Knee-jerk early morning Spartan football insomnia blues

It's past 1:30 AM and I can't sleep.

The focus is on the blown call by the officiating crew that gave Nebraska the game-winning touchdown, but really the game was lost earlier.

The offense is the reason the Spartans were even in a position to win this game in the first place, and the offense should have been given the opportunity to WIN the game in MSU's penultimate possession, but instead the coaching staff got sucked into the standard conservative playcalling that didn't even come close to yielding a first down. To make matters worse, since Nebraska had two timeouts to burn, hardly any time came off the clock anyway.

Perhaps the Spartan coaching staff was under the impression that surely the defense could stop the Huskers with only 55 seconds left in the game and no timeouts left, but the defense had struggled all night. What made them think this would suddenly change?

So while much of the focus is on a blown call--and it was an egregiously terrible call--the Spartans' doom was already at least largely foreshadowed by the Spartans' missed opportunity to ice the game by picking up just one first down.

Anyone who has been following Michigan State football this season with any level of detail knows that this is a flawed team. The chinks in the armor appeared on the first day of training camp when Ed Davis, arguably the team's best linebacker, was lost for the season. Then the secondary took big hits early on when its best cornerback, Vayante Copeland, was lost in the late stages of the Oregon game.

So we have a team with a patched-together secondary and a kickoff coverage unit that has been, at best, mediocre all season. MSU's Swiss cheese defense and spotty special teams combined to keep a highly motivated and spirited Nebraska team in the game. So while we can all rightfully be pissed off about that blown call, it's far from the only reason the Spartans lost.

MSU's faults finally caught up with them, and the coaching staff's unwillingness to place the game in the capable hands of its senior quarterback further hindered the team's chances at a victory.

I hope that the MSU coaching staff learns from this. You have a great quarterback in Connor Cook and receivers like Macgarrett Kings, R.J. Shelton, and Aaron Burbridge who have proven time and time again that they can make big plays. Use them wisely next time.

Just the usual pre-game neurosis

I know Nebraska is only 3-6, but they make me nervous: proud football program with lots of history and tradition, night game in Lincoln, crazy Husker fans. It'll be a tough environment for the Spartans. Getting out of there with a win will be a bigger accomplishment than what they'll probably be given credit for...if they do indeed escape with a victory.

I've gone through my pre-game rituals, which include walking past a building on North Washington Avenue in Lansing which I have, for reasons I can't remember, decided is a "lucky place" that I need to walk by before any big game. I've also completed my traditional pre-game 5 kilometer run through the neighborhood, which I've decided is lucky AND relaxes me before kickoff.

Now, my rational and logical self says that none of this means a hill of beans and has absolutely no impact on the game...but if I didn't do it, I'd feel empty and negligent.

Back to the grind

I've meant to write on this blog earlier, but never got around to it; however, seeing as hardly anybody besides me reads it anyway, it hardly matters.

I enjoyed the MSU football team's off-week. It really couldn't have been timed better: not only was it a great time for the team to heal and get some important players back, but it gave yours truly time to focus on Halloween and catch my breath before the home stretch in November.

Even fans need a breather during the season.

We get back into the grind this Saturday, when the Spartans travel to Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers lost last week to lowly Purdue, but they remain a team that can't be taken lightly. Tommy Armstrong--who, at the Big Ten meetings before the season, declared his desire to beat MSU--is back at quarterback. He may still be ailing from turf toe, but I've no doubt he'll bring everything he has on Saturday. To make this game even more dangerous, it's at night and Nebraska is fighting for its postseason life. One more loss and they will not be eligible for a bowl game.

All this said, the Spartans should find a way to win this one. After four consecutive tough games with Nebraska, MSU will not take them lightly--I'm sure of this. I look for the Huskers to hang with the Spartans for about the first three quarters with the Green-and-White pulling away in the fourth quarter. I predict a final score of 38-24.

