Ground Zero East Lansing

This Blog Has an Expiration Date...

2009-03-09T13:20:00.002-04:00

That's the bad news.

The good news is that I'm going to be blogging more frequently once MSU ends its run in the NCAAs. Where? I can't say yet, there are details being worked out and such.

Just know that even though this blog is coming to end, I'll still be around, albeit somewhere else.

Now get ready for what might be the most unpredictable Big 10 tournament in years, which means that'll probably play out according to seed. That'd be fine by me.

Five Things...I Liked about the Minnesota Game.

2009-02-05T09:05:00.002-05:00

That was refreshing. The score was 13-8 about eight minutes into the first half, MSU had turned it over a few times, and then...

Hysteria. The only time I can recall a first half going that well for the Spartans was the Ohio State four or five years ago when they shot about 80% for the first half. Even then, the defense wasn't nearly as good. Here's five things I liked about the game.

5. The field goal defense
Minnesota's shooting: 3-12 from three, 15-52 total for a FG percentage of 28.8%. Yay to not being victimized by a red-hot shooter, and double yay for showing the Big Ten that the Spartans still have a defense.

4. The "WASH YOUR FACE" chant
Cruel to Colton Iverson? Yes. Unnecessary? Of course. Funny? Yup. The pressure must be causing him to breakout, because I don't know how your face goes from this in high school:

To this (on the far left):

3. The remergence of Chris Allen as a shooting threat
13 points on 4-7 shooting for Allen, 2-3 FT, 2-4 on three-pointers. He's now out of the slump, which is more important since...

2. The ability to win big without Raymar
He'll be back over he gets over the walking pneumonia/Spanish Flu/Captain Trips that he has, but Final Four teams have to show that they can function at a high level without one of their best players.

1. Winning on the home court again
Self-explanatory. MSU needed a win at home after the Northwestern and Penn State debacles, and got one. They're still one game clear of the rest of the Big Ten, and that probably won't change against Indiana in a few days.

Tomorrow: Five reasons why we'll beat Indiana, which is about four more reasons than necessary.

This Blog's Direction + Bonus Minnesota Preview

2009-02-04T11:36:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all, sorry about the delay. I was thinking about changing the direction of this blog into more of a place where I post daily, but shorten the length of the posts a bit to keep up with the demands Chemical Engineering places on me. In that scenario, I'd have something up by about 9:30-10 AM every day, but would just be a brief rundown of things that happened to MSU the previous day. I'll have the prototype post up tomorrow morning, let me know if it strikes your fancy.

As for the Minnesota game today, if Suton's healthy (he hyperextended his knee in Monday's practice, he says he'll play, but I still hyperventilated a bit when I heard), MSU wins. If not, we need two things:

- Roe to make up for the offensive boards we'll miss

- Blake Hoffarber not to pull a Kevin Coble/Talor Battle and hit everything within halfcourt.

Call it MSU by five, and we'll take it, especially with the Purdue loss @ OSU yesterday.

The 3x3 Preview: Oakland

2008-12-26T12:59:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the way that I'll be doing most of my basketball previews from now, the 3x3 preview. In this segment, I'll state three strengths of the opposing team, three of their weaknesses, and three things State needs to do to win. That said, let's get to the preview.

DOSSIER ON THE OAKLAND (MI) GRIZZLIES

Kenpom Rank: 149
W-L Record: 8-6
Conference Record (Summit League): 1-1
Best Wins: @Oregon, @Wisconsin-Green Bay
Noteworthy Losses: @Syracuse (by 20), @ Iowa (by 9), Michigan @ the Palace (by 13)

THREE REASONS TO SHOW A MODICUM OF CONCERN

The Grizzlies are above average offensive rebounders. Anyone watching the Texas game knows that one of the main barriers to Michigan State blowing the game wide open was that they allowed Texas to get position inside and collect their missed shots at a high clip. I'm not saying that Oakland will show the same propensity to grab their misfires, but it is something to be aware of, as they rebound 36.4% of their missed shots, good enough to put them in the top quarter of Division I. This has helped them score more than a point per possession (Offensive efficiency of 107.2, which puts them in the upper tier of Division I teams).
They can block shots, if given the chance. Oakland blocks 11.2% of opponents' shots, and that is good enough to put them 79th in Division I in that category. However, as we'll soon see, that's about the only aspect of their defensive game that is above average.
They almost beat MSU last year. At the Breslin. The Grizzlies played Michigan State close last year when they lost 75-71 in East Lansing. These bears won't be intimidated by the Green and White.

THREE REASONS TO NOT GO OVERBOARD AND PREDICT AN OAKLAND WIN

The Grizzlies are a terrible, TURRIBLE defensive team. They give up 1.055 points per possession, which puts them on top...of the worst 25% teams in the NCAA. Their big Achilles' Heel is interior defense, where they allow 50.9% of twos to be made. Michigan State takes a great many more twos than threes (only 24% of MSU's shots are threes, that is extremely low), so look for this point to be heavily exploited.
Goran Suton is back. No one should be better able to exploit the shoddy interior defense of Oakland than the Bosnian Bomber, who missed only one shot in the victory against Texas. Expect surprisingly graceful drives to the basket and 12-14 footers to drop from the big man.
Did I mention the Grizzlies give up a lot of offensive rebounds. For as good as Oakland is in collecting rebounds, they're just as bad in giving them up, as they allow their opponents to rebound their misses about 39% of the time. I wouldn't worry about it if I were the Grizzlies, it's not like Izzo stresses offensive rebounds or anything like that.

THREE THINGS THE SPARTANS NEED TO DO

Do not allow second chances. Oakland's been good at collecting offensive rebounds, and they have a couple of 6-10/6-11 players who can put those rebounds back in if need be. Take away those chances and see if Oakland can make the shots.
Go inside, and keep going inside. Despite that height on the interior, Oakland still has weak two point defense. Suton, Morgan and Roe need to go inside and keep going inside.
Make free throws. Going inside is going to translate to many trips to the foul line. Here's where Delvon can't have a repeat of the Texas game, when he made none of his foul shots in six attempts.

WHAT WILL (BUT PROBABLY WON'T) HAPPEN

Suton and Morgan get inside repeatedly, but Oakland gets enough offensive rebounds to make it a game in the first half. In the second half, Michigan State starts to own the boards and pulls away.

FINAL SCORE: MSU 82, OAKLAND 65

Merry Christmas at Ground Zero

2008-12-24T13:38:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all those who have read this blog this year, and have kept this little operation going. I was going to have a recap of Spartan Sports, but Fighting with a Vim did a good job of it at this post, and I am nothing if not an opportunist.

Also, it's going to be a great Christmas at Ground Zero.

My gift to you will be a bit belated: before the turn of the new year, expect previews of the Oakland game and Capital One Bowl, as well as a recap of the Oakland game. Big Ten previews will start with the Northwestern game, as I will be in Chicago at an Ohio State bar of all places to ring it in.

Anyway, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and nothing but the best to you and yours this season.

Longhorn'd - The Texas Preview

2008-12-19T12:35:00.003-05:00

The Dossier on Texas:

GENERAL INFORMATION

Win-Loss Record: 9-1
Best Wins: UCLA, Villanova (Neutral Court), Oregon
The Loss: Notre Dame (@ Maui)
#5 in both AP/Coaches' Polls
#22 in Kenpom ranking

WHAT THE LONGHORNS DO WELL

Defend, especially on the interior. Texas is the #12 team in the nation in defensive efficiency; their opponents score 0.833 points per possession (anything under 1 is pretty good, get that number below 0.85 and we're talking national title contender). They're also one of the best blocking teams in the nation. Texas blocks 17.6% of all opponents' shots.
Shoot the dang three. Well, this item bodes well. Texas' leading scorer, A.J. Abrams, has been shooting 47% from behind the arc. He's also averaging about 36 minutes a games so expect to see him a lot. Texas also has two other players shooting above 38% on their threes (Damion James and Connor Atchley, the latter of which looks like he was kidnapped from the Bo Ryan Cloning Facility of Tall White Guys that Can Shoot), which will spell trouble for the Spartans if their three point defense stays mediocre.
Hold onto the ball. Texas only turns over the ball about 13 times a game, a little better than average. Don't expect to rip the ball away from Abrams, he only turns it over about once per game.

DO WE HAVE A CHANCE? WHERE DO THEY SUCK?

Anything involving the free throw line. The Longhorns shoot 61.2% from the foul line, 307th in Division I. They have four players in their main rotation that shoot under 60%, so if the game is close in the end, there should always be a favorable person to foul.
Their offensive percentage inside the arc is strikingly average. UT shoots 48% on their twos, and that percentage puts them at 171st in the nation.
But yet they still take many more twos than threes. Only 25% of Texas' shots are threes, despite how well they shoot the ball from 20 feet, nine inches.

ALRIGHT, I'LL BITE. HOW DOES MSU WIN THIS GAME?

Chris Allen becomes unconscious behind the arc. Texas has a very strong interior defense, so accurate perimeter shooting will be pivotal for extending the interior defense and creating cracks for passing lanes inside. Allen can help immensely if he makes Texas guard him anywhere inside 25 feet.
By being unafraid to foul anywhere inside the arc. This point is tailor-made for Raymar to excel. Make Texas earn a victory by hitting their foul shots.
HOLD ONTO THE CONSARNED BALL! Self-explanatory, no stats needed.

WHAT HAPPENS IN HOUSTON?

I believe that this game is going to be nip and tuck all the way through. However, I think MSU is going to create their own undoing with a few too many turnovers and a few too many Abrams threes.

Texas 73, MSU 65.

The Aftermath - The Citadel

2008-12-18T10:58:00.003-05:00

Another day, another win, but this one was semi-close all the way through. MSU stormed out to an 18 point lead, but that lead was cut to eight by halftime. The second half was back and forth with MSU holding leads oscillating between 6 and 14 points until the game mercifully ended. What do we know?

The Citadel completed 40% (10-25) of their three pointers. This sounds bad, but if you saw a game, you witnessed the Bulldogs hitting a few threes from five feet behind the arc. If I saw this stat without watching the game I'd say that stat would be a cause for alarm, but watching the game, I would call it a cause for minor concern.
That Raymar continues to do two things - dominate teams with lesser talent and get in foul trouble. His 26 points and 10 boards were good, but once again, he had four fouls by about midway through the second half.
It didn't look like MSU shot many three pointers, but upon review, they were 2 for 9, with Chris Allen having a 1-6 off night. Perhaps the reason for this was that they were very successful inside the arc; they shot 52.9% of their twos.
Free throw shooting continues to be a point of mediocrity. 65% will not get it done during the Big Ten season. The main offenders once again are those who you would mainly suspect, as Gray and Roe combined to go 6 for 12.
The good news: Michigan State out rebounded the Citadel by 7. The bad news: The Bulldogs grabbed 15 offensive rebounds. Yikes.
I didn't notice the turnovers too much, but my eyebrows raised when I saw the number "5" in Travis's row for turnovers.

Here's where I insert the typical "an ugly win is still a win" sentiment, which is almost always followed by "they'll have to play a lot better to win against better teams" sentiment. Those thoughts are typical because they're true, and going down to Houston to play Texas will need an improvement in play. However, I'll wait until tomorrow to preview the Longhorns. As for now, be glad that this game can now safely be ignored and start getting pumped for Saturday.

A Brief Preview of The Citadel

2008-12-16T21:03:00.002-05:00

What is The Citadel, you ask? The Citadel, aka the Military College of South Carolina, was founded in Charleston in 1844. Less than two decades later, Fort Sumter in Charleston was attacked, and the Civil War (or the War of Yankee Arrogance, depending on where in this country you were taught) began. I'm not saying the two are related, but I am heavily, heavily urging you to reach that conclusion on your own. Now, about 150 years later, MSU looks to score one for the Yanks. Here's the rundown of The Citadel's team.

The Citadel's record is 5-5 this season, with wins against schools you didn't even know were schools, such as Grace Bible, Cincinnati Christian, and Charleston Southern.
In other news, Charleston is apparently big enough to have a directional school.
And the losses? They lost to Iowa by 22 and Virginia Commonwealth by 23.
On kenpom.com, they're the 320th ranked team out of a total 344 teams (take that, North Carolina Central!), and their defense is ranked 332nd - worse than Alcorn State, who you last saw being depantsed in the Breslin Center.
The one thing they've done well so far - hit the offensive boards. They're the 44th ranked team in offensive rebounding percentage (measures how often a team grabs an offensive rebound off a miss). 40% of their shots are from behind the three point line (uh oh), but they make less than 30% of those shots (relief).

Kenpom.com predicts an 85-52 MSU win, with a zero percent chance of The Citadel winning. This game will mainly be a tune-up for the big game in Houston on Saturday against Texas. Suton has been practicing since Monday, and hopefully he gets a few minutes of playing time. That said, I expect this game to be a bit slower than the Alcorn State game, but still should be an easy win because the Spartans are playing a low-major team, and are playing at home.

Prediction: MSU 92, The Citadel 64.

I'm back, with a response to an MSU editorial

2008-12-16T11:32:00.005-05:00

Well, finals kicked my butt, but I'm back, mainly in response to a post on Spartan Nation about MSU's lack of commitment to agribusiness in Michigan. My responses to selected portions of the post can be seen posted below; my main criticism is that the article smacks of oversimplification of the vast economic problems facing Michigan right now, and puts the onus on MSU to save Michigan. The excerpts from Spartan Nation's post is offset, I trust you'll be able to discern my responses.

Sports-related content to come tonight, now that heat exchanger design is no longer my main concern.

Ugh. As an MSU student right now, I believe that this article oversimplifies many of the problems facing Michigan today.

I am not interested in rich oil barons sending their sons and daughters to MSU Dubai. I am interested in seeing Detroit turn around with a commitment to bioeconomy through education. I am not against the Dubai campus, it will open opportunity for agrieducation to a brand new corridor. I am asking if the emphasis is being placed in the right places?

These ideas are not mutually exclusive.

How many people from inner city Detroit would like a job that pays 25-30K? With all of the warehousing space and the access to shipping lanes, Detroit could be an economic power in food processing. Problem is that MSU doesn’t even have a program in food processing. This is particularly disgusting considering the diversified fruit and vegetable markets that continue to boom in our back yards.

Detroit's problems go way past MSU not creating jobs there. In 2006, Detroit had an abysmal graduation rate of 21.7% for its high-school students. The problem isn't that MSU doesn't offer food processing, it's that the majority of kids from Michigan's largest city will fail to graduate high school, which presents more problems than one university can handle.

So while society is brainwashed into believing that higher standardized test scores and GPA’s result in a higher quality graduate, does it benefit the state of Michigan? Are MSU graduates today better prepared to deal with the problems of tomorrow more than they were ten or even twenty years ago? Are MSU grads any smarter or more capable than they were ten or twenty years ago? I don’t think so.

So what should MSU's criteria for admission be? Having each prospective student sign a statement vowing to stay in Michigan after they graduate? Should a 2.5 student who pledges to stay in Michigan beg given preference over a 4.0 out-of-state student? Like it or not, test scores and GPA are the best indicator we presently have as a society to predict a student's future success. Are MSU grads smarter than they previously were? I'd like to think so, due in part to the academic competition that has bubbled to the surface.

I have heard numerous people talk badly about Ohio State because they “let everyone in.” Anyone think that OSU is less prestigious than MSU? How are OSU’s sports teams year in and year out? The truth is that OSU abides by the very principles that gave the university life. Unlike MSU, Ohio State sees that access is the most important thing.

This is partly true. While Ohio State as a whole is open to any graduate from an Ohio high school, admission is only guaranteed to its satellite campuses (Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark). Admission to the Columbus campus is competitive and works exactly like any other Big Ten University. In fact, you praise Ohio State for admitting everyone, but the Columbus Campus' average SAT and ACT scores for the freshman class are higher than MSU's! The only reason Ohio State admits everyone is that some of those admitted students go to a regional OSU campus. Should MSU construct regional campuses like OSU's? I'm not sure where the money would come from for that.

The luxury suites in Spartan Stadium are fit for kings and queens. They are truly a marvel, a masterpiece built to showcase the very university that we have all grown to love so deeply. They are also used as a tool to raise money for the school, which is largely a positive thing. They are also used to purchase the very politics that sell the potential sons and daughters of Michigan State to the highest bidder.

Are there any examples of this? I'm not quite sure what you mean.

Landgrant university access and education are something that I fundamentally believe is both important and necessary. So while many will wait to see what happens with this automaker bailout in the hopes that our state’s economic complexion changes, I will carry the torch that John Hannah believed was the fundamental right of Michigan residents.

Access to higher education is tantamount for a society to succeed; however, that university need not be a Land Grant one, as many, many Michigan residents have gotten a quality education from Central, Western, Michigan Tech, GVSU and numerous other universities. If one doesn't get in at first, he or she can go to another college and transfer. Also, going to college is not a right, it is a privilege. Ask anyone who got banned for a year from public universities for CedarFest crimes if post-secondary education's a right.

This holiday season, while you watch MSU run up and down the court and play on New Year’s Day, ask yourself this question. What does the slogan… from landgrant to world grant actually mean? Is it a campus in Dubai that MSU needs or more undergraduates educated in a future economy that promises to become Michigan’s most crucial overnight?

The aspect of this article that irked me the most was that there was no mention of the great economic good MSU has brought to Michigan. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, which will pump $1 billion into Michigan's economy, was not mentioned. The construction of MSU's new medical school in Grand Rapids, which will train more doctors vested in Michigan, went unmentioned. The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a $100 million joint venture between UW and MSU went unmentioned. MSU is training graduates for the top 30 growing fields, such as elementary education, accounting, registered nurses, doctors, computer scientists, and many many more.

My point is that while the agriscience industry is expanding, Michigan is still going to need many other professions to keep jobs in the state. The agricultural economy is still crucial to Michigan's success, but the undergraduates will have to make the decisions themselves to go into agriculture. It is not MSU's fault that Michigan's economy is failing, and to imply that MSU is failing Michigan by not investing more money in one sector of the economy oversimplifies Michigan's problems right now.

A Concise PSU-MSU Preview

2008-11-21T19:19:00.005-05:00

Three things MSU must do to win:

Someway, somehow, get turnovers while holding onto the ball. In the games against the better teams that they've won (Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin), the Spartans had a positive turnover margin. This'll have to happen again, and I give it about a 50-50 shot of happening.
Ringer must run successfully, especially to the outside. It seems to be every time Ringer tries to bounce it outside, he'll end up getting a couple yards, which is much better than running it straight into PSU's extremely capable front seven. Only Shonn Greene has been able to be successful running the ball this year against the Nittany Lions. However, Iowa has a better OL than MSU, and I'm just not sure the linemen can move fast enough to provide the necessary blocks. The chances that Ringer goes over 100 yards and averages over 4.0 YPC - 15%.
The defense cannot allow more than 2 plays of more than 20 yards. Penn State's offense may seem to be completing fewer big plays lately, and hopefully, that's the way that'll stay. However, with playmakers like Derrick Williams and Evan Royster on offense, one never knows when they'll bust a big play. Chances of this happening: 35%.

Multiplying 0.5*0.15*0.35 = A 2.63% chance of MSU winning this game. This seems about right. Hey, at least there's a chance, but it goes without saying that I'd feel much more comfortable if Anthony Morelli was behind center for Penn State. MSU will try their best, but fall short. A New Year's Day bowl is nothing to scoff at, and my only complaint is that the Outback Bowl starts at 10 AM Central Time.

Final Score: PSU 27, MSU 13.

