Michigan State beats Michigan

I really should have written this post right after the Michigan game rather than wait until the day before MSU's next game against Purdue. But since I'm a fan--and not a player or coach--I'm allowed to dwell on the game that happened six days ago.

As I've written in here previously, MSU/UM "rivalry week" (or, as some call it more accurately, "hate week") is not enjoyable for me. Absolutely the only aspect of the week I ever find enjoyable is when time expires and MSU has--if all has gone well--beaten that team down the road. 

I don't enjoy the back-and-forth trash talk between the fanbases. I don't enjoy the endless pre-game analysis. Often, I don't enjoy the games much while they are being played.

Late Saturday morning of the Michigan game, I went for a run in the neighborhood hoping it'd calm my nerves--and it seemed to have worked for the most part. I got back home at about the 11 minute mark of the first quarter, right after Anthony's 94-yard touchdown reception that put UM up 7-0.

The rest of the game was a back-and-forth heavyweight slugfest, with each team delivering haymakers. After MSU went up 37-33, the tension completely destroyed any "calm" my earlier run may have instilled. My heart rate was so high that my FitBit gave me credit for "active minutes" even though I was barely moving.

This was a great game, and one I can say I actually ENJOYED watching.

In an ideal world, both fanbases could shake hands (or at least "virtually" shake "virtual" hands) and marvel at what a great game this was, how hard both teams played, and how lucky we were to have such an important game in our state's backyard.

Unfortunately, that never happens in this rivalry. We can't have nice things in this rivalry.

Michigan fans--not all, but many--resort to their favorite post-loss pastime, complaining about officiating. This is because, as we all know, Michigan never loses games. They only have wins taken away.

It's funny hearing Michigan fans complain about the Payton Thorne non-fumble*--as if that call is essentially the main reason their team lost. Forget about blowing a 16-point second half lead or getting consistently shredded by Kenneth Walker III.

It was an exciting and joyous win, and now I must post this before the Purdue game starts.

My Spartan Memories, Volume 3: October 14, 1978

 

In the autumn of 1978, I was ten years-old. My dad had just taken a job working in the Thumb region of Michigan and was commuting every day from our house in Detroit. He'd do that for about 4 1/2 months until my parents finally moved us into our new house in Caro.

I wasn't happy about the prospect of moving from our home in Detroit to the boonies of Caro, and took little interest in much of anything that fall, including school. Compounding my disappointment about moving, my parents had enrolled me in a magnet middle school that I didn't like. Every day, I had to take the bus to and from Ludington Middle School. Some of the kids on the bus were annoying jerks, and school wasn't much better. Though I'd made some friends at school, they had as little interest in school work as I did, so we spent a lot of time screwing around, doing stuff like folding paper airplanes and ignoring the teachers.

Though I had become a Michigan State sports fan in earnest the previous year, after attending my first college football game ever (a 44-3 MSU win over Northwestern in November '77) and falling hard for Earvin "Magic" Johnson and the '77-'78 Spartan hoopsters, I wasn't paying much attention to the 1978 football team. Because of NCAA probation, they weren't on television and had gotten off to a slow start prior to the Michigan game.

My dad was--and still is--a history buff. I assume he learned of the Sanilac petroglyphs, near Cass City, when he started working in the Thumb. He decided that we would all drive up there from Detroit to see the petroglyphs the day of the MSU/UM game, possibly because he didn't think MSU had a prayer of beating the #4 and undefeated Wolverines.

We tuned in the football game on our 1975 Plymouth Valiant's radio on the way up to the petroglyphs. The Spartans got off to a good start and had a lead when we arrived, but since I literally could not remember the last time MSU had defeated UM in football (1969, when I was a toddler), I knew not to get overly excited. 

I recall the afternoon of October 14, 1978 at the petroglyphs as sunny and pleasant. The ancient stone carvings were--and I assume still are--quite fascinating. However, I was itching to know what was happening in the game. By the time we hiked back to our car for the long drive home, the game was in the 4th quarter. MSU was leading 24-7. I remember Michigan scoring a late touchdown and 2-point conversion to make it 24-15. I have a distinct memory of staring intensely at the Valiant's radio, willing the Spartans to victory. When the game ended and the Spartans had won, that was one of my happiest car rides ever, and one of my few highlights of autumn '78.

