Seventh annual Treasures From the Spartan Attic Big Ten Football Awards

For the seventh year in a row, I give out my much coveted Big Ten football awards. This is my list, and if I can ever find more time to spend on this blog in the next week or so, I'll elaborate further on why I chose these particular honorees.

Most Valuable Player: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

Best quarterback: J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

Best running back: Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

Best wide receiver: Tony Lippett, Michigan State

Best kicker: Brad Craddock, Maryland

Best defensive linemen: Joey Bosa, Ohio State

Best linebacker: Jake Ryan, Michigan

Best defensive back: Trae Waynes, Michigan State

Best punter, Peter Mortell, Minnesota

Coach of the Year: Urban Meyer, Ohio State

Michigan State 34, Penn State 10

Michigan State won a workmanlike, businesslike 34-10 game over Penn State on Saturday, putting the finishing touches on a 10-2 regular season (7-1 in the Big Ten).
 

In various circles, I've heard that somehow this football season is a "disappointment," but I don't see it that way at all. Reality often does not--and cannot--live up to expectations. And, really, didn't Michigan State end up in exactly the same place they started? The Spartans began the season ranked #8 in the AP poll and they finish the season ranked #8 in the AP poll, with an opportunity to move up if they win their yet-to-be-determined bowl game.
 

Michigan State could still, when the dust clears, end up as the highest ranked Big Ten team.
 

Certainly, the Oregon and Ohio State games did not end with the desired results. Oregon, though, may be the best team in the nation. Beating them in Eugene is no small task for anyone. Ohio State clearly had the Michigan State game earmarked since December 7, 2013 and played its best game of the season. So those are the two losses.
 

What should be encouraging, and maybe even thrilling, for MSU football fans is how the Spartans played in their other ten games--in particular the three game following the Ohio State game. MSU played those games with focus and determination. Granted, the competition that Maryland, Rutgers, and Penn State offered was not stellar, but MSU did exactly what they should have done and throttled all three. This isn't as easy to do as it appears on paper. 

 

These are glory years in Michigan State football the likes of which I have never seen in my lifetime. In the past, the pattern was an occasional good season that stood out like an oasis in a desert of mediocrity. Under Mark Dantonio, it's four 10+ win seasons in the last five years. For a geezer like me who remembers the bad old days, this is heaven on earth; and not making the college football playoff will not dampen my enthusiasm one iota.

A salute to MSU cross country, and the Santa Clara basketball game

Allow me to lead of this post by congratulating the MSU women's cross country team, who won the national championship on Saturday.  When the result was announced at the football game, it elicited loud applause from the freezing denizens at Spartan Stadium. Last night, the women's cross country team was at the Santa Clara basketball game and, during a timeout, took center court with their national championship trophy to accept more applause. It's richly deserved.

I don't pay enough attention in this blog to non-revenue sports, and I'm ashamed to say that outside of an occasional MSU baseball game (if that qualifies as a non-revenue collegiate sport) I don't attend nearly enough of them in person. When one of the teams does exceptionally well, they deserve to be acknowledged.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend a second consecutive Spartan basketball game, compliments of my awesome brother-in-law.  Here are some brief observations, that I will attempt to flesh out later:

Before the game, we saw Gregory Kelser on the sideline, who was presumably there to broadcast the game for BTN. Impeccably dressed in a suit as always, Kelser walked from around the basketball floor to give a hug to his old coach, Gus Ganakas (broadcasting the game for radio). It was a warm, private moment shared between an old mentor and his pupil, who I'm sure are good friends now. It was a private moment in as much as a moment can be when in at takes place in a sports arena with 10,000+ people in attendance--but I doubt how many people were paying attention.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson was also at the game and was introduced in the first half. He waved to and acknowledged the crowd on the center court "jumbotron" scoreboard, as he was seated in a private box. Magic must be in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. So we had Special K and Magic in Breslin at the same time.

As far as the game goes:

Gavin Schilling was great and played perhaps his best game ever.

Free throw shooting must improve or it might cost them some games.

Denzel Valentine is making better decisions and had a double-double.

Marvin Clark can shoot the lights out. This will be one fun player to watch over the next few years.

Travis Trice can also shoot the lights out.

I love the energy that Tum-Tum Nairn brings to the game, and he will also be a fun player to watch over the next few years.

The Spartans played a very good game without the services of Branden Dawson, who was sick with the flu.

The defensive intensity was better than it was in the Loyola game, and this seems to be an area of improvement for the team.

I love the teamwork I've seen on display and how well the team works to find the open man. They all seem to like each other and communicate well, which bodes well for the future.

I still contend that this team could surprise some people this season.

My day at the Rutgers game

I went to the MSU/Rutgers football game yesterday in a continuation of my "Spartan Sports Weekend Spectacular."

