I love being the underdog here. Just so much easier to play when you're expected to lose by a TD. I think the wildcard in this game is going to be the officiating. Teams leaving conferences often get screwed by the officials; so keep an eye on that.
MSU does not have the offense to move the ball against this defense... if we 're healthy. This is the kind of attack that our 3-4 defense is perfectly designed to stop. KLM is a monster against the run. Nix, Tuitt can be dominant at times too. And the Shembo-Nix-Tuitt-Ishaq 4 man pass rushing front has a lot of promise. They're replacing Kirk Cousins and BJ Cunningham... and so far, their replacements haven't shown up to play at a high level. Bell was there last year... simply put, if you're not named Denard or you don't have an Alabama-esque OL or a dominant passing attack it is VERY hard to just line up and run the ball down our throat.
How do we lose? Lots of ways. We could lose the special teams battle in a close game... heck, the net punting difference between Turk and Purdue's demigod of a kicker was a HUGE factor even against Purdue. We're not going to be very successful if we have to drive 80+ yards for a score against their great defense; and our defense will have a tough time if MSU is constantly starting at their 40 or better. Turk, Brindza, Neal, our coverage teams, and our return teams (LOL) have to bring their A-game.
Another way we lose is turnovers. First hostile environment for Golson... aggressive, tough, talented defense. Along the same vein... mental mistakes. Failure to get plays in on time, bonehead penalties, etc.
All in all, I think we probably lose in Notre Dame heartbreaking fashion on the order of 17-13. Best case scenario? Defense shows up big and we roll 24-3. Worst case scenario? Coverage breaks down against some talented yet inexperienced pass catchers early... MSU builds a lead and then goes run-run-run... ND loses 31-7 with two missed field goals by Brindza and multiple turnovers from Golson.