The Spartans went on to win six consecutive games and their first Big Ten football title since 1966. I don't remember anything about those games, but do recall the disappointment that the Draconian NCAA probation prevented them from representing the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. Michigan, who tied MSU for the conference title, went instead. I doubt few were happier than I when USC beat UM in Pasadena.

I continued to largely ignore school in 1978 (and part of 1979). That school year was my absolute worst. It took me at least a year to get used to living in Caro. 

Whenever I think of that '78 MSU/UM game, I immediately remember our daytrip to the petroglyphs and that joyful ride home to Detroit--a place I've always considered my spiritual home.

Catching up again...and adventures at the Maryland game

Catching up from where I left off...

The Ohio State game did not go as planned. Perhaps the less said about it, the better.

The following week, the Spartan men's basketball team lost yet again to Duke. The Blue Devils are MSU's kryptonite, and losing to them is agonizing. I'm sure it's far worse for Tom Izzo than it is for us fans.

Last Saturday, I scored two tickets to the home finale football game against Maryland. The weather that day was abysmal, so my wingman--my elder son--bailed on me about a half-hour before we were to leave for Spartan Stadium. I can't say I blame him.

Allow me to take a moment and complain about how college sports have become a slave to the whims of television. There is no way a mid or late November football game in the upper Midwest should kick off at 4:00 PM. And to make it even worse, the constant television timeouts are interminable.

So I trudged my way through the mucky, wet, already dark at 3:30 campus of MSU to the stadium. Nobody--and I mean NOBODY--was tailgating in this grey gloom.

Having zigzagged up the ramp to Section 105 in the east upper stands, I found my seat on the wet aluminum bleacher and decided it may be best to stand. Rain turned to sleet, but I survive the first quarter. By midway through the second quarter, it was clear that the knitted gloves I wore were useless in the damp conditions, as they were saturated with water and I may as well have wrapped wet cold towels around my hands. The gloves were removed and relegated to my coat pockets.

Then there was my miscalculated choice of footwear: running shoes. My feet were frozen and I could barely feel my toes. Never again. Note to self: wear winter boots in all future November football games in which the temperature is under 45 degrees.

At halftime, the Spartans held a 14-0 lead. I seriously considered abandoning the game, but then I remembered how my son and I had left for home during the weather delay of the Penn State game. I decided to walk around the upper deck concourse and attempt to warm up at least a bit.

The third quarter started and I was resolved to take it a quarter at a time. Maybe fewer than 30 people remained in the upper deck. At the risk of sounding insensitive to a real tragedy, it was as if we were on the Titanic going down with the ship, having declined opportunities to escape in lifeboats.

I found it was more tolerable to move around to keep my blood flowing, and the third quarter went quickly. When an usher encouraged us few upper deck stragglers to move down to the lower deck, I gladly did so.

The tiny crowd remaining in Spartan Stadium acted punch drunk, practically delirious from the wet, cold, icy, snowy conditions. Maryland mounted a bit of a rally in the fourth quarter, scoring a touchdown to cut the score to 17-7. The Terrapins later threatened to make it a one possession game when they lined up for a field goal. Suddenly, a ho-hum game became tense, which helped stave off the cold weather. The Terps missed the field goal and the Spartans survived with a 17-7 win.

And I also survived.

There were moments during the game when I wondered, "Am I endangering my life being out here?" I could barely wiggle my toes when the game ended and I had images of me having my frostbit toes amputated because I was too stubborn to leave a college football game.

Thankfully, the walk back to my car worked wonders, and I could feel all of my extremities after the 20 minute trudge had concluded. Ones favorite team winning also helps get the blood flowing.

So today the Spartans will be finishing a better than expected regular season in New Jersey against Rutgers. I will watch it from the climate controlled warmth of my house.

What a football season it has been!

The Spartans have played three games since I last wrote in here, and they've won two of them.

I was at the October 21 Homecoming victory against Indiana: a warm, gloriously sunny Saturday. I have never seen a Homecoming game as festive as this year. The stadium was so packed--and security so tight--that it took us until about midway through the first quarter to get to our upper deck seats. The game itself was painful until MSU woke up late in the fourth quarter to score two touchdowns and sneak out with a 17-9 win.

Last week, very little went right in a 39-31 overtime loss to a good Northwestern team in Evanston. But the Spartans more than made up by bouncing back to beat #7 Penn State 27-24.