 

Frankly, I'm tired of MSU football fans taking a beating for "not being loyal enough" or some such nonsense. No, the actual butts in the seats were probably nowhere near the 70,000+ announced in the stadium, but the people who were there were hearty and enthusiastic. The weather was the type of damp chill that cuts to the bone, but a surprising number of folks, myself included, stuck around to the end to enjoy MSU's 45-3 destruction of Rutgers. I really couldn't fault anyone who, at some point near or after halftime, thought to themselves, "I've had enough with freezing out here, MSU is gonna win this game, there is no absolutely no chance of a miraculous Rutgers comeback, it's time to get out of here before I suffer hypothermia."

 

So why did I gut it out, you may ask? (or may not ask?). Part of it is my attempt to support the team in my own little way, though I'm sure the MSU football team could not give a hoot if I, someone they don't even know, stays the entire game. Another part of it is, I may see something in this game that I've never seen before, so I'm not leaving.

 

But really, I make it to at least one game per season because of love for alma mater. I love the Spartan Marching Band and its entrance from the tunnel onto the field, I love the over-the-top spectacle of the football team storming onto the gridiron from the same tunnel. I love the fight song, "MSU Shadows" the alma mater. I am a sucker for the whole college football experience, and no amount of conference realignments, national championship playoff tinkering, or bowing to the whims of television time slots can dim my enthusiasm.

Michigan State 87, Loyola 52

I had the good fortune to attend last night's MSU basketball game win over the Loyola Ramblers.

In any of these non-conference blowout victories featuring mid-major and/or bottom feeder opponents, it's hard to tell whether it's the Spartans looking very good or the opponent looking very bad. Presumably, it's a little bit of both.

 

The Spartans deserve credit for coming out with energy and enthusiasm in their first game after the Duke loss. They jumped all over the Ramblers and held them to one bucket over the first eight minutes and 53 seconds of the game. The game was over, for all intents and purposes, after about the 10-minute mark of the first half.

 

I was impressed with the outside shooting of Marvin Clark, Jr., and the speed, ball-handling skills, and overall fearlessness of Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn, Jr. Travis Trice and Branden Dawson had excellent games. Matt Costello looked much better than he did against Duke, but still has a tendency to be a bit tentative. Denzel Valentine makes some remarkable passes and can look absolutely dazzling, but then have some puzzling mental lapses.

 

This team is a work-in-progress, and I still contend may surprise some people this year. It should be one of those years where we, as fans, need to keep our expectations modest and realistic and simply enjoy the ride.

Every point Jahlil Okafor scored felt like a punch in the gut

...or so it seemed to me last night watching Coach K and Duke beat Michigan State yet again.

It made me want to cry seeing how damned good Okafor is, and how much MSU could have used him in a season in which they--at least for now--have no low post players.

 

I'm sure Tom Izzo felt about the same.

 

There has been lots of hand-wringing on the Red Cedar Message Board about MSU's defeats on the recruiting trail, and how all the good players are going to Duke, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Well, hasn't that pretty much always been the case for years now?

 

The harsh reality is that Michigan State is not a blue blood program and may never be. Heaven knows Izzo has done everything he can to get blue chippers to MSU, and has sometimes succeeded, but it will always be difficult going up against the likes of basketball aristocracy.

 

I didn't expect the Spartans to win, so I approached the game as calmly as I ever do with MSU sports. Since Dick Vitale was the color commentator and I assumed he'd be slobbering all over Duke, I turned the TV volume all the way down.

 

I was pleased with MSU's effort, but the team is undermanned and has a long way to go, though their ceiling seems high and the team should be much better in March than it is now. (Isn't that the case with every Izzo team?). Travis Trice had another good game, and Branden Dawson was much better than he was against Navy. Bryn Forbes started and played 30 minutes and displayed that smooth shooting stroke that had been advertised.

 

The main issues for this team are lack of size and nobody who is a threat as a low post player. Matt Costello will need to step up his game.

1950 avenged!: Michigan State 37, Maryland 15

It was a game that quite often was ugly to watch, with no flow, and a Spartan offense that at times couldn't get out of its own way. It was a workmanlike win, nothing more and nothing less. But that's okay. Coming off the disappointment of the Ohio State loss, and playing on the road in an unfamiliar environment and against an unfamiliar foe, expecting anything more would be unrealistic.

The most important result from this game is that, despite the often unsightliness of the whole affair, it was a victory for the Spartans.

The defense, notwithstanding a few deep passes given up, was outstanding and really won this game on a night in which the offense was largely unreliable (and for a variety of reasons--not all of their own doing--couldn't find a rhythm until Maryland's gritty defense finally wore down midway through the third quarter).

It was never realistic to expect MSU's defensive backs to be the No Fly Zone, and they have had struggles this season, but tonight they played well. Trae Waynes continues to have a great season, and Kurtis Drummond and R.J. Williamson stepped up. Williamson had a huge pick six on a pass tipped by Taiwan Jones in the play that broke the Terrapins' back (or, more accurately, "shell"). Darian Hicks struggled and was burned a few times tonight, but also had one near-interception. Hicks is only a sophomore and he should improve next season.

MSU's offense wore down the Terps' tired defense and the amazingly consistent Jeremy Langford had yet another fine game grinding out important chunks of yards in the fourth quarter. Nick Hill and Delton Williams also contributed significantly in the second half.