Based on offensive lines alone, U-M and MSU should advance from crawling to running again. Each returns four starters, and the Wolverines have All-America prospect Steve Hutchinson anchoring what some consider the top line in the country. If you have a healthy line, you have a chance, because it's not affected by weather. Rain kills speed. Wind hampers passing.
Nothing affects blocking.
Nothing except defenses geared to stuff the run. We have to run better. It might sound retro-stodgy, as if spoken by Bo Schembechler or Woody Hayes, but it's true after all these years. During the Spartans' last Big Ten championship seasons, in 1987 and '90, they had two of their three highest rushing averages in 20 years. We learned in '98 it also was the most irreplaceable.