When Kirk Cousins graduated, it left more than a gap at the quarterback position -- it left a void in the team's leadership.From left, Max Bullough, Mark Dantonio, Andrew Maxwell and Chris Norman in Chicago at Big Ten Media Day.

Fortunately, it looks like his replacement at quarterback also is a well-respected team leader.

The football team voted on its captains Thursday, and Andrew Maxwell was named one of the three. He was joined by Max Bullough and Chris Norman -- both linebackers.

Bullough and Maxwell are juniors, while Norman is the lone senior captain.

The three also were the Michigan State player representatives at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago last month.

MSU also likely will rotate a fourth captain each game, according to the Detroit Free Press' Joe Rexrode.

Here is story on Norman worth reading -- and it sheds a lot of light on why he is a captain.

It is one of the worst kept secrets that the Michigan State coaching staff is among the nation's best -- and Yahoo! Sports certainly agrees. Pat Narduzzi is a big reason why the Michigan State coaching staff is considered one of the nation's best. (AP Photo)

The organization ranked the MSU coaching staff as the ninth-best in the the country in the final installment of its unit rankings.

Mike Huguenin said this of the Spartans' staff.

"(Mark) Dantonio has turned the Spartans into one of the best programs in the Big Ten. (Pat) Narduzzi annually puts together salty units and should be a head coach soon. (Dan) Roushar is heading into his second season as OC, and his work with a rebuilt offense this season will be telling. Among the notable position assistants are secondary coach Harlon Barnett and linebacker coach Mike Tressel, Jim's nephew."

Narduzzi undoubtedly played the biggest role among the staff -- other than Dantonio -- in putting the Spartans staff among the top 10.

The Spartans finished first in the Big Ten defensively in 2011, and top 10 nationally.

Yahoo! also ranked the Michigan State offensive line (fourth), defensive line (sixth), linebackers (third) and defensive backs (fifth) on its top 10 lists.

As the season nears, there is one question that is dominating the minds of Michigan State fans everywhere -- how well is the offense going to do with Andrew Maxwell at the helm.

Well, my buddy Danny did a little statistical analysis of how teams fare after losing a quaterback such as Kirk Cousins -- a player drafted in the first four rounds of the NFL draft. He also threw an extra piece together on how teams fare when the new quarterback was a three or four-star recruit.

The goal is to compare offensive production during and after a QBs final year using Offensive S&P (defined here: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaaoff).

Here is what he found: (in a switch to the first-person in which "I" means Danny)

To start, I took all QBs that were drafted between 2006 – 2011 in the first 4 rounds that A) Played FBS Football in his final year at school and B) Attempted at least 65% of his team’s passes in his final year. 29 QBs qualified in that time frame. Then, I compared the Offensive S&P of each QB during his final year in college and the year after he was drafted. Using this projection, Michigan State’s Offensive S&P would drop to 100.2 (closest comparison from last year is Hawaii).

I wanted to refine this further, so I looked at a few factors to try and improve this calculation as it applied to Michigan State. These factors were: Whether or not the head coach remained, the Rivals rating of the new QB replacing the drafted QB, how long the new QB had been in the system, and a further refinement of where the QB was drafted.

Within these factors, only the Rivals rating and the round where these QBs were drafted were found to improve the correlation.

In looking at round, I removed all first round QBs, leaving 15 second, third, and fourth round QBs. (I did not have enough third and fourth round alone QBs to come up with a credible comparison). Using this projection, Michigan State’s Offensive S&P would drop to 99.6 (Closest comparison from last year is Wake Forest).

Next, I used the teams that were replacing a QB drafted in the first four rounds that were replacing the QBs with a 3 or 4 star prospect (Andrew Maxwell was a borderline 4 star QB, and it was the only way I could have enough to make a credible comparison).Using this projection, Michigan State’s Offensive S&P would drop to 102.7 (closest comparison is Bowling Green).