There hasn't been anything overwhelming about MSU's Big Ten wins this season. They have won five games by a combined 25 points. Even if it isn't pretty, the team finds a way to win.

My son and I were at the Penn State game, but I regret to admit that after the stadium was evacuated, we didn't return to the see the conclusion. We had prior engagements that evening, so I watched the second half from the warmth of my living room. But here is a salute to the hardy people who stuck around to cheer the Spartans on. Well done!

There is a lot to like about this year's team. Just the fact that they have more than doubled last year's win total is reason enough to rejoice.

Brian Lewerke has thrown for 400 yards in two consecutive games. He established a new single-game passing yardage record against Northwestern and threw for another 400 yesterday against Penn State. Considering he still has two more seasons left at MSU, he could end up as the most prolific passer MSU has ever had.

The Spartans have a slew of excellent young receivers, but Felton Davis III has established himself--at least for now--as the number one guy. He was seemingly all over the field yesterday and made phenomenal catch after phenomenal catch.

So with Iowa blowing out Ohio State yesterday, the Spartans find themselves amazingly playing for the driver's seat in the Big Ten East race next week against the Buckeyes. For the fourth time in the the last five years, it is Michigan State--not Michigan--who goes up against Ohio State with a potential championship on the line.

I admit that after last season's 3-9 debacle, I wasn't sure if Mark Dantonio could get the program back to championship level. How wrong I was. He has to be a prime candidate for national coach of the year.

I fully expect the Spartans to be underdogs in Columbus next week, and I think that's the way they like it. Ohio State has proven themselves to be fallible, and though I don't expect them to look as bad as they were against Iowa, in no way do I think they are a guarantee to beat Michigan State. I have finally learned not to doubt Mark Dantonio.

Elevated expectations

I literally have not been able to get to a computer to blog until now, but am taking a few minutes to type a few thoughts now.

So I haven't written anything since before the Notre Dame game. That one didn't go as I thought, with turnovers doing the Spartans in. The following weekend I was in Seattle and followed the Iowa game on my phone while traipsing around the "Emerald City." We returned to our hotel room when the game was in the fourth quarter and I was amazed to discover that the game was actually on television in the Pacific Northwest. It was a sludgy ugly nail biter, but the Spartans hung on for a 17-10 win.

And then there was Michigan this past Saturday. I thought MSU could and should make it a close game, but I didn't necessarily think they'd win. Well, I have to learn to stop doubting Mark Dantonio and company in this game. Dantonio is now 8-3 against Michigan. Even in the games that MSU has lost, the Spartans have been in every one of them, including last year's game in which a struggling team pushed Michigan to the fourth quarter.

So MSU's win Saturday should have come as no surprise. This is what Dantonio does. He gets his teams prepared to compete against Michigan and they never doubt their ability to beat the Wolverines. In fact, I think they assume they will beat Michigan. And with pompous Michigan alumni like Desmond Howard offering bulletin board material every year, Michigan State players don't lack for incentive to beat the Wolverines.

As someone who has followed this rivalry since the mid-'70s, and experienced his share of Michigan losses, it's still hard for me to get used to this new reality, But believe me, I'm enjoying it.

So now expectations for the season are suddenly elevated. Is this a team that can seriously contend for a Big Ten title? Who knows? Maybe they can. It all depends on how the team handles its big win over Michigan and how the young players mature over the course of the season. The next test is tonight on the road against a beat-up but still dangerous Minnesota Gophers team. It could be a struggle, but I will pick the Spartans to win 23-16.

Notre Dame Saturday, and a trip down memory lane

I will spare you any prediction of who will win tonight's Michigan State/Notre Dame game, because I really have no idea. And do you really want my opinion anyway? Probably not. (All I will say is that it should be a close game, maybe not decided until late in the fourth quarter),

Instead, I want to look back on this rivalry, because after tonight's game it will most likely not be renewed for another eight years. For these two schools that have had a long and storied football series, this is an unfortunate state of affairs. However, it's the sad reality of modern college football. Conference realignments (with Notre Dame obligated to play several ACC teams each season) and emphasis on money and recruiting (games in California against the likes of Stanford and USC are more lucrative in these regards than MSU in East Lansing) have pretty much killed one of the game's oldest rivalries.

So I thought I'd take a trip down my own personal memory lane and revisit the Spartans' wins (and memorable losses).

