powerhouse junior that finished second on the team with 13 tackles for loss and tied with Reschke for second with eight quarterback hurries. Outside of McDowell, there is a grand total of one career tackle in a Michigan State uniform. Redshirt freshmen Cassius Peat, Raequan Williams and Kyonta Stallworth will compete with sophomores Enoch Smith and Gerald Owens to fill out the depth chart. Fifth-year senior Kevin Williams, a graduate transfer who had four career starts and 10 tackles for loss during his Nebraska career, could help bolster the rotation. On the outside, junior Demetrius Cooper is locked in at one spot after registering five sacks in a reserve role last season. On the other side, senior Evan Jones — who had just seven tackles last season — will have to com - pete against a deep group of sophomores and freshmen with no experience. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS SEPT. 17 • NOTRE DAME STADIUM • SOUTH BEND RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB L.J. Scott (699 yards, 11 TD) Passing: QB Tyler O'Connor (133 yards, 2 TD) Receiving: WR R.J. Shelton (503 yards, 4 TD) Tackles: LB Riley Bullough (106) Sacks: DE Demetrius Cooper (5.0) Interceptions: S Montae Nicholson (3) and S Demetrious Cox (3) X-FACTOR: Junior nose tackle Malik McDowell notched 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last fall. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS