Grading the Bucks -- Week 11: Michigan State

See my prediction of the game.  Last week went exactly according to plan.  Early mistakes followed by a fantastic response.

Offense: A
There we go.  Exactly what the Dr. ordered for this young team - a chance to open up and do what they do best.  JT was phenomenal and did things that I haven't seen a QB do since Troy Smith 2006.  This isn't to say that JT is the next Heisman winner, but man he looked great against the 'supposed' immovable Spartan D.  His passes were crisp and on the money and his decisions were on the money.  His moves were great when he chose to run even when we MSU had to know it was coming.  Let's not forget the other aspects of the offense.  The WR were making plays (Smith had his best game and Thomas is going to be star).  The O-line has really come into their own and is in for some great things in the future.  Oh yeah, let's know forget Zeke who was fantastic.  See what happens when we give Hyde...er, uh, Elliot, the ball? Good stuff.  This offense is definitely one that no one wants to face especially with an Oline that can protect and run block effectively against a good defense.

Defense: B
The point total wasn't pretty, but the execution was pretty good.  The downgrade isn't for the number of points given up, but for the missed tackles that sprinkled throughout this game. Conley getting run over was simply embarrassing.  Langford gave the Bucks fits so there's still work to be done.  The linebackers continue to improve in pass coverage (but the MSU O-line controlled the line of scrimmage and the run game).  Overall, I was pleased with the secondary play sans a few plays near the end of the game, but they did what they needed to.  I heard a lot of questions about the disappearance of Bosa, but this is a team sport.  While the commentators questioned where Bosa was, the rest of the line was making a statement...why? Because Bosa was attracting all the attention.  Clean up the (bad) missed tackles and these will be some Bullets.

Special Teams: C
Woof. For all the emphasis Urban puts on special teams, they plain suck.  47 yard FG ends up short (not that big of a deal), but the turnovers on the punts and the fumbles on the kickoff (paging Dontre) are simply unacceptable.  Yes, I saw that Dontre had a broken foot...maybe he shouldn't have been out there if he was hurt...and yes, the coach should know about it and/or the player should have taken himself out.  Oh yeah, Cameron Johnston was good for his two punts.

Coaching: A
This was by far the best coached game I've seen by Tom Herman in his time at OSU.  The run/pass mix was perfect and he finally played to the strengths of JT--he can pass where Braxton couldn't.  Defensively, the calls were good but the execution needs to improve tackling, but offensively, this was about the most perfectly called game ever.  Look at the drive summary for OSU: Missed FG, Punt, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, TD, Punt.  More of this please!

Overall: A-
More please.  The VT game is a distant memory.  Time to focus on what the Bucks can control.  Keep winning and let the dominoes fall where they may.  Let's enjoy this win and focus on the Gophers.