Though the Spartans beat Notre Dame in 1975, I have no specific memory of that game. I'm sure it was on television and I'm sure my parents were probably watching it, but at best it's a blur.

The Spartans' 28-23 win in 1983 was the first memorable Notre Dame game for me. In George Perles' first season, and second game as coach, he took what were essentially Muddy Waters' ragtag recruits and quite improbably beat the #4 Irish in South Bend. As it turns out, Notre Dame was highly overrated at the time, and finished '83 with a pedestrian 7-5 record. Still, the 4-6-1 Spartans had no business beating Notre Dame in South Bend. It was George's first big win as coach, but placed some unrealistic expectations on that team and Perles.

The next MSU win came in 1986, my freshman year at MSU. I have previously written in this blog about my 18-year-old idiot self almost provoking a fight before the game with a guy in a Notre Dame t-shirt. I may be lucky that my college career didn't come to a crashing halt before it had even begun. Instead, I made it back to Shaw Hall and watched the game in an upper classman's room with a bunch of other people. It was my first moment of fun in college, watching Dean Altobelli, Todd Krumm and company eek out a 20-15 win at Spartan Stadium.

Then we had a long drought. There was the nightmarish loss in 1987 (one of the few dark clouds in an otherwise bright sunny Rose Bowl season), heartbreaking and freakish losses in 1990 and 1994.

After a two-year break in the series, Nick Saban's 1997 team registered a dominating 23-7 win in South Bend. Thus began an unexpected five-game winning streak over the Bob Davie led Irish.

 I can remember how shocked I was to come home from work late on Saturday night in 1998 and see that the Spartans had built a 42-3 lead over the Irish AT HALFTIME. That schizophrenic Spartan team had been blown out the previous week at Oregon and I had little hope that they'd be competitive with ND, much less win--but they pulled out a stunner. (Befitting that 1998 team's nature, they lost focus in the second half and were outscored 20-3, but had built such a huge lead that it didn't matter).

The Spartans continued the streak with a 23-13 win in 1999 (Gari Scott with sprinting down the sideline for a TD is etched in my brain), 27-21 in 2000 (freshman QB Jeff Smoker connecting on a last ditch 4th down TD reception to Herb Haygood in one of MSU football's most memorable moments), and a 17-10 win in 2001 that I barely remember.

The only Notre Dame game I have ever attended in person was in 2002. It looked for all the world like MSU would extend the streak to six when Charles Rogers made an acrobatic catch in the north end zone to give MSU a 17-14 lead late in the game. But on the ensuing kickoff the Irish ran the ball all the way back for a touchdown. From that point on, the 2002 season went in a tailspin.

In 2005,  the Spartans won a dramatic overtime game with Jason Teague taking the ball in for the decisive score. This was followed by the controversial "flag planting" at the 50-yard-line of Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish claimed revenge in 2006 in the "monsoon game" when the Spartans blew a 16-point lead and saw the '06 season flush itself down the toilet.

There was the "Javon Ringer carries the team" game in 2008 when he rushed for over 200 yards in a 23-7 win. And who can forget Little Giants in 2010, one of the most exciting wins in Spartan history that was also one of Mark Dantonio's defining wins as MSU football coach.

I could go on about the next few games after Little Giants, but the power of my computer is dying, and Little Giants seems like an appropriate place to end. Who knows what excitement 2017 will bring?

It has been an eventful rivalry and one that will be missed.

First post in forever. Western Michigan game.

It's been a long time since I wrote in this blog. I'm still not sure if I'm entirely feeling it, but here's a shot.

We are already one week into the football season. The Spartans opened up last week with a workmanlike 35-10 win over Bowling Green. At least it was a much better performance than last year's season opener against Furman, a game MSU sleepwalked through (though they did win. But it was a harbinger of the disaster to come).

Today MSU takes on Western Michigan. The Broncos were 13-1 last year and just came off an impressive performance on the road against USC, in which WMU ran for over 250 yards and put up 31 points against a team that is allegedly top five in the nation. This game could be a litmus test for MSU. Are they improved from last year's disaster? Or are they where they left off last season. We shall see.

Catching up with Spartan sports

I haven't been too engaged with MSU sports this winter, certainly not as much as I have in the past. As I wrote in my previous post, events in our country and the world have rendered sports not as important or noteworthy as they once were.