Finally, I used all the QBs that qualified for both refinements. 11 QBs fit the qualifications. Using this projection, Michigan State’s Offensive S&P would drop to 101.9 (closest comparison being Vanderbilt).

The chart at the right shows the S&P for teams with a quarterback drafted rounds 2-4 and replaced by a 3/4-star recruit.

Well, with these projections in mind, what does it mean in terms of how many points we can expect MSU to score next season? Good question. I looked at teams that were within 0.5 of each projection and teams that were within 0.5 of MSU’s Offensive S&P output last season to give a sense of what we can expect. Using all the other projections, the projected PPGs drop to 27.1, 26.9, 27.5 and 28.0, respectively.

In 2011, the Kirk Cousins-led offense had an Offensive S&P was 106.8 -- which is on average about 29.3 points per game, which MSU eclipsed by averaging 31.0 points per game. The offense should go down to about 27 points per game. So, if Maxwell has the same Offensive S&P, MSU will be projected to score 2.3 less points -- not a substantial drop-off.

In conclusion, though it is certainly possible that the Michigan State offense could completely collapse (like Auburn from 2010 to 2011), or improve (similar to Northwestern from 2009 to 2010, when Dan Persa replaced Mike Kafka), I would expect that the dropoff in offensive production would be between 3 to 4 points per game. This is a significant drop, but not one that is so drastic that cannot be overcome by, for example, a defense that was top 8 last year by S&P and returns eight of 11 starters.

(Bearing in mind, many of these schools might not have lost as many wide receivers as Michigan State has -- but also might not have the same returning experience on the offensive line.)

When Drew Stanton was a senior in 2006, he took just 64% percent of the snaps, so he did not qualify for this study. The Offensive S&P 99.1, however, in the ensuing season with Brian Hoyer at the helm it went up 114.1. Keep in mind, the change from John L. Smith to Mark Dantonio could have had a SLIGHT -- ahem, massive -- impact on these numbers.

Thanks to Football Outsiders (footballoutsiders.com), Rivals (rivals.com) and College Football Reference (http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/) for providing the data used for this study.

Michigan State's defensive line already is impressive, but it just got even better as former Ohio State defensive end Kenny Hayes elected to transfer to MSU.

Per NCAA rules, Hayes will have to sit out the 2012 season. It has not been reported whether Hayes will be on scholarship right away, but with recent transfers, there might be a spot. A somewhat-new Big Ten rule change allows a player to transfer within the conference and receive financial aid -- a scholarship -- would allow Hayes to be on scholarship.

He will have three years of eligibility remaining come the fall of 2013.

Hayes was one of the top recruits in the nation in 2011, ranked No. 68 by Rivals. He was rated a four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout out of Toledo Whitmer -- the same school that produced Michigan State freshman safety Mark Meyers.

Hayes was granted his release from Ohio State after sitting out spring ball with recurring headaches, and decided to transfer. He redshirted in 2011.

The Ohio State athletic department lists Hayes at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds.

At his size, Hayes is a possible candidate to move inside to defensive tackle, a hole the Spartans will need to fill again in 2013 after the graduation of Anthony Rashad White. The Spartans also will lose Tyler Hoover to graduation. With the three years of eligibility remaining, Hayes could be an ideal fit for the Spartans at the position to provide stability.

The Spartans made a similar move with redshirt freshman Damon Knox, moving him to defensive tackle from end this fall. Knox is listed at 6-4, 278 pounds.

If Hayes remains at defensive end, which at this point seems to be the plan, he would add even more depth to the position in 2013 with Marcus Rush, Shilique Calhoun and Joel Heath -- and maybe even Will Gholston. Calhoun (6-4, 240) and Heath (6-6, 266) also bring nice size to the position. Five-star recruit Lawrence Thomas moved to defensive end in fall practices.

Calhoun, Heath, Knox, Thomas and Hayes all will be in the same class, forming a potentially lethal defensive line group.

So, in a little more than two weeks the college football season will kick off for Michigan State against Boise State. In the blog-o-sphere, this means getting acquainted with the other side -- so The Little Brother Blog and The Blue Turf have paired up to do some work together.