The Aftermath - IPFW

2008-11-19T22:44:00.007-05:00

On a game which MSU was expected to win, they did...but getting to the win was a bumpy, bumpy ride, which the 70-59 score might not indicate. MSU's points per possession (OP^3) was good (70 points for 63 possessions = 1.11 points per possession, anything above one is good), and their defense was...meh, as 0.95 points per possesion (DP^3, the inverse of OP^3 - here, anything below one is good, but I was expecting more against IPFW) were allowed. As I was listening to the game online, I kept asking myself, how could the game be this close? I went through the usual suspects:

Turnovers? Surprisingly, turnovers aren't the main culprit. MSU turned the ball over a lot in the first half, but finished the game with 10 total turnovers, three less than IPFW's 13.
Free Throw Shooting? Slightly out of the norm, with Spartan players going 19-28 from the line (67.9%). If MSU shoots their typical 75-80%, they win by 13 instead of 11. Still, the shaky performance is not solely the fault of below average foul shots. Point to take completely out of context on message boards: Delvon Roe was 1-4 on free throws.
Rebounding? Back to normal after getting outrebounded against Idaho. MSU recovered 38 rebounds to IPFW's 28, with 16 of those 38 coming on the offensive glass.
Bad three point shooting night? Now we're starting to get somewhere. MSU shot 27% on their threes. Compared to their 37% 3-point percentage from last year, that percentage fell off a bit. Let's consider those misfires the secondary cause.
Bad shooting defense? I didn't see the game, but according to the stats, this would appear to be the main cause of struggles tonight. IPFW shot 46% overall and 39% from three. Those values are much greater than the 40% and 31% respectively allowed last year. Hopefully this was just a hot shooting night for a couple players from IPFW; the stats show this to be the case as Ben Botts and David Carson were a combined 7-11 from three, all other IPFW players were 0-7. I hope the three-point defense isn't a trend, as Idaho shot 46% (6-13) from behind the arc.

What was good about this game? Raymar completely took over the game in the second half, making most of the key baskets to put IPFW away. Lucas was solid as well, chipping in 17 points, and three assists against one turnover. Delvon Roe scored his first points as a Spartan, putting in nine points on 4-7 shooting, and contributing a couple of blocks.

In conclusion, this game could've been disasterous, but it wasn't. For that, I am thankful, but let's hope that this game isn't a sign of things to come.

Big Ten Basketball Preview: The Dregs

2008-11-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

Big Ten Basketball has already started in earnest yesterday, with Michigan defeating an over matched Husky team from Michigan Tech. Since I will not start paying heavy attention until MSU's season premiere against Idaho on Sunday, I figured I would start my preview now. Here are the dregs of the Big Ten, for which making the College Basketball Invitational at the end of the season (finally, an answer to the question: which Division 1 team is 98th best?) would be an accomplishment.

One more note - If you want thought-out, statistical analysis of College Basketball, I cannot recommend Spartans Weblog highly enough. That said, he was not going to do an in-depth Big Ten preview, so hopefully I can fill that void with a little bit of thoughtful analysis and a lot of guessing. Without further ado:

11. Northwestern

I toyed with putting Indiana with this spot, but then Northwestern lost their first exhibition game to Robert Morris, an NAIA school, and that was the last brick that sealed Willie Wildcat in his tomb, crying for his cask of Amontillado.

Player to know: Kevin Coble - Probably most well known for taking part of last season off to take care of his mother stricken with cancer, the 6-8 forward would have most likely been All Big-Ten Preseason if he had played in more games last season. That said, if Northwestern has any chance this season, he'll have to average 30 ppg, 15 rebounds per game, and make the special 10 point basket from Rock 'n Jock 20 feet above the hardwood.

This season will be a success if...They have a winning record this season.

This season will be a failure if... It's Northwestern. How much worse could it get.

10. Iowa

Iowa, Iowa, Iowa. Two years ago you were upset by a 14 seed in the NCAAs, and in the past year, they turned the ball over every one in four times they had possession (thanks College Basketball Prospectus!). They'd have hope if their two top scorers didn't leave this past season (Justin Johnson to graduation, Tony Freeman to transfer), and the young Hawkeyes look to spend another year in the dregs. They shouldn't be down long though, not with Todd Lickliter (the previous mastermind at Butler) as their head coach.

Player to know: Jake Kelly - He's an anomaly in the shell of a 6-6 wing, as in his three-point FG percentage (43.5%) last year was better than his overall FG percentage (40.8%). If Iowa has any shot at a competitive season, he'll have to maintain his clip from beyond 20 feet, nine inches, and improve his shot within the perimeter.

This season will be a success if... The Hawkeyes get a few upsets in Carver Arena (not like the 42-36 abomination MSU suffered. Watch that game, and you can literally see the rims replaced by peach baskets.), and set themselves in position to win a first-round Big Ten tournament game.
This season will be a failure if... Iowa doesn't progress, and the lengthened three-pointer affects shooting more than thought. If that occurs, look for fans to pine for the days of Steve Alford.

9. Indiana

Indiana's postseason could be defined in two words: scorched earth. Goodbye Kelvin Sampson, goodbye everyone who played meaningful minutes. Senior wing Kyle Taber was the sole survivor, and now under Tom Crean, the Hoosiers hope to reach to the stars and grab ten wins by the tail. The new talent isn't anything to write home about; none of Tom Crean's seven recruits for this year were ranked over three stars by Rivals. Still, I'm intrigued. Crean's a good coach, and with no expectations, this team might pull a couple surprises. Then again, it might duke it out with Northwestern for 10th place like two hobos fighting over a bindle.

Player to know: Kyle Taber - As in if you're an Indiana fan, he'll be the only player you know from last year (and no, I didn't forget about Brett Finkelmeier or Jeremiah Rivers. If they're playing serious minutes though, look for the fans at Assembly Hall to pull a Knight and throw their seats onto the court). The forward won't have to be the second coming of D.J. White, but he will have to, at the very least, be a steady source of rebounds.

This season will be a success if... The Hoosiers pull off four to six wins in conference, and get the ball rolling for next year.

This season will be a failure if... Indiana wins two games or less in conference, and the grumbles start about seven more years on Crean's contract.

Parts two and three to come this weekend.

Big Ten Roundtable - Antepenultimate edition

2008-11-11T11:31:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since there's been one of these. Here we go...

1) With two weeks left in the season, it's safe to say that most schools have reached the point where the year has been a success or a disappointment. How has your school fared this year in your opinion? Or, is the jury still out?

Needless to say, this season has been a rip-roaring success for MSU, with the high points being the game-winning kick to beat Wisconsin and the first win in Ann Arbor since 1990. The only black mark on Michigan State's record is that they've lost to the two best teams they've faced (debatable depending on whether you believe Iowa is better than Cal), but on the other hand, the Spartans have beaten every team they should have beaten, and when is the last time that happened? Now they get to play Penn State in a de facto Big Ten Championship game. I'm not too excited for the Spartans to go to Happy Valley, and I'm going to give this point its own paragraph to hammer it home.

The last time MSU beat Penn State in Happy Valley, Joe Paterno was an assistant coach (1965).

A young Joe Paterno teaches the intricacies of the flying wedge.

Now that's perspective. Despite what is an almost sure loss, a 9-3 record is better than what anyone predicted (I hinted at it, but didn't have the balls to predict nine wins).

2) Is your school heading to a bowl? If so, which one? And if not, WTF?

Hell yes MSU's going to a bowl. The most likely destination is the Capital One Bowl, against a team that will most likely be Georgia. However, MSU has a small chance at the Rose Bowl if:

Ohio State loses one of the next two games (@Illinois, Michigan, both unlikely losses for the Buckeyes) AND
Michigan State beats Penn State in Beaver Stadium (more unlikely).

Thus, Michigan State is guaranteed a New Year's day bowl. Whether it's the Rose, Capital One or Outback (if OSU and PSU both don't receive BCS bids) remains to be seen.

3) The Big Ten has recently had a hard time getting respect among the national media as a top conference. Has the Big Ten taken a step forward or a step backward in this debate this season?

Well, to have taken a step forward, the Big Ten would've needed its best nonconference win to be better than Penn State crushing Oregon State. Take that fact and combine with the four losses the Big Ten has suffered at the hands at MAC teams (granted, three of those losses were suffered by Indiana and Michigan, BUT STILL), and that totals a step backward for the Big Ten. However, I state that opinion with the caveat that a great bowl record can put the Big Ten on solid ground again.

If all else fails, repeat after me: "We're still better than the Big East and ACC."

4) Would the Big Ten benefit from adding another school to create two divisions like the SEC, Big 12, ACC and MAC? And if so, which school should be added? Or, should we drop one school?

The Big Ten should absolutely not drop a school, all of the others (with Penn State being the exception) have had at the very least a half-century in the conference, and one shouldn't mess with that kind of tradition. That said, the Big Ten should add a university. Pitt and Missouri seem to be the choices du jour, but I have a modest proposal: make Miami of Ohio the 12th team.

First, the RedHawks are a great fit academically; they're a first tier public university. That leaves only the athletic aspect, which many might consider to be shaky, and for good reason. They're 2-7 in football this season. However, they made the NCAA tournament in 2007, and once they entered the Big Ten, I expect their recruiting to be elevated to the point where they could be on par with a Northwestern - a middle of the pack team with great academics. There's no reason not to believe that they could start a good team with Ohio State's leftovers in state. Finally, I believe that they're the team that would jump most readily into the Big Ten, whereas the others that have been mentioned are either in conferences now or are being paid obscene amounts of money by NBC for going 6-6.

For those reasons, I don't think it's absurd to have the RedHawks be the twelfth member of the Big Ten. I see the Divisions going East and West, with Penn State, Ohio State, Miami of Ohio, Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue in the East; and Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin in the West. The only downside is that this year in football, the conference would have been greatly imbalanced, with the top three teams being in the East. However, it's been working for the Big 12 so far, so I'm obliged to let the proposed divisions stay as they are.

5) Do you agree with President-elect Obama that college football should have an 8 school post-season playoff?

No, if only for the reason that a possible North Carolina-Pitt matchup for the national title is abhorrent. Being a Michigan State fan, I really could care less about the playoff debate for it has hardly ever affected my team.

6a) Who is your favorite network television play-by-play announcer/ color commentator/sideline reporter?

Brent Musberger, and the reason is three-fold:

If he's broadcasting your team's game, you know your team is doing well. If it's not your team, the unintentional comedy factor should be enough.
Sentimentality - to me, something about hearing his voice reminds me of autumns past, sitting in the living room of my parents, and watching football on Saturdays. Good Times.
I will always, always give preference to any sportscaster who was in Rocky II.

Get yours TODAY! Miller Lite can sold separately.

6b) If you listed Erin Andrews, please provide a photo/video to back up your pick.

Nope, but just for giggles and as a continuation of the previous question, here's a video of her, Musberger and Steve Lavin ice fishing. Don't blame me if you can't save it to your hard drive as part of your "collection".

The Aftermath - General Thoughts about Week 11

2008-11-09T11:36:00.002-05:00

MSU 21, Purdue 7, and the Spartans are playing for a share of the Big 10 title this year. Purdue had several chances to get back in the game (two Rex Grossman-like picks thrown by Hoyer, fumbles by Leggett and Ringer), but the defense was swarming today, and Purdue only scored a pity touchdown at the end to prevent the shutout.
I think that first interception affected Hoyer, and one could see him attempting to learn from the mistake, as he took off for 3-4 yard runs when no one was open. Sadly, he did not do this in the second half when he overthrew Cunningham (?) for the second pick.
Explanation for Michigan's suckitude the past 10 weeks: they've been saving up all the good plays to win the Little Brown Jug, which I'm sure Michigan fans will now hold higher than all those Rose Bowl victories. As for Minnesota, no explanation exists for their failure, the interception that Northwestern returned for a victory last week might have been the event that sends them into a tailspin where they finish 7-5. Still though, much improved after last year.
The only comment I have about the OSU-NU game is that the result was completely, utterly expected.
The other WTF of the day: Western Michigan beating Illinois at Ford Field. That does worry me slightly for next year. MSU has the same deal with Western @ Ford Field, but hopefully MSU can fill up the stands.
I was only slightly surprised that Iowa beat Penn State yesterday. If you've watched Iowa all year, you know that the only team that could stop Iowa was Iowa, and they only shot themselves in the foot once or twice compared to the five or six times in their losses. Congratulations to Iowa, even though...
The PSU loss has made it harder for MSU to get to the Rose Bowl. Now the Spartans need an OSU loss either @ Illinois or against Michigan, and MSU needs to beat PSU in Happy Valley, which last happened on the fifth of never. At any rate, MSU's most likely bowl destination is the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, and I'm elated about that.

Also, basketball? Starting? Like, next week? Hopefully a preview will be up next week, but no promises.

Vote, Consarnit!

2008-11-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

The purpose of this post is two-fold:

1. To urge you to vote today, because it is mandated by law that all blogs must have some post regarding this topic on election day.

2. To prove I am not dead.

Big Ten picks later this week.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2008-10-25T18:54:00.002-04:00

That's all I have to say. It feels so good to finally get a win in Ann Arbor. Javon Ringer, let no one say that you can't come through in the clutch ever again. Hoyer, if someone wants to bench you again, I will kick said person in the nuts.

That's all for now. More tomorrow, but I'm going to drink in downtown EL in a penguin suit.

Penguin suiting up,

G0EL Pete

Big Ten Picks, Week Nine

2008-10-24T13:10:00.006-04:00

Michigan State 27, Michigan 13
See here for a complete explanation. In other news, Varsity Blue believes MSU has a turnover problem, citing the OSU game as evidence. Yet he completely forgets that MSU had a +10 turnover differential before that game, and that turnovers greatly aided the Iowa and Northwestern victories. Two words for ya buddy: statistical and outlier.

Northwestern 34, Indiana 13
Northwestern continues its march for a bowl game below the Mason-Dixon line. Its fan goes wild.

Illinois 24, Wisconsin 10
After this game, Bo Ryan makes his play to be the first football/basketball coach of this era. Expect to see a bunch of fundamentallly-sound white guys go up and down the field at a plodding pace. In other words, nothing will change.

Minnesota 41, Purdue 20
Purdue fans continue to count the days until Tiller makes his exit.

Ohio State 31, Penn State 27
Penn State remembers that they haven't played anyone with a pulse on the road this season. The Spread HD's flaws are spotlighted, and JayPa is sent to his bedroom without dinner.

On the MSU-UM Rivalry: an Admission, a Realization, and a Continuation.

2008-10-23T14:53:00.003-04:00

I'll admit it - I grew up a Wolverine fan.

My dad's buddies all went to MSU. My father, feeling the need to play the role of spoiler in their get-togethers, started to cheer for UM. Like his love for all of Detroit's pro teams (and that's not a reference to Ed Martin, unless you want it to be. Which I do.), that love spread to me, and I saw soon cheering for Desmond Howard, Tim Biakabatuka, the ~~Fab Five~~, and the like. I became less of a college football fan in high school, when every weekend brought a new cross country invitational to attend, and thus my love for the college game waned. However, my fandom of Michigan did not, and when my ACT score came in the mail the summer before my senior year, I knew the application process would be all but a formality. I filled out the application and sent it in, along with Michigan State's, because I wanted to cover all the bases in case the Ann Arbor one fell through (make all the safety school cracks here you want Wolverines, it may be your only chance).

My visit to Ann Arbor that November of my senior year was what I expected. The sky was gloomy, I viewed all the buildings, went inside a few, had lunch at Zingerman's with my Dad, and then headed home. A few weeks later, I received my acceptance letter for Michigan, and for some reason...I didn't turn it in immediately. I'm still not sure why to this day. I'm not implying this story is going to take a supernatural turn, I attribute my tardiness more to the laziness that creeps into a high school senior's life exponentially during the year.

In February, I received an invitation from MSU to attend the Alumni Distinguished Scholarship competition. I accepted, mainly for the fact that I wanted a day off from school (once again, laziness creeping up on me). My parents drove me down to East Lansing and dropped me off at the Kellogg center to check in while they gallivanted around the Capital area for a day and a night. The first course of action was a bus tour of campus, and I was immediately struck by its beauty. The dorms of North Circle had a gothic charm like nothing I'd ever seen, and there were trees everywhere. During the evening, all the invitees were free to talk amongst themselves, and I found the people were just as amazing as the campus - funny, laid-back, and all-around awesome. I woke up in the morning, took the strangest test I'd ever taken in my life (if you've ever taken a test that includes Calculus, Greek and Roman Architecture, Literature Intrepretation and Biology on a single test, let me know), and headed for home. The main thought running through my head was this: "I had a great time at MSU, it's just too bad I won't be going there."

Fast forward a month and a half later. I had done so well in the competition that I had a full tuition scholarship offer to MSU. I thought about the experiences I had with all the people, the beauty of the campus, and the opportunities there...and I decided to attend MSU. I realized that, yes, U of M had the greater academic reputation, but I felt I would be happiest at MSU, and since my future plans at that point in time were to enter medical school, I felt that where I attended school for my undergraduate studies had little credence compared to my academic results. I also wanted to go to a school where I could see my classmates as people who would help me in my studies, rather than attend a school with mostly overachievers, hellbent on going to the best graduate school or landing the best job at the expense of their classmates. That was my impression about some Michigan students at the time, and I know that's not true for all students there, I didn't want to be in that type of environment for four years.

I instantly became a Spartan fan. I became well-versed in comebacks (both made by and on the Spartans) in football. I was delirious at State's Elite Eight run in 2003, overjoyed at the 2005 Final Four Run, and despondent in early defeats in '04 and 06. The Wolverine fans were always there, laughing in our faces at our football defeats, ignoring their basketball team like a caged inbred child in the basement, chiding Tom Izzo for not winning a Big Ten title while going to a Final Four, and, above all, personifying arrogance at every turn, with most of them countering every loss this year with a reference to the teams of the past, or cautioning us about how good they'll be in the future, thanks to their coach.

Which brings us to this Saturday. The gap between Michigan State and Michigan's football teams in a season has never been so heavily tilted for the Green and White. Michigan is becoming intimate with all facets of the term "rebuilding year", while Michigan State is trying to shake off the reputation of collapses that has plagued them in the past. All the while, Michigan fans have pointed to the past six games of this rivalry, a distraction meant to take their minds off the skidmark of a record they have right now. During this lashing I, as an MSU fan, have been quiet, mainly because this rivalry has been one sided for the past six years. They're pointing to history as the reason why they'll win this game, mainly because all the other reasons (you know, the one that involve play on the field) lack merit. While they're pointing to all the past seasons as cases in point of collapse, I'm pointing to the Purdue and Penn State games of last year and cultivating that seed of hope.

As for the game itself: It seems like some blogs are pointing to the Cal and OSU games as cases where Ringer was stopped, and wins resulted. The reason why Ringer was stopped was because the game plan had to change, as MSU was trailing big in both of those games at one point. What's the possibility UM scores enough points to force that strategy? I'm guessing small. MSU wins the turnover battle, runs the same old gameplan, and wins in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State 27, Michigan 13.

Big Ten Round Table, Week Nine

2008-10-21T12:14:00.004-04:00

This week's Big Ten Round Table is brought to Nittany White Out.

1. We're approaching week 9 now, are you pleasantly surprised or
already waiting for basketball season?

Can't I be both? I am very excited that the Spartans are 6-2, but that loss against OSU is the type of loss that usually sends MSU into its much proclaimed season-ending slide. That said, I don't think it'll happen this year, I believe that the next three games are all winnable (@ Michigan, Wisconsin, Purdue, tell me you don't see at least two wins in there) before the death march to Happy Valley to end the season. As for basketball, I cannot wait until the November 16th Idaho game to start the season. Even though Neitzel isn't around anymore, Kalin Lucas is a more than capable point, and a front court of Suton, Morgan, Gray and Roe is one I'm anticipating to see on the court. In short, I like the football season so far, but c'mon, I'm an MSU blogger, I'll always be waiting around for Basketball to start.

2. Describe one specific play from this season you would alter for a
different outcome if you had the chance to.

The play just happened last week, in the 1st quarter of the OSU game. Keshawn Martin had just caught a screen from Hoyer, passed the first down marker, and promptly got hit by an OSU player. Martin fumbles, another Buckeye picks up the ball and returns it deep into MSU territory. This is when I started to get a feeling that luck wasn't on the Spartans' side, and if I could change it, I'd have Martin bust through for a TD, tying the score at seven, and staving off OSU momentum for at least a little longer.

