Sparty beating Michigan 3 years in a row is great. Sparty pounding the crap out of the Wolverines for the 4th year in a row will put East Lansing in a state of euphoria as the Spartans keep the Paul Bunyan trophy for another year.

Saturday’s game will be a career defining game for players on both sides of the ball – especially for the seniors. For Michigan, their seniors can have the dubious distinction of losing to their in-state rivals 4 years in a row. On the flip side, MSU seniors can let out a big “boo-yah!” for providing an explanation as to why Michigan’s uniform pants are yellow….. Maize? Whatever……

However, as people living in the real world, we know Sparty is going to have to work hard for the win against the 6-0 Wolverines.

Coach Mark Dantonio’s squad needs to adopt the philosophy of college guys on spring break: Score early and score often.

Looking at the stats, the Spartans have outscored their opponents 89-27 in the 1st half and 140 to 51 total. Most of the pain Sparty has inflicted has been in the 2nd quarter in which MSU opponents gave up a total of 58 points in the first 5 games versus the 13 points Sparty’s competition has been able to muster in that same quarter.

But what about Michigan? Yeah, what about ‘em?

Sure they’ve outscored their opponents 228-79. So what?

They beat Notre Dame. So what?

They also beat Minnesota 58-0. Who cares? North Dakota State and New Mexico State also beat Minnesota. Minnesota just plain sucks this year. The fact of the matter is UM hasn’t faced a team (with the exception of Notre Dame) that posed a serious threat.

As for MSU, many believed Ohio State would beat the Spartans. Of course, that didn’t happen. Even with a tepid performance on offense, the Spartan’s defense (except for the TD they gave up with :10 left…grrrrrr) played well to secure the win. The two things the Spartan defense need to do is 1) contain Denard Robinson; and 2) stand their ground on 3rd down. Through last week’s game, Michigan has a 56% 3rd down conversion rate. Sparty needs to knock that conversion rate down a few points.

Now, more than ever, is the time for Kirk Cousins, B.J. Cunningham, La’veon Bell and the rest of the Spartan offense to convert on 3rd down (!). A 35% conversion rate on 3rd down is the rough equivalent to the Detroit Lions’ winning percentage from the last few seasons….before this one. If Sparty can’t convert on 3rd down like they should, you might as well change the channel to watch some chick-flick or some documentary on salmon spawning.

You know full well that Spartan Stadium is going to be THE place to be on Saturday. Will the Spartans shove the Wolverines down to their first loss of the season and their 4th consecutive loss of the rivalry? Or are the Wolverines rabid enough to go completely wild so they can remain unbeaten? Or will somebody have to call PETA to report Sparty pounding on the Wolverines?

Go Green!