Ohio State 49, Michigan State 37

We're in the waning moments of what looks to be a 49-37 loss to Ohio State, provided Urbs doesn't decide to try and punch it in one more time...and that's it: the final score is OSU 49, MSU 37.

 

I couldn't have been further off on my pick. First of all, it was much higher scoring than I expected. Secondly, I never expected MSU's defense to get torn to shreds in the manner that occurred tonight. J.T. Barrett made none of the freshman mistakes I anticipated, and frankly I've not seen the Spartan defense look this overwhelmed in a long time.

 

I have to hand it to Urban Meyer, he had the Buckeyes ready and they were the ones who look like they should be a contender for the playoff. Clearly, Ohio State was motivated after last year's disappointment and they showed it.

 

Postscript: I'm coming to you on Monday, November 10. I've had a day to digest what happened on Saturday night.

 

The best place to start is with J.T. Barrett. What more could possibly be said about how well he played on Saturday night? He was incredible, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is better than Braxton Miller. He made some unbelievable throws, and is a powerful runner. But most impressive was his unflappability. He played like a four-year veteran, and seemed completely unfazed by the big crowd and the big stage.

 

Then there is the MSU defense. I was stunned at how porous it looked. This is not the first time this season it has yielded bushels of yards and points. Oregon did it, Purdue improbably did it, and even Indiana had success in the first half on MSU's 56-17 win. Ohio State is now the next to victimize the Spartan defense, with Barrett, Ezekiel Elliott, and Devin Smith running roughshod over the MSU defense.

 

I don't think the defensive problem is in personnel, though it's obvious that MSU's defensive backs this season are not nearly as good as last season's. My football knowledge is not astute enough to know what the solution is, but I have confidence that Pat Narduzzi will figure it out.

 

Before I spend too much time criticizing the Spartans, I have to single out Jeremy Langford and Macgarrett Kings in particular for how hard they played. Langford ran hard and with controlled aggression the entire game, and Kings had a brilliant run in the fourth quarter in which it looked for all the world like he was about to get caught in the backfield for a loss. Somehow, he managed to fight his way free and ran all the way to the OSU's 1-yard like. Langford then punched it in on the next play to score MSU's final touchdown of the night.

 

The turning point of the game came late in the first half when an apparent touchdown was taken away on a dicey holding call. That score would have put MSU up 28-14 and given them momentum. Instead, the Spartans had to settle for a Michael Geiger field goal attempt that he missed. OSU took over and soon scored a touchdown (79 yard pass from Barrett to Michael Thomas) to tie the game. The Buckeyes added another touchdown on a perfectly thrown ball from Barrett to Smith. Ohio State took a 28-21 lead into intermission and all the momentum.

Overall though, Ohio State played like the team with the chip on its shoulder. They clearly wanted to make amends for what happened in Indianapolis last season, and played their best game of the season.

Glancing back at Nebraska, and looking ahead to Purdue

Today the Spartans are in West Lafayette to take on Purdue. I'm happy that today's game starts at a more reasonable time of 3:30.
 

I watched a replay of the Nebraska game, and it's stunning to see how the game unraveled in the 4th quarter, but it had as much--if not more--to do with bad luck as uninspired or mistake-prone play. Kurtis Drummond had a near pick six that would have put MSU by at least a 33-9 score, but instead he whiffed and the ball ended up in the hands of the Huskers' Jordan Westerkamp, and he ran the ball deep into MSU territory. This resulted in a Cornhusker TD to make the score 27-16. Then came Mike Sadler's line drive punt that was run back for a touchdown and closed the gap to 27-22. Sadler should have put more air under the ball or kicked out of bounds. Maybe this is easier said than done in some circumstances. And then, of course, came Jeremy Langford running out of bounds when Nebraska had no timeouts left. Another mental miscue.
 

At least when MSU needed them most, the Spartans were able to make the most important plays to preserve the win: blowing up the Huskers' two-point conversion try (to keep the margin at 5 instead of 3) and, of course, Trae Waynes' game-ending interception.
 

Despite the bizarre fourth quarter, Michigan State dominated Nebraska. If the team that pushed Nebraska around for 3 1/2 quarters shows up at Purdue today, this game could be a 35-40 point blowout. But what concerns me is THAT team has yet to play for a full 60 minutes. Maybe they can get away with that against a weak opponent like Purdue, but I hope the Nebraska game was a wake up call.
 

Purdue has played better of late, but I don't see them hanging with MSU. Call this a workmanlike 38-10 win for the Green and White.

Back for a little spring housekeeping

It's been about two weeks since I last wrote in this blog. At that time, I was lamenting the fact that Michigan was playing in the national championship game, and considering the possibility of a life in hiding if they won. (Tongue firmly in cheek).

Well, lucky for me and most of Spartan Nation, the Wolverines lost. But I'm here to give the Wolverines their props for a great tournament run and peaking when it mattered the most. Congratulations Michigan on a great tournament (but I'm happy you didn't win the whole thing. Call me petty, but that's where I stand).

So now the college basketball season is over, and the college sports season as a whole is slowly winding down.

Overall, it was a good year for the MSU men's basketball team. Quite frankly, I thought they overachieved. I had no idea how they would perform without a great leader like Draymond Green, but the team exceeded my expectations. A game out of first place and a Sweet Sixteen finish in the tournament isn't too shabby. We already know that Gary Harris is returning for his sophomore season, and if Adreian Payne also comes back--this is still up in the air as I write--I can see the team being a definite Final Four contender in 2013-2014.

***

I had intentions of attending the MSU spring football game yesterday, but the weather was abysmal. Call me a bad fan, but I had no desire to sit in Spartan Stadium and suffer through mid-30 degree temperatures. The game was televised on the Big Ten Network anyway, so there was little need to schlep over to campus to see it.

It's very difficult to glean anything from the spring game, since it's just a split squad game with the quarterbacks not "live." (If the defenses look great, does that just mean the offenses are bad? The spring game presents that type of conundrum).

From what I could see, the defense looked good, which wasn't a surprise. The White team defense had an interception and a fumble recovery that both went to the house for touchdowns. Max Bullough looked beastly, and should be poised for a big season in 2013.

None of the three quarterbacks really stood out. All three had their share of good and not-so-good plays. The position is still up for grabs, as far as I can tell.

Riley Bullough looks like a viable option at running back, with this straight-ahead bullish running style.. Nick Tompkins and Jeremy Langford had a few nice runs, but this is yet another position with a giant question mark looming over it.

There also seemed to be far too many dropped passes by the wide receivers, and that was disappointing. But Keith Mumphery, Bennie Fowler and Aaron Burbridge all had some "wow" moments, and were the game's standouts at receiver. In addition, DeAnthony Arnett had a splendid touchdown catch in double coverage and A.J. Troup had a nice hitch-and-run for a touchdown. This is a position with talent, and there is hope that these guys will perform much better than they did last season.

Overall, the game left me (and probably most Spartan football fans) with more questions than answers. The one thing we can count on is that the defense will be outstanding once again.

I have to give a special mention to Kirk Cousins, who was the color commentator on the BTN broadcast. He was outstanding, and there really doesn't seem to be anything this guy can't do.

***

Last year, when basketball season ended, I had intentions of posting periodically during the summer. Of course, I didn't do that at all. I won't make any promises or guarantees this time, though I doubt anyone is waiting with bated breath for my musings. We'll see how inspired I am, and whether I can ever find an open computer in this house.

So, for now, so long. If I'm incommunicado during the summer, I'll definitely be around in the fall.