3. How could it (#2) possibly impact the way your season is going?

Seeing as how I'm talking about MSU, if this were the past, it's completely in the realm of possibilty that the Spartans could lose all their games from here on out, going 6-6. However, if one saw the Purdue and Penn State games from last year, previous results exist that state that MSU won't throw the season in the crapper just because a few bad breaks hit. The play could start a tailspin, I'm betting that it won't.

4. Big Ten player you just can't stand, why?

I'm going to go to basketball for this one, and I'll say it's Purdue guard/forward/catchall Robbie Hummel. This feeling is more out of respect than anything else; he has little effect the whole game, and when the late second half rolls around, he starts making threes, getting every defensive rebound, and getting to the foul line. If Marquise Gray ate him (assuming there's enough meat on his bones to constitute a full meal), I'd be a happy man.

5. Boo'ing your own team (we've seen quite a lot of this across the Big Ten this season), your feelings on this.

The only time this could possibly be considered kosher is if the team is visibly dogging it on the field. Don't give me that tired "We're booing the coaches" line, do you possibly think anyone can possibly know that (Unless, of course, said coach decides to take the ball first in OT. Then you may flame away.)? These are college kids we're talking about here, they've got class obligations on top of football. They're not professionals, so cut them some slack if they screw up. Even if they turn over the ball five times in what was called the biggest game in a decade. I'll cry over here now.

BONUS ROUND!!!!!11!!!!!!!

1. Number of beers or alcoholic drinks consumed by week 8 (or a good estimate).

This probably will still be a bad estimate. But let's see...5 tailgates + 1 wedding attended as groomsman + currently in MSU with tough major...I'm guessing it's over 100, and 125 would be a better guess. It sounds like a lot, but that averages to about two drinks a day (Ed. note - that number is for the entire College Football season up until today. If we're talking about drinks consumed during week 8, I'd say it's about 20 - 5 during the week before the OSU game, 15 the day of. It sounds like a lot, but keep in mind I got to campus around 9 to tailgate, and went out after.).

2. Most annoying commercial seen this season.

Second place is anything referencing "Frank TV", but first is far and away this one. Warning - will make you want to break your monitor over your knee.

You do the math, I'll do your castration, buddy.

3. Your prediction for the next coaching change in the Big Ten (Joe Tiller exempt)

The easy answer here is JoePa, but I'm betting he goes at least one more year, and I'm also betting someone will get fired midseason in 2009. If I had to guess right now, I'll go out on a limb and say that Bret Bielema gets the pink slip first, if only because Iowa's improving, and the expectations for the Badgers have popped this season, and I don't really see them making a drastic improvement next year.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

2008-10-21T12:04:00.002-04:00

Well, if you're trying to shake off the "Little Brother" moniker, you definitely don't want to ape Big Brother in the Football vs. Hockey = Sharks vs. Jets department, which is exactly what happened around Center Street in East Lansing early Sunday morning. Reports have it that about 15-20 athletes were involved, mostly in Football and Hockey (surprise, surprise). Not a lot of info is known yet; personally, my favorite untruth coming out of this story so far is that (quotation marks for emphasis on frivolous nature of untruth) "Jeff Lerg took down an MSU linebacker". Now, I know that Lerg's tough, but seeing a 5'6" goalie take down a 6'2", 220 lb beast...that's something I'd like to see sometime.

Apparently, this all started over a girl (surprise, surprise, surprise). One side loses, that side brings back a posse, melee ensues. Names have not been named yet, but they'll be out soon enough. Hopefully, the fight didn't involve Trevor Anderson throwing someone off a roof, but that has yet to be seen. Suspensions will be handed out soon, no doubt, but it has yet to be seen whether it'll affect the Michigan game.

All right, glad that's out of the way. Big Ten Round Table coming up.

My feelings on the OSU game

2008-10-19T12:38:00.006-04:00

Yup, that about sums it up. I thought MSU would lose, I just never believed it would be this bad, marking the first time in the Dantonio era has lost a game by more than a touchdown. It's not hyperbole to state that the only phase of the trip the Buckeyes were unsuccessful in was their ability of their fans to pick up ladies at The Landshark Saturday night. The Spartans couldn't force turnovers as they have in the past this season, they turned the ball over unusually, and gave Terrelle Pryor yet another defining moment on his ascent to the throne as King of Columbus. As if that wasn't enough, MSU now has a burgeoning QB controversy on its hands, as Kirk Cousins did quite well (18-25, 161 yards, 1 TD). The only saving grace about this game was that it was a "guillotine" kind of loss - the end comes quickly, so that you have no time to think, process the defeat or feel pain, your head just lies detached from its body, blinking until you can't blink no more.

Whatever, it's on to Michigan for HATE WEEK. If you think that MSU won't get up for a team that has beat them the last six times, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you. Lastly, on a more cheerful note, Midnight Madness was Friday, and if this image doesn't make your heart smile with glee, I feel sorry for your black, joyless soul.

Big Ten Picks, Week Eight

2008-10-17T18:36:00.004-04:00

In brief, mainly because I just got back from Chicago...

Ohio State 13, Michigan State 7
I answered some questions about this game for The Only Game that Matters. In brief, I believe in game between two very similar teams, give the edge to the side with the best unit. In this game, it's OSU's defense. I do hope I'm wrong on this one.

Northwestern 27, Purdue 14
Good news for you Boilermaker fans - Purdue will score a couple of touchdowns this week! The bad news - C.J. Bacher keeps the ball in the hands of the purple and scores more.

Iowa 20, Wisconsin 13
Don't let the record fool you, Iowa is a very good team that suffered a few brain farts that caused the three losses. As for the Wisconsin fans, if you haven't started drinking yourself death by now, Saturday around 3ish might be a good time to start.

Illinois 42, Indiana 28
Illinois gets its frustrations out the only way how - by scoring bunches of points while allowing them. Indiana, meanwhile, continues to stay in the two-pony race for worst team in the Big Ten.

Penn State 42, Michigan 7

Uh...it's going to go down like this:

What Was Your Best Day as a Spartan? With much thanks to Spartans Weblog

2008-10-14T23:23:00.006-04:00

Stolen shamelessly from Spartans Weblog's post about the same topic. If you've got a favorite memory about the Spartans (if you're reading this blog, you most likely do), go over there and post it in the comments section, and feel free to post it here as well. However, if you post it at Spartans Weblog, you'll be in the running to win a copy of College Basketball Prospectus for this season. And free things are always awesome, unless they cause cold sores.

There’s no doubt about my best day as a Spartan; it was the day of the Elite Eight MSU-Kentucky game. I remember yelling at the refs, telling them that Pat Sparks’ foot was on the line as he shot the three at the end of the regulation. I remember cheering as Abezuike (spelling?) was late on his shot at the end of OT. I remember holding my breath as Alan Anderson shot his free throws towards the end of the second OT to seal the Final Four.

Most of all, my favorite moment is running down Oakhill into downtown EL. I was in a mass of people screaming “FINAL FOUR! FINAL FOUR!” at the top of my lungs at the corner of Charles and Albert. There must of been at least hundreds of students on Albert, screaming GO GREEN! GO WHITE! chants at the top of their lungs from one side of the street to the other. I walked down to Cedar Village, there were just as many people there cheering. Exchange students were calling back home, trying to explain what was going on. Most of all though, the crowd as a whole did not misbehave. Tear gas didn’t need to be shot into the masses. Sure, the loss against North Carolina six days after hurt, but nothing could take away from the sheer exuberance in East Lansing that day. That, more so than my first day on campus, and even more so than my graduation, was my favorite day as a Spartan, because for one day, we weren’t 44,000 students with over 100 majors. We were all Spartans, one, high-fiving and patting each other on the back as we celebrated a victory few thought we could achieve.

Week 7 Big Ten Picks

2008-10-10T09:41:00.003-04:00

If you're looking for an in depth preview, the Enlightened Spartan has a good one on his site here. As for me, here are my Big Ten picks in brief.

Michigan State 26, Northwestern 17

If you're like me and will be at the game in Evanston this weekend, drink everytime you hear a Wildcat fan say this: "We're going to stop Ringer and let Hoyer beat us." First off, I think Ringer's going to have a game like he did in Bloomington - decent YPC with about 30-35 carries and a run over 30 yards somewhere in there. As for Hoyer, if you're going to go single cover the wide receivers, expect three of his passes in the game to go for more than 20 yards. His throws deep are underrated. Northwestern's been good at capitalizing on teams' mistakes this season. Michigan State doesn't make enough for the Wildcats to win.

Iowa 20, Indiana 10

This Hawkeye team is much better than its 3-3 record indicates. Their problem? A propensity for shooting themselves in the foot, as they turned the ball over four times within the MSU 30 yard line last week, be it on downs, fumbles, or interceptions. My guess is that if a bad defensive team such as Minnesota can hold the Hoosiers to seven points (and yes, I realize what that says about MSU if they let IU gain 29 points), Iowa should be able to hold them to enough points for the offense to put up the usual 17-24 points. That'll be enough.

Michigan 27, Toledo 7

My guess is that Michigan holds onto the ball more than usual, and only turns it over three times. The Wolverine defense won't be playing Juice Williams this week, so Michigan should win comfortably.

Illinois 38, Minnesota 17

All thoughts of Minnesota's defense having improved will be confirmed this week, as they hold Illinois to under 40 points.

Ohio State 27, Purdue 20

Call me crazy, but I think this game may be close. For all the good he's shown so far, Terrelle Pryor is still a freshman, and that means he's going to have some mediocre performances this season. After a comeback victory in Madison, I'm guessing this game will be one of those times. Also, I can't believe Purdue only put up six points against Penn State in West Lafayette. Their offense is better than six points, and this game will show that opinion. However, the Boilermakers will still lose...but it'll be tight.

Penn State 17, Wisconsin 13

The first crack in the Spread HD appeared last week, as the Nittany Lions put up a "good enough to win" 20 points on the Boilermakers. Now they travel to Wisconsin to face an above average Badger defense. They'll be held to about 14-17 points. However, I believe that with Evridge at the helm, the ceiling for the offense is 13 points at home. That total will fall just short of a victory.

That's it for this week. I'll be down on the O'Malley's West bus trip to be in person for the Northwestern game. Take it easy, and have a good weekend.

What is Big Ten Round Table?

2008-10-09T22:06:00.008-04:00

This week's Round Table, hosted by The Only Game that Matters. This week's Round Table is being done Jeopardy-style (you'll see how it's done in a bit), and as for TOGtM...I would not be surprised at all if they were telling Trebek to put the lotion on his skin in a well in their basement. Anyway, on with the show.

1) Jay Paterno and the Spread HD

Who is Jim Carrey? Much like Carrey's career, Jay and the HD were once thought to be a joke, but through a few legitimate performances (vs. Oregon State, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), are now taken seriously. Of course, chances to fall remain (evidence in favor: lackluster performance against Purdue, The Number 23).

2) Joe Tiller's Mustache

Where is Mr. Belvedere? The Wilford Brimley comparison is worn out. If you add some color to Tiller's mustache, it looks verrry similar to one carried around by a famous butler.

The evidence is damning: Joe Tiller, guilty of Grand Theft 'Stache, and kidnapping Purdue's offense from last year.

3) The Color Purple

What is, for the first time ever, the color that will fill up more than half the seats at Ryan Field next week? (Cue outraged "NO ONE EVER RESPECTS NORTHWESTERN!" from Lake the Posts in 3...2...1...just kidding. Seriously, if you need a primer on Northwestern football, go to Lake the Posts now. It's all good stuff.)

4) Brains

What is the missing ingredient from the Hawkeyes? They outgunned MSU at the line of scrimmage on both ends last week, but turnovers and a couple of unfortunate 4th down calls flushed a win down the drain. Also, Big Ten Blogger by-laws state that whenever brains are mentioned, a picture of JoePa must be shown:

5) Hawkeye State

Where is the place that manufactures Hawkeye vodka? Hawkeye vodka is the #1 vodka on my "liquors to taste" list, mainly to take in its poor quality. Will it be worse than Crystal Palace? Will I go blind? I don't know, but I'll have fun getting there.

6) Rudy

Who has gotten more mileage out of one sack than anyone in history? Many stories of walk-ons are worthy of mention. Take for instance, a Spartan who walked onto the football team, played his way into a scholarship, and graduated with a 4.0 average in Kinesology with his Masters (not University of Michigan Kinesology, this degree's legitimate). This man's name? Cole Malatinsky. Scholarship, hard work, and kicking ass...now that's a story.

Do not look into his eyes. You will get pregnant.

7) Knee Ligaments

What are things that if you're going to tear, tear awesomely? In other words, don't break them like this kid did:

8) Terrelle Pryor

What is the reason I'm happy MSU doesn't play Ohio State for the next two years after this year? If he can lead the Buckeyes to a win by orchestrating a drive in the 4th quarter - IN WISCONSIN, NO LESS -it's scary to think how good he'll be in a year.

9) Mark May

Who is the biggest benefactor of the "Ugly Friend" effect? You know the theory - all sets of girls have one ugly friend that makes the others look better by comparison. Who is Mark May's ugly friend? You guessed it...

10) Rich Rodriguez

Who will be the #1 selling effigy in Ann Arbor after a 5-7 season for the Wolverines? If they go to a bowl this season, they will overachieve. The best news about that is the fans will save on gas by going to Detroit for their bowl game.

Big Ten picks tomorrow? I'm leaving early for Chicago tomorrow, for this Saturday I'll be on the O'Malley's West bus trip for the Northwestern game. Hopefully, some of you'll be out there.

Iowa - The Aftermath

2008-10-05T10:06:00.006-04:00

Sitting in the north end zone section late in the 4th quarter, watching the Hawkeyes come closer to scoring a touchdown to take the lead, one thought kept echoing through my head:

"Dear God, it's going to happen again."

"It", being of course, a punch in the gut where MSU lets a lead slip away in the last moments, usually in the most heartbreaking way possible (C.J. Bacher throwing eleventy million touchdown passes, Chad Henne remembering he has deep threats on the field, etc.). When 4th and 1 came around at the MSU 21, I thought that the Hawkeyes would kick a field goal, have it split the uprights, and have the game go into overtime.

I was wrong.

The offense stayed on the field, and after Iowa used its final timeout, I thought that it was going to be a play action toss. Stanzi would find a wide open 3rd string tight end for a touchdown, giving the Hawkeyes the lead immediately, and that the Spartans would go four and out soon thereafter.

I was wrong.

The play was a handoff to Shonn Greene, who had torn through the MSU front seven all game. However, instead of going up the middle for the one yard needed, he ran off-tackle. As I saw Adam Decker hit Greene in the backfield, I was nearly certain that Greene would shed the tackle, gain ten yards and obtain the first down.

I was wrong.

Decker forced Greene to the ground. Iowa turned the ball over on downs, and after a couple of Ringer runs and a harrowing quarterback sneak where Hoyer fumbled the ball, Michigan State won the game. As I was leaving Spartan Stadium, I reflected back on how I felt ten minutes earlier, when I was sure MSU would surrender the victory.

I was really wrong. And it never felt better.

More notes on the game:

I don't think Iowa made a bad call by choosing to run on 4th down for their final play, and the Iowa fans I talked to in the bar after the game agreed with that sentiment. One can certainly criticize the execution of the run (Off-Tackle? Seriously? After Shonn Greene gashed MSU up the gut all day), but the core decision was sound.
Brian Hoyer looks like he needs to get out of his head a bit. He had a very good first half, followed by a mediocre second half in which he nearly let the Hawkeyes back in the game late.
Javon Ringer looked human. That's OK, a lot of running backs will against Iowa's defensive line. As for the offensive line, just because the running game generates a lot of yards and the quarterback gets sacked very few times makes a great offensive line. I think MSU has a good defensive line, but I don't think they're tops in the Big Ten good.
Dropped passes - yikes. Cunningham and Dell eached dropped one in the end zone. On the plus side, Charlie Gantt has progressed by leaps and bounds this season, and continued this pattern in yesterday's game.
The defensive line played great against the pass, pressuring Stanzi many times. Special credit goes to Trevor Anderson, who had 2.5 sacks in the game.
The cornerbacks could still use a bit of work. A few times I saw a CB slip, allowing a Hawkeye receiver to catch the ball unimpeded.
A lot of Spartans got banged up yesterday: Dell, Wiley, C.L. Rucker, and Gantt off the top of my head. Hopefully they'll be healthy for Northwestern.

As for the rest of the Big Ten, some brief impressions:

Penn State had their first sub-par performance I felt, as I was sure the offense would've put up at least 40. The defense did its job, and even though the Nittany Lions do have an above average offense, I still can't believe the Purdue offense has been this ineffective this year.
Minnesota Golden Gophers - 5-1. On top of that statement, they won the Indiana game with their defense. Let those words sink in a bit. I think they have to get to 7-5 to be bowl-eligible this year in the Big Ten, and with them getting Northwestern, Michigan and Iowa at home, it's not outside the realm of possibility. As for Indiana, I think they'll be lucky if they win another game all year. Well Hoosier fan, there's always basketball seas...How many scholarship players will they have? If I were you, I'd cryogenically freeze myself until this school year is over.
Let's see: a team from Michigan followed up an emotional upset victory by playing flat, making mistakes, and getting dominated (albeit by a superior team)? Well, that's typical MSU- wait, it was the Wolverines? Huh. Anyway, I also believe that Juice Williams isn't the best passer in the conference, but he is the best quarterback, if that makes any sense.
Terrelle Pryor is wasting no time in cementing his mythic status. The number of quarterbacks that can lead a game-winning drive in one of the three toughest places to play in the Big Ten (Wisky, PSU, OSU) is small, the number of freshmen QBs who can do it is fewer yet. As for Wisconsin - the wins will start coming. And let's face it Wisconsin fan, you reserve those tickets for the Outback Bowl in July every year. I'd fully advise you to hang onto those.

I'll be back to a more regular posting schedule this week, last week was a gauntlet of tests, interviews and career fairs.

Busy Busy Busy...Brief Big 10 picks

2008-10-02T10:39:00.003-04:00

Sorry y'all, Career fair and other tests and quizzes got in the way of posting this week. Indiana preview will hopefully be up tomorrow. As for now, here are my Big Ten picks for this week:

Michigan State over Iowa
Minnesota over Indiana
Illinois over Michigan
Penn State over Purdue
Ohio State over Wisconsin

Indiana - The Aftermath, and the rest of the Big Ten

2008-09-28T10:37:00.002-04:00

It was messy, it was nerve-rattling, it was scary, but in the end...it was a win, and that's all one can ask.

ALL YOUR SPITOONS BELONG TO US. (Photo by Rashaun Rucker, Detroit Free Press)

My thoughts:

Indiana did a good job for the most part restraining Ringer, but once again, he broke his biggest runs in the 4th quarter. I'm going to quit asking how the increased work load is going to affect him down the line this year, as it hasn't seemed to affect him yet. I'm more worried about the OL whiffing on blocks and allowing linebackers to tackle him unfettered.
On that note, though, would it kill the staff to get Andre Anderson more time at tailback? I know he's small, so blocking for passes may be an issue, but he's looked good every time I've seen him.
Hoyer did what he had to today: Make a few big plays, not turn the ball over (although he came real close a couple times), and run the offense efficiently to the tune of 40 points (not counting the safety). I don't understand why others are complaining. I sincerely believe there are some portions of the MSU fan base that won't be happy unless Hoyer completes all his passes in a game, run for three touchdowns in said game, and rides a unicorn into the sunset.
Brett Swenson: money. There's nothing else to say, he nailed all the field goals today, three of them from 45 yards and out. The best performance I've seen by a Spartan kicker in a long time.
Aaron Bates: not as money as Swenson, but still money. He was athletic enough to cover the blocked punt to stop the Hoosiers from getting five more points, and his punt to the IU 1 set up the MSU safety. He shanked a 29-yarder in the game as well, but for the most part, he was effective.
The defense...meh. On one hand, the big plays. Oh, the big plays. There were a couple times when Marcus Thigpen ran unobstructed into the end zone, a failure on both the linebackers and the safeties' part. On the other hand, they came up with turnovers when they needed them, with interceptions by Ross Weaver and Danny Fortener setting up scores, and Rucker's forced fumble sealed the game. I'll be nervous if this continues, but I'll give them a mulligan this week.
Otis Wiley...hey, we all have bad days, and Otis had one yesterday. His whiff on Thigpen gave up a touchdown, and he muffed two punts. He atoned in part for these mistakes by recovering a fumble late in the 4th, but overall, not the best of days for him.
The defensive line could get a little more pressure, but I'm pleased with their performance. Trevor Anderson had a sack, and it's hard to get hits and sacks when the opposing QB keeps running out of a three-step drop.

