Out of Office

Paging the Badger defense. Through five games, the vaunted Red Storm has failed to materialize, particularly in the first half. It goes without saying that a failure to plug the identified holes outlined below will result in a loss to the upstart Illini.

1. To date, the linebacker play has been simply atrocious. Casillas, Levy, and Hodge are simply too talented to exhibit such mediocrity week in, week out. Kudos to Casillas for his touchdown-saving tackle at the beginning of the second half last Saturday, and to Hodge for finally jumping MSU's swing pass to the trips side, but these plays fail to offset the poor positioning, tackle angles, and inability to shed blocks that have victimized this unit and placed undue pressure on the secondary.

2. The safeties have failed to live up to their name, permitting big plays in a way that Rogers and Stellmacher forbade last season. Missed tackles and poor angles are the cause, not to mention missed assignments, particularly with men in motion. Ike's illness and injury have slowed him down, and Langford provides too large of a cushion for my comfort and fails to play the ball upon arrival. Benn will exploit the entire unit on Saturday should they fail once again to come to the party. Kudos to the froshie Aaron Henry for filling the aforementioned gap and providing great pressure on the QB from the secondary.

3. The D-line has probably played best as a unit, most notably Nick Hayden. Chapman hasn't made much noise to date, nor has Shaughnessy. Newkirk is playing out of position, but has certainly contributed, and DeCremer looks like a keeper. Our three-man rush on pass downs has been mostly ineffective, and the line has made few tackles for loss on running plays. Most of their tackles are seemingly downfield. The loss of Cooper hurts on 3rd and long.

Depth Perception?

Depth on offense is a major concern as Bucky faces two consecutive road tests in Champaign and Happy Valley in games that will decide whether or not the team heads to Columbus undefeated for the decisive three-game stretch to end the season. Paul Hubbard's injury, not to mention Andy Crooks' limited availability throughout this young season, has hampered the receiving corps and placed even more pressure on TD, Swann, and Beckum.

Lance Smith's idiotic suspension could potentially jeopardize the season should the team not be able to survive these early exams away from home. He has been a valuable change of pace to the bull that is PJ Hill in the first two BT contests, pulling off game-clinching runs to set up decisive scores.

I'm not as confident that Zach Brown is up to the task, though he will without doubt see action on Saturday. He needs to focus on ball security and moving the sticks, giving PJ sufficient rest to prepare for a 4-quarter battle against J Leman and the rest of the Orange Crush. Although I was a fan of redshirting John Clay, and the team has apparently gone in this direction, this may be a critical time to reconsider. PJ can't beat UI or the Nittany Lions alone. Next man in!

Avoid the Lloyd

Just when the world seemed to right itself in Ann Arbor comes word that Mighty Michigan may be forced to forfeit its BT opening win against PSU for illegally playing freshman safety Artis Chambers. Looks like Lloyd gave the maize and blue faithful another reason to ship him out of the Big House come January.