Ironically, this season I have tied my personal record for Michigan State men's basketball games attended in person. I've been to eight games this season, and it would have been nine if my younger son's birthday hadn't been on MSU's senior day. (I decided to stay home and hang out with him). The Spartans have won every game I've attended this year, and my overall "in person" win-loss record is 46-3.

However, when I'm not at Breslin, I haven't been watching Spartan hoops that much. I think I've watched about one or two games on television. I just can't sit still long enough to watch a 2+ hour game on TV.

It's been a bumpy, rocky season. There have been key injuries and a young core of players who've had to learn how to play together, but it looks like maybe they are finally doing that. Miles Bridges has been excellent almost all year, but it's taken Nick Ward, Joshua Langford, and Cassius Winston most of the season to come into their own. After all the ups and downs they've been through, the MSU hoops team remarkably sits at 10-6 in the conference with an outside shot of tying for the regular season title. Who really saw that coming? Before we get too excited, though, the Spartans' final two regular season games are tough road contests against Illinois and Maryland. 10-8 is a real possibility.

The other news on the MSU sports landscape hasn't been as uplifting. The Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal has given Michigan State unwanted publicity, and the football program has a dark cloud hanging over it with a sexual abuse investigation of its own. It seems that ever since getting demolished by Alabama on December 31, 2015, the football program has hit the skids both on and off the field.

Oh, and the hockey program is a complete train wreck.

So the only reasonable bright sides this winter have been men's and women's basketball. But even the women's team has had a scare with Coach Suzy Merchant's health problems.

That's where we stand right now. I'll revisit this blog when March Madness begins.

A fitting end to a disastrous season

It's been 16 days since I last posted here, because what is there really to write about? The Spartans followed up their uninspired and anemic loss to Illinois with a 49-0 blowout of Rutgers, one of the worst teams in FBS. They then played a tough, competitive game against Ohio State but just didn't have enough to get over the top and lost 17-16. In the (mercifully) last game of the season, MSU was able to hang with Penn State for one half--actually maintaining a 12-10 lead at intermission--before the bottom fell out in the second half and getting blown out 45-12.

In what seemed like a fitting twist of fate, Damion Terry was knocked out of the game in the first half after suffering a concussion. Terry was playing his best game of the season, and though it was disappointing that the Spartans had to settle for field goals, Terry was at least leading the offense down the field and looked as confident as he had all season. When Terry couldn't return after getting hit in a helmet-to-helmet collision, I certainly had a sense of impending doom. But then again, the entire season has been about impending doom.

By the time the score was 31-12 in favor of Penn State, I'd had enough and went for a run to let off some steam. By the time I'd finished, the game was over and MSU had lost 45-12.

So the football season comes to a merciful end. I don't have a heck of a lot to add right now, just that this season seems to have mirrored what has been a fairly putrid 2016.

Is this rock bottom?

With the recent election results, sports are about the furthest thing from my mind, but here goes:

 I don't know what to say about Michigan State football anymore. I watched the entire MSU/Illinois game and I was shocked. Shocked at how anemic the Spartans looked against a weak opponent. Shocked at how uninspired the whole team played after having played a good game against Michigan.

I gave up the opportunity for free tickets to today's Rutgers game. I just can't take this anymore, and I can't become further depressed by freezing in a half-empty stadium watching the Spartans in a death struggle against an equally pathetic Rutgers team.

I don't even know how much of this game I will watch on television. I suspect not much.

I am so out of sorts that I completely forgot about last night's basketball game against Arizona. I'm disappointed that the Spartans lost--I suppose that eventually MSU WILL win again in a major sport--but encouraged by how well Miles Bridges played. This is a Spartan team that is still learning to play together. I assume that once they gel, they will be outstanding.

Back to football, I don't even know if I should give a prediction for today's game. Honestly, I don't have much faith in this team anymore. It saddens me to write that. Just for the heck of it, I will drink a large glass of green Kool-Aid once more and say that somehow, someway, the Spartans actually find a way to win at home today. Final score: MSU 23, Rutgers 20.

Signs of encouragement?

I'm waiting until the last second to publish my weekly Spartan dispatch. The Cubs' World Series championship and this train wreck of a presidential campaign have dominated my attention.

I did take time early this week to watch the BTN replay of the Michigan game. Count me as one of the "sunshine blowers" who was encouraged by how MSU played. I didn't expect the Spartans to rack up 217 rushing yards against one of the nation's best defense (or allegedly one of the best). For the second week in a row, MSU's offense, and in particular its running attack, looked fairly efficient.

