Matt Charboneau covers Michigan State football and basketball for The Detroit News.
1. What's the mood like this week in East Lansing with the longest losing streak in Mark Dantonio's 10 years? Are fans already pointing to the start of basketball season?
It's not something that has happened much under Dantonio, but thoughts around town are starting to wander toward a basketball team that was ranked No. 9 in the preseason coaches' poll. That's not the feeling around the football program as Dantonio has said repeatedly the last couple of weeks that he's playing and coaching for now, not 2017. The crowds have still been showing up and they will again next week with Michigan coming to town, but the excitement is certainly fading.
2. Given Michigan State's dominance in the league the past few years under Dantonio, how shocking has this string of losses been and do you think Dantonio can keep them motivated given that their aspirations of being in the Big Ten title race and national championship picture are over in mid-October?
Having some sort of drop-off this season isn't a surprise, but the fact it has been this significant surely is. The Spartans lost three NFL players on each of the offensive and defensive lines, the winningest quarterback in school history and the top wide receiver in the Big Ten. The belief, however, was there were enough pieces left to contend in the East Division. Clearly, some of the young talent has taken time to develop and now the challenge is to keep the team motivated. The goal of a championship has been replaced by simply making a bowl game. That, alone, is surprising, but it's all they've got right now.
3. Malik McDowell finally had something of a breakout game last week, at least statistically, when he reached double figures in tackles for the first time this season. Did he do anything different against Northwestern or did Northwestern play him differently than previous opponents?
The coaching staff made the decision to start McDowell outside at end while moving him around regularly throughout the game. It led to a more effective pass rush and kept Northwestern guessing. Through the first five games, McDowell played primarily at tackle and faced constant double-teams. Shuffling him around freed him up a bit and the result was seen in the numbers he posted.
4. If you had to point to one area that has led to the four-game losing streak, would you have any more success than Dantonio did at his postgame press conference? They are near the bottom of the Big Ten in a lot of categories as well as last in rushing offense and sacks. Would you start there?
Starting up front is always a good place and Michigan State is getting beaten consistently along the offensive line and defensively -- while decent against the run at times -- there has been virtually no pass rush. Both of those issues put pressure on everything else. If you can't run the ball, that makes it much tougher to protect the quarterback. On the other side, if you can't pressure the passer it puts a lot of pressure on the back end of the defense. It's boring and cliché at times, but if you can't win the battle in the trenches then you're not winning much at all. That's the position Michigan State is in, and changing quarterbacks won't help much.
5. Maryland helped Penn State turn its season around two weeks ago and Minnesota got its first Big Ten win in College Park last Saturday. How surprised would you be, given how poorly the Terps have played the last two games, for the Spartans not to have a happy plane right back after the game this week?
I'd only be mildly surprised, and that has everything to do with Michigan State at this point. Sometimes the ball starts rolling the wrong direction and it can be hard to stop it, no matter who the opponent happens to be. I tend to believe Michigan State is more talented than all four teams it has lost to, but when a team gets in the second half and it's close sometimes they start waiting for things to go wrong. Michigan State has led at some point in all four losses, but has finished poorly. If it's in the same spot on Saturday, it will be tough to pull out of it. The Terrapins haven't exactly played well the last couple of weeks, but keep it close and they'll have as good a shot at winning as Wisconsin, Indiana, BYU and Northwestern.