Outland Trophy Matchup: Arizona State at Michigan State

September 13, 2019 by Courtesy FWAA

NOTE: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a nominating member for the Outland Trophy.

Arizona state at Michigan state, 4 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX: This week our Outland Trophy sojourn takes us to East Lansing, Mich., and Big Ten country for the first time. The Spartans are playing great defense again, one year after leading the nation in rushing defense. In fact, Michigan State leads all FBS programs again through two games giving up a rare negative-average on the ground of minus-6 yards per game, buoyed by a school-record-low of minus-73 yards in its win over Tulsa to open the season.

In the middle of that defensive line is senior defensive tackle Raequan Williams (Chicago, Ill.), part of an experienced interior duo with Mike Panasiuk. That duo has started alongside each other on the interior for 31 consecutive games dating back to the Ohio State game of Nov. 19, 2016, and the Spartans have been either first or second (in 2017) nationally in rushing defense ever since. Williams was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last year after recording career bests in tackles (53), tackles for loss (10.5) and pass break-ups (5) in 2018. Big things are expected of him again since he is already second among active Spartans with 22 career tackles for loss, including 7.0 career sacks, in 39 career games.

Rushing defense has been a hallmark of Mark Dantonio’s MSU teams – they’ve led the Big Ten in rushing defense six times (2011-14 and 2017-18) under Dantonio, and the Spartans have been ranked in the Top 25 in rushing defense eight times in the last 10 seasons, including a run of five straight years in the top 11 (2011-15). Stopping the run has been a key to top scoring defense as well. For the third time under Dantonio, MSU led the Big Ten in scoring defense in 2018 allowing just 17.2 points per game, which tied for eighth fewest in the FBS.

Williams’ stats are not flashy – four tackles and half a sack on the season – but his presence in plugging the middle of the line is paramount in MSU’s 4-3 alignment in the same way that former Outland winner Ed Oliver of Houston was such a nemesis the past two seasons.

Opposite Williams on the Arizona State line is an equally experienced left offensive tackle in Cohl Cabral (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)Cabral (pronounced kole cuh-BRAWL) is expected to start his 30th consecutive game Saturday. But the Sun Devils’ senior who was a second team preseason All-Pac-12 selection will have his hands full working against Williams with an offense that ranks 60th in the FBS in total offense at 425.0 yards per game. No doubt ASU will have to get its 95th-ranked rushing offense in a higher gear (131 yards per game) to have success against the Spartans.

ONE OTHER MATCHUP OF NOTE:

Iowa (2-0) at Iowa State (1-0), 4 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1: Another prime matchup is the intra-state battle between the Hawkeyes and Cy-clones, or for our purposes, Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and Iowa State nose guard Ray Lima. This game has been highlighted in Big Ten circles as a great test for tackles Wirfs (Mount Vernon, Iowa) and fellow Watch List member and preseason All-American Alaric Jackson (Detroit, Mich.) against one of Iowa State’s best defenses in years. But Jackson suffered a knee injury in the season opening win over Miami (Ohio) and will miss a second consecutive game.

In the absence on the field of Jackson, fellow Lima (Los Angeles, Calif.) takes center stage here. Lima, a two-year captain at ISU, three-year starter and a two-time All-Big 12 selection, is on the Bronko Naguski Trophy Watch List as the nation’s top defensive player. Lima has 63 tackles in his career and 8.5 tackles for loss in his career, including four tackles against Northern Iowa in ISU’s overtime win. He has four tackles and 0.5 TFL’s on the season, and posted a three-tackle, 0.5-TFL game against Iowa last year.

Wirfs is a junior who has started 22 of his 24 games and posted an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten season in 2018. Two seasons ago he became the first true freshman in the Kirk Ferentz coaching era at Iowa to start at offensive tackle. He moved from his usual right tackle position (Jackson has been entrenched on the left side for two seasons) to left tackle in Jackson’s absence in last week’s 30-0 blasting of Rutgers.

Jackson is expected back during the regular season but without a timetable for his return.