***

On Tuesday night, the first college football playoff rankings were released. Michigan State is seventh. I know that many MSU fans are upset about this, but I've neither surprised nor do I care. The bottom line is that the Spartans need to win out to make the playoff. That's all it comes down to. A road win over a wounded (but still dangerous) Nebraska should count some;  a romp over Maryland at home is expected and won't help MSU's resume; but clearly a victory over Ohio State on November 21 will catapult the Spartans into the top four. Then the Spartans will need to beat an improved Penn State on Senior Day in East Lansing and beat whoever the opponent is in the Big Ten title game (probably Iowa). MSU can't afford to stumble at all in its remaining games because there is no way the committee will vote more than one Big Ten team into the playoff, least of all a team like Michigan State with little name recognition.

***

The Drive with Jack Ebling had former MSU quarterback Bobby McAllister as a guest yesterday. They talked a little about the 1987 Ohio State game in Columbus (a 13-7 MSU victory). That got me to google "Michigan State Ohio State 1987" and, quite miraculously, I discovered that BTN2GO has the game in its archives. I haven't seen the game since it was played in 1987, when I and some college friends wrapped tin foil around TV antennas in order to improve our poor dorm room television reception. About all I remember is that the game was a defensive struggle and a true nail-biter. It was MSU's last major obstacle of the Big Ten season as they marched to the conference title and a Rose Bowl win. I plan on giving a report in this blog after viewing the game for the first time in 28 years.

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.

An apology to the early-leaving students--It's not your fault.

I've softened my view a little regarding empty seats at Spartan Stadium, and empty seats in college football in general.

In my last post, I came down pretty hard on the students. However, as has already been mentioned by others, it was a perfect storm of events that caused the mass exodus of students in the latter stages of the MSU/Nebraska game.

First of all, it was a night game, with a late start time of 8:15. The weather was wet and rainy, the game took a ridiculously long time to play with all the TV timeouts, and by the end of the third quarter, it appeared for all the world that MSU would win in a blowout. And, as I remember from my own days as a college student, those kids were not dressed properly for wet and cold weather.

Just as a Rod Serling-esque litany of bizarre plays allowed Nebraska to almost win the game, so too was the case (bad weather, late start, interminable game, lopsided score) in almost completely emptying the student section in the latter stages of the game.

This gets to the whole problem of night games--in the north--later than September. It's always a dicey proposition and frankly I'm against it. These games are scheduled with television, and only television, in mind. The needs and wants of the spectators are not considered.

So MSU students, this old fogey offers you a sincere apology.

Thank you, Trae Waynes

Through the first three quarters of last night's game, the Spartans looked like a well-oiled, humming machine of domination.

 

But as we all know, it wouldn't be a proper Michigan State game without some craziness tossed in the mix.

 

The fans, apparently thinking the game was won and tiring of the chilly rain, left early and so did MSU's home field advantage. Meanwhile, in a bizarre script so improbable that not even Rod Serling could have dreamt it up, the Nebraska Cornhuskers cut a 27-3 deficit to 27-22. The Huskers' bid for a miracle win, and a Spartan collapse that would make even John L. Smith blush, was thankfully ended by a Trae Waynes interception.

 

One thing that's clear about this MSU football team: they are supremely talented and capable of utter domination. But maddeningly, they don't yet seem capable of doing it for 60 minutes. This is not due to lack of ability but because, as of now, they haven't developed the killer instinct that made last year's team so great. This may go back to the leadership issues discussed in the previous blog post.

 

For MSU to achieve all they are capable of--and they have the potential to be one of the most lethal teams in college football--the Spartans need to learn from this near-debacle and play a full 60 minutes from now on.

 

And one last word about the fans, in particular the students. I've been one their staunchest defenders, but I am extremely disappointed that so many of them left the game at the end of the third quarter. Yes, I realize the weather was chilly and drizzly, but frankly it didn't appear any worse than last year's Michigan game played in almost identical conditions. If we want a top-notch program at Michigan State, our fans and students need to support the team through the ENTIRE game, not just when it's convenient. To the fans who stayed, I applaud you; to the ones who left, unless you were becoming ill or had extenuating circumstances, I'm disappointed that you bailed on the Spartans. The lack of support was one of the factors than nearly cost them Saturday's game.

