Michigan State Spartans Look To Dismantle Wyoming In Non-Conference Play

By Zach Libby | Sep 24, 2014

Welcome to East Lansing, where another week of unamusing football will take play place on Saturday at high noon.

There’s a reason why September can sometimes be a boring time for college football, due to the fact that teams like the Michigan State Spartans, who are considered to be a Big Ten powerhouse, schedule opponents like Wyoming, an irrelevant FBS program, to bolster their confidence heading into conference play.

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Take last week’s 73-14 blowout against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Spartan Stadium. If anyone thought that the Mid-American Conference bottom feeder was going to create any noise in that kind of environment then you were surely mistaken.

In the first half, the Spartans had 320 all-purpose yards, compared to the Eagles and redshirt senior transfer quarterback Rob Bolden in which they recorded only one yard.

It was certainly a perfect game for head coach Mark Dantonio and his squad to release any anger that was built up following their defeat to Oregon more than two weeks ago.

Now, Michigan State will get another opportunity to let out any frustration after allowing Eastern Michigan to garner 14 points last Saturday on the Cowboys during their final non-conference game of the season.

The Spartans come into this game ranked ninth overall in the AP Top 25 poll and are favored by four touchdowns against the (3-1, 1-0) Mountain West foe.

If Michigan State can pull off another dominating performance against a lesser opponent, then look for quarterback Connor Cook to see limited action.

The junior was 5-of-6 for 83 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday. His day came to a halt after he threw his final touchdown to wide receiver Tony Lippett in the first quarter.

Besides the possibility of backups Tyler O’Connor and Damion Terry taking snaps under center this weekend, look for the Spartans’ trio of running back to carry the load against the Cowboys defensive unit.

Delton Williams was the leading tailback for Michigan State, rushing for 100 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. His longest run came in the fourth quarter in which he ran 80 yards to extend their monstrous lead.

Good news for the Spartans, Wyoming is coming into their fifth game of the season with the losing streak of 21 straight games to ranked opponents.

Their last win over a top 25 program was back in 2002 when they upset Air Force at home. They almost walked out of Lincoln with a victory last season against then-No. 18 Nebraska, but were edged out 37-34.

According to Dantonio, it’ll be nice to face an opponent that runs a pro-style offense, compared to their last three games in which they defended against spread offenses from Jacksonville State, Oregon and the Eagles.

"”They are probably more like us than anybody we’ve played,” Dantonio said (via Association Press). ”I think that’s a positive for us. They want to run the football.”"

This will be head coach Criag Bohl’s first year at Wyoming, following 11 seasons as coach of the North Dakota State Bison. Compiling an overall record of 104-32, the 58-year old won three consecutive FCS national championships his last three years at the Fargodome.

Their latest win saw them kicking an 18-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter to cap off a 20-19 win over Florida Atlanta.

"“This was a huge win for us,” Bohl said (via Association Press). “You couldn’t come up with a better script than this, especially the way we moved the ball down the field. Certainly it was exciting.”"

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