Today's post is an introduction to Boise State. To read the post on Michigan State on The Blue Turf, click here.

By DarthProphet | theblueturf.com

First allow me to thank the guys here at The Little Brother Blog.

By now, most bloggers have written page after page of why Boise State is rebuilding and why they are just reloading, while I am on the reloading side of this argument and could fill this sites pages with my hyperbole, I believe you would rather learn something other site just either don’t know, understand or are just not talking about. First let’s start with Bronco Nation (the Fan Base).

Bronco Nation is both old and young, has both in-state roots, transient roots and disenfranchised fans. I possess all of the above roots as I have in-state roots, transient roots and disenfranchised roots, however I fit more into to the young side of Bronco Nation, raised mostly in my youth as a Bleed Blue Sparty hating Yooper. Since 1977, I have been slowly making the transition to a full-blown member of Bronco Nation. Little note here since my conversion and as the time nears kick off August 31st I have become more and more a Sparty fan then I could have ever imagined. My son who was born in Idaho and who has accompanied me to a few of Boise State’s biggest games these last three years still struggles with his Go Blue attachment.

Last season during the Michigan-OSU game we almost came to blows as I was rutting hard against the meatchickens and certainly something I would have never believed I was ever capable of. Certainly after the BCS ripped Boise State off from the Sugar Bowl appearance my hatred for Michigan has reached Sparty level so at the very least we share a common hatred for scUM. So enough about me, lets break down Bronco Nation and what you can expect to see at the tail gates on your East Lansing campus.

The old timers will make up the bulk of those that attend, these folks are the salt of the earth, their pride in Boise State goes back decades and their attachment to Boise State is as deep as us die hard Lions and Tigers fans with a big difference they really haven’t seen much in disappointment, as Boise State through the years has fielded quality teams and these folks can tell you all about the old days, and do so with the same enthusiasm as someone who talks about the class of 2011.

You will find an experienced group of game travelers with a better than average knowledge of the game. This group, however, is filled with true sports fans, as a result of following so many teams as Boise State made its runs for BCS busting. While they are very knowledgeable, they are not interested in trash talk nor bravado and only a minority of these folks will even indulge in adult beverages. Make no mistake, however, come game time they will be the loudest visitor group you will have ever heard enter Spartan Stadium.

Metro Boise has seen rapid growth since 1995 and much of that growth is from outside the state of Idaho. When I first visited the city on a high school road trip, we played at Bronco Stadium just 2 years before the first blue field was installed. Back then, the city polulation was less than 100,000 and  the metro barely 150,000. Today, Boise is a city of more than 220,000 and the metro area has exploded to more than 600,000. For nearly 10 years, the city has been rated by Forbes the best city to start a business and raise a family in the country and this has led many Fortune 500 companies to relocate there and has fueled this growth again with many outsiders who held loyalties to other schools and other teams. While the population explosion has led to massive growth to Boise State academically, it hasn’t necessarily translated in to huge increases in game attendance as in 2010 many games were not sold out and the student body left early.

In 2011 you could see a change as the biggest reason for lack of attendance had more to do with the lack of competition on the field. Things changed with the entrance into the MWC and will only increase with the move to the Big East in 2013. While Boise has worked hard to take in all these new folks into their community it would seem they have managed to maintain what has made the city the top choice of Forbes. Below is a video of some of my favorite guys from the 2009-11 Broncos and I think you will find it interesting on their take of just how special the city of Boise is.

On the road, the fan base travels, too, and is spread nationwide. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised when I attended the Toledo game last year by the amount of fans who had travelled from all over Michigan, Ohio and other nearby states of these transient members of Bronco Nation, from scum Professors whose sister taught at Boise State whose son was a Boise State fan to the couples whose wife or husband either attended Boise State or where from Idaho living here in the Midwest. Of the more thab 2,200 members of Bronco Nation that showed up for the game that followed the Georgia game, 90% of them didn’t travel from Idaho.

