Saturday, November 28, 2015

Penn State pre-game post

It's been awhile since I last wrote in this blog. I spent the beginning of the week still basking in the afterglow of the Ohio State win. Listened to some local sports talk radio and watched the Big Ten Network's replay of the game. On Monday evening, my wife and I went to Breslin Center to watch the MSU basketball team clobber Eastern Michigan. By the middle of the week, it was Thanksgiving and an afternoon stuffing my face with food, beer, wine, and champagne while watching the Detroit Lions annihilate the Philadelphia Eagles and the MSU hoopsters run away from Boston College in the second half of their Wooden Legacy tournament game.

This undefeated Michigan State sports week continued last night, as MSU basketball finally put away a pesky Boise State team. I hope that this wonderful week will be topped off with the Spartan football team defeating Penn State today and clinching the Big Ten East division title.

As I write this, I am half-watching the Ohio State/Michigan game and rooting for the Wolverines to lose. The worst case scenario for me is a Michigan win over the Buckeyes and MSU losing to Penn State. That is a complete nightmare scenario and best to not even ponder as it will cause me heart palpitations and sweaty palms.

Honestly though, as long as Michigan State takes care of Penn State, I really don't give a damn who wins the OSU/Michigan game.

As far as today's Penn State game goes, I believe that the Spartans will be fully dialed in. They know what's at stake, and they've been through too much this season to let this game slip through their hands. Put pressure on Christian Hackenberg, who has been sacked 36 times this season with his porous o-line, and make his afternoon hellish. 

Nobody outside of the Duffy Daugherty Football Building knows if Connor Cook will play today. I have a sneaking suspicion that he will not and it'll be up to Tyler O'Connor and Damion Terry to run the offense again. If this is so, I just hope they an continue to do what they did last week against Ohio State, and that L.J. Scott, Gerald Holmes, and Delton Williams can build upon what they did in what may be a resurgent MSU running game. I'm putting my green sunglasses on and predicting a 23-10 MSU victory.