Michigan Football: How worried should be we about the Spartans in 2018?
Michigan football should be one of the best teams in the Big Ten in 2018, but how worried should the Wolverines be about Michigan State?
Most Michigan football fans are looking ahead to the Outback Bowl, which is now just days away from being played in Tampa Bay against South Carolina. But leading up to that, there are plenty of interesting Big Ten bowl games to follow, starting last night with the Holiday Bowl.
The Holiday Bowl was one of four bowl games featuring two ranked teams that the Big Ten is part of. The Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl are the next three. That will give Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin all a chance to impress the way Michigan State did Thursday night against Washington State.
The Spartans dominated the No. 18 team in the country, 42-17. Quarterback Brian Lewerke threw 213 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding 73 yards on the ground. The Spartans totaled 227 rushing yards and three scores. Washington State was held to under 300 yards.
Six double-digit win seasons for Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. That's impressive. He's either a warlock or an all-time football coach.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) December 29, 2017
Or both.
As you can see from Nick Baumgardner’s tweet, the win also gave the Spartans a 10th win, which is their sixth double-digit win season under head coach Mark Dantonio. That’s impressive and it looks like the Spartans are just getting started.
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Like Michigan football, Michigan State was young this season. Lewerke is a sophomore and has steadily improved all season. He will be among the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten next season. L.J. Scott, who had 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns is also back, along with Felton Davis, the leading receiver for the Spartans, who caught four passes for 118 yards.
Michigan State also has a slew of top defenders returning for 2018. In fact, of all the guys who made first, second or third team All-Big Ten as voted by the coaches or the media, all of them are underclassmen.
Michigan Wolverines Football
Michigan football, like Michigan State will have tons of talented players returning. The Wolverines will have Brandon Peters, Shea Patterson or Dylan McCaffrey at quarterback, as well as Karan Higdon, Chris Evans, Tarik Black, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Zach Gentry and Sean McKeon on offense.
The Wolverines will lose key players on both sides of the ball though. Mason Cole will be a huge loss on the offensive line, while Maurice Hurst, Mike McCray and potentially Chase Winovich could hurt on defense.
It seemed like after the Spartans went 3-9 in 2016, the Wolverines were back on top in the state of Michigan. But after a 10-win season that included wins over Michigan, Penn State and now Washington State, Michigan State doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
In fact, the Spartans could be as good as any team in the Big Ten East or the Big Ten next season. Michigan football will be loaded, as will Penn State and Ohio State. But with Dantonio’s ability to get the most out of his players and the talent he has coming back, there’s reason to be concerned about the Spartans.
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Certainly, Michigan football needs to find a way to beat Ohio State, yet in terms of 2018 and winning the Big Ten title, the Spartans seem like just as big a threat.