Michigan State, despite the flaws, goes to 4-1 in the Big Ten, and gets a 3-2 Iowa team for homecoming. Despite the starting time for the game (Noon), I'm excited for campus to grow by thrice its size this coming Saturday.

As for the rest of the Big Ten:

Welcome to the real world, Golden Gophers. You made that game look closer than it really was, but in this game, you were the dead frog, and Ohio State was the high school biology student. Consider yourself dissected. In other news, It's become clear that Tressel's going to have Pryor throw just enough to win, which is about 12-15 times a game. In the Big Ten this year, that should be enough to beat everybody but Penn State.
Note to Iowa - any time you turn over the ball five times, you do not deserve to win. Northwestern wins unimpressively again, but they're 5-0, and that's the only stat that matters. Wildcat fans also have to be happy that they've got C.J. Bacher back after he went missing for the first four games. The question I have is this: Is it better to have a bye week and prepare for the MSU game, letting the hype build, or would they be better serve by playing immediately again and keeping their hot streak? We'll see.
Wisconsin - see the note to Iowa, with this addendum - any time you let Steven Threet break a run for over 50 yards you definitely don't deserve to win. The way the Badgers choked that game away gave me flashbacks to the 2004 UM-MSU game. The game also served as a template to how Michigan will win most of their Big Ten games this year: let the defense recover a turnover in good field position to facilitate scoring, and don't let the offense cough up the ball. That said, if the Wolverines allow a team to score more than 24 points on them, they'll be in big trouble.
Purdue - shameful performance allowing Armando Allen to run for more than 100 yards the week after MSU held Notre Dame to 16 yards on the ground. I knew the Boilermaker defense would be mediocre, but having the offense score 14 points? This loss definitely dropped Purdue to the bottom tier of the Big Ten.
It took Derrick Williams a few years to do it, but he finally proved why he was the #1 recruit in the nation. Penn State gave up a decent amount of yards to Illinois, but against that offense, it'll happen. The main point is that the Spread HD (remember when that name used to be mocked a month and a half ago? Good times.) worked to the tune of 31 points. Add in a kickoff return for a TD, and 38 points will be enough to beat most teams. More and more, it's looking like the October 25th game pitting the Nittany Lions against the Buckeyes at The Horseshoe will be the de facto conference title game.

That's it. This week I'll get around to a Big Ten Round Table post and an Iowa preview, but that'll be about it, life is once again wedging its way in time-consuming positions. Have a happy homecoming week, y'all.

MSU-Indiana Live Blog

2008-09-27T11:05:00.066-04:00

Welcome to the MSU-Indiana live blog. The game starts at noon on ESPN, feel free to leave comments.

3:41 - Post-game thoughts will be up tomorrow, after the game digests. As for now, I'm going to cook, study some Physiology, and rest up for a busy week next week. See y'all later, and thanks for hanging out today.

3:40 - Hoyer takes a knee, and it's game over.

FINAL SCORE: MSU 42, IU 29.

3:39 - Indiana uses its last timeout, and Ringer makes it a 3rd and 1. Ringer gets the first, and Hoyer's gonna take a knee.

3:37 - Call stands. Barring something catastrophic from MSU, this game's done.

3;35 - Lewis completes a pass to Belcher, who fumbles it upon the hit from Rucker. Wiley partially atones for a bad day by picking up the fumble, MSU ball. If this call isn't overturned, the game's essentially over.

3:32 - Lewis drops back to pass, then takes off and barely gets the 1st. The next play is a WR screen that gets nothing. The clock continues to run.

3:31 - IU's gotta go for it on 4th down after Kellen Lewis tried to fumble the ball for a 1st down. Not surprisingly, the Hoosiers take a timeout to think about it.

3:26 - Ringer finally gets stuffed on third down, and Swenson trots onto the field for a short field goal. Do you really think he's going to miss? Nope. MSU 42, IU 29.

3:23 - Great run by Ringer for 33, and he hits another run for 5. I think the Spartans have finally worn IU down.

3:20 - MSU runs it on 1st and 2nd down again. This time though, Ringer gets the 1st down. Run that clock, baby.

3:16 - The Hoosiers commit another stupid personal foul, and move back 15 yards. A failed reverse and a false start make it 3rd and 22. Lewis has to essentially throw it away, and IU's punter takes center stage. The punt goes into the end zone, and MSU will get it at the 20.

3:12 - I think MSU needs to rethink this "hand off to Ringer twice, then have Hoyer throw an incomplete pass" offense. Bates has a subpar punt that just barely makes it into IU territory.

3:09 - Trevor Anderson, despite being held, still makes it to Kellen Lewis for the sack, MSU's 1st of the day. Wiley muffs his 2nd punt of the day, but luckily recovers. Otis just hasn't looked like his previous self in this game.

3:03 GAH! Hoyer just barely overthrows a wide open Cunningham for what would've been a TD. For the third down, he rolls out and throws to an out-of-bounds Dell. Swenson comes on for the field goal...and he's good again from 45 yards out. Great game for Swenson so far, he's hit on all three of his field goals, and they've all been from at least 45 yards out. MSU 39, IU 29.

3:00 - Davis overthrows his receiver, who gets a hand on it, and Fortener intercepts the ball, his second of the day. MSU ball at the IU 39.

2:56 - The third quarter ends. If it weren't for a few boneheaded penalties, IU would be leading this game. That said, they're behind, and I will not rest easy until this game is over, the Hoosiers' offense has been too explosive today.

END OF 3RD QUARTER - MSU 36, IU 29

2:54 - Two runs by ringer down the middle and an incomplete pass by Hoyer means it's punting time. Bates punts it to IU, and it's fair caught at the IU 27.

2:50 - A touchdown by IU is called back by a hold in the end zone, which means...safety for MSU. Talk about a turnaround in momentum. The hold's pretty blatant too, as Justin Kershaw was pretty much tackled by the IU lineman. That's a nine point swing, which makes the score: MSU 36, IU 29.

2:48 - Nope. 2nd and down on the 1 inch line. QB sneak makes it a 3rd and 9.

2:46 - It sure looked to me like MSU had a safety there. Let's see if the officials think the same on this review.

2:45 - The drive stalls at midfield, and Bates has a beautiful punt that goes out at IU's 1.

2:40 - Blair White attones for the 1st down he dropped by catching a beautiful pass by Hoyer. 1st down, MSU.

2:35 - Indiana lines up to go for it on 4th and 12 at midfield...and MSU calls a timeout. Was IU trying to feint? Nope, they're going for it...no they're not. Lewis gets off a nice pooch kick, and the ball's at MSU's 12. Good call by IU, The way this game's going, they'll get the ball back soon enough.

2:31 - Another ball thrown right down the middle of the field for a big Indiana game and a first down. This game is starting to look like the MSU-Northwestern game last year - a whole lot of offense by MSU followed up by the defense giving up huge plays for touchdowns.

2:28 - A promising drive is cut short by a false start penalty for MSU. The punt goes into the end zone, and Indiana will have the ball at their 20. Will the Hoosiers be able to keep momentum up without shooting themselves in the foot again?

2:20 - Reason why IU scored: Wiley went for the big hit instead of wrapping up Thigpen, and missed. C'mon Otis, you're better than that.

2:19 - IU uses said timeout to handoff to Thigpen up the middle for a yard. Lewis throws to Thigpen, the safety whiffs on a tackle, and Thigpen's into the end zone again. XP is good. MSU 34, IU 29.

2:17 - Kellen Lewis is back in for IU...and apparently isn't ready to go yet. Timeout, Hoosiers.

2:15 - KJ from Spartans Weblog: "MSU needs to throw more on first down in the second half." Done and done. Also from KJ: "Can anyone here play defense? This might be really ugly if Lewis were still in the game." MSU's definitely shot themeselves in the foot with pass intereference penalties and that breakdown on the Thigpen TD. That said though, I don't expect IU's current QB to keep completing those 5-10 yard passes. Boleski kicks another touchback.

2:12 - The pass is complete, 1st down MSU at the 1! Ringer goes in ...and the penalty's not a hold! TD MSU! XP is good, and the Spartans couldn't have asked for a better start to the second half. MSU 34, IU 22.

2:10 - Ringer starts off the 2nd half hot with a 14 yard run. Hoyer makes a great play to Cunningham for a 1st and goal at the 1...or does he? The pass is called incomplete, and is under review.

2:09 - Indiana starts off the 2nd half by going three and out, thanks to a good pass breakup by Weaver. Wiley returns the punt to the 50.

1:44 - The squib kick is recovered at the MSU 35. A handoff to Ringer will end the half. Hoyer, besides those balls that were nearly intercepted, has looked great so far. The defense is getting picked apart, but besides that last run by Thigpen, has looked solid on the ground. I hope that MSU can continue to wear down the Hoosier DL so Ringer can break a few in the second half.

HALFTIME - MSU 27, IU 22

1:40 - Just as the defense looked like they were about to create some momentum, Marcus Thigpen runs down the middle of the field untouched for a 78-yard TD. Indiana calls a timeout to go for two...and it's intercepted by Fortener. Indiana's QB makes a two point saving tackle. MSU 27, IU 22.

1:34 - TOUCHDOWN! Hoyer finds a wide open Charlie Gantt around midfield, and Gantt runs through the secondary for an 82 yard score. Pretty amazing feat for a tight end. XP is good. MSU 27, IU 16.

1:32 - Two short runs and an incomplete means IU has a three and out. The punt's away, which is muffed by Wiley, and he has to cover the ball at the MSU 16.

1:27 - The punt's blocked. Luckily, Bates has the athleticism to cover the punt to turn a TD into a safety. MSU 20, IU 16.

1:26 - White misstimes his jump, and drops a sure 1st down. MSU to punt.

1:17 - Yet another pass interference penalty leads to a 1st and Goal, in which Marcus Thigpen runs up the middle untouched for the TD. MSU 20, IU 14.

1:13 - IU wants a timeout to think about a 3rd and 1. Meanwhile, Kellen Lewis is headed to the locker room. I give a 75% chance he won't be back for this game.

1:05 - Hoyer finds a WIDE OPEN (caps for emphasis) Mark Dell in the corner of the end zone. Touchdown MSU, XP is good. MSU 20, IU 7.

1:03 - The screens have been working well for the Spartans today. Ringer for 14 and a first down, and after that, Cunningham for 8 and another 1st down.

1:00 - After getting stuffed on 1st down, the Javon Ringer we know and love makes at least three defenders miss, and gains 23. 1st down, MSU. Add on a pass intereference call on the defense, and MSU's at midfield.

12:58 - Indiana on 3rd and 11 inexplicably calls a draw when the pass game's been working all day. 4th and 8...and they punt on the 36, netting a massive 16 yards of field position. Memo to IU: you have Austin Starr, he can easily make a 53 yard FG. MSU ball.

12:49 - On 1st down, an IU receiver drops a soft throw. A short run up the middle on second down closes out the quarter. Indiana is offically on tilt.

END OF 1ST QUARTER - MSU 13, IU 7

12:46 - Hoyer sneaks it in on 2nd down, Touchdown MSU! Swenson's XP is good. Why are you booing, IU? Three stupid, stupid penalties by your team set this all in motion. MSU 13, IU 7.

12:44 - Interception! The pass is initally broken up, floats in the air, and Ross Weaver returns it to the 10. Add in a late hit out of bounds by IU's QB, no less, and MSU's at the 5. 1st and Goal, MSU.

12:43 - As soon as IU had a good thing going, they kill themselves with two huge penalties. Note to Bill Lynch - don't make a bad thing worse. 2nd and 34, IU.

12:39 - That. was. close. The IU CB drops a sure interception, and Swenson hits from 48. IU 7, MSU 6.

12:35 - MSU gets a false start. Luckily, Ringer rushes for 16 to erase said penalty. As soon as I typed the previous sentence, Hoyer throws a screen to Cunningham for a big gain. Note to Hoyer: just let your receivers do all the work right now. They're talented, they'll get you the passing yards, and it's all you need to do to win this game.

12:29 - Lewis rolls out and finds a wide open Fisher, who runs in untouched. MSU has to defend the short pass better, otherwise they're going to be eaten up by it all game. IU 7, MSU 3.

12:25 - My buddy Paul: "That Beverly Hills Chihuahua commercial better make it into your liveblog." OK, it looks like the best Disney movie since The Lion King V, Rafiki's Revenge. Meanwhile, Indiana is dinking their way down the field with 5-10 yard passes, much like Clausen did in the 3rd quarter of last week's ND game.

12:20 - And, of course, as soon as I say that, he overthrows Martin and nearly gets a pass picked off. Swenson from 45...and it's right down the middle. MSU 3, IU 0.

12:18 - Hoyer's looked good so far with the short passes. Keshawn Martin could be a special WR.

12:16 - 3rd and 2...and Hoyer throws a nice pass to Garrett Celek in the flat for 17. First Down, MSU.

12:12 - Indiana's three plays - tackle by Greg Jones, tackle of Thigpen by Oren Wilson, pass breakup by Danny Fortener. Lovely stuff, that MSU defense. Punt goes into the endzone.

12:09 - Hoyer throws a pass right on Dell's hands...and the ball bounces right off. Michigan State to punt, which is fair caught on the IU 30.

12:07 - Two plays in, and there's a clock stoppage. What do you expect from the state that held out from Daylight Savings Time for so long.

12:03 - Here we go! Indiana's kicking to the Spartans. The kick's off...and Ringer gets to the 25.

12:02 - There's the Old Brass Spitoon, sponsored by Skoal and Kodiak.

12:00 - I would've loved to see the jump in logic 'Bama did to have their mascot be an elephant from Crimson Tide. I'm sure there's a reason somewhere, but I'm not going to spend the time looking for it, because the game's about to start.

11:50 - Chris Fowler - "This is a classic MSU letdown game." Fair enough, but Indiana's secondary is decimated. The only letdown here will be if Hoyer doesn't throw a touchdown. And, of course, Corso just puts MSU on upset alert, and says IU will upset MSU. Poor Lee, he must still think he's coaching in Bloomington.

11:45 - 16 minutes to kickoff. I'm afraid for what the Georgia fans are going to do to Corso if he puts the...uh...hmmmm. How do you represent 'Bama again? Anyway, I think he's going to pick Georgia, mainly because he...AND THEY JUST SHOWED THAT DANG OLIVE GARDEN COMMERCIAL WITH THE "YOU DO THE MATH, I'LL DO THE ALFREDO!" LINE. Breathe...breathe...all right. If I have to see that commercial all day, my laptop's going through the TV.

11:07 - Currently watching GameDay. Poster seen: Knowshon Moreno hurdling Earth, which seems a bit under his talents.

And we're off...Big Ten predictions before Live Blog tomorrow

2008-09-26T15:08:00.003-04:00

Finally, the 1st week of the games that count in the Big Ten. Sorry I couldn't put up a significant MSU preview like I usually do, life got in the way this week. Here we go:

Michigan State vs. Indiana

Man, IU looked bad in that Ball State loss. It's one thing to be the fourth best team in your state, it's another thing all together if that state is Indiana. However, one can never discount a team that has Kellen Davis and Greg Middleton. I fully expect Kellen Davis to have a few big plays in this game, even though MSU's secondary has improved significantly since the Cal game. However, IU's secondary has been brutalized more than MSU's has. The Hoosiers will be without three starters of their secondary. Ringer won't have as many carries as he's had in the previous weeks, simply because Brian Hoyer will feast on the secondary. If there was ever a time for Mark Dell to have a second 200 yard game this season, this is it. Indiana has playmakers on both sides of the ball, but signifcant deficiencies on both offense and defense will doom them.

Michigan State 38, Indiana 17

Northwestern vs. Iowa

Northwestern and Minnesota split for the title of "Most unimpressive 4-0 team in the Big Ten". Northwestern looks like the opposite of the Wildcat team from 2007, because the defense has mainly won games for them this year. C.J. Bacher hasn't looked like the same quarterback he was last year, is this the game he breaks out? Meanwhile, Iowa is coming off a tough loss to Pitt, and seems to have settled on Ricky Stanzi as starting quarterback. If Bacher doesn't come up with a few touchdowns, Northwestern's going to lose this game. I have a feeling he'll try....but Iowa's defensive line will carry the win for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa 24, Northwestern 17

Wisconsin vs. Michigan

Wisconsin holds the Big Ten's best win so far, @ Fresno State. It's been typical Wisconsin football so far - barrel into the defensive line with stout running back and score, or run until single coverage opens up downfield, throw football, score. Michigan's defense will look better this week, mainly because they won't have to defend horrible field position half the time. The Wolverines' offense will also be competent this week. However, competent won't cut it against the Badger defense.

Wisconsin 27, Michigan 16

Minnesota vs. Ohio State

Minnesota will probably claim the title of the Big Ten's most improved team this year, due to their 400% increase in wins to this point. This week, the Golden Gophers will face an opponent with a pulse as they face the Buckeyes. For as much as Minny's win total has improved, the defense has still allowed a lot of yards. Expect game two of the Terrelle Pryor era to be better than game one.

Ohio State 41, Minnesota 20

Purdue vs. Notre Dame

Jimmy Clausen looked like a competent quarterback last week against MSU, especially in the 3rd quarter, when he was completing 5-and-10 yard slants and running Notre Dame right down the field. He'll throw a pick or two (or three) in this game, though, and I expect Purdue to capitalize. Those interceptions will most likely be the difference in the game. As for Purdue, the Boilermaker fans might start to wonder (if they haven't already) if the best player on offense this year isn't Curtis Painter, but Kory Sheets.

Purdue 27, Notre Dame 24

Illinois vs. Penn State

Can Juice Williams and Areelie... Areellld... Benn pull the Illini to victory? It's definitely possible, but Penn State has definitely shown to be the most impressive Big Ten team to this point. Also, that game against Louisiana Lafayette has cast a lot of doubt on UI (seriously, who scores more points on Missouri than a 1-AA team?). This will be the Spread HD's first true test, and it should pass muster. It won't be as impressive as their previous games, but Penn State will decisively win.

Penn State 27, Illinois 13

Coming tomorrow: a live blog of the Indiana game.

Big Ten Round Table, Week 4

2008-09-25T09:32:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Boiled Sports for putting on this week's version of the Round Table.

1. We're all car guys here at BS. So your task is to assign your own program a vehicle. Is Purdue an all-terrain vehicle like a Jeep or a Hummer? Something befitting a brawny Boilermaker? Is Ohio State a slow, conversion van being passed by Corvettes with USC markings? Is IU a John Deere tractor with a hillbilly riding on it? Get creative and let us know both what your school is if it’s a car as well as assigning a vehicle to as many of the other Big Ten schools as you like. (I’d require you to do them all but I know attention spans are short and counting to 11 is hard.)

I was giving thought to what Michigan State would be. Obvioulsly something big and plodding, and then it finally hit me:

That's right. Michigan State is a big ol' cement truck. The cement truck's main function is to get the cement to its destination by ground, just like how MSU's offensive M.O. is to have Ringer barrel head first into the defensive line until they finally give. But you say, shouldn't MSU be a bulldozer? No, because a bulldozer is one-dimensional: see target structure, knock down target structure. At least that's what the game Blast Corps taught me.

Blast Corps: teaching you how to save the town from nuclear annihilation, one destructive act at a time.

