Thursday, September 29, 2005

Michigan State: Burning questions

Stanton too much for U-M this time

By Dave Dye / The Detroit News

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Q. Let's not waste any time. Who are you picking?

A: I can't pick against Drew Stanton until somebody shows they can slow him down. He has the hot hand.

Q: What else do you like about the Spartans?

A: They took a major step mentally last week, showing they could overcome a textbook letdown situation. Lesser teams do not have that type of focus in that type of situation.

Rebuilding programs have certain stages they have to go through. Tom Izzo's basketball program had to go through some of those stages years ago. Whether you get through them determines whether you develop consistency and long-term success.

The next step for John L. Smith's Spartans is to prove they can handle being the favorite with expectations rising rapidly around them. It has all happened so fast. Many teams struggle to make the adjustment from the underdog role. The Spartans weren't even ranked a few weeks ago, and now they're the favorites against U-M for the first time since 1968.

A victory can put them in contention for a Big Ten championship. They haven't won a conference title since they finished in a four-way tie for first in 1990. They haven't been to the Rose Bowl since the '87 season.

This is some of the stuff Izzo had to overcome during his program's growing stages.

Q: So, is MSU ready to take the next step?

A: I'm not certain. This is another serious psychological obstacle involved here with the suddenly high expectations. Most MSU football teams haven't been able to deal with it in the end.

But those teams also didn't have a guy like Stanton. He makes everyone around him better, including the coaches.

Q: What about Michigan?

 

A: This is one of the biggest challenges in Lloyd Carr's career. The Wolverines are reeling, the Spartans surging.

If Carr's team doesn't seriously regroup and MSU doesn't abruptly start turning the ball over, there is potential for this to be a total embarrassment for U-M.

Nevertheless, you have to respect the U-M program for its ability over the years to turn its season around by pulling out narrow victories, many times when people were starting to question the Wolverines. That's why they've been one of the most consistent programs in the country.

There's been a championship mentality over the years that helps U-M get through adversity.

But based on what we've seen in four weeks -- the aura of Stanton against the seemingly fragile state of the Wolverines -- is providing some very serious adversity for Carr and company.

Q: Final score?

 

A: Spartans 38, Wolverines 28.

Burning questions; Reach Dave Dye at dave.dye@detnews.com.