The Nebraska game

The skies are gray in the Lansing area and there is a damp chill in the air. Leaves are beginning to change color and some have already fallen to the ground. For the first time this year, it feels like college football season. Combined with the excitement of post-season baseball (despite the Tigers' epic meltdowns in their first two games against the Orioles), this is my favorite time of the year.

Tonight, the Spartans take on Nebraska in what may turn out to be the most important Big Ten game of the season. Yes, I know "the Big Ten is down, blah, blah, blah," but it is MSU's conference and I still value a conference title. Beating Nebraska, an admittedly scary team that seemingly always has MSU's number, is a big deal and the first major step towards winning a second consecutive Big Ten title.

I still don't quite know what to make of this Michigan State football team. It's become clear that the Spartans miss the leadership of players like Max Bullough, Darqueze Dennard, Denicos Allen, and Isaiah Lewis. It's unclear who, if anyone, is developing into a leader for this year's team. Is it Connor Cook? Kurtis Drummond? Looking back at the Oregon game, when the situation started unraveling in the second half, nobody was able to take control and get the team's collective heads back in the game. Last year, the Spartans perhaps would have regrouped and probably not lost by 19 points (and, in fact, may have actually won the game). But who knows? That's just speculation.

Something that seems clear is that MSU has an explosive offense, and I hope it's able to continue this productivity against Nebraska. It's one thing to score 56 and 73 points against the likes of Wyoming and Eastern Michigan and quite another to keep it up against Nebraska. Of course, I don't expect MSU to score 50 points or more against the Huskers.

Since I'm almost completely incapable of picking against the Spartans, I'll say that home field and a more multi-dimensional offense will get MSU over the hump. Let's call it MSU 34, Nebraska 30.

At what point do we become concerned?

It's natural for a team to not bring it's "A" game all the time, but yesterday's MSU loss to Nebraska at home was shocking. And from my observation, it appears that the Spartan basketball team has lacked consistent focus for the last few weeks. But really, one could go all the way back to early in the season--with nail-biters against the likes of Columbia--and see that this team is prone to lapses in focus and energy.

Yes, I know that injuries are still an issue for MSU, and that Nebraska has improved over the last half-dozen games or so, but that doesn't make yesterday's loss much less surprising, particularly in light of what MSU had to gain by coming out strong and winning.

I'm trying hard not be the stupid, myopic sports fan here. There's no doubt that MSU's consistent excellence in hoops throughout the last 17 years tends to spoil us, and we begin to believe that winning, particularly in Breslin Center. is virtually automatic. Well, it's not. And when your opponent outworks you and outhustles you, like Nebraska did yesterday, you will lose--even in your own building. It's easy as a fan to focus all of your attention on what your own team did wrong and forget that there is an opponent who wants to win just as badly, and Nebraska was the hungrier team.

After Wisconsin, I was still convinced that if the Spartans ever got healthy again, they'd be a Final Four team. Now, I don't know that they'll ever get healthy and I'm beginning to question how far this team can go in the tournament. Maybe not as far as I originally thought.

Did MSU lose to Nebraska on Saturday? (A comment I wrote in the comments section of a Detroit Free Press article)

You'd think MSU lost to Nebraska, the way the "pundits" have been talking about the game the last few days.  Nebraska presented the most multi-dimensional offense the Spartans have seen all year, and though MSU did give up chunks of yardage, it was less than Nebraska's season average, if I'm not mistaken. Is it possible that the bye week, though it was beneficial in giving the team time to come down emotionally from the Michigan game, was detrimental in that it also caused the defense to be a little rusty going into the Nebraska game? I have no idea, just throwing that out there.                                                                                                              

It's worth noting that Nebraska also had much to play for in this game, and the Cornhuskers played extremely hard--and they benefitted from having the rabid, red-clad fans at Memorial Stadium on their side. 

