Game Day Primer: Old Brass Spittoon Game (Indiana vs. No.10 Michigan State)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

What: Indiana Hoosiers (2-3) vs. #10 Michigan State Spartans (6-0)

When: Saturday, October 16 at Noon on FS1

Where: Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN

How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on FS1 and can be heard on the IU Radio Network.

Series History: Michigan State and Indiana battle for the Old Brass Spittoon but the series is one that has been dominated by the Spartans. MSU has won 48 of the 67 contests with IU only being victorious 17 times (there have been two ties). Last season was one of the Hoosiers more comprehensive wins over the Spartans as they dominated 24-0 in East Lansing. Now in his second-year, Mel Tucker infused the roster with several transfers and this will be a much different squad than the one IU beat a season ago.

What’s at Stake: It is fair to categorize IU’s schedule as one of the toughest in the country. In fact, according to this week’s AP rankings, the Hoosiers have six of the top ten teams in the nation on their schedule. Regardless, IU needs to find wins and at 2-3 with many tough challenges remaining, they are running out of chances to get to a bowl game. Coming off of a bye week that followed a putrid performance by the offense in State College, this is a massive game for the Hoosiers. A win would get them to 3-3 with a victory over a top ten opponent. A loss would move them to 2-4 with Ohio State on deck. Michigan State is one of the more surprising teams in the country so far but the meat of their schedule is still ahead of them. A victory on Saturday would keep their dreams of a New Year’s Six bowl very much alive.

A FEW THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1.    Can the Hoosiers Find Any Offense?

IU has played a pair of Big Ten opponents and have found absolutely no success on offense. Now, Iowa and Penn State have very good defenses but the performance of the attack has been extremely concerning. The Hoosiers have had two weeks to hit the reset button and there will be changes. It is likely that Jack Tuttle makes the start with Michael Penix injured. Will that allow IU to incorporate some of the quarterback run game? Will we see a different philosophy from coordinator Nick Sheridan? Will there be less predictability on first down? Michigan State has a good defense, particularly up front, but there are vulnerabilities. The Spartans are first in the Big Ten in sacks and that is a concern going against IU’s offensive line but their secondary is not great. They surrendered 21 points to a really bad Northwestern team, 20 to Nebraska and Rutgers was able to move the ball well last week (although they failed to convert much of it to points). Remember Western Kentucky’s explosive offense? They moved it on MSU to the tune of 560 yards with 488 through the air. The storyline on this side is really about what the coaches and players have done with this bye week and who can step up to produce on offense.

2.    Slowing Down the Spartans

The offense in East Lansing for the past couple of seasons has been very poor. Significantly improved play from Payton Thorne, an improved offensive line and the addition of Kenneth Walker at running back has turned this into a very dangerous group that is averaging 36.7 points per game. Slowing this team down starts with containing the nation’s leading rusher. Kenneth Walker has 913 yards and is averaging 7.08 yards per carry with nine touchdowns. He’s making an early case to be included in the Heisman Trophy conversation. The second thing that must be done is prevent big plays from the duo of Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor. Thorne has been very effective at taking advantage of the attention that must be paid to Walker and hurting defenses over the top. Nailor and Reed are the primary recipients, both are averaging more than 21 yards per catch. The Spartans can be explosive and can grind you down with Walker. This will be a major test for the secondary (the hope is that Mullen, Williams and Taylor are all fully healthy after the week off) and the defensive front.

3.    Stopping the Bleeding

IU entered the season with a lot of optimism and high expectations. They were quickly punched in the mouth in Iowa City and never really got off the mat. They bounced back with a comfortable win over Idaho and looked great against Cincinnati before a targeting call changed the course of that game and the Bearcats escaped. They survived at Western Kentucky but then went to Happy Valley and the offense was non-existent. Michael Penix hurt his shoulder, the secondary has had a rash of injuries, David Ellis is out for the year and Tim Baldwin transferred from the program. The high expectations are gone and a lot of casual fans have checked out as well. Enter another top ten opponent followed by a game with Ohio State so there is absolutely no rest for the weary. Michigan State is a winnable game if the Hoosiers play really well and it’s a game that IU absolutely needs in order to make it very clear that this team is not going away quietly. Effort has never been a question with Tom Allen’s teams so we know the Hoosiers will fight. Can they come together as a squad, figure out where things have gone wrong and execute the adjustments on Saturday to knock off a top ten squad and restore the optimism around this program?

Names to Know and Injury Notes

IU is going to be very unproven at running back. With David Ellis out for the season and Tim Baldwin leaving the program, the Hoosiers are down to Stephen Carr as the only non-freshman scholarship running back. David Holloman, Trent Howland, Chris Childers, Davion Ervin-Poindexter and Charlie Spegal are the names that are expected to receive the snaps behind Carr. The Hoosiers are expecting to have James Head back along the defensive line. It will be his first action of the season.