One of the main reasons Michigan State has won its second game in a row is senior running back Javon Ringer.
The Spartan defense closed out visiting Florida Atlantic 17-0 on Saturday thanks to the run of Ringer, who had a career-high 282 rushing yards with a career-high 43 carries and scored 2 touchdowns.
A 5-foot-9, 202-pound rusher and speedster, Ringer has now rushed for 498 yards in 3 outings (166 yards per game, 4.79 yards per carry) and scored 9 touchdowns. He leads all 1-A running backs in TDs and ranks third among running backs.
His gains have come against California, Eastern Michigan and Florida Atlantic, all of which aren’t exactly the Great Wall of China against the run. California ranks 31st in rushing defense, Eastern Michigan 97th and Florida Atlantic 107th among 119 1-A schools.
Ringer is one of the best running backs in the country. Navy’s Shun White ranks No. 1 with 588 yards (196 yds per game) and Connecticut’s Donald Brown is No. 2 with 566 yards (188 yds per game).
Shun White is averaging 12.51 yards per carry, a hard stat to believe given that Navy is ranked 115th in passing offense (translation: Navy isn’t going to beat you with the pass). Navy is also ranked #1 in rushing offense with 370 yards per game. Knowing this, why don’t teams put 8 men in the box and stop White before 12 yards per carry?
White’s yardage has been gained against Towson, Ball State and Duke, who aren’t exactly powerhouses either.
It remains to be seen how Ringer will fare against the top 5 run defenses in the nation. The current top 5 teams against the run are Alabama (42 ypg), Florida State (43 ypg), TCU (43+ ypg), Indiana (45 ypg), and LSU (48 ypg). The only team Ringer will face in the regular season is Indiana, which Michigan State visits on September 27.
Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer completed 5 of 15 passes for 88 yards with one interception and no passing touchdowns against Florida Atlantic. If you’re wondering why the state of Michigan uses Ringer so much, now you know. They are getting very little performance and leadership from Brian Hoyer (5th grader) and a lot of performance and leadership from Javon Ringer.
Michigan State hosts Notre Dame on Saturday (9-20-08) and then begins its Big Ten schedule against Indiana.
So how far will the state of Michigan go this year? Do not worry about it. Keep running Javon Ringer until someone can stop him.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