In the long run, playing against an offense like Nebraska's may be good for MSU. Maybe it will help them be more prepared for what they'll face against OSU (provided MSU takes care of business against either or both Northwestern and Minnesota).

Demons exorcised

What a huge win for MSU; and the Nebraska demon--or demonS--have been exorcised.

The game was much higher scoring that I or probably anyone thought, but isn't that usually the way it goes with these games?

I only caught bits and pieces of the game, and not because I was too nervous to watch. I saw the first quarter in its entirety (except for a brief few minutes when i was outside raking leaves and listening to the radio broadcast), but then my wife and I had to attend a work-related dinner at the Fireside Grill, south of Lansing. The good part was that, though there was no television in our large banquet room reserved for all the attendees of this dinner, the restaurant portion of the establishment had several large screen televisions. I was no the only person at this dinner who was interested--or rather, obsessed--with the result of the MSU/Nebraska game. Though we tried to be sociable, three or four of us husbands/boyfriends found ourselves occasionally meandering into the dining room to check the score. Of course, I also had ESPN.com up on my Android Razr so I could sneak a peak at the score. The game ended just a little before dinner wrapped up, and it made the whole experience much better.

By the way, the Fireside Grill is good. If you're in the Lansing area, go check it out. And I'm not getting paid for that endorsement.

So, I missed most of the game, and will have to catch the replay on Big Ten Network, whenever that is. After I have seen the replay, I'll attempt to write a bit more about the game. For now, I plan on just savoring this great Spartan win.

Tonight, I posted the following update status on Facebook, "MSU's "Payback's a B**** Tour 2013" continues. Latest victim: Nebraska. Next week: Northwestern. Go Spartan Dawgs!" I've also threatened to create t-shirts with the slogan, "MSU: Payback's a Bitch Tour 2013," with a list of all the teams the Spartans fell to in close losses last season. Next to the name of the school will be boxes with check marks in them. So far, we have Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska, with Northwestern and Ohio State left. Of course, this t-shirt will only be any good or desirable if MSU beats all of these teams. 

Well, I feel a slight headache coming on from staring at this computer screen and the two Bell's Two-Hearted Ales I drank at dinner. Yes, I'm a lightweight in my advanced age.

Until later, Go State!

Time to slay the Nebraska demon

It's time to exorcise some demons tomorrow in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Michigan State has never beaten Nebraska in football...ever.

Seven games, seven losses.

Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The fans may be friendly, but the results for Michigan State have been most unpleasant.

Streaks can't last forever, can they? The Spartans, without a doubt,  have a better team than the Cornhuskers this year, I'm sure they remember all too well last year's hearbreaking loss, the stakes are higher in this year's game, and I have a feeling that the Spartans come away with a hard-fought win.

But I'm sure you all know me too well at this point to think I'm coming into this game with too much bravado. As a lifelong Spartan fan, I must have contingency plans in the event of defeat. Lincoln is a difficult place to win for opposing teams, and Nebraska seems to be living a charmed life in recent weeks with their miracle win over Northwestern and last week's come-from-behind sniping of the Wolverines.

But Michigan State, just to reiterate, is the better team, and Nebraska's squad is a M*A*S*H* unit. Taylor Martinez is out for the season, the Huskers' offensive line is beat up, and wide receiver Kenny Bell has been banged up in recent weeks. It may come down to Ameer Abdullah to carry the load for Nebraska, and he is one of the best running backs in the Big Ten. If the Spartans can at least contain Abdullah by holding him under 100 yards rushing, and prevent quarterbacks Ron Kellogg or Tommy Armstrong, Jr. from pulling any miracle plays out their hats (helmets?), then MSU should win.

