Our hated rival the Indiana Hoosiers

Bragging rights are up for grabs today as storied rivals Indiana and Michigan State do battle for the Old Brass Spittoon. (Tongue firmly in cheek).

The only game I attended last year was the final home game, when the Spartans dismantled the Hoosiers 55-3. I worry that today's game could be closer, despite Indiana's wretched defense.

There are only a few MSU/Indiana football games that stand out in my memory. My freshman year at MSU in '86, the Hoosiers upset the Spartans in what was a litany of close and extremely disappointing losses for that year's team. The following season, the Spartans clinched the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl by defeating Indiana 27-3.

One of the biggest regrets of my college career (if not my life) is that I didn't purchase 1987 season tickets. I went to only two games in '87 and they were the two worst home games of the season (a 31-3 loss to Florida State, where the only consolation is that I can say I saw Deion Sanders play football as a collegian--and a 14-14 tie with Illinois in a chilly Homecoming drizzle. Both of these tickets I purchased from fellow students who for whatever reason where unable to use them). That year's Indiana game saw both the Spartans and Hoosiers amazingly playing for the conference title, and Lorenzo White famously ran the ball 56 times for 292 yards in leading MSU to the win.  I watched the game in someone's room at Shaw Hall.  As soon as the game was over, I walked directly to Spartan Stadium, entered the stadium through the tunnel (which was amazingly open, perhaps as a safety valve for the flood of revelers who had poured onto the field). I walked onto the artificial turf and joined in with the delirious MSU fans. By then, the celebrants were beginning to disperse, and the ones remaining weren't quite sure what to do with themselves, and were probably pondering which local drinking establishment to relocate their revelry. The most vivid memory I have from that evening is how squishy the artificial turf felt under my feet. I wasn't expecting that.

This year's Indiana game has very little at stake. The Hoosiers are simply trying to win a Big Ten game, which is something they have not done in a few years, and the Spartans want to get their once promising season back on track. I fear that the combination of Indiana's Homecoming, their desperation to get a win, and MSU's probable depression after the OSU loss could equal a bad Saturday for the Spartans, but that may simply be my usual "glass-is-half-empty" outlook on MSU football.

Ohio State 17, Michigan State 16

The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was electric at Spartan Stadium, but the result was not what I wanted. More later...

***

Update (Saturday, October 6, 2012): Not surprisingly, I never got back to this post in a timely manner. As I wrote, the weather could not have been more beautiful last Saturday. The sun was out and temperatures hovered in the mid-60's.

Michigan State did enough to beat Ohio State, with the defense creating three turnovers, but once again the offense can't sustain any drives. Ironically, the real killer was a defensive miscue when Johnny Adams was beaten on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Braxton Miller to Devin Smith. It occurred in the third quarter when MSU had its only lead of the game, 13-10. If the defense had been able to force the Buckeyes to punt, perhaps the Spartans could have maintained their momentum.

I have the sneaking suspicion that this is just going to be "one of those years."

Below is a picture I took from the game. I think this was in the fourth quarter on a drive in which Ohio State had to settle for a field goal.

 

Braxton Miller in the shotgun (Mark Neese photo)

Ohio State

Quite unexpectedly, I have become the beneficiary of a ticket to today's Ohio State game. Many thanks to my sister-in-law and her husband for thinking of me when this ticket became available, and for my mother-in-law agreeing to watch my sons. (My wife is, as I write this, en route to San Antonio for a business conference).

For the record, this will be the third time I will have seen the Ohio State football team in person at Spartan Stadium. The first time was 1988, when George Perles' Spartans beat the Buckeyes 20-10 in John Cooper's first year as head coach. The second time came in 2004, as I witnessed Ted Ginn, Jr. go crazy and almost single-handedly beat the Spartans 32-19. (Ginn had a 17-yard touchdown run, a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, and topped off his day with a 58-yard touchdown reception). Amazingly, the Spartans overcame a 17-0 deficit to take a 19-17 lead with 5:59 left in the game, but this was the dark days of the John L. era, and the Spartans promptly played dead through the remainder of the game).

I have a lot of preparation to do before heading out to the game, so I need to wrap this up. I expect to give a full report later.

Go Green!

Michigan State 23, Eastern Michigan 7...and thoughts about the (Not so) Big Ten

As a lifelong Michigan State football fan, there is that sense of impending doom that often materializes sometime near the first 1/3rd of the season. It's a feeling that all of ones high hopes for the season are about to come crashing down to earth. Thankfully, this has rarely happened in the Mark Dantonio era--with '09 being the only year that comes to mind--but it has occurred many, many other years under the regimes of Darryl Rogers, Muddy Waters, George Perles, Nick Saban (yes, even Saban), Bobby Williams, and (shudder) John L. Smith. I fear that it could be about to happen this year.

