Tale of the tape

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Tale Of The Tape: #13 Michigan State Vs. Boise State

Outback Bowl - Michigan State Spartans v Georiga Bulldogs

#13 Michigan State

Boise State

Mark Dantonio has made Spartan fans very happy during his five seasons in East Lansing, mostly because he’s only lost to Michigan once. The Spartans have won 11 games each of the past two seasons.	Coaching	Anytime a major head coaching job opens up, Chris Petersen is mentioned. And yet he remains in Boise and churns out double-digit win seasons. He’ll have his work cut out for him this year as he loses 17 starters.
Michigan State also loses its long-time quarterback, Kirk Cousins, and gives the reins to senior Andrew Maxwell. He’ll rely heavily on star running back Le’Veon Bell.	Offense	For the first time since 2007, Boise will turn to someone other than Kellen Moore at quarterback. Junior Joe Southwick has stood and watched Moore the last two years. Tonight, we’ll found out what he learned.
Michigan State also loses its long-time quarterback, Kirk Cousins, and gives the reins to senior Andrew Maxwell. He’ll rely heavily on star running back Le’Veon Bell.	Defense	The Broncos are inexperienced on this side of the ball and will be tested against the Spartans. The top four tacklers are gone, so it will be up to senior linebacker J.C. Percy to lead the way.
Dan Conroy is an extremely reliable senior kicker and Mike Sadler is an impressive punter. The Spartans shouldn’t have many worries on special teams.	Special Teams	At least Boise has plenty of upperclassmen on special teams, though its kickers haven’t had to do much field goal kicking with Moore at the helm.

We'll just call it a tie

It may look like a tie, but the Broncos are no strangers to big-time season openers, where they’ve had great success: Boise hasn’t lost its first game since 2005, a run that includes wins over ranked squads Georgia, Virginia Tech, and Oregon. Despite all the new faces, Boise has what it takes to pull off the upset in East Lansing tonight.

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