The victory could be more comfortable if MSU's sometimes erratic offense can play well and avoid mistakes. Nebraska's defense can, when they want to, play quite well. But Nebraska's defense tends to be as unpredictable as MSU's offense, and in fairness, the Spartan offense has improved drastically since the first month of the season.

If all goes well for the Spartans, I can see them winning something like 24-14. But I wouldn't be shocked if the game ended up as a 13-10 slog. It's just really hard to predict. Heck, if the Spartan Dawgs dominate on defense and the MSU offense revs up, then MSU could win by three touchdowns. It's a difficult game to gauge.

Whatever happens, I don't think I can stomach the disasterous result of the 2011 game, in which the Spartans looked they we were wearing concrete shoes en route to a 24-3 shellacking. But I don't think this will happen again. MSU's defense is way too good for that to happen, and Nebraska is a damaged team that may be hanging on for dear life. My only reason for not believing MSU will win in a rout is that this game is in Lincoln. The red-clad home crowd at Memorial Stadium will probably keep the Huskers in the game.

I'm looking at this game much as I did MSU's 2010 game against Penn State. As you may recall, the Spartans were playing for a share of the conference title, but in a place where they hadn't won since 1965 (well before any of the players were born and maybe before many of the players' parents were born). It was not a stellar Penn State team, and it was a game in which the Spartans were clearly the better team entering the game, but still there was that lingering doubt (at least from yours truly) that they would succeed in a stadium that had been so unforgiving in the past. As it turned out, the Spartans did win the game, though they blew a big lead in the fourth quarter and the final wasn't decided until MSU recovered a Penn State onside kick. But the Spartans got it done and exorcised the Happy Valley demon.

Tomorrow, it's time for the Nebraska demon to receive the same fate.

It's NEVER easy being Green (Nebraska 28, Michigan State 24)

One would think that after being a Spartan fan for 35+ years, I'd be used to gut-wrenching losses, but I gotta tell you they never get easier, and in the pantheon of brutally painful losses, this one against Nebraska was a doozy.

A few posts ago, I wrote that all the emotion had essentially been beaten out of me throughout this season--well, as you probably could guess, that was not entirely true. I was up and down an emotional roller coaster throughout this game and was left speechless by the result--so ins short, I had plenty of emotion to give in this game.

Before I start going off on the officials for the absolutely horrendous pass interference call that gave Nebraska first-and-goal and, for all intents and purposes, the win--let me say that there was plenty of terrible officiating that went both ways.  Michigan State also had plenty of opportunities to ice the game, but were never able to make THE big play to accomplish that goal. That's been the story of this football season.

There were so many opportunities for the Spartans to put the final nail in the Huskers' coffin: the inability to pick up a first down on the final possession (just like in the Michigan game), the Johnny Adams penalty on the shoulda coulda been touchdown interception. (If you ask me, that play was the turning point in the game. MSU would have had all the momentum and a 17-point lead if that touchdown counts. Instead, the ball ends up on the MSU 10(ish) yard line and the Spartans only keep the ball for less than a couple minutes. Just a KILLER turnaround.

(I have gone back and viewed Johnny Adams' alleged penalty and it is, at best, a questionable call. More than the phantom pass interference, this call was the one that was the turning point in the game).

To tell you the truth, after that interception touchdown was called back, I had a sense of impending doom. Rip me all you want, but it probably comes with the territory of being a Spartan football fan. The game felt like the 2009 Iowa game: a game in which the Spartans, for the most part, played a very good game but just could not make THE DEFINING play to seal the deal. All throughout that '09 Iowa game, I had a feeling that it would not end well, and I had the same feeling today.

Well, enough about this for now. Maybe I'll write more about this later. All I really know at this point is that Obama better win on Tuesday or this will be one brutal Fall.

Can the Spartans finally beat Nebraska?