Anyway, back to the cement truck metaphor. Once the ground game is established/cement truck reaches its destination, the secondary function takes over. The cement, which has been spinning idly in the truck, pours out, and in MSU's case, Brian Hoyer throws a deep ball. Even though Hoyer may complete that ball only a third of the time, the defense now has to stay honest, clearing the way for the running attack to continue, or the cement truck to get to its destination.

2. In Week 1 in the NFL, the New England Patriots learned how precious things can be when Tom Brady had his knee blown out by a former Boilermaker. Let’s say your team wins out from here to the end and is in a BCS bowl game with a chance to do the school and conference proud – what ONE player on your squad would you most likely cry about having his knee blown out in the first quarter? That is, who is truly indispensable?

It's Ringer, and I think everybody knows why by now. Instead of dwelling on that point, I'll tell you who I think is second most indispensable. I'd say strong safety Otis Wiley has returned to his 2006 form, but he's better than that. He leads the Big Ten with four interceptions, and has been all over the field so far this year. His interceptions against Cal helped keep MSU in the game, and he had a critical pick against Notre Dame which set up the first MSU touchdown. He's the most dynamic playmaker on the MSU defense, and if he goes down, there's nobody really suitable at safety to replace him currently.

3) Purdue plays Notre Dame this week and, well, we detest Notre Dame like probably no other program. Let’s say I have the power to force you (maybe you lost a bet to me) to wear another Big Ten school’s colors to an away game for that team. That is, you’re wearing OSU colors to a game being played at Michigan, or something like that. And I’m talking, dorky, head-to-toe… goofy-ass sweatshirts and flat-brimmed, ridiculous-looking hats. If you have to choose, which program would you be able to stomach wearing? (Remember, you’re going to an away game, so people won’t like you and accept you and you’ll be taking this abuse for a school you’re not even affiliated with.) And by the same token, what program could you absolutely not EVER stomach wearing, under any circumstances?

If I'm going to make a complete ass of myself and wear another team's colors, I'm at least going to do it wearing a team that I respect, and that'd be Illinois. I've respected them ever since they used to be the only team MSU could beat on a consistent basis; that ship has sailed though. I still have respect for them when they rooted on MSU at the 2005 Final Four. Plus, out of all the fans I've met out of the Big Ten, I definitely believe that the Illini most closely approximate MSU - I don't have any info to back that up, it's just a vibe I got. As for colors I would never wear, let's just let this picture do all the talking:

Take it easy there - you've got to spread your disappointment over a whole Big Ten schedule. You don't want to blow your wad on Wisconsin.

4) I like big butts and I can not lie. Share your embarrassing guilty pleasure music selection that you know other people might laugh at. Bonus points if you can send a YouTube video of an awful music video with it. Many/most of us grew up and/or went to college in the ‘80s and ‘90s so I know you’ve all got some Nelson After The Rain on the iPod.

I've spent the last decade in either high school or college, so I've got a couple. The one that's stayed with me is "Escape" by Enrique Iglesias. The music video isn't embarrassing enough, so I had to dig deep into the YouTubes and find the song set to a Titanic montage.

You know it's good because OceanHeartsx gave it 5 starts.

Life Getting in the Way...

2008-09-22T08:53:00.003-04:00

Assignments, Homework, Laundry, blah blah blah. I'll have a post up about the ND game later today. As for now, let's see how the Notre Dame blogs are taking the loss:

Blue-Gray Sky has a well-reasoned rundown.

Her Loyal Sons attempts to calm the Notre Dame fanbase.

Three Guys in a Basement tries to cope with the fact that Notre Dame had no rushing attack.

My thoughts a bit later. For now, enjoy this picture of Hispanic Sparty:

The Notre Dame Preview, in which the Author Attempts Not to Make a Fat Joke

2008-09-17T18:42:00.008-04:00

Alright, can we all agree on something? The "Charile Weis is Fat" thing is just like Buck Nasty's suit: bombed out and depleted. Besides, he's only the second biggest thing present whenever he enters a room, next to his ego (rimshot). Without further ado, here is the preview for the MSU-ND game (3:30, ABC).

OVERVIEW OF THE GOLDEN DOMERS

They've gone 2-0 so far this year, with a thoroughly unimpressive victory against San Diego State and a win that was gift-wrapped to them by Michigan. It goes without saying that they've looked thoroughly uninspired at times, but they don't have a loss on their record yet, and in the end, that's all one can ask for.

NOTRE DAME RUSHING vs. MSU RUSH DEFENSE

The Fighting Irish rush offense has been less than great this season, averaging 3.1 YPC against San Diego State, and improved last week against Michigan, when they averaged 3.3 YPC. The two main running backs for Notre Dame are Armando Allen and Robert Hughes. Hughes has been the main back of late; he's rushed for 133 yards on 36 carries (3.7 YPC) for two touchdowns. Armando Allen had some playing time against San Diego State, but only had two carries for four yards against Michigan. As for the MSU run defense, they've been middle of the road so far, ranking 69th in 1-A, allowing an average of 137 yards per game. Keep in mind, however, that most of that yardage was gained due to California eviscerating the defensive line. The Spartans may be average run stoppers so far, but average will be enough to gain an edge against Notre Dame's still improving line.

Advantage: MSU (Slight to Moderate)

NOTRE DAME PASSING vs. MSU PASS DEFENSE

Jimmy Clausen is probably the third best quarterback Michigan State has faced thus far. That statement's not necessarily a knock on Clausen, it's a statement to the quality of Kevin Riley and Rusty Smith (albeit he was playing in conditions that had this blogger start gathering the materials for an ark). Nevertheless, Clausen does look improved from last year, as he's completed just under 60% of his passes for five touchdowns. Unfortunately, he's been intercepted four times as well, and it's never good when your QB is being intercepted once on every 13.75 pass attempts. Clausen appears to have a burgeoning deep threat in Golden Tate; he's caught 10 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns this year, with a long of 60 yards. Michigan State's pass defense ranks 34th in 1-A, but to do due diligence, that number is probably buoyed by the abysmal conditions for passing last week. The corners made a couple of good plays last week, and it'll be interesting if the MSU front seven can sack Clausen for the first time this year. I think Notre Dame will have to pass a lot due to a lack of a consistent running game, and I believe the Irish will have some success.

Advantage: Notre Dame (slight to moderate)

MSU RUSHING vs. NOTRE DAME RUSH DEFENSE

Javon Ringer played himself onto the Heimsan watch list last week with his 282 yard, 2 touchdown performance against FAU. His YPC hasn't been as high this year as in previous ones, but he still has a 4.8 YPC, with 498 rushing yards and an NCAA high nine touchdowns. MSU is still trying to decide on a backup; as of now the role is split three ways between junior A.J. Jimmerson and redshirt freshmen Andre Anderson and Ashton Leggett. Hopefully one will seize the role before Ringer is run into the ground. As for Notre Dame's run defense, they rank 52nd in 1-A with an average of 115 yards allowed. However, they gave up over 100 yards to Sam McGuffie last week. This'll be the most lopsided advantage of the game, and it's going to go in MSU's favor.

Advantage: MSU (quite large)

MSU PASSING vs. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE

Since the Cal game, Brian Hoyer has taken a back seat to the run game, throwing only 12 passes against EMU and 15 passes against FAU (he probably would've had more pass attempts if it weren't for the monsoon). He did what he needed to against Notre Dame last year, on one hand he completed less than 50% of his passes in that game, but on the other hand, he threw four touchdowns. He'll probably attempt around 25 passes this game, and most likely complete 15 of them, mainly to Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham (assuming he's 100%). Also be on the lookout for Deon Curry, he finally broke the two deep on the depth chart this week, which also brings us to the drinking game for this battle: every time you hear the announcer say that Deon Curry's the son of Pistons head coach Michael Curry (it's the new "Matt Trannon plays football/basketball" or "Drew Neitzel is ambidextrous"), take a drink. You'll be in the ER by halftime. As for the Notre Dame pass defense, they rank 41st in the nation currently, but let's look at who've they played: San Diego State and Michigan. Will they maintain their standing? Probably not, but I'm also not expecting the Spartans to throw enough to cause a huge plummet in that ranking.

Edge: MSU (moderate)

COACHING

All I'll say about this matchup is this: last year, one of these coaches turned a sub-.500 team into a mid-level bowl team. The other coach turned a BCS-bowl level team into a .250 team. Which one would you rather have?

Edge: MSU (moderate)

FINAL THOUGHTS AND PREDICTION

Expect to see a lot of this on Saturday:

Ringer will most likely get more than 30 carries again, which will most likely mean he'll go over 150 yards for the game. I don't believe Notre Dame will be able to consistently stop him in their base defense, and if they start to put eight men in the box, I fully expect Hoyer to find Dell or Cunningham down the field for a couple of big plays. Clausen will find Tate for a couple bombs to counter, but he'll still make a couple mistakes, and their running game isn't strong enough to merit eight-in-the-box consideration. Unlike Notre Dame's last game, MSU won't turn over the ball six times, and that'll be enough for a decisive win.

FINAL SCORE: Michigan State 31, Notre Dame 14

Big Ten Round Table - Week 3

2008-09-16T20:26:00.009-04:00

Much thanks to Lake The Posts, the best dang Northwestern blog on the intrawebs, for hosting this week's Round Table.

1)The national media is using the Big Ten Conference as a punching bag in 2008 ranking us somewhere between the Big East and the MAC. Based on Ohio State's no-show, Purdue's "APPLE!!!" and Michigan's debacle, it is redemption week in Big Ten Country. However, several teams have very respectable, yet no-name teams (ie. Troy, Central Michigan, Ball State). Tell us how the Big Ten will respond this week in the final week before conference play.

If last week was the week for the Big Ten to step up and show that it was elite (spoiler alert: it didn't), this week is the week for the Big Ten to prove that it doesn't belong in the dregs. Minnesota will most likely get some measure of vengeance on Florida Atlantic, Penn State and Ohio State should destroy Temple and Ohio respectively. Purdue and CMU meet in a Motor City Bowl rematch. The three biggest games, in no order, will be: Iowa at Pittsburgh (Will Dave Wannstedt get fired in the second half? Can Iowa keep up the momentum against a second straight BCS opponent?), Notre Dame at Michigan State (Can Notre Dame win a game against a BCS team that won't turn the ball over eight times? Will Charlie Weis' leg explode and take out the first three rows?) and Ball State at Indiana (Will Indiana win decisively this time? Why have I not heard big things out of Kellen Davis yet?) The Big Ten is favored in all these games except the Iowa game, in which the Hawkeyes are one point underdogs. Expect the Big Ten to go 7-1 this week with the loss coming in Bloomington or Pittsburgh.

2)The conference standings look like someone took the 2007 results and flipped it upside down. Which of the undefeated teams are contenders and which are pretenders (another way of saying which teams have put lipstick on a pig)? Recalibrate your preseason rankings and tell us who the conference favorites are now.

There are currently six undefeated teams in the Big Ten. Two of these teams are definitely contenders: Penn State (Maybe JayPa wasn't spending all his time blogging for Obama after all) and Wisconsin (have the single most impressive victory of the Big Ten teams at this point, beating Fresno State and the officials). Two of these teams are definitely pretenders: Minnesota (The games against Northern Illinois and Montana State were way too close to call them a contender), and Indiana (The Ball State will tell a lot. I'm guessing it won't be good.) The other two teams, Iowa and Northwestern, could go either way. Iowa has looked impressive getting to 3-0, except for their passing game. If they can't run the ball, can they really trust Christensen or Stanzi to put points on the board? Northwestern might be able to make a run, but that four point win against Duke doesn't sit well with me, even if it was on the road.

3)Javon Ringer has emerged as the early season best-bet Heisman hopeful from the Big Ten. Real deal or non-conference smoke screen? Does anyone from the Big Ten have a prayer for the Heisman, or is it too late?

I would love to be bullish on Ringer here, and give you umpteen reasons on why he will win the Heisman; however, I can't, for three reasons. One, if he keeps averaging 30 carries a game plus kickoff returns, his durability will become an issue again. Second and probably most likely, I don't believe the offensive line can block consistently against the upper tier Big Ten games (see the Cal game for an example of this in action). Third, the Heisman usually goes to a player on a top tier team. MSU will have to finish strong, and their last three games are against Wisconsin, Purdue, and Penn State on the road. If MSU has another 7-5 season, it'll be because Ringer underperformed. From the research I've done, I've found the Heisman trophy tends to be awarded to players who perform. As for anyone else, if Beanie Wells doesn't bounce back immediately, I don't think anyone has a chance. Curtis Painter blew his chance for the most part vs. Oregon, and P.J. Hill isn't scoring the amount of touchdowns one would expect for a Heisman candidate.

4)After three weeks it is time to give your team a new slogan. What is it and why is it what it is?

Michigan State - Smash Mouth Football, but Only When it Works.

For as much ado as their was last year about a return to a ground-based attack (and rightfully so: 580 runs compared to 393 passes last year), those plans seemed to go out the window when Cal started to stifle Ringer. The Spartans passed 48 times that game, compared to 30 rushes. That game marked the first time under Dantonio that MSU passed more then they ran. The EMU and FAU games marked a return to the previous offensive game plan of "run Ringer up their throats until he breaks down or scores", but it makes me wonder what will happen if MSU gets the run consistently stopped again - will they stay committed to the run, or will Hoyer play Five Dollars with his receivers?

5)By now, you've likely adopted a favorite non Big Ten team to watch. Flex your football worldliness by convincing your fellow Big Ten kool-aid drinkers to watch your "other" team.

Texas Tech. You know about Mike Leach's dream of wearing a cutlass, raising the skull and bones, and hitting the high seas. You know about the offense on cocaine. As if that wasn't enough, take a gander at this tidbit from a New York Times article on Leach:

When he learned that a pirate ship was a functional democracy; that pirates disciplined themselves; that, loathed by others, they nevertheless found ways to work together, the pirate ship became a metaphor for his football team. Last year, after a loss to Texas A.&M. in overtime, Leach hauled the team into the conference room on Sunday morning and delivered a three-hour lecture on the history of pirates. Leach read from his favorite pirate history, "Under the Black Flag," by David Cordingly (the passages about homosexuality on pirate ships had been crossed out).

See? You can watch Texas Tech football without fear of having your sexuality threatened. Let's face it, Mike Leach knows we're all one mention of homosexuality away from dissolving a marriage and moving to Fire Island. CAN'T YOU SEE MIKE LEACH IS TRYING TO PROTECT OUR WAY OF LIFE AMERICA!

FAU - The Aftermath

2008-09-15T09:26:00.002-04:00

That was fun. Let's take a look at what stood out:

Javon Ringer had a career day, which typically happens if you carry the ball 43 times. He picked up 283 yards, which means he averaged (283/43....) about 6.6 yards a carry. Welcome back, Javon.
Any criticism of the passing game this week is postponed until next week due to heavy rain.
Ditto any praise for the secondary, due to the aforementioned reason. Wiley is clearly the best part still, and Ross Weaver and Chris L. Rucker did have a few good pass breakups, especially Weaver, whose break-up of a Rusty Smith pass most likely prevented a touchdown in the second quarter.
From what I've heard, B.J. Cunningham will be alright after having his leg twisted underneath him in the 1st half. Yay no injuries.
I know it was wet, but did the ball need to go through Hoyer's hands that many times? Yikes.
With the exception of the one fumbled snap, Aaron Bates did an admirable job, averaging 40 yards per punt in the game.
Brett Swenson was all you could ask for from a kicker - 2-2 on XPs, 1-1 on a field goal from 22 yards out.
Finally, unless you were in the East Lansing/Central to West Michigan area on Saturday, it's hard to convey just how much it rained. Unlike the MSU/ND game in 2006, this was a steady, hard rain that lasted all game, and made any sustained air attack impossible.

That's all I've got about this game. I wasn't able to watch it live because of a wedding, which is thankfully the only one I'll have to go to this season. Up next, Notre Dame, coming off a 35-17 victory over Michigan, in which if you can ever say a team "scavenged" their way to a victory, that game would be a prime example of that.

A Cursory Preview of Florida Atlantic

2008-09-11T09:29:00.008-04:00

This image is the thing you need to remember most about Florida Atlantic this Saturday:

The finger - stands for the number of national titles Schnellenberger has won, and represents that FAU is important enough to be worthy of merchandising. Somehow.

That picture is of college coaching great Howard Schnellenberger. He won a title with Miami in 1983. In 1993, his Louisville Cardinals waxed MSU in the Liberty Bowl. The man is a good coach, and looks like he'd give you a butterscotch candy if you sat still through church. Here are 10 things that have stuck out in my mind for Saturday's game (Noon start, ESPN2).

Expect the Owls to have a pass bias. In their two games so far, FAU has passed a total of 74 times, compared to 48 rushes. That means a little more than 60% of their plays are passes. This is done because...
They know their run game is lamer than FDR's legs. FAU QB/D-List porn star Rusty Smith admits as much, admitting that he didn't think FAU would have much luck on the ground. Even though they had success against UAB (7.8 yards per carry), against Texas the YPC was 1.6. Expect MSU to hold FAU to somewhere near Texas' number.
I cannot, by law, call what FAU has their DL, LBs and secondary do on the field "defense". They gave up 52 points and 503 yards to Texas, and followed that failure up by allowing 34 points and 482 yards to UAB, of all teams. This typically means that FAU has to go the CMU route to win games by putting up 40 points on their opponents, which is typical for them in the Sun Belt.
Rusty Smith is a bonafide quarterback. Here are his stats from 2007: 58.6% completion percentage, 3,688 passing yards, and 32 TD to 9 INTs. I don't care who you play, that's impressive. Good competition doesn't seem to faze him either, he was 15 for 31 with 253 yards and a TD versus Texas.
Schnellenberger likes to hoot. He had this to say about Texas: "Texas always has a very polished team that has great talent, but they aren't tough; they aren't a physically tough team." Texas then proceeded to wuss their way to 52 points while holding FAU to 10. Schnellenberger later admitted that the comment was "something I sure as hell didn’t want to get to Texas." In his defense, he did make sure all the Western Union Telegraph deliverymen were booted from the room before making said comment.
The players have beaks, as well. In the words of Jeff Blanchard, FAU kick returner: "We will score a lot against them, trust me." Well Jeff, the way MSU's secondary has looked this season, you may have a point. However, the way your defense has looked, I'm expecting Ringer to teleport like Nightcrawler right to your secondary.
Injuries won't be a huge factor. One of FAU's starting defensive linemen and their center are out for this game, and that's about it. With the way MSU's pass rush and run blocking has been lately, they could use a little help.
Their mascot is named Owsley. Here he is, in all his glory:
MSU will cover the spread. The spread right now has MSU giving 17 points. The secondary hasn't looked great, but they'll make enough stops for Ringer and Hoyer to pierce the end zone with impunity.
Final Score: MSU 49, FAU 24.

Later today or early tomorrow, I'll have the Big 10 picks for this week.

Big Ten Round Table - Week 2

2008-09-09T13:24:00.009-04:00

Thanks to Maize 'n Brew for hosting this week's edition of the Big Ten Round Table.

1. We’re two weeks in and everyone in the Big Ten, minus the two Michigan schools (and Illinois - Thnx lostincali - Ed.), are 2-0. This week marks the end of your early "tune-up" or serious OOC play. Are you satisfied with the way your team has played against the cupcakes on your schedule, or happy with the way they’ve competed against serious competition?

I'd like to use the words "guarded optimism" to describe my feelings toward Michigan State right now. The Cal loss was a punch in the gut, but is looking better thanks to Cal's 66-3 win over Washington State, A win in which, to provide perspective on Cal's running game, they amassed 114 passing yards. MSU did the job expected of them versus EMU, and solved the penalty/Brian Hoyer inconsistency problem for one week. The question is, can this last the whole season (My heart says yes, recent evidence says no.)? The secondary is still giving up too many big plays, and turnovers are still a bugaboo. I'm content, but with enough sticking points to keep from getting overexcited.

