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.

Knee-jerk post game reactions (Michigan State 52, Indiana 26)

I'm relaxing on the couch, drinking a glass of wine, sort of watching USC/Utah (having changed channels after it became clear--or at least highly likely--Rutgers will not put up much fight against Ohio State).

My wife and I went to the MSU/Indiana game today. It was my 50th all-time MSU football game (I'm dorky enough to keep track of such statistics). It's probably more games than many, but completely dwarfed by anyone who has had season tickets for several years.

We sat in Section 4, Row 43, Seats 24 and 25; directly behind the small but boisterous Indiana section. The Hoosier faithful made noise throughout the game, but made a mad dash to the exits when the Spartans went up 45-26 late in the 4th quarter.

We saw and experienced about every kind of weather the Great Lakes State has in its arsenal, with the exception of snow. It was warm and partly sunny when the game started, then dark rain clouds moved into East Lansing and it poured for about 20 minutes or so. The storm brought a cold front and we shivered for the remainder of the game (though MSU's 4th quarter scoring barrage got me up, moving around, and slightly warmer).

Overall, it was a fun, albeit long, late afternoon and early evening at Spartan Stadium. Nate Sudfeld and IU's offense were as tricky as I expected, but the Spartan defense played much better in the second half and held the Hoosiers to only six second-half points. MSU was finally able to apply some pressure to Sudfeld and make him less effective.

I don't know what else can be said about Connor Cook. He just might be the very best Spartan quarterback I've ever seen. It's amazing to think how far he's come since replacing an ineffective Andrew Maxwell in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, and then taking over the starting job for good after the 2013 Notre Dame game.

Cook carried the team on his shoulders today, though he was ably assisted by Aaron Burbridge, R.J. Shelton, Macgarrett Kings, L.J. Scott, and Gerald Holmes. Cook came only two yards short of tying Bill Burke's single-game passing record of 400 yards (against Michigan in 1999).

What's most important is that the Spartans survive this game, get the win, and enter a much-needed bye week at 8-0.

Meanwhile, I remain convinced that my "Gruff Sparty" hoodie and my old school "block 'S'" MSU are somehow lucky, and thankful that I made a last-minute decision to buy rain ponchos at Meijer.

Post game thoughts and opinions after MSU's win over Air Force

Nobody said the game would be easy, and it certainly wasn't, but Michigan State withstood a tough, resilient Air Force team 35-21.

Overall, it was a good game for the Spartan defense. The Air Force triple option was a tricky as advertised, and the preponderance of cut blocking (some flagged as chop blocks) must have gotten to the Spartans. as MSU game up a good chunk of yards on the ground. For the most part, all those yards didn't translate into points--at least not enough points to lead to victory.

The one disappointment was that at least twice, Air Force receivers were able to slip behind MSU's defensive backs for huge pass completions, one of which went for a touchdown. However, it must be mentioned that MSU was missing the player whom I consider to be their best defensive back, Vayante Copeland.

I was surprised that MSU struggled so much to effectively run the ball (42 carries for only 77 yards). Brian Griese, who is one of the better color commentators working in broadcasting, pointed out that Air Force was showing the MSU offensive line different looks that were causing disruptions in the running game. It looked like Air Force had committed to stop the run, and they kept that game plan all game long, though  I still expected the Spartans to wear down Air Force's defensive line and linebackers, but that never happened.

It also seemed to me that MSU's running plays were quite vanilla. Maybe this was by design: not wanting to show their hand too much to Big Ten opponents. In any case, the preponderance of off tackle running plays were similar to what the Spartans did against Western Michigan. Credit to Air Force for stuffing MSU's run better than any opponent the Spartans have faced this season, though I am interested to hear if the Mark Dantonio addresses MSU's running woes in this game.

In my admittedly amateur opinion, it appeared that Air Force was determined not to allow the Spartans to run the ball, allowing plenty of opportunities in the passing game. Aaron Burbridge made the Falcons pay. In what was definitely a breakout game for Burbridge, he made acrobatic, athletic catches that reminded me of recent MSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Andre Rison. Burbridge finished with 8 catches for 156 yards and three touchdowns.

The good news is MSU won the game and, as far as I can tell, did not suffer any injuries. Perhaps of greatest concern from a personnel standpoint is that Riley Bullough was disqualified in the fourth quarter after a targeting personal foul. He may miss the first half of next week's game against Central Michigan.

One parting shot: I need to stop reading the various Michigan State Facebook pages even after a Spartan win. This fan base is entering the territory of "spoiled." Rarely have I seen a group of people complain so vociferously after a victory.

My thoughts (or amateurish opinionated blathering) after watching the MSU/Oregon replay

I enjoy watching the Big Ten Network's replays of Michigan State football games because I always notice facets that I may have missed--due to nervousness, distractions, or adult beverages--when I watch the games live.

Montae Nicholson's stripped ball interception was beautiful. What a huge play early in the game.

Macgarrett Kings had a a great second effort after catching a pass, breaking a tackle and getting enough yardage for a first down and keeping a Spartan drive alive.

Vayante Copeland made one of the best and most important open field tackles I've seen when he brought down Royce Freeman in what was a touchdown-saving tackle. His absence late in the game was costly, and I'm concerned about his injury.

For all the yammering about MSU's perceived missed tackles, I noticed several that were extremely important. Riley Bullough had a huge tackle near the goal line that forced Oregon into a fourth down--a fourth down that the Spartan defense stuffed.

Tight end Josiah Price has a knack for making some big touchdown catches, He had one in this game, as well as another catch (after the goal line stand) that gave the Spartans a much needed first down.

Aaron Burbridge could be the next great Spartan receiver. He made an absolutely huge reception on 4th down and 6 that put the ball at the Oregon 6 yard line. L. J. Scott ran in for a touchdown one play later.

Madre London deserves as much credit for his outstanding pass blocking as for his ball carrying ability.

Connor Cook mainly had a good game, but for every time he threaded the needle, he also missed what looked like easier throws. He will need to tighten this up moving forward.

The Spartans may want to either hone the "cutesy" plays a little or eliminate some of them: for example the Damion Terry read-option play that killed momentum in the first quarter.

Chris Frey made what was probably the game's biggest play when he sacked Vernon Adams immediately after Adams missed the wide open receiver for what would have been a go-ahead touchdown for Oregon.

This really goes without saying, but MSU's special teams need to improve.