Michigan State has never beaten Nebraska in football. In fact, the Spartans have never come within two touchdowns of beating the Huskers. In the teams' six previous contests dating all the way back to 1914, MSU has been outscored 205-37, Even if the 1995 and 1996 humiliations are removed (50-10 and 55-14 losses at the hands of some great Tom Osborne-coached teams) the Spartans have been outscored 100-13. The Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals have a closer all-time head-to-head record than MSU and Nebraska. (Okay, that is a bit of an overstatement--but at least the Washington Generals have one win over the Globetrotters).

Now that I've established how one-sided this series has been, isn't it finally time for MSU to get a win? This streak can't last forever, and the Spartans will want to make amends for one of their worst performances of the 2011 season, a 24-3 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln.

I hope that the Nebraska fans don't invade Spartan Stadium en masse. I hope that MSU's defense can continue what they did last week against Wisconsin's run game and shut down the Huskers' high-powered offense. But most importantly, I hope that MSU's offense can expand upon the good things it did last week down the stretch against Wisconsin--at least do enough to outscore Nebraska. I'd be happy with a 10-7 or 14-13 type of win.

(I am watching the Michigan/Minnesota game while writing this and Michigan's offense looked absolutely woeful in its first possession of the game. Devin Gardner is playing in place of Denard Robinson and all I have to say is "ouch, not pretty.").

I will not make any predictions regarding the MSU/Nebraska game, since my predictions are never accurate, but I will of course be rooting mightily for a Spartan win.

Michigan State 62, Nebraska 34

Leisurely watched the game whilst nursing a glass of shiraz.

Ugly, typical Big Ten defensive slugfest in the first half.  I think Nebraska figured their only chance was to "uglify" the game as much as possible, and despite not being able to hit the broad side of a barn, the Huskers were only down by eight at intermission.

I didn't expect the game to turn into such a blowout in the second half, but I also didn't expect Nebraska's best player, Bo Spencer, to go out at halftime with an injury. That's not to say that Nebraska would have had a chance even with Spencer in there, but what would have probably been a 15-20 point loss turned into a 28 point loss.

It was great to see Draymond Green get his 1000th career rebound late in the second half, and touching to see Austin Thornton immediately acknowledge it.

The most entertaining moment of the night had to be Derrick Nix getting a steal and thundering in for a monster jam.  I thought the big fella was going to bring down the entire goalpost with him.

So, a potential trap game was decidedly NOT a trap.  The guys may have not played at the peak of their abilities, but they went out there with enough energy to put Nebraska away almost immediately.  Now it's time for a tussle with Indiana down in Bloomington.

Having the Spartans kick the Cornhuskers' butts twice in hoops almost makes up for that disappointing football loss our guys suffered in Lincoln.

And, to close, I'd like to thank the Michigan Wolverines for losing to Purdue.  I appreciate the gesture a great deal.  As a Michigan State fan, I sure as hell don't want the Spartans having to share a title with Michigan, and I definitely do NOT want Michigan having any chance of finishing above the Spartans in the final standings.  Michigan has gone 25 years without a conference basketball title, and I'd be more than happy to see it extended to 26 years.

Catching up, and looking forward to Nebraska

It's been more than a week since I've posted in here, and since then the Spartans have defeated Purdue, in an impressive performance in West Lafayette, and struggled to put away Minnesota in Minneapolis. Although the win over the Gophers was far from impressive, those are the type of slog-it-out games a team has to endure to win a championship.

Tonight, the Spartans go up against bottom-feeder Nebraska in an 8 PM game at Breslin.  Like the Minnesota game, this could be viewed as another quintessential "trap" game: go out there without enough energy and the Huskers could sneak out with a win.  Now, I don't think MSU will come out with the same determination they'd have against, say, Michigan or Ohio State (or even Purdue), but I just don't see them losing this game.  If nothing else, Draymond Green won't allow it.  I could see Nebraska hanging with State for a half, but not much more than that.  The Spartans are peaking now, have a Big Ten title in their sights, and should win this one by at least 15 points.