2. You knew this was coming. This week’s OMG Game of teh Century!!!!1!!1!! until next week’s OMG Game of teh Century!!!!1!!1!! is Ohio State versus Southern Cal. Who are you pulling for and why? Further, if you’re pulling for one particular team tell me why they’ll win, or won’t. If you’re like me and will be attempting to cure a sunburn from over exposure to the sun during the Michigan Notre Dame game by drinking large quantities of whiskey instead of watching the game, state your excuse.

I am pulling for Ohio State to win this game because of Big 10 loyalties; however, I don't think they'll win. I base this feeling more off of USC's evisceration of Virginia in week 1 more than OSU's drunken stumble taken during week 2. I feel that OSU's performance in that game was an anomaly, but I also feel that game points to OSU's one dealbreaker - that they will not be able to score enough points to win. Todd Boeckman is a Brian Hoyer Doppelganger - he's got the ability and can score the points, but if it comes time to stand toe-to-toe with Mark Sanchez and go TD for TD, I don't know if he can do it. Even if Beanie Wells was 100% healthy, I'd still pick USC for the victory. All considered, USC wins this game by 14-17 points.

3. Besides the above mentioned Game of the Century, there are actually some decent match ups this week in the Big Ten. Purdue v. Oregon; Wisconsin v. Fresno State; Michigan v. Notre Dame; Michigan State v. Florida Atlantic; or Iowa v. Iowa State. I said decent. I didn't say they were all good. Pick the best game from that group, pick the worst game from that group, and Minnesota and Illinois bloggers must post an apology for scheduling Montana State and Louisiana Lafayette respectively.

Let's do this by a process of elimination - Fresno State is overhyped, thus I don't believe the Wisconsin-FSU game will be that great. Purdue-Oregon I believe will be a blowout one way or the other (I'm guessing Oregon over Purdue in a laugher right now), and MSU-FAU wouldn't surprise me if both teams scored more than 100 points. However, MSU will have 2/3 of those, and win fairly easily. That leaves Notre Dame-Michigan in Suck Bowl II, a rematch of Suck Bowl I last year, where UM salvaged their season by beating what looked to be like a confused Quiddich team wearing Notre Dame jerseys. Anyone not a fan of Michigan or Notre Dame will be watching this game with a sense of morbid curiosity more than anything else to see which team just does suck more. I'm backing Michigan in this game, their defense will be the only competent unit on the field that day. As for worst game, I'm going to go Wisconsin-Fresno State, mainly because I think the Badgers are going to burst the Bulldogs' bubble in a big way.

4. Out of Conference scheduling is always something that draws the ire of journalists and bloggers alike. You all know how weak your OOC really is. Admit it. You’re sad. So fix it. Pick two teams out of conference you really wish your school would schedule. Nursing colleges and the Center for Veterinary Sciences are verboten. Pick two major conference middle to heavy weights or two heavy weight non-BCS conference programs to add to the schedule. (Please note you get to keep your two patsies per season).

Author's note: It's much more sad to lose to a heavyweight than it is to beat a creampuff. Beating a MAC or 1-AA team is like hooking up with a fat girl - you won't feel good about yourself afterward, and you might be falsely confident, but nevertheless, it still counts as hooking up or a win. Anyway, MSU has Cal and Notre Dame as their two big heavyweights this year, which would work if ND didn't have to wear diapers all the time. Anyway, if I had to schedule two other teams, here's who I'd schedule:

Ole Miss - If you think I'm doing this just so I have an excuse to tailgate at The Grove, you're 95% right. I mean, who doesn't want to see this:

When your fan base is this smokin', it almost makes the perennial losing OK.

MSU girls will always be #1 in my heart, but if I had to have another fan base's gender, give me Ole Miss' ladies, all the way. As for the football aspect, it'd be interesting to see what would happen between two teams who have been historically known in the past decade for getting talent and then crapping it away between incompetent coaching. Yes, that does hurt me to say that about the Orgeron.

Clemson - In the dictionary, under schizofrenic, Clemson is about the third listing. I want to play them for the same reason as Ole Miss - to truly discover which team, between the Rebels, Tigers and Spartans, is the most bipolar. Also, Howard's Rock is one of the Seven Wonders of the CFB World, and it'd be cool to see that up close.

5. All college football fans love to tailgate. Even you, you mothers' basement dwelling bloggers, you. Name your beverage of choice on game days. Alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, your readers need to know these things about you, to judge you. Confirm all their suspicions.

I like to think of tailgating as a sort of Mario Kart - you have to keep your finger on the A button (gas), you have to have your Mushrooms for turbo, and you have to defend yourself some wiping out (streak of banana peels behind your cart). For my gas, I like to drink Coors Light, it's good enough where I feel like I don't have to choke it down (see: Light, Natural/Busch), and it's cheap enough that I don't feel like a total priss while drinking it (save the microbrews for dinner). As for Mushrooms, I go with Jager Bombs as my turbo boost of choice - they've got Red Bull in them by definition, and you can get almost anyone to do them with you, so you don't look like a complete alcoholic. As for a streak of banana peels, I go with a 32 oz Gatorade an hour before the game. In Mario Kart you won't get to the line first without defending yourself from a couple of red shells, and in life, you won't stay awake for the game if you're not properly hydrated.

6. Rivalry games dot the schedule this week. If your team is playing in a rivalry game, say something nasty about your opponent then predict a lopsided score to infuriate the opposing fanbase. If you're not playing a rival, then start a rivalry by saying something nasty about your opponent and then predict a lopsided score to infuriate the opposing fanbase. Or just give me a non-offensive prediction and a reason to watch.

This is MSU's first year out of three playing FAU, so this may as well start now. FAU's QB, Rusty Smith, has a name that sounds like a D-rate porn actor. Howard Schnellenberger, is still waiting for one of his players to spell his name correctly. All the while, he's desperately trying to get work as a Matlock impersonator, mainly because it pays him more than the university. As for the game, MSU will win this game by a few touchdowns or more (preview coming later), and the 10 FAU fans get to run back home to snuggle with their adorable Sun Belt title of last year.

The Aftermath - EMU

2008-09-08T08:47:00.002-04:00

Out of San Fran and into the win column. Here are my thoughts:

Ringer looked more like Caulcrick on Saturday than he did himself - five TDs. It could have been seven if it weren't for two fumbles inside the 5. I think that's just an anomaly, and not a sign of things to come. I hope.
Joel Foreman looks to be solidifying his case to be the starting left guard. All of the evidence I've seen looks that way, including watching Bacon whiff on a block that led to a sack of Hoyer in the second quarter.
Kirk Cousins looks like a good backup QB. Most of the time he handed off, but he was 3-4 including a key 3rd and 3 pass to the TE Gantt for 13 yards.
You've probably seen the catch B.J. Cunningham made by now. If not, see it, and prepare for your jaw to drop.
I know this is a term that some would never think would apply, but I believe Hoyer is Juice Williams-esque in that if he throws about 20 times, the team is in good shape (see - this game, PSU last year). If he starts to double that...uh oh.
MSU has a punt returner! Wiley flashed some moves out there, let's see if he can do it against a tougher opponent in FAU this week.
The Cal penalty problems look to be a hiccup, three penalties for 25 yards this week.
Two of the three leading tacklers this week were in the front 7; Justin Kershaw and Eric Gordon combined to have 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack. It's always good when the secondary isn't making most of the tackles.

That's about all the recap this game deserves. Florida Atlantic will be a tougher game, but MSU's still a two touchdown favorite. Look for a Big Ten Roundtable and an FAU preview by Wednesday, Thursday at the latest.

Quick Post before Tailgate

2008-09-06T05:32:00.001-04:00

It's 5:30 in the morning, and I'm ready to go. Quickly, here's my top two things you need to survive a noon game at MSU/tailgate that starts at 7:00 AM:

2. Red Bull

1. Liquor (preferably vodka or Jager, but beggars can't be choosers)

I'm out to the tennis courts. Hopefully, many of you will be out there.

A Cursory Preview - EMU

2008-09-04T17:47:00.010-04:00

When you saw this week's opponent, chances are one of these three images popped into your head:

If you immediately thought of the first image, you should be looking for a Zoobooks-themed blog. If the second image popped into your head, come back in a couple weeks, I'm getting to it. If the third image popped into your head, you're in the right spot for my Eastern Michigan preview.

Who did EMU play last week?

A high school JV team named Indiana State, posing as a 1-AA team. Eastern put up more than 600 yards of offense in toasting the Sycamores 52-0. Eastern has had a functioning offense in the past couple years; they did beat MAC champs Central Michigan last year by beating them the only way possible for non-BCS teams - putting up more than 40 points. Still...it's Indiana State. I'm pretty sure Larry Bird could start at any position for that team.

What will the game plan be for MSU this week?

In the offense, rushing, and lots of it. Essentially, it'll be the same game plan that the Spartans used last week against Cal, except that this time I believe that it'll work, and it won't devolve into Hoyer playing a game of Five Dollars with his receivers and the secondary. On the defensive side, I believe it's going to be plain ol' vanilla, stop the rush and make them beat us with the pass. Andy Schmidt is a decent MAC-level quarterback, and can make a play or two when he needs to, but he's no Dan LeFevour.

When will MSU break this game wide open?

Sometime in the second quarter. EMU might put up a good fight for a couple series, and then depth should start to take over, and when it does, expect Ringer to essentially play Power Ball, American Gladiators Style, running from one end zone to the other. Also, expect more sacks than last week, I have a feeling this is where Trevor Anderson makes his presence felt.

Where might a problem exist for MSU?

If anywhere, it's going to be in the secondary, particularly the safeties. Davis-Clark still isn't 100%, Jenrette is still off the team for "unspecified reasons", and Otis Wiley is only one man. EMU has the ability to complete a few passes, so if the pass rush isn't working, that could lead to a couple of 40-50 yard plays down the sidelines.

Why should I watch this game?

OK, I'll level with you - if you're not an MSU fan, you shouldn't be watching this game. Go home, and catch some other game at noon. Watch Ohio at Ohio State, or Miami of Ohio at Michigan, or something along those lines. The tailgate before the game will probably be more interesting than the game itself (at least I hope so), I will be down with the student masses at the tennis courts, cheering on MSU, one 24 oz. Coors Light at a time?

How does this game end?

I've said this before, I'll say it again - even during the John L. Smith era, this game was always a guaranteed 4 TD victory. Expect depth to become a factor, the defensive to improve, blah blah blah blah blah.

FINAL SCORE: MSU 45, EMU 10

Basketball Schedule Released and a Programming Note

2008-09-03T16:32:00.002-04:00

Programming Note: The EMU preview will be up tomorrow. It won't be as intensive as the Cal one, but it'll give you something to mull while you defecate.

At long last, the basketball schedule was released for the Big Ten. Here's what MSU is facing:

November

Wed. 5 NORTHERN MICHIGAN (Exhibition) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Mon. 10 LAKE SUPERIOR STATE (Exhibition) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sun. 16 IDAHO East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 19 at IPFW Fort Wayne, Ind. TBA
Thur.-Sun. 27-30 Old Spice Classic Orlando, Fla.
Thur. 27 vs. Maryland (ESPN2) Orlando, Fla. 7 p.m.
Fri. 28 vs. Gonzaga/Oklahoma State (ESPN/ESPNU) Orlando, Fla. 5:30/8 p.m.
Sun. 30 vs. Siena/Tennessee/Wichita State/Georgetown (ESPN2/ESPNU) Orlando, Fla. TBA

December

Wed. 3 vs. North Carolina# (Big Ten/ACC Challenge) (ESPN) Detroit, Mich. 9 p.m.
Sun 7 BRADLEY East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 13 ALCORN STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 17 THE CITADEL East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat. 20 vs. Texas$ Houston, Texas TBA
Sat. 27 vs. Oakland^ Auburn Hills, Mich. TBA
Wed. 31 at Minnesota (Big Ten Network) Minneapolis, Minn. 6 p.m.

January

Sat. 3 at Northwestern (Big Ten Network) Evanston, Ill. 7 p.m.
Tues. 6 OHIO STATE (ESPN2) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 10 KANSAS East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 14 at Penn State (Big Ten Network) State College, Pa. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 17 ILLINOIS (ESPN) East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.
Wed. 21 NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sun. 25 at Ohio State (CBS) Columbus, Ohio 3:45 p.m.
Thur. 29 at Iowa (ESPN/ESPN2) Iowa City, Iowa 7 p.m.

February

Sun. 1 PENN STATE (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Wed. 4 MINNESOTA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8:30 p.m.
Sat. 7 INDIANA (ESPN) East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.
Tues. 10 at Michigan (ESPN) Ann Arbor, Mich. 7 p.m.
Tues. 17 at Purdue (ESPN) West Lafayette, Ind. 7 p.m.
Sun. 22 WISCONSIN (CBS, ESPN, Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Wed. 25 IOWA (Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. 8:30 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 28-1 at Illinois (CBS, ESPN, Big Ten Network) Champaign, Ill. TBA

March

T/W/T 3/4/5 at Indiana (ESPN, ESPN2, Big Ten Network) Bloomington, Ind. TBA
Sat.-Sun. 7/8 PURDUE (CBS, ESPN, Big Ten Network) East Lansing, Mich. TBA

My thoughts:

MSU's Winter break goes four weeks instead of the usual three this year. What does that mean? It means that the Izzone definitely won't be there for a good Ohio State team and might not be there for defending NCAA champ Kansas. Whoops.
The Big Ten season starts off again with two road games: A rapidly improving Minnesota and a continually-chained-in-the-basement-like-a-mutant-stepchild Northwestern. This isn't horrible, the Big Ten has surely treated the Spartans worse in the past.
The two opponents that are faced once? At Michigan, and Wisconsin at home. This is definitely nicer than last year, when it was the other way around.
The biggest tests close out the schedule, as the three most likely biggest games are in the last six: at Purdue, Wisconsin at home, and in what could be a de facto Big Ten Championship game, Purdue at home to close out the season.

All in all, I'm happy with the schedule this year. The toughest teams aren't back-to-back, and the Big Ten schedule difficulty level is decent in the beginning before getting to the real meat at the end.

Big Ten Bloggers' Round Table

2008-09-02T18:56:00.008-04:00

Thanks to Black Heart Gold Pants for hosting this week's Round Table.

1. Week 1's in the books. What surprised you about your team? Are you optimistic? Disappointed? (NOTE: Purdue does not apply here, so these fans must talk about Wake Forest instead)

Disappointed, mainly due to three things: the penalties, the special teams miscues, and the failure of the offensive line to consistently block. As I previously said, if Ringer's being held to less than three yards a carry, there's a failure somewhere in the rushing game, and nine times out of ten, that's the offensive line. Nevertheless, I'm optimistic, as MSU kept the game close even though it had no such business doing so, mainly due to capitalizing off of Cal's mistakes. One of the things that's keeping my going right now is that Cal's one of the frontrunners behind USC in the Pac-10. If they lose to both Washington teams, they might have to talk me down off of Hubbard Hall.

2. Beanie Wells' foot is definitely the top story in the conference. What's #2?

It's easily Michigan's failure to put up any semblance of a sustained offensive attack against Utah. The WoLOLverines' longest drive was seven yards, and the quarterback situation went as expected. However, while many are focusing in on the debacle at quarterback, I think the rushing game was easily more atrocious than the passing game. Stat of the game: Michigan rushed 25 times for 36 yards; one of those rushes went for 21 yards. Take that one big play away, and the WoLOLverines rushed 24 times for 15 yards, or an outstanding 0.6 yards per carry. Is there any way the offensive line can be renamed the LOLffensive line?

3. Admit it: you loathe DickFraudROFL (*neé* Rich Rodriguez), but when Michigan scored that last touchdown, you were rooting for them to make the 2-pt. conversion.

Nope, not in the slightest. I was debating in my head whether it would be better for Michigan to win to get some heat off the Big Ten, or to have Michigan fail, and deal with the media hate. All of a sudden, it hit me - the only place I have to deal with the Big Ten hate is on the internet and watching ESPN, while, living in East Lansing, I have to deal with Michigan fans on a semi-constant basis. If Michigan had tied it up and won that game, I would have had to deal with the hyperbole of mouth-breathing Michigan fans screaming, "#1 DICKROD ROOLZ SUCK IT SPARTY", all while they rush to Ann Arbor to see who can give Barwis a Z-Job first. Anything that humbles Michigan, I have to root for, even if it is at the expense of the Big Ten.

4. Is this weekend's slate of games actually *less* interesting than last week's?

Yup. The game that will be of most consequence is Oregon State at Penn State. Given the Beavers' loss to Stanford last week and the Nittany Lions' demolition of a Pop Warner team, I think PSU walks. The only other game of consequence will be Minnesota at Bowling Green. Bowling Green beat Minnesota last year, and is a six point favorite at home. Can Bowling Green keep up the momentum? Will Minnesota have a winning streak for the first time since '06? The storylines are endless.

There are two other games that might be of some interest to masochists: Northwestern @ Duke, where we'll see if the Wildcats can crap themselves again against the Blue Devils, and Miami of Ohio at Michigan, where one of the Michigan running backs will try to rush for more than 25 yards.

5. Don't you hate pants?

Absolutely. If pants are horrible enough for Alex Trebek to forego, then take the hint.

What else happened?

2008-09-02T13:14:00.004-04:00

College football games. There are a lot of them, and let's be honest - sometimes, you can't catch them all, because of ~~falling into a drunken stupor before five~~ your lack of televisions. Thus, I've decided to start a new feature called "What else happened?", in which I rattle off a few of the other games I saw during the weekend. Here we go:

East Carolina 27, Virginia Tech 22
This game came down to Special Teams, with two strange events: One, Virginia Tech blocks an ECU extra point, and runs it back for two points. Two, East Carolina took the Master Sword to VaTech's special teams magic and reflected it back at them, blocking a punt with about two minutes left and running it in for a touchdown. Thing to take away from this game - Tyrod Taylor needs to play now, as Tech's offense isn't getting it done.

The Master Sword: Works on Octaroks, magic, and special teams.

Utah 25, Michigan 23
I knew Michigan's offense was going to be ugly, but I didn't expect it to be Elephant Man ugly. UM only scored if it started from within Utah territory, and sustained no drive longer than 7 plays. The good news for Michigan: it looks as if this Barwis thing has legs, Michigan was clearly the better conditioned team in the second half; Utah's longest drive was 14 yards. The bad news: All the conditioning in the world can't make a team execute on offense. Thing to take away from this game: All the undersized running backs in the world can't help you if the OL can't block for them: Michigan's YPC minus the 21-yard carry by Minor was an emasculating 0.4.

Missouri 52, Illinois 42
I didn't catch much of this game, but I watched enough of it to know the outcome was never seriously in doubt. Missouri laid the Illini out like a frog in a high school biology class, dissecting them for 549 total yards of offense. That's what happens when you allow J Leman to graduate. Thing to take away from this game: Juice Williams might actually be legit, as he threw for 451 yards, 5 TDs to only two picks. Caveat: Missouri defense might be awful this year.

Cal: The Aftermath

2008-08-31T09:31:00.007-04:00

Well, that didn't go as planned. Here are my thoughts:

THE GOOD

Mark Dell- Well, so much for having to worry about having a threat at wide receiver. Dell had 9 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown, making him the fourth Spartan wide receiver all time to have a 200+ yard receiving game. He would've been MSU's player of the game, if it wasn't for...

Otis Wiley - There were two losses here tonight - the one suffered by MSU and the one suffered by Nate Longshore. His starting career had the final nail put in its coffin by Wiley, who picked Longshore off twice, and returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown. Wiley seems to have returned to the form that made him second-team All-Big Ten in 2006.

Greg Jones - Still leading the team in tackles, and also led the team in tackles for losses last night. In other words, still a manimal.

THE BAD

Special Teams - Ugh. This unit looked positively John L. Smithian. On the first couple punts, Shackleford snapped the ball to Bates too low, causing those punts to be poor, or in some cases, not punts at all, as Cal returned one of those for a touchdown. Swenson missed a 40 yard field goal wide wide left, and a timeout had to be called in the fourth quarter becuase 10 men were out on the field for the field goal attempt initially. Overall, special teams looked discombobulated and frantic - extremely uncharacteristic of a Dantonio coached team.

