Michigan State QB Cook says shoulder is feeling great

“Guys know the draft is going to come and if you don’t play good you ain’t going to get drafted high at all”, Alabama senior linebacker Reggie Ragland said Monday.

However, analytics suggest many intriguing matchups and stories in this game. The Spartan secondary might be a bit of a problem, but the run defense has been the real deal throughout the season against some terrific backs and running games.

Those players are grateful to have Smart for what they hope will be a two-game sendoff. Michigan State used six starting combinations.

No team in the country has been tougher to run against this season than Alabama.

Scott knew he was going to get the ball again after a Michigan State timeout. It’s a habit that OC Lane Kiffin carried over from his days as head coach of USC.

Without Cook’s 2-yard keeper around left end, MSU’s 22-play, 9-plus-minute drive could have crashed short of the goal line. “The 6’3”, 242-pound bruiser has ground defenses into submission all season, scoring a touchdown in every Alabama game and posting four 200-yard contests. But being the competitor that I am, in a big-time situation like that, I think anytime the quarterback can run the ball, I think it’s an advantage to the offense.

This tendency changed with the Georgia game.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is 8-0 against his disciplines, including a 49-7 win over MSU’s Mark Dantonio on January 1, 2011, that has helped fuel the tear the Spartans have been on since then.

Alabama hasn’t been particularly efficient running the ball this season. Saban signed the No. 1-ranked running back in the class according to Rivals.com, Damien Harris of Berea, Ky. Michigan State called a timeout to regroup.

However, these lofty turnover statistics have no bearing on the future. “It wasn’t a long conversation because they knew what I could do, and I knew what I could do”.

The best part of the video has to be Connor Cook raising his hand at the end, asking if the knowledge these kids just dropped would be on the test. I wonder if his appearance in the rap will discredit everything he’s done over his career such as winning two Big Ten titles, a Rose Bowl, a Cotton Bowl and 34 games. It seems like simple Newtonian physics. Calhoun, the Spartans’ best pass rusher, may have something to say about how successful Ridley’s day will be.

Mac Lain plans to shave off the beard January 12 – the day after the national championship game.

Only Boston College allowed fewer yards per game, while only Wisconsin and Ohio State allowed fewer points. Sandwiched between a 181-yard day at IL and 214-yard effort at Michigan was a 33-yard smothering against Michigan State.

Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills won here already once this season, beating the Miami Dolphins. Alabama held LSU Heisman Trophy contender Leonard Fournette to 31 yards on 19 carries and Arkansas star Alex Collins to 26 yards on 12 attempts.

Their passing game was less balanced. Plenty of those players are back, with the National Football League on the horizon. But Michigan State will not win this game unless Cook connects often with Burbridge.

The offensive line is among the nation’s best, particularly at run blocking. They often feel disrespected, as the other team in their own state.

Saban, who has lavished praise on Dantonio’s performance leading that program, is careful not to take too much credit when asked if he takes pride when his assistants land head coaching jobs.

However, Michigan State’s record against AP top 10 teams has all kind of small sample size warnings. It is safe to assume that defensive recruits will begin to pile up as the 2015 season comes to close in January. This was a small sample size fluke for a team that ended the season below.500.

Michigan State is getting ready to play its biggest game in decades and it will be up to this team to take care of unfinished business.

While the thought of Alabama fans claiming another national title could make many in Dawg Nation cringe, this is one that UGA could honestly get behind.

Ed Feng has a Ph.D.in chemical engineering from Stanford and runs the sports analytics site The Power Rank.