There's been some discussion around here ("around here" being the Lansing area) regarding this season and how it ranks among Tom Izzo's best ever coaching jobs.  I want to see how the rest of the season plays out before I make a final assessment.  If the Spartans go on to win the Big Ten championship, then it has to rank in my top three.  Without doing any research on the matter, and just going with the top of my head, I'd put the 2004-05 season as number one, and the 1999-2000 National Championship season as number two.

I will try and get back to this blog later tonight after the Nebraska game and rehash today's basketball action, something I neglected to do after both the Purdue and Minnesota games.  Between the Michigan/Purdue game at 6:00 and the MSU/Nebraska match up, it should be fun.

Nebraska 24, Michigan State 3: Postgame thoughts

The only part of today's score I got right was Nebraska's point total: 24.  Thank you Bo Pelini for going into victory formation and not running up the score in the last five minutes of the game.

Not to make excuses, but it appeared that the Spartans were tired.  They had played Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin in succession--all three emotional wins.  Probably none more so than the Wisconsin game.  State just looked flat for most of the game, but credit must also go to Nebraska, who played some intense smothering defense.  They contained the running game, covered the receivers like a blanket, and basically made it a long day for MSU's offense

Nebraska knew how important this game was for their chances at a Big Ten title, and playing it surrounded by a sea of red certainly didn't hurt.  I'd like MSU's chances a lot more at home, but that's the way it goes.

The last hurdle MSU's football program must cross is playing well on the road in hostile environments.  They are getting closer in this regard, as this game wasn't nearly as bad as last year's Iowa game.

In any case, getting through this four game stretch (OSU, Mich, Wisc, Neb) at 3-1 is pretty darned good.  The schedule gets easier from here on out, with home games against Minnesota and Indiana, and road games against Iowa and Northwestern.  Of course, those games against Iowa and Northwestern could get tricky, particularly Iowa--where MSU has had lots of trouble in the past.  Still, not quite as daunting as the first half of the Big Ten season.

Now, it's time for the Spartans to regroup and get ready for a very winnable game next Saturday against Minnesota.

Nebraska Cornhuskers: pre-game thoughts

I finally am able, this morning, to get one of the kids off the computer to write my thoughts about the game against the Cornhuskers, which is just a little more than an hour away.

So let me cut to the chase.  I'm nervous.  It's in Lincoln, where the last time the Spartans played (in the first game of 1996), they were mauled 55-14.  Granted, those were different times.  It was Saban's second year as head coach and the Spartans were talent-depleted.  Tom Osborne had the Nebraska machine going strong, with a team that would go on to finish 11-2 and #6 in the nation.  MSU was simply the first of several teams the Huskers would demolish that season.

The 2011 Michigan State team has considerable more talent than that '96 squad, and Nebraska doesn't seem quite as daunting as Osborne's team.  Still, the nervous Nelly, glass-is-half-empty, expect-the-worst MSU fan that I have been conditioned to become after years of disappointment is concerned about this game.  I have flashbacks of the Iowa game last year, and am reminded that the Halloween weekend has not been kind the Spartans the last few years.  Last season's Iowa road debacle took place the day before Halloween, and the heartbreaking (and poorly officiated) '09 road loss to Minnesota was on Halloween.

Well, haven't the last few years under Dantonio been all about defying expectations?  Why can't MSU beat Nebraska in Lincoln?  Of course they can!  After all, last season the Spartans clinched their first Big Ten title in 20 years by defeating Penn State in Happy Valley for the first time since 1965.  This year, they knocked off Ohio State in Columbus for the first time since 1998. (Granted, it was a depleted OSU team, but I digress).  MSU has now beaten Michigan for the fourth consecutive year, a feat I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.  And as further icing on the cake (to borrow yet another well-worn cliche) the Spartans beat the #4 Wisconsin Badgers on a hail Mary pass.  Yes, the last few years have been about defying expectations and killing old demons.

I can't be expected to give an unbiased prediction regarding the outcome of this game.  With this in mind, I will say that the Spartans defeat the Cornhuskers, 27-24.