DALLAS â Michigan State has dealt with a team that likes to push things offensively as much as the Baylor Bears do.
It didn't work out so well for the Spartans in September though as Michigan State slowed down Oregon but couldn't stop the playoff-bound Ducks in a 46-27 loss in Eugene.
The Spartans know they'll have to do better Thursday in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl as they face a Baylor team that runs every bit as fast as the Ducks and comes into the game the nation's leader in total offense per game (581.3 yards), two spots ahead of the Ducks.
If the fifth-ranked Bears are able to put up those kinds of numbers at AT&T Stadium the No. 8 Spartans (10-2) will have a tough time winning their fourth-consecutive bowl game.
"Fast tempo, that's what they are," Michigan State defensive end Marcus Rush said. "That's how they're successful. Teams are trying to keep up. It's definitely difficult for any team as a defense as well."
As good as Bryce Petty and the Bears offense have been this year, the Spartan defense isn't exactly bad either. The Spartans are sixth nationally in total defense, giving up just 293.5 yards a game. The only team Baylor has played this season that ranks in the top 25 defensively is Texas (24) and the Bears scuffled early in that game before pulling away for a 28-7 win.
All the talk about Baylor's offense serves as motivation for Michigan State. So does sending outgoing defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi on a winning note. Narduzzi is leaving after Thursday's game to take over as the head coach at Pittsburgh and the Spartans will go with co-defensive coordinators Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel after Narduzzi goes.
The Spartans want to make sure Narduzzi's last game is a good one and so does he.
"It's about these kids and what we built," Narduzzi said. "It's guys â these are like my sons. This is â if I didn't come down here and coach in this bowl game, you know, I'd be letting every one of these 115 guys down and the rest of the staff down and oh gosh, coach D (Mark Dantonio). That's what it's about."
The game is also about making a statement for Michigan State's defense. The Spartans have had one of the top defensive programs in the country for the last several years. There's no better way to show that on a national stage than stopping the nation's top statistical offense.
"I feel like we don't get the respect we deserve, feel like there's something else â always a reason we just have to take it," linebacker Ed Davis said. "People still don't give us the respect we deserve. We still have to come out and work hard and show people we're the best defense in the country."
Michigan State knows slowing down the Bears won't be easy. Rush said the key will be trying to slow down Baylor's tempo, which is similar to that of Oregon's. The pace of play makes it difficult for defenses to substitute like they want and the Spartans know they have to find a way to slow Baylor down.
If they can do that then maybe the postgame talk will be on the Spartan D and not the Bear O.
"It would definitely be a big statement game," defensive back Trae Waynes said. "Baylor is a great offense. We're a good defense. So it would be a really interesting game."
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