I even ran into a group of folks who had travelled all the way from Wyoming to support their fellow MWC school, all dressed in the Cowboy gear doing a two for going to the Wyoming-Bowling Green game the next day. Of the 90% of the folks that didn’t travel from Boise half came from Michigan and of those half of them had no attachment to the state of Idaho let alone Boise State they were of the disenfranchise group of fans.

While driving back to Michigan from the V-Tech game leaving downtown D.C at 2 a.m. two days later I found myself listening to the radio while driving through Pittsburg and they were complaining about Pitt’s horrible performance against Utah -- but what seemed to have most callers and the host alike even more upset was the number of folks in the sports bars and walking the streets in Boise State gear.

While schools in the big conferences have large and old alumni bases, Boise State does not. However, for what Boise State lacks in alumni it has more than made up for with marketing. I submit that no school has a larger fan base that has nothing but the pure love of college football as an attachment.

Well, Sports Illustrated's writers are very high on the Spartans heading into the 2012 season.

Days after Stewart Mandel listed MSU as a team that could break the SEC's BCS title streak, the Spartans were ranked No. 8 in the publication's preseason rankings.

Here is what Mallory Rubin wrote about the Spartans:

"Mark Dantonio isn't interested in resting on laurels. The Spartans are coming off consecutive 11-win seasons and will enter 2012 as a preseason top 10 team, but their coach isn't satisfied. "None of us can be complacent," Dantonio said. "Last year is the past. We need to move forward." Michigan State will be taking those steps without Kirk Cousins, the winningest quarterback in program history. He'll be replaced by two-year backup Andrew Maxwell, who impressed his coaches and teammates even after spraining his right knee in mid-April."

Wisconsin was the highest ranked Big Ten team in the poll at No. 6. Michigan is No. 13, while Nebraska filled the No. 19 spot and Ohio State is No. 22.

The Spartans actually dropped two spots from the Sports Illustrated rankings from January -- put out after bowl season -- in which they were ranked at No. 6.

Michigan State is ranked No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

The entire Michigan State team preview can be read here.

This morning I had the chance to do something for the first time: Be a guest on a radio show. What was it about? None other than Michigan State football -- of course.

The radio show, hosted by Andrew Coppens, managing editor of Madtown Badgers -- friends on the Bloguin network, is running through the Big Ten right now on the Big Ten Countdown to Kickoff.

Check it out below. We talked through anything from the rivalry between Wisconsin and Michigan State, Kirk Cousins' legacy, the question marks at wide receiver and what to expect from the upcoming season.

With its win against Georgia in the Outback Bowl last season, Michigan State made one thing very clear: It wants to compete with the SEC.Le'Veon Bell helped MSU beat Georgia last year. (Getty Photo)

Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel noticed, and listed Michigan State among the top five teams that could end the SEC's BCS title streak.

Here is what he had to say:

"Two years ago, a 9-3 SEC team (Alabama) thoroughly outclassed Mark Dantonio's team in a bowl game, 49-7. One New Year's Day later, Michigan State -- 22-5 the past two years -- topped a 10-3 SEC team (Georgia) in double overtime. What changed? An influx of athletic defenders (ends William Gholston and Marcus Rush, linebackers Max Bullough and Denicos Allen, cornerback Johnny Adams) has helped Dantonio produce a swarming unit. The 2011 Spartans held foes to 2.8 yards per carry, seventh-best nationally, and return eight starters. Meanwhile, power back Le'Veon Bell leads a physical rushing attack. On the downside, Michigan State must break in new quarterback Andrew Maxwell and inexperienced receivers, but this team will win with defense first."

Texas, USC, Oregon and Florida State were the other teams in Mandel's top five.

Also from Sports Illustrated, Johnny Adams has been named to the SI preseason All-America team after Tyrann Mathieu was dismissed from LSU.

Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks moved onto the first team to replace Mathieu, and Adams was placed on the second team.

Will Gholston already was named to the second team.