The defense, on the other hand, still has issues. Though it limited Michigan to three points in the second half (the bizarre 2-point conversion return for a touchdown doesn't count against the defense), the Spartans couldn't stop Michigan in the first half. They got little pressure on Speith, but even when they did he came through with some great on-target throws. There's not much even the best defenses can do when a quarterback reacts well to pressure.

Like most other fans, I was disappointed in some incredibly vanilla playcalling in the red zone. I don't know why Dave Warner/Mark Dantonio didn't at least try some deception. Josiah Price is one of the conference's best tight ends who has delivered big plays time and time again since 2013 and he was never utilized.

But all-in-all, it was an encouraging performance. If the Spartans can bring just 75 percent of the focus they had against Michigan, they should beat Illinois today by two touchdowns.

So even though my predictions have been terrible this season, I'll call this game: MSU 31, Illinois 17.

A Michigan week with no sizzle

As usual, I meant to get around to this post earlier, but no such luck.

It's Michigan week, and I don't remember a Michigan week with less sizzle since 2006.

We have a 2-5 (0-4 Big Ten) MSU team up against a 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) Michigan. Two teams headed in opposite directions. One team in seeming disarray and the other playing for a possible Big Ten title and football playoff berth. We MSU fans have become accustomed in recent years to OUR team playing for high stakes and UM playing for scraps.

I don't want to say the Spartans have no shot today, because of course they have a shot. But realistically it's a LONG shot. Much will need to go right for the Spartans to win, and as we know not much has gone right for MSU this season. Even if MSU gets some breaks (recovered turnovers, maybe a pick six, possibly connect on a big pass play to Shelton or Corley) I just don't know if MSU can get enough throughout a 60-minute game.

Maybe MSU's best chance is psychological. UM's seniors have never beaten the Spartans, so perhaps that's in their heads. But I find that hard to believe. The Wolverines have been stewing for a year and change over last year's stunning loss, and with the way they are playing this season they must be brimming with confidence. (We can always hope that they're even a little over confident).

Based on what I've seen from MSU this season, even if they play their best game of the season I don't know if it'll be enough to win. This is a team with an offensive line that struggles to protect the quarterback, struggles to run block, and a defense that can't get a pass rush without blitzing and can't get off the field on third down. Compounding that are the often head-scratching mental mistakes they make.

I hate to do this, and I hope I am wrong, but I will call this one: Michigan 38, MSU 10.

Does this Spartan football team even have a pulse?

Another week, another disappointing loss. The Spartans get shot down by Northwestern, 54-40.

Once again, this was a game that demonstrated that Michigan State is weak in almost every facet of the game. They have an offensive line that can neither run block nor pass protect with any consistency (Exhibit A: Freshman quarterback Brian Lewerke getting hammered at the goal line for a safety). They have a defense that cannot get off the field, and cannot seem to ever get a third down stop. This is a team that is capable of getting off to a quick start, but completely incapable of maintaining a lead.

I really don't know what to add to this. What more is there to say about a season that feels like it has gone completely off the rails?

At this point, I'm really not sure how much I'll be tuning in to the MSU football season. I watched the Indiana, BYU, and Northwestern games in their entirety and I don't consider it as time particularly well spent. There's a strong possibility I'll be bailing on the Maryland game. Who knows, maybe me not watching will be a good thing for the Spartans.

Can this football season be salvaged?

I went to the MSU/BYU game on Saturday, extending my streak of attending at least one MSU football game per season to 24 years. The way this game went, it may be my last MSU football game of the season. I don't know if I want to witness football played this poorly.

For the good news: The weather was glorious, with mostly sunny skies and game time temperature above 60 degrees and actually feeling much warmer in the sun-drenched bleachers of the north end zone. As usual, the Spartan Marching Band was in excellent form and at least in the beginning the day was everything that is wonderful about college football.

Even the game seemed to go well in the early going, with the Spartans mixing passing with running to deliver a long drive capped off with a touchdown. Even though the rest of the first half was a snooze, it was at least reassuring that the defense had kept BYU out of the end zone and the Spartans maintained a 7-3 lead.

Then the bottom fell out.

The Spartans struggle in every single facet of the game. The offensive line can't block, the quarterbacks struggle to make plays and lead the team (no doubt not helped by the offensive line's struggles), the defense can't get off the field on third down, the kicking game (particularly field goal kicking) is inconsistent at best, and to top it all off the offensive coordinator inexplicably abandons the passing game after the first drive of the game.