The OL - Ringer should never be held to three yards a carry. Granted, I think the coaching staff could've helped out more by running outside a bit more (the most successful run of the night was the 10 yard touchdown run to the left), but the line opened few holes during the night, and all too often was allowing Hoyer to be pressured.

The Ugly

Brian Hoyer - I still don't know what to make of him, as again, he did just enough to make the game close, but not win it. He seems to have focused in on one target again, replacing Devin Thomas with Mark Dell. The hangover from the Champps Sports Bowl seems to have continued, as he was 20-48 with an interception. That interception was of the killer variety, as it was thrown from Cal's 15 and took at least three points off the board. The flip side of that though is that those 20 completions went for 321 yards, so at least the big play potential is still there. The loss isn't completely his fault, the OL couldn't get the run game going all day. I've rambled a bit here, so I'll end on this: between the Hoyer that played at Penn State and the one that played today, will the real Brian Hoyer please stand up?

The team as a whole - All of last year, I didn't see a team as disjointed and confused as the one out there last night looked. Special teams was a mess. False start and offsides penalties were kept to a minimum, but there were more than a few face masks and pass intereferences. Let's hope that the Cal game is the exception that proves the rule.

Overall, this game still could've been won by MSU if the special teams executed properly. Take away the punt return for a touchdown and add in the field goal that Swenson missed, and Michigan State wins 34-31. All told though, Cal deserved to win this game - even though they had their share of mistakes too (the punt going through the punter Anger's fingers, the roughing the punter call that kept a touchdown drive alive for MSU), they were the most composed team on the field. The 3-4 played more like a 5-2, and the inside linebackers stuffed most anything that came their way.

All right, enough dwelling on the past. I'm ready for Eastern Michigan and the first home game of the season. It's six more days until the first home game, and I have gone from unofficially pumped, to officially pumped. Who's with me?

IT'S GAMEDAY!

2008-08-30T07:43:00.004-04:00

Finally. To greater enjoy the first game of the year, take in these three highlight videos from PortlandSpartan of Spartan Tailgate. Portland gets +100 COCKTAILS for his inspired choice of music, especially using "Futures" by Jimmy Eat World.

If I feel like it, my thoughts on the Cal game might pop up on here in real time, but probably not.
Have a fantastic weekend.

The Genesis of a season

2008-08-29T10:50:00.008-04:00

Jesus: has a tendency to call a draw on 3rd down.

In the end, Michigan State was wiped out by Memphis. Many wide stares were exchanged, and the people felt lost. The patrons drank their beers, tonics and whiskeys, and went out into the night. Thus ended the first month.

In the second month, a glimmer of hope radiated from the heavens for one Saturday afternoon, as football was played in the church. The leaders of the offenses were clad in red, and although the pews were not quite full, the people were glad for what they received. Thus ended the second month.

In the third month, the people began to look elsewhere for hope. The Tigers were lost, the Pistons were accomplished but haughty, and the Red Wings talented, but shaky. The people watched anyway, and saw the Tigers and Pistons descend, but the Red Wings arise. Also at this time, the people discovered that there is a limit to the amount of Boneless Buffalo Wild Wings you can eat, and that volumes of those should be kept to less than a hogshead. Thus ended the third month.

In the fourth month, the Wings won the Stanley Cup, and the people rejoiced. The Tigers still had not answered the people's prayers. There were many feats of individual achievement, especially by the prophets named Nadal and Woods. Even though the bars were full, the people's hearts were still empty. Thus ended the fourth month.

In the fifth month, the people languished. The Tigers had shown glimmers of hope, but continued to fall into the abyss. The sky was alit with red, light and, blue, but the people's hearts were still dark. Nevertheless, they did not despair, especially with many new conversions of the young people, holding oblong brown orgs, to play for the faith. Thus ended the fifth month.

In the sixth month, the people saw signs of activity. From near the church, whistles and shouts and Motown was blared. The town bustled. Surely, this was what they had been waiting for! Many long months, the people had waited, were patient, and finally, their prayers were about to be answered, even though the Tigers still sucked. The church was about to be filled again. Thus ended the sixth month.

In the seventh month, the people rested. It was the beginning.

Let there be light.

Big 10 Pick 'em

2008-08-28T15:02:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Gopher Nation/The Daily Gopher for putting the Pick 'Em contest together.

Here are my picks for all of the Big Ten Games this week:

Indiana over Western Kentucky
OSU over Youngstown St.
Penn St. over Coastal Carolina
Wisconsin over Akron
Iowa over Maine
Minnesota over NIU

File all these games in the "Pimping out the MAC/1-AA" category. If there's an upset in any one of these game, it's most likely going to be NIU over Minnesota, mainly due to NIU having the greatest degree of competency (that is to say: little) among all the sacrificial lambs.

Northwestern over Syracuse

Well, at least this game is against a BCS opponent. Northwestern has a chance to redeem themselves from their hilarious loss to Duke last year with an opponent of about the Blue Devils' character. Expect C.J. Bacher to throw the ball from Evanston to Chesterton.

Michigan over Utah

Now we're getting to the interesting games. For the record, I hate myself for making this pick. However, it seems like everyone is picking Utah to win this game, and in a game with the spread as close as it is (UM - 3.5 at last check), that unanimity in thought is a sign to pick the other way. I think the offense will resemble the Exxon Valdez, but the tailbacks will break 1 or 2 big plays, and the defense will get 3 takeways. That'll be enough...but barely.

MSU over Cal

See here for the preview. There's rumors that Jimmerson and Curry might be out for this game, but the 1st stringers will pull through.

Missouri over Illinois

I'm still not sold on Juice Williams. He barely had more TD tosses than interceptions last year (13/12 ratio). Mendenhall's in the NFL, and the tailback replacing him (Dufrene) has good stats, but is inexperienced (6.2 YPC, but less than 50 rushes in his career). Add to that the loss of J Leman on the defensive side, and I think Missouri wins this in decisive fashion, by a double-digit margin.

Michigan State Season Preview

2008-08-27T20:55:00.008-04:00

Note: If you're looking for the Cal Preview, it's just below this post, or you can click here.

Another Note: This piece I wrote for EDSBS's Guest Lecturer series (sample here). Suffice to say, it's going to be a lot different then most of the normal previews you read. Just like a 70's party, throw your keys in the bowl, and go with it.

One: What color is your season? In other words, please explain the metaphorical state of your program through the metaphor of color:

Orange. Green or White is too obvious, but orange is about right; the color has drastically different meanings for the offense and defense. For the offense, orange designates explosiveness – for all the talk of Mark Dantonio going back to a more pro-set, ball control offense, MSU was first in the Big Ten in conference in both yards gained and points scored last year. For the defense, orange foretells of structural damage in the defense. The Spartans gave up the third most points in conference last year, loses most of their defensive line, and C.J. Bacher is still haunting my nightmares to this day.

Two: What historical nation and period do you resemble most right now?

Scotland, Circa early 14^th century. Scotland, whose armies were once led by a successful at first but ultimately raving madman in William Wallace (THE SCOTS ARE PILLAGING THEIR TAILS OFF, AND JOHN COMYN IS SCREWING IT UP!). William was also into taunting, such as mooning/flag planting. Wallace eventually resigned as guardian, and Scotland was in turmoil until Robert the Bruce (Dantonio) came in to right the ship. After Robert rose to King of Scotland, he had a string of defeats, which leads up to the current state of the program. The rest from here on out is prognostication for MSU/Scottish history. Robert eventually triumphed several times against England (Michigan), who was transferring over the throne from successful Edward I (Carr) to flamboyant Edward II (DickRod), much different than his father. Eventually, Scotland won their independence from England, and Edward II was executed upon a red-hot poker.

Three: You have important players. Discuss a few of them hastily.

Javon Ringer: The one player on MSU you might have heard of if you’re outside the Midwest. I won’t bore with you with the 1447 yards, 6 TDs (the Liberian Lumberjack, Jehuu Caulcrick was scoring most of those last year), and his 5.9 YPC, so I’ll say this: he has a black belt in karate. Sam McGuffie hurdles tacklers, Javon kicks their heads off.

Brian Hoyer: Interesting fact – most likely went red-green colorblind between the Penn State and Boston College bowl game last season, as he had 7 interceptions during the regular season (2^nd rated passer in the Big Ten during that period), and threw four to in the bowl game. We’ll see this year how much of his success was due to Devin Thomas.

Greg Jones: Recruited away from Minnesota after Glen Mason was canned, he started the second half of the season as a true freshman, was MSU’s leading tackler, and earned Freshman All-American honors. He’ll most likely start at MLB this season, and hopefully marks a return to the ~~Julian Peterson~~ Percy Snow days of LBs at State.

Four: Name two games we might actually want to watch featuring your team.

August 30^th – MSU @ Cal: It’s on prime time, so you’ve got no excuse. It’ll be the first time Hoyer plays without Devin Thomas at his disposal, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can recreate the big play with wideouts that were thrown to sparingly last season. Ringer against Cal’s experienced LB corps should be a battle, and if State wins, the next halfway difficult away crowd will be…

October 25^th – MSU @ Michigan: With an emphasis on the word “halfway” in the previous sentence. MSU has dropped the last six games in this series (some of those in spectacular fashion). If it’s a close game, I’m just glad Henne won’t be able to find Braylon Edwards or Manningham for a 4th quarter comeback. If Michigan’s one-dimensional in the offense at this time, expect to see the victory couch fires in East Lansing from space.

Four-A: Save us all some time and mention the game we’re better off NOT watching.

September 6^th: MSU v. EMU – I would’ve said Florida Atlantic, but you should watch that game just to guess FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger’s BAC on the sidelines. Even during the John L. Smith era, the Eastern Michigan game was always a guaranteed five-touchdown win.

Five: Every hero forgets something in their toolbelt. What does your team lack?

Depth on the lines, and at QB. The offensive line returns three starters, they will be decent unless injuries force second-stringers to start, of which means a few freshmen and converted defensive lineman would have to start. The defensive line has an entirely different problem; three starters graduated, and although talent exists (Trevor Anderson was honorable mention Big East in ’06, Antonio Jeremiah was a highly regarded recruit, Tyler Hoover looked good in spring ball), it’s inexperienced. In what might become an apocalypse, if Brian Hoyer goes out, there's only one quarterback on scholarship (a redshirt freshman) to replace him, and if he goes out, the natives will start to bring couches to the fire.

Six: Describe your team with a Jimmy Buffett song. No, we’re serious–do it.

Come Monday. Dad had Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hits, and that’s about as far as my experiences with Buffett go. I’d rather be telling you what teams in the Big Ten resemble Arcade Fire members (Win Butler = OSU, Règine Chassagne = Michigan). However, I took a liking to Come Monday, mainly because my hometown is where Hush Puppies shoes are made. This song represents a team who will make a trip to San Francisco (Berkley) during Labor Day weekend and a team that wasn’t meant for glitter rock and roll (the spread offense).

Headin' up to San Francisco
for the Labor Day weekend show,
I've got my hush-puppies on,
I guess I never was meant for
glitter rock and roll.
And honey I didn't know
that I'd be missin' you so.

Seven: We’re master wagerers. Give us a bet to place for up to ten dollars about your team.

MSU wins at least eight games this season. Between Cal, EMU, FAU, and Notre Dame in the nonconference; I think they’ll lose one of those. The away games are Indiana, NU, Michigan and Penn State. They’ll win the Indiana and Northwestern games, drop the Penn State game, and Michigan’s a toss-up. The home games are Iowa, OSU, Purdue and Wisconsin. I believe they’ll beat Iowa and Purdue, lose to OSU, with the Wisconsin game a toss-up. That means MSU needs to win both of their toss-ups, or one of their toss-ups and the bowl game, which I would put $10 on. If you really wanted to play it safe, I’d go eight, but that’s why it’s called gambling. However, I just lost $80 on blackjack at the casino, thus I'm in no mood to gamble. Play it safe and go with eight wins.

Cal Preview

2008-08-27T09:57:00.012-04:00

HISTORY

MSU is 2-1 all time against the Golden Bears, with the last game in 2002. This was the game that sounded the death march for the Bobby Williams era, as Kyle Boller shredded the secondary, and Cal won 46-22. All of a sudden, the Jeff Tedford era was off and running. Four years later, the greatest moment in Golden Bears football history happened:

To this date, no other football program in history has had a postgame celebration topped off by one of its players ghost riding da whip on an injury cart. Kudos to you Marshawn Lynch.

Cal Rushing vs. MSU Rush Defense

There's a lot of optimism in the rushing game this year, mainly due to Jahvid Best. Best was the Bears' kick returner, and also rushed for over 7 yards a carry last year. Pretty impressive, but keep in mind that number's based on only 27 rushes, which is a pretty small sample to draw conclusions from. Nevertheless, expect him to be a good to great running back for Cal this season, and MSU will get him fresh. Cal's O-line is more good than they are bad, even if their starting LT is out. Blocking will not be their Achilles' heel.

Can MSU stop the rush? It's going to be a bit dodgy with all the new starters on the defensive line. I'd feel more confident if Greg Jones was starting in the middle; however, he's starting outside due to Adam Decker's emergence as the #3 LB in the unit. I expect MSU to get their fair share of stops, but overall, I'm going to have to say...
Advantage: Cal (slight to moderate)

Cal Passing vs. MSU Pass defense
California has finally decided on a starting QB; he is Kevin Riley. In his press conference, Tedford said Riley can "make plays with his legs" (provided there's more than 30 seconds left in the game), so presumptively that's why he got the nod over last year's starter, Nate Longshore. However, Longshore will play at a predetermined time by Tedford in this game, so there'll be a little of both. Also, Cal's starting left tackle, he who can supposedly handle 245 lb. defensive ends at 80%, is most likely out. About the receivers, Tedford said that there would be "a bit of a learning curve", the kind of quote that does not promote confidence in the first game.

As for MSU, the secondary will still be missing Roderick Jenrette most likely, but Kendall Davis-Clark should be a more than adequate replacement. Otis Wiley will hopefully play like he did the second half of last year, and Chris L. Rucker and Ross Weaver are both experienced corners. Let's hope this doesn't turn into the abortion the Northwestern game was last year.

Edge: MSU (Moderate)

MSU Rushing vs. Cal Rush Defense

For MSU, it's Javon Ringer, Javon Ringer, and Javon Ringer. The highlight of this game will be which running back can produce the most - Best or Ringer. A.J. Jimmerson and Andre Anderson will get a few carries as well, along with whoever's playing FB (Hawken or McPherson) when a 3rd and short comes around.

As for Cal, they've switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4, most likely to highlight their LB corps, which might just be the best set of linebackers in the Pac-10. However, the defensive line has looked iffy, and if MSU lines up in a power I, that might force Cal to go deeper on the line.

Advantage: MSU (slight to moderate)

MSU Passing vs. Cal Pass Defense

Brian Hoyer has had a long, long time to think about this game. He had a performance that could only be described as horrendous in the Champps Sports Bowl, in which, I believe, he went red-green colorblind, which is the best explanation for why he threw so many picks to the Boston College secondary. The only returning receivers with any tangible experience are Mark Dell and Deon Curry. B.J. Cunningham, Fred Smith and Keshawn Martin are all talented but have the same amount of college game experience, which would be zero. It'll take a couple games for Hoyer to get used to them.

The Cal secondary was average to above average last year, and some of that should carry over. They'll need to be good, because they most likely won't get any push with the defensive line.

Advantage: Push

Special Teams

All of MSU's returners are new. It'll be intersting to see how Jimmerson and Davis-Clark return kickoffs, and how Wiley returns punts. Compare those three to Jahvid Best, and I think it's obvious to see who gets the Best out of that matchup (Sorry, I knew I wasn't going to make it through without one Best related pun). Cal's starting kicker last year, Justin Kay, was benched to make way for true freshman David Seawright. Well Justin, that's what will happen if you only go 2 of 5 of your 30-40 yarders. Brett Swenson is still solid from inside the 40 for MSU. At last, we get to the true pyrotechnics of this preview: punting. Cal has two redshirt freshmen on the depth chart, while MSU has do-it-all punter Aaron Bates - emergency 3rd string QB, and also was in the bottom 10 in net punting in 1-A. Ouch.

Edge: Cal (Moderate)

Coaching

How does one determine who's going to have the better game plan? I've always hated these parts of predictions, were the writer see two evenly matched coaches, looks at tea leaves and portents who will have the better game plan. I'll say this much: Dantonio and Tedford are two good I-A coaches. Let's call this part a push, and keep going.

Edge: Push

Prediction

This'll be a good, close game. Both teams are relatively green at wide receiver, have explosive running backs, and experience at QB. It's going to come down to defense, namely the defensive line. I gotta believe that come the 3rd and 4th quarter, MSU will tire out the 3-4 of Cal by running Ringer et al. up the middle. It'll be close, but MSU comes out of Berkley the winner.

Final Score: MSU 28, Cal 21.

Coming up Tomorrow: My Guest Lecturer piece on MSU for EDSBS that didn't quite make the chopping block.

Depth Chart is Out

2008-08-26T14:01:00.005-04:00

The depth chart is out for the Cal game, and can be seen here (PDF). Some areas of note:

The Offensive Line panned out as the coaches expected, with Cironi, Bacon, Nitchman, Martin and Miller starting from left to right along the line. Gantt, also as expected, is the starting TE.
Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham are the starting wideouts, with Blair White and Deon Curry backing them up respectively. Also of note, Freshmen Keshawn Martin and Fred Smith are respectively 3rd and 4th string.
Backup running back: A.J. Jimmerson.
Dwayne Holmes, Brandon Long, Colin Neely and Trevor Anderson are all listed as starters at Defensive End. This is mainly due to Long and Anderson not quite being 100%.
Adam Decker gets the start at Middle Linebacker, The Manimal moves outside.
Kendall Davis-Clark moves to Free Safety to cover for Roderick Jenrette, which pushes Otis Wiley to Strong Safety. Chris L. Rucker and Ross Weaver are the starting Cornerbacks.
Trying to replace the extremely capable hands of Devin Thomas at Kick Returner are Kendall Davis-Clark and A.J. Jimmerson. Replacing Terry "Fair Catch" Love at Punt Returner is Otis Wiley.

Cal preview coming tomorrow.

Welcome Freshmen, and other FB news

2008-08-20T12:41:00.004-04:00

Freshmen move into the dorms @ MSU today, more on that later.

First off, there was a scrimmage on Sunday, which, by the coaching staff's arcane scoring system, the defense won by six points, 67-61. Here's what was up:

THE GOOD

It looks like the TE problem may potentially be solved. Charlie Gantt had 4 catches for 68 yards and 2 TDs.

Greg Jones - still a manimal. Six tackles, three of them for losses. Don't let the man in the picture fool you, Jones is part eagle, part cat, which, now that I write that, is pretty much what a griffin is. So I guess Greg "The Griffin" Jones is apropos here.

The defense improved upon its showing in the previous scrimmage, with fewer long passes given up, and the front seven apparently created havoc at every turn. Of course, the tricky thing about scrimmages, is that if the defense looks good, the offense looks...

THE BAD

Not so good. As I previously said, the offensive line got wrecked by the defensive line, and it showed as no QB completed more than 50% of his passes during the scrimmage.

Also, the running game needs some work too, as the RBs average less than 3 yards a carry during the scrimmage. The silver lining to this cloud is that I think MSU was this bad last year in YPC during the scrimmages, and that turned out all right.

So there it is. I think the team's ready to give Cal a good game, and it helps that their starting LT is out. More on that next week, because it's Wednesday of Welcome Week, and that means...

