SPARTY analyzes MSU and UM football prospects:

Thanks to our good friend SPARTY for the following thoughts about football this fall:

MSU: The Spartans have somewhat more depth than they've had in recent years - except at the key position of quarterback where they have a red-shirt freshman with no game experience backing up the senior starter, Brian Hoyer. An injury to Hoyer could be disastrous for the team's prospects.

In general, however, Coach Mark Dantonio has added stability to a program that has been anything but stable over the past several years/decades. The defense should be better than last year and the offense should improve as the year progresses. Replacing receiver Devon Thomas will be the major issue. Special teams should be solid.

The Spartans are probably a year or two away from being a solid contender for the Big Ten championship, but this team is close. Every loss last year was close - two of them in overtime, and recruiting has improved significantly.

My guess for the Spartan's record for 2008: 7-5
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UM: A number of different theories about the Wolverines. They've lost their quarterback, best running back, best offensive lineman, and several key defensive players to the NFL. Plus, they have a new coach who brings a new offensive system that may not mesh with the players recruited by the previous coaching staff.

However, the new coach was very successful at West Virginia and he brings his spread offense to a team that typically has had a solid recruiting class every year. The cupboard should not be bare.

There are some questions, though. Will the spread offense work in the Big 10? Northwestern, Purdue, and Michigan State (in the John L. Smith years) have used it with varying degrees of success, as did App State last September. Can it be successful in the long run against solid defensive teams such as Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Penn State?

With the hiring of Rich Rodriquez the Bo Schembechler era is now over. By hiring Rodriquez, Michigan has changed the personality of its program. Some say that this is good because the program had become stale. However, Nebraska's adoption of a passing offense after decades of basing its program on tough defense and a brutal running game was disastorous and indicates that there are dangers in a football program drastically changing its personality.

My guess for the Wolverine's record for 2008: 8-4
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