There are years when a team can mask one or two deficiencies by excelling above average in other areas. In 2012, MSU's excellent defense compensated--to at least a small degree--for its anemic offense and the team finished at 7-6. Last season's high-powered offense made up for a sometimes spotty defense and dodgy special teams to lead the team to a college playoff berth.

This year, it seems that the Spartan football team excels at nothing, and the result has been a three-game losing streak and 2-3 record.

Based on what I saw Saturday, I don't where or when MSU will win again. Northwestern is at least on a par with BYU, so that game will most likely be a struggle, and Maryland on the road looks like a loss. I definitely do not see the Spartans beating Michigan. If I'm being completely honest, with the way this MSU team is playing now, I only see two games remaining on the schedule that the Spartans can and should beat: Illinois and Rutgers. That means that, barring some kind of miraculous improvement, the Spartans are looking squarely at a 4-8 season.

Someone may need to wake me up when basketball season starts.

Football seaon excitement may NEVER hit me

Last night's MSU/Indiana game was simply terrible. So bad, in fact, that I don't even know where to start.

Stupid penalties kill this team in a way I haven't seen since the John L. Smith era, although we may have seen it in 2009 as well. Perhaps the most glaring was a "leaping" penalty on Indiana's first field goal attempt in overtime. Some on message boards felt it was an obscure penalty that may have been mis-applied in this case, but it was the icing on the cake of what was a mistake-filled, uninspired MSU performance.

The only time MSU had any fire under its collective butt was when they were down 21-14. They  finally ran the ball with some aggression and sense of purpose, with Gerald Holmes looking much better than a somewhat listless L.J. Scott.

Then there's Tyler O'Connor. He looks like Andrew Maxwell with mobility. There is little touch on his throws, and I don't sense much in the way of leadership on the field. Although he wasn't necessarily bad last night, he just seems to lack something. Perhaps I/we were spoiled by by Connor Cook more than we even imagined.

I don't know if it has to do with youth, injuries, complacency, lack of leadership, but this entire Spartan football team has taken several steps down this season. I expected a dip this season, but certainly didn't anticipate such a precipitous downturn.

Added to the unease is the great start for that school down the road. Michigan State fans will need to buck up and listen to a lot of boasting and chest-thumping from the blue-and-yellow clad hordes.

My conclusion: It looks like a long year for Spartan football.

On (to) Wisconsin

I've been seriously negligent towards this blog so far this football season.

When will I, or anyone else for that matter, stop doubting Dantonio or MSU before a big game?

In fairness, nobody knew quite what to expect from the Spartans after the completely "meh" Furman game, but as I wrote in my last post, Dantonio likes it that way. Why would MSU want to go all out against Furman when they don't have to, and show its hand to Notre Dame?

So the Spartans went out and steamrolled the Irish for three quarters, before letting up a bit on the gas pedal and making the game somewhat close. However, when the Spartans absolutely needed to make plays to seal the victory, they did so.

Of course, we still don't know exactly how good Notre Dame is. But the fact remains: any time a team plays and defeats the Irish in a night game under the outstretched arms of Touchdown Jesus, it is a big win.

In a little over an hour from now, MSU opens up Big Ten play against Wisconsin, another team that is difficult to get a read on. On one hand, the Badgers beat LSU, on the other hand they struggled a bit with Georgia State last week--and the Badgers start a redshirt freshman quarterback today.

If this game goes according to almost every other Michigan State/ Wisconsin game, it'll be decided by less that ten points either way.

I'll go ahead and pick the Spartans to win, 24-17.

Notre Dame game day

I've been putting this off for two weeks, but seeing as how it's game day, I can't procrastinate any longer.

Well, the Furman game wasn't quite what I expected. Though I never felt the Spartans were in danger, it was closer than I'd have preferred and it was not an enjoyable game to watch whatsoever.

Nobody knows what to think about this MSU football team, and Mark Dantonio prefers it that way. They enter Notre Dame Stadium this evening as a total enigma.

It's important to not allow the result of tonight's game completely color our expectations for the rest of the season. It'll be a difficult environment for the Spartans, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lost. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic.

One thing I've learned over the last nine years, however: doubt or question a Mark Dantonio team at your peril.