(Editor's Note: This is the sixth installment of positional previews.

Previous: The Breakdown: Quarterbacks; The Breakdown: Running Backs; The Breakdown: Wide Receivers; The Breakdown: Offensive Line; The Breakdown: Defensive Line)

Big Man on Campus: Denicos AllenDenicos Allen and Max Bullough celebrate a sack against Central Michigan. (AP Photo)

Thsi spot easily could go to Max Bullough -- but the role that Allen plays in the defense is of infinite importance. When you look at the transition from 2010 to 2011, the loss of Greg Jones and Eric Gordon was daunting, but Bullough and Allen stepped in and even were BETTER than the previous pair. While Bullough filled the role of Jones as the staple at the center of the defense, Allen took on a little bit of his own role -- that of constantly blitzing and pressuring the quarterback. (Check out the highlight video put together by Pietrang5 for a refresher.)

Allen, listed as the No. 20 player in the Big Ten headed into this season, had 11 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss in 2011. He also was named to the Bednarik, Butkus and Lombardi award watch lists for 2012.

Essentially, Allen is like a speeding bullet off the edge as he blitzes and blows plays up constantly. He is an exciting player to watch, and a big reason why the MSU defense is so ferocious in its pursuit of the ball -- and why the Spartans have the top-ranked group of linebackers in the Big Ten.

Next best thing: Max Bullough, Chris Norman

Bullough could be the big man on campus and it would make perfect sense, but this corps is so talented that he fell into the next best thing.

The junior middle linebacker was named second team All-Big Ten in 2011 by the coaches, after leading the Spartans with 89 tackles. Heading into 2012 was named to four award watch lists (Bednarik, Butkus, Lombardi and Nagurski). He is the brains in the middle of MSU defense -- and keeps the Spartans a step ahead, as the Big Ten Blog explains.

The impact Norman has on the MSU program cannot be emphasized enough because it goes under the radar. He was the first recruit from the stellar 2009 recruiting class to commit to MSU, which included the likes of four-star running backs Edwin Baker and Larry Caper. He also is known as a solid leader on the team.

He is the least-visible of the three starting linebackers, but make no mistake, Norman's presence is felt in coverage and also roaming sideline to sideline as the strongside linebacker. His play is what frees Allen and Bullough up to make the plays.

**More after the jump**

And so it continues. MSU already has Max and Riley Bullough on the roster, and in 2014 it will add their younger brother, Byron.Byron Bullough will be the sixth member of his family to play football at Michigan State. (247sports Photo)

"Looks like I will be living in east Lansing in a couple of years! Committed to the Spartans! Best thing to ever happen in my life so far!" Byron Bullough posted on his Twitter on Thursday morning.

According to SpartanTailgate, he visited East Lansing yesterday.

"I just called Coach Dantonio and told him I was ready to be a Spartan," Bullough said. "Now I'm a Spartan for life."

Byron Bullough is the second commitment of the 2014 class, joining two-sport star Drake Harris. He is a standout defensive back at Traverse City St. Francis, but in two years it is possible he will be a linebacker. Right now, he is listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds.

"I'm open to play anywhere in college," he said to Scout.com. "I could grow into linebacker and play linebacker, but I don't even know what side of the ball I'll play on, so I'm open wherever."

Michigan State was his only offer, but reportedly was receiving interest from Michigan, Purdue, Indiana and MAC schools.

All three Bulloughs looked at other options in their recruitment, but eventually settled at Michigan State -- and committed early, as Max and Riley both were the first of their respective classes in 2010 and 2012. Byron Bullough, however, committed the earliest.

Most know the Bullough family's bloodlines run deep with football talent at MSU, as the three brothers all are third-generation Spartans, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Hank, his father, Shane, and his uncle, Chuck.

Byron Bullough shows good instintive ball skills in the secondary, making good reads on passes. Most of these highlights show him offensively as a running back -- his brothers both played two-ways at St. Francis as well, Riley played quarterback while Max played tight end.