Juggling act: Smart switching between Alabama and Georgia

That’s also a hard question to answer.

“We just kept sort of pecking away, ” Dantonio said.

You’ve got to respect their mentality.

As important as it will be for Michigan State to run the ball on offense, it will be just as crucial to contain the running attack of Alabama.

Mannie’s tenure with the Spartans dates all the way back through Saban’s years at the helm, so he’s had a chance to observe both Saban and Dantonio.

Reschke is now a starting sophomore linebacker for the No. 3 Spartans, who play No. 2 Alabama in a national semifinal game at the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

“We wanted to try to play the series, instead of home-and-home, at neutral sites”, Saban said, “and we had other opportunities to play other teams at neutral sites”. “You can’t tell with an 18-year-old kid how he’s going to play when he’s 21 or how he’s going to develop”. “And then, Coach Dantonio is always going to voice his opinion on who’s carrying the ball best from his standpoint there on the sideline and we’ll go with the guy we think has the hot hand”.

Michigan State is the next wall in the way.

The sting of season-ending losses to Oklahoma and Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl the last two seasons still linger.

Marino spent his entire National Football League career in south Florida, retiring in 2000 after 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins.

Hiring Saban changed everything for the Crimson Tide, a traditional power that was flailing as it tried to recapture past glory.

However, that’s not the way Michigan State is approaching Thursday’s game that will send the victor to the national championship game.

“You look at their personnel sheet and you’ve got four starters on the defensive line and you got about eight guys listed below them that all play, ” Michigan State co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said.

“I would love to have that, but playing here, I’m prepared so that whenever I’m called to go in I’ll be ready”, Holmes said.

“Not that it wouldn’t have been a great series, I think it would have been”.

The Tide had seven players drafted last season, two from a defense that was gouged in the last two games of the season by Auburn and Ohio State. The Spartans have won two Big Ten titles, the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl in the last three seasons.

Rarely does a Michigan State practice or game end without quarterback Connor Cook being awed by Aaron Burbridge making a spectacular catch. You can’t knock the team that won a lot of national championships and SEC championships. A lot of us have been looked over.

The Monday session was the Crimson Tide’s 10th of 11 total practices before for the 2015 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Thursday, Dec. 31.

The difference between Herman’s situation and Smart’s is that Houston and Ohio State do not compete for players. It will need to be against the Crimson Tide defense, which ranks at or near the top of the nation in just about every significant statistical category, including sacks (46).

“Its really been a timing issue because, I mean, theres a week where I was on the road recruiting, obviously, for the University of Georgia, ” Smart said.

Maybe the biggest play that doesn’t get as much recognition as it should is Cook’s 2-yard run on fourth-and-2 from the Iowa 5. Scott said he has received plenty of attention since the play, including an Instagram “shout-out” from former MSU running back Le’Veon Bell, but said he’s “not trying to get a big head or anything”.

It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for Coker, and Michigan State linebacker Riley Bullough used the tag most quarterbacks don’t like to hear.