If the Spartans lose, they can still go on to have a great season, as happened in 2011 and 2013.

Not quite ready for football, but getting there

It still feels like summer around here.

It's been humid almost every single day since, heck, the beginning of June (certainly since July at the very least. I don't know. It's been muggy for so long I can't even remember when it started. Probably after it was hot and dry, which was probably June).  It's been hot for so long that it's scrambling my brain.

Anyway, the point is the weather has not one single hint of autumn. This makes it difficult for me to get into a football frame of mind.

I'm still very much in summer mode, though truth be told I'm tired of summer. The unrelenting sultry weather is wearing on me.

But, though this probably not an admission I should make on a presumed "MSU Spartan sports blog," I'm reluctant to take my inevitable "dive down the rabbit hole" that occurs about every single year on or near September 1. Now, what'll happen is that a few months from now I'll read this post and wonder what the hell was wrong with me.

Whether I'm ready or not, MSU football begins the season in two days against Furman. I will be planted in front of my TV, beer in hand, watching all the action. Though it's impossible to get a gauge on where the football team is now, having lost quite a few players from last year's team, I imagine it should be a fairly comfortable win for the Spartans. They will likely look rusty in the first half, but their depth will wear down the Paladins in the second half and the final score should be something in the neighborhood of MSU 41, Furman 10.

I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say when the game is over.

Mike Sadler (1991-2016)

The news early this afternoon hit me, and I'm sure every other Michigan State fan, like a ton of bricks. Or possibly two or three tons of bricks.

Mike Sadler, the acerbic, intelligent, self-deprecating, and always amusing former Spartan punter died yesterday in an automobile accident. Sam Foltz, current Nebraska punter, also perished in the accident.

Sadler's frequently hilarious tweets were beloved by Spartan supporters, and even by folks with no Michigan State affiliation. But Sadler was more than a writer of funny Twitter messages. He was an intelligent young man who had--unbeknownst to me until today--completed his master's degree at Stanford last year. He was planning on attending law school, but must have still had his eye on an NFL career as he and Foltz were attending a kicking camp in Wisconsin.

I suppose it's a cliche to say that "[Such-and-such young age] is too young to die," but 24 really is too young to go. Sadler had a bright future on whatever path he chose to take, and it's heartbreaking that his life is cut short before it really had an opportunity to unfold.

The NFL draft (The "Did Connor Cook urinate in someone's cereal?" edition)

First of all, let me start with the good news. The Tennessee Titans traded up and selected Jack Conklin with the 8th pick in the first round. It's great to see the former walk-on from tiny Plainwell, Michigan make good. I know he'll work his tail off and I wish him the best.


What exactly has Connor Cook done to turn off so many people? I just don't get it. Yes, he has a quirky personality, but couldn't the same be said for Joe Namath and Jim McMahon (just to name a few "free-spirited" quarterbacks off the top of my head). And while on the subject of free-spiritedness, doesn't that often come with the territory when discussing quarterbacks?


I can understand why the Los Angeles Rams drafted Jared Goff with the first pick. He's a local kid from Cal who will sell tickets. And maybe he'll turn out to be a great quarterback. After all, he did play in the PAC-12. Clearly, he also has a big time arm with 4719 yards passing last season and 43 touchdown passes. But I'm not sold on Carson Wentz. North Dakota State? Yes, he has the size that NFL scouts look for in a quarterback, and his numbers were good--but I'm just not sold. Okay, I get it, North Dakota State won three NCAA Divison II national championships with Wentz at quarterback, but the Bison pretty much own Division II football. They've won 12 national championships. (Thank you, Wikipedia).


Maybe Connor Cook's stats aren't as eye-popping as Goff's and Wentz's, but 9194 career passing yards (in three seasons) with 71 touchdowns and only 22 interceptions is not too shabby. In addition to that, Cook led MSU to a 36-5 record as a starter, with two Big Ten championships and two bowl victories--three bowl victories if one counts the 2012 Buffalo Wilds Wings Bowl in which Cook took over for a struggling Andrew Maxwell. Though Cook's numbers in that game were pedestrian at best, he provided a spark that the Spartans needed to achieve that come-from-behind victory.


Not only was Cook a great player on the field, but he never got into any trouble. By all accounts, he was a good student and law-abiding citizen. Am I just looking at this through green-tinted glasses? I don't understand why Connor Cook is still on the board.