Freshmen move into the dorms today. Having worked on campus all summer, it's always a shock to have campus populated just above a ghost town and below Fire Island during the winter. Of course, there's probably a few of you who still need to get to Sophomore status (like Walter. If you caught that reference, Don't Just Sit There and give yourself +100 COCKTAILS), but at least you know what's up. Freshmen, to have a good week, remember these three tips:

1. Getting into parties is pretty easy. If you're a girl, all you have to do is walk up and soak in the desperation from hordes of dudes who spent their summers drunk, smoking whatever was handed to them at Rothbury, and hooked up with the same hometown girl until August came around. They will be desperate. Milk them for all it's worth. If you're a guy, it's a little harder. You'll have to pay to get a cup, but it won't be more than $5 (Don't let anyone charge you more than $5 for a keg of lukewarm Busch Light. Don't get me wrong, you're a freshman, but you're better than that.). Or, if you really want to live the high life, find the nearest fraternity, and say these four words: "When. Does. Rush. Start.". Pin your dorm room address to your person, and prepare to drown in a tidal wave of Jager. That said:

2. Don't be the guy who thinks they can outdrink everyone at said party. You'll end up losing, because no matter how much you drank in high school, there's a guy who drank just as much plus the seven years it took him to get to his Senior year. So yeah, just relax on that.

3. If you get really hammered, walk back in a group. You'll look less like a drunk, and the East Lansing police get dollar signs when they see that. Once you make it back to campus in said group, if it's after 2 (which, if you're doing it right, it should be), find where you're at, call Night Owl @ (517) 432-8888, and they'll drive you back to your dorm, assuming you still have your dorm address pinned on you. If not, you're spending tonight trying to curl up in a booth at Denny's, which you're not bettter than.

Alright, I've dropped enough knowledge today. More later.

Big Ten Pickin' time

2008-08-18T09:11:00.002-04:00

The good folks over @ SpartyMSU and The Enlightened Spartan are picking all the Spartan games this season, and they were kind enough to let me join in. Here are my picks, and I've got MSU going 8-4/5-3 this season:

Best possibility for an expected loss I didn't predict: Wisconsin. Depth could be an issue by that point in the season, and Wisconsin seems to grow 300 lb. white dudes on trees. If we lose, expect the lines to be an issue.

Best possibility to get upset: Northwestern. This game is going to be tricky like it was last year. Luckily, the crowd should be split 50/50 @ Ryan Field, and it'll be tough for C.J. Bacher to have another game against us like he did last season. Still, if Jenrette's not back by that time, our secondary's going to have to step up big time.

@ Cal - Win
EMU - Win
FAU - Win
Notre Dame - Loss
@Indiana - Win
Iowa - Win
@NW - Win
OSU - Loss
@ UM - Win
Wisky - Win
Purdue - Loss
PSU - Loss

I'll put my thinking behind each pick before each preview, which will go up the Wednesday before each game.

AND WE'RE BACK!!!

2008-08-13T16:14:00.005-04:00

Sorry, I've been in between leases, so I haven't had many chances to post lately. Without further ado, here we go.

The real big note today was that three freshman football players are facing charges of failure to yield to police. As says the Lansing State Journal in this article:

Safety Charles Burrell, defensive end Cameron Jude and walk-on receiver Mitchell White were cited June 30 for fleeing from campus police when approached and ordered to stop near Snyder Hall, said Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III.

Whoops. To make matters worse, Burrell missed his pretrial hearing, and an arrest warrant has now been issued. So to recap, our players aren't thugs, but made a stupid, stupid mistake, kind of like purchasing anything with "extended warranty" on the box or betting on the Lions to make the Super Bowl. I don't think they'll miss any playing time, and even if they did, it shouldn't have a real effect on the roster, because White is a walk-on, and Jude and Burrell aren't in the two-deep.

Spartans at U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials, etc.

2008-07-01T12:00:00.003-04:00

Bad News and Good News for MSU at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials. First the bad news: Shot Putter Steve Manz just missed making the finals on opening day. The good news: current Spartan Nicole Bush won her heat in the 3000m Steeplechase, putting her into the finals on Thursday. There, she'll need to finish in the top 3 and run under 9:46.00 (very possible, her best time's about 9:49) to make the Olympic team.

That's it for right now, enjoy this exciting preview to come of UM football from Black Heart Gold Pants:

Minnesota Preview Part 2

2008-06-23T21:03:00.004-04:00

Defense

How bad was Minnesota's defense last year? Atrocious, and only exacerbated by the loss of 2006 2nd team All-Big Ten Willie VanDeSteeg's injuries. Giving up 38 points a game, nearly six yards a carry, while being -6 in turnover differential and amassing seven sacks in the Big Ten schedule is no way to go through life, Goldy.

The defensive line should be improved though, assuming VanDeSteeg stays healthy. He had 10 sacks in '06, but as previously mentioned, suffered through injuries last year. The linebacking corps will improve as well, mainly because I'm loathe to imagine what a drop-off could look like. MLB Deon Hightower led the team in tackles for losses last year (9.5), but four-star recruit Sam Maresh could be breathing down his neck for that spot.
The Minnesota pass defense was equally as horrendous last year, allowing 289 yards through the air per game in '07; however, it wasn't that much of a fall off from '06, when they allowed 268 YPG. The two returning starters in the secondary are sophomores with 14 starts between them, while the other two starters are junior college transfers. If the secondary improves, it won't be by much.

Special Teams

Last year, Jason Giannini eventually ceded to Joel Monroe. Monroe made the best of what he was given, going 28-28 on point afters, and 7-9 on field goals, including a 54 yarder, the longest field goal made by any Big Ten kicker last year. Enjoy the Metrodome for one last year Joel, because in 2009, your job, along with the ball, is going to get a little harder in the chilly Minnesota fall. The punter's name escapes me right now, but I remember he was in the top half of the Big Ten. I'll update this as soon as I remember, but he was solid, and that's one of the few parts of their game that Minnesota won't have to worry about.

Outlook

Minnesota lost more than a fair share of close games last season, and should look to improve. They could go 4-0 in their nonconference, but with a trip to MAC title contender Bowling Green and much improved Sun Belt frontrunner Florida Atlantic, 3-1 or, God forbid, 2-2 is more likely. However, they should win at least one of those Big Ten games that eluded them last season, and 4-8 seems like a sound prediction, with good chances for a bowl trip in 2009.

Monday Update

2008-06-23T10:38:00.002-04:00

Detroit Renaissance safety Dana Dixon committed to MSU over the weekend. He's Rivals' 69th best safety in the nation and a 3-star recruit. He also has the same star rating by Scout, except he's the #140 WR. To each their own. Dixon is Michigan State's eighth recruit this year, and expect one more safety/cornerback in this class.

Spartan Athletes of the year: Jeff Lerg and Sara Brown. We're all familiar with the exploits of super goalie Lerg, but Brown's an impressive golfer in her own right: She holds MSU's scoring record, and had a scoring average of 74.08 this season, which I can only hit on non-windmill mini-golf courses.

Coming up this week:

The end of the Minnesota preview (honest!),

A preview of the other Big Ten team MSU won't face this year,

and since the Olympic Track & Field trials start this week, a look at a few former and current Spartans to keep your eye on.

Stuck Between Stations - Minnesota Preview Part 1

2008-06-17T22:27:00.013-04:00

This is part 1 of the forementioned Minnesta preview. Part 2 should be up tonight. Hopefully.

Do you recognize this man, Golden Gopher fans? This is a picture of The Hold Steady lead singer, Craig Finn, proud Minnesotan in his own right. What does this have in common with last season, you ask? He sings a lot about drugged up, boozed out characters in his songs, and if you root for Minnesota, you were probably drinking hand sanitizer from August til November. Without further ado, here's the preview:

2007 In Review - Lord, I'm Discouraged

In a word? Ouch. "Lord, I'm Discouraged" is a song off of The Hold Steady's new album, Stay Positive, which depicts a girl who meets new friends (Brewster), starts taking popular drugs (the spread offense), and in the end, the narrator of the song states, "I mostly just pray she won't die." How did you suffer such a fall from grace? Let's review (If you're a Minnesota fan, please stick with this preview. I promise, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.).

Glen Mason was canned in '06, and Tim Brewster, whose previous greatest accomplishment was getting Vince Young to Texas, stepped in. Minnesota went from a power running attack that was guaranteed to produce a great running and an above average one, to a spread offense. I'll talk about how the offense and defense functioned later, but for now, let's give this one sentence overview: If you're a pessimist, Minnesota was an OT away from going 0-12; if you're an optimist, you see that Minnesota lost six of those games by seven or less points (granted, one of those was to 1-AA [PLAYOFF SUBDIVISION TEAM! GET IT RIGHT OR PAY THE PRICE! - Ed.] Ahem. Playoff Subdivision North Dakota State.)

OFFENSE - Stay Positive!

"Stay Positive", off of The Hold Steady album of the same name, has a chorus that goes, "We gotta stay positive." The Minnesota offense surely didn't play like a 1-11 team last year; they were 7th in Big 10 games in yards gained, third in passing yards, and third in sacks allowed (mainly due to Adam Weber's mobility). However, the flipside to that coin is that they were eighth in Big Ten games in turnovers. The two points most damning: tenth in points scored, and rock bottom in yards per rush.

One would assume Adam Weber would be the starter. In praise of him, he was essentially as good as Juice Williams last year. Weber had a slightly better passer rating (120.8 to 119.2), and had much better production in total offense (292.7 yards to Juice's 192.2). Weber's flashing red weak spot in his forehead? Turnovers. He threw 24 TDs to 19 INTs, but those are still a lot of interceptions (just ask C.J. Bacher). Weber was 9th in the Big Ten in passing efficiency, and two new QBs in the program, highly touted junior college recruit David Pittman and four-star high school recruit MarQueis Gray should push him during training camp, but for a ludicrous prediction in June, Weber will still hold the spot.

Running Back wise? Meh. Duane Bennett is projected to be the starter, but he's no Laurence Maroney, let alone Amir Pinnix. This problem only gets compounded by the fact that the offensive line couldn't produce much on the ground last year, and with the hog mollies still kind of green (no seniors slated to start, but three starters return), there should be enough improvement to get them out of the cellar YPC-wise, if the play calls support it.

As for Wide Receiver, out of the two main threats last year, Ernie Wheelwright left, but Eric Decker (67 receptions, 9 TDs, 13.6 YPC) returns. The rest of the wideouts had between 10-23 catches last year, which means a second option will have to step up, but as many teams can attest, as long as one deep threat exists, the passing attack should be healthy. The tight end should be set as well, Jack Simmons was decent until he got injured last year.

Defense, Special teams and 2008 predictions to come in part 2...

So I lied.

2008-06-17T10:15:00.004-04:00

But it doesn't mean I wasn't working. I was writing a piece to be posted on another site soon, so the Minnesota preview WILL be up tonight. In the meantime, I feel like I've been neglecting basketball, here's a video of highlights from MSU's 2005 Final Four run.

It's not Procrastination, It's Quality Control

2008-06-16T10:12:00.004-04:00

The Minnesota preview will be up sometime tonight, I need to be next to Phil Steele (as with all decisions in life) to really do it justice. Anyway, here's a few Big Ten links to keep you occupied:

Terrelle Pryor - The Six Million Dollar Man, according to Our Honor Defend. If that's all OSU had to pay to get him, they got a bargain. Don't get uptight Buckeyes - I will happily contribute $10 to OSU's slush fund if and when you beat Michigan this year.

Michigan State's Building a New Baseball Stadium. After a donation of $4 million, construction will begin immediately, which means I'll probably make it out to a game or two this April. MSU's greatest attendance for a game this year was 11,000 for an exhibition with the Lansing Lugnuts in Lansing, and if you think that has everything to do with beer sales, then you would be spot on.

DickRod Hosts U-M Women's Football Academy. Note to Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan - when DickRod says the QB competition is wide open, he means it's wide open.

Lastly, Black Heart Gold Pants has stunning video of the floods in Iowa this past week. Having a grandma that used to live in Iowa, it seems surreal to see all these places underwater, and donate whatever you can. However, you might want to save some money to buy football tickets Hawkeye Fans, or else there might be more tragedy.

Programming Note

2008-06-13T15:22:00.005-04:00

Nothing new today. I've got a wedding to go to tomorrow (is it mine? I'll figure it out when I get there), but expect a post on Monday with a preview of Minnesota. To get in the Minny spirit, here's a Hold Steady video for you:

Have a good weekend, y'all.

Big Ten FB preseason math!

2008-06-12T09:48:00.010-04:00

If it's the middle of June, it's time for one thing - Big Ten prognostications! Here's how I think the Big Ten will sort itself out, with a few simple equations:

1. Ohio State: 1st last year + 20 returning starters = craziness to pick anyone else to occupy this spot. However, I can see them dropping a game in conference.

2. Wisconsin: Ohio State+Penn State @ Home = .500, as in they should win 1 of those 2 games. Even with a new QB, they have to go to UM when the Wolverines will be working out kinks, they'll face an Iowa team that struggled to score last year, and an MSU team which will give...God only knows. PJ Hill (#3 returning YPC), Matt Shaugnessy (DE, 2nd team All-BT '07), and an always stalwart OL will make the transition to a new QB as smooth as possible.

3. Penn State: Offense - Morelli+ (Devlin+Clark) = Competence. The defense took a huge hit when Sean Lee went out, but still returns most of its starters to get the #3 spot. Why they're #3 instead of #2 - road trips to Wisconsin and OSU at night, possibly the two worst home environments Penn State can possibly visit, especially breaking in new QBs.

4. MSU: 2008 D-Line = 2007 D-Line. The Defensive line got hit hardest by graduation, especially with the departures of Jonal St. Dic and Ervin Baldwin. Luckily, they're getting Trevor Anderson (HM All-Big East '06), and Tyler Hoover showed high production in the spring game. Hoyer should still be decent, Ringer will still be gnarly, and 4th is what the Spartans will be this year.

5. Illinois: 2008 Juice Williams - Rashard Mendenhall = 2006 Juice Williams. This is not a good thing. Especially when you have to replace J Leman as well. However, there's too much talent on this team not to fall down too far.

6. Purdue: Purdue's Offense = 1/Purdue's Defense. Curtis Painter will probably be the All-Time Big Ten passing leader when this year is said and done, but to get any farther up in the standings, the defense will have to crack down a bit harder. Thus, the mediocre defense is the reciprocal of their explosive offense, and the Boilermakers will go as far as their defense takes them.

7. Michigan: 4 wins < (New Spread Offense - Mobile QB + Above Average Defense) < 11 wins - Honestly, who knows what'll happen here. Best case: Steven Threet has a 3:1 TD:INT ratio, UM's running backs (MCGUFFIE!) hold onto the ball behind their gelled OL, and they finish 10-2 (1 OOC loss, and the loss to OSU - you'll beat them eventually, just not this year.) Worst case - the OL doesn't come together, the RB combined average 3 YPC, Threet has an even TD:INT ratio, and 6-6 is their record, even with their best defensive efforts. Somehow, 7-5 seems about right (remember where this blog came from!)

8. Northwestern: sin(Bacher)*cos(Sutton)/tan(Defense) = You NW grads should be able to understand that equation. I feel Bacher's still going to make mistakes (19 Ints last year), and the Defense won't show a great improvement. However, I feel like I'll regret this ranking the most, and NW could finish as high as 4th this season (covering my ass!)

9. Iowa '07 * Police = 2/3 Iowa '07 = Iowa '08. Iowa tried to remake themselves into the late '80s Miami Hurricanes by losing the City Boyz Inc. , a couple of other players due to sexual assault charges, and, honestly, losing Jake Christensen to jaywalking wouldn't surprise me at this point. Having turmoil at RB (no returning scholarship players at that position), Iowa might be headed for a slightly down year. Why I could be massively wrong: The OL and DL should still be good, and when a team's good in the trenches, good things can happen.

10. Indiana: Offense - James Hardy + Rusty Kellen Davis = whuh-oh. Indiana rode the Believe Train all the way down to Arizona for the Insight bowl last year. However, with the defection of James Hardy to the NFL, and the suspension of star QB Kellen Davis, Indiana might be back to the old days of Indiana football. The Big Ten's returning sack leader, Greg Middleton, will do all in his power to make sure that doesn't happen, but look for a slump this year.

11. Minnesota = WORST TEAM EVAR IN '07 + Promising recruits = Contender...in 2009. Minnesota was either a hair's breath away from winning 4-5 games last year or pulling a gopher (pun intended) in the win column. New Dual-Threat QB MarQueis Gray might get a chance to start immediately, and should fit well in Tim Brewster's system. They'll win more games than last year, but it's still going to take a year or two for Goldy to climb out of the cellar.

It's Out - Phil Steele hits bookstores today

2008-06-10T12:31:00.007-04:00

It's June 10th, and you know what that means - Phil Steele's College Football Preview hits bookstores today! I've had it since Saturday, and here are a few thoughts on the Spartans on Phil's All Big-Ten teams.

- Javon Ringer - 1st team All-BT, 3rd team AA: This seems reasonable. Ringer is tied with Beanie Wells for the best returning YPC (5.9) in the Big Ten, and looks to up his TD total from last year (6) with the loss of Jehuu Caulcrick. Look for him to be in the double-digits for TDs this year.

- Roland Martin, 2nd team All-BT - The Offensive Guard hasn't quite lived up to his huge expectations (Steele's #2 OL recruit in the '04 class), but make no mistake - he's a big dude (6-5, 325), and with the depth MSU has on the OL, if he goes down, there's going to be big trouble for the running game, even with Ringer.

- Greg Jones, 2nd team All-BT - In his freshman year, the OLB was named a Freshman All-American, starting halfway through the season, and is MSU's leading returner in sacks (4.5). Look for him to at least equal this standing, even if he moves to MLB with the graduation of Kaleb Thornhill.

- Eric Gordon, 3rd team All-BT - Like Jones, an OLB, and also like Jones, has three years of eligibility remaining. He seemed to get stronger as the season went on last year, and hopefully he can carry that momentum into camp and the season.

- Otis Wiley, 4th team All-BT - This ranking has slipped; he was 2nd team All-BT by the coaches and media in '06, and wasn't even honorable mention in '07. I attribute this to a lack of production, mainly because he wasn't having to chase down ball-carriers in the secondary as much in '07. He makes the switch from FS to SS full-time this season, and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Recruiting Update - MSU Commit #7

2008-06-09T10:19:00.006-04:00

Michigan State picked up a verbal commitment last night from Patrick White out of Pickerington High School in Ohio. Currently, White is a 3-star player and the 98th best WR by Scout; he's currently unranked by Rivals. However, he has offers from 15 schools, such as Oregon, Kansas, and Cincinnati. Seems like another solid pick-up, and could project out as a CB, although by the time he steps foot on campus, he'll be 3rd on the depth chart of WRs named "White", behind Blair and Myles. At least MSU'll save money on the back of the jerseys.

Welcome all!

2008-06-08T19:04:00.003-04:00

Walking to the Union amongst all the downed trees today, I couldn't think of a more appropriate time to this start this blog. A note about the name - I in no way encourage, advocate or condone rioting at MSU. I hate the reputation they bring as much as anyone, and if you're thinking about rioting at MSU sometime in the future, let me know so I can forward your name to the authorities. I came up with the name when I started to post on EDSBS a few months ago, and it's something I thought had a nice ring to it. By the name, I'm not envisioning MSU as a smoking crater in the ground, but rather as a place where, 6-7 Saturdays each fall, turns into a bonanza of football, delicious food, and of course, feats of spectacular alcohol consumption.

I've been a huge MSU sports fan ever since I've started attending Michigan State (dad tried to raise me as a UM fan, it stuck around until high school when I first visited EL). Since then, I've seen MSU's triumphs (2005 Final Four, 2007 NCAA hockey champions, etc.) and its share of less-than-triumphs (the whole John L. era save the first season, riots, etc.) Essentially, there are two things to help you cope with the latter - Popov blue label, and a sense of humor.

Thus, with nothing else really going on right now in my life, I've made a decision to start a blog about MSU athletics. Feel free to comment, praise, and harangue me, for the internet's third chief export, behind pornography and people getting hit in the groin, is anonymous slander.

Anyway, there'll be some real MSU stuff up in the next day or so.