I watched the MSU/EMU game at my brother's house in Owosso. He and his wife were having a house-warming party. I thought that by the time we arrived at his house at 4:30, the game would be a complete Spartan blowout and I could ignore the game and spend more time socializing. I certainly did not expect a life-and-death struggle with the lowly Eagles. I sat with my dad on the couch, drinking a Leinenkugel and imploring someone, anyone, to catch a damned pass.

MSU's football team is at a crossroads this season: either the offense will not improve and the team is headed for a 3-5 or 2-6 record in the Big Ten, or the team has bottomed out, Dantonio's fury will make the players catch fire, and the offense will improve just enough to carry the team to a good Big Ten record (6-2 perhaps) in a year in which the conference is terrible.  All I know is that someone besides Dion Sims has to step up as a viable receiving threat, or we could be in for a long season.

The one thing helping MSU is that the Big Ten is god-awful. Let's take a look at the teams:

The undefeateds...

Minnesota 4-0 with no wins that really stand out as impressive. I'm sorry, but a triple overtime win over 1-3 UNLV doesn't blow me away, nor does a 17-10 home win over 1-3 Syracuse. Jerry Kill does have the program headed in the right direction, but I am not sold on them quite yet.

Northwestern The Wildcats are also 4-0, and at least deserve credit for beating three teams from BCS conferences, although Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Boston College are hardly powerhouses.

Ohio State Probably the best of the unbeatens, with a stout defense and a playmaking quarterback in Braxton Miller. However, they were uimpressive in their win over UAB, but the Buckeyes often seem to sleepwalk against weak non-conference opponents. I'm still not quite sure what to make of OSU.

The undisputed bad teams...

Let's start off with Iowa. The Hawkeyes are horrible: losing to a middling MAC school at home is inexcusable (just ask Michigan State). Illinois is also bad, getting shellacked by Louisiana Tech at home. Indiana barely beat Indiana State and lost to Ball State. Add the Hoosiers to the list of lousy Big Ten teams.

The jury is still deliberating on these teams...

Michigan State might have the best defense in the conference, but the offense is struggling mightily. The Ohio State game is a pivotal for the Spartans. As I've stated over and over on this blog (and it's no secret to anyone who follows MSU) the Spartans must find one or two more players who can actually catch a ball consistently.

Denard Robinson was horrible against Notre Dame, but Michigan's defense played well and the Wolverines only lost by a touchdown. Michigan has a bye week before starting the Big Ten season on the road against Purdue. That is a game that will tell us a lot more about both teams.

Of the three Big Ten teams that played Notre Dame, Purdue was the closest to actually winning. The Boilermakers may be the best team in the conference, which is akin to being the world's tallest dwarf. (No offense intended towards dwarfs).

After an awful start to the season, Penn State is actually presenting a pulse. The Nittany Lions may still end up in the "undisputed bad teams" category, but after two consecutive wins I will give them the benefit of a doubt.

For all the offensive woes that MSU has experienced this season, Wisconsin's are even worse: The Badgers are currently ranked 113th among all FBS teams in passing yardage, 88th in rushing, and 102nd in points scored. (MSU's ranks in those three categories are 61, 55, and 104--as a whole, slightly better than Wisconsin). Danny O'Brien hasn't come close to adequately replacing Russell Wilson, and Montee Ball's struggles are mystifying. The Badgers may still end up in the ranks of the terrible.

The Badgers' first Big Ten game is against Nebraska, a team that has played well, with the exception of a road loss to UCLA. Nebraska could end up as Big Ten champion.

All told, an inauspicious start for the Big Ten. But it was probably inevitable. The best football players in the nation are in the South and West. The Midwest has been losing its population and economic clout for four decades, and football--the most expensive of sports--has declined here also.  The Big Ten as a second-tier football conference may be the new reality.

Eastern Michigan

The Eastern Michigan Eagles are coming to town and I have a feeling they are in for a whipping from an angry Michigan State team. This is probably the worst possible scenario for EMU to play MSU, as I'm sure the Spartans will be in a foul mood after last week's Notre Dame debacle.

On the subject of Eastern Michigan, it's remarkable that they even still have a football program. EMU has not won a MAC title since 1987, and that is the only MAC championship in the 40 years that Eastern has been in the conference. The average attendance for home football games is less than 10,000 per contest. EMU, in order to help pay the bills, depends on big paydays from games like tomorrow's probable drubbing at Spartan Stadium.

I have a graduate degree from EMU, so I have some perspective on the culture in Ypsilanti, or at least as it existed between 2000-2004, when I attended school there. When I was a student, I never noticed any buzz or enthusiasm towards EMU sports, even when the game was against an intrastate rival like Central or Western. Of course, this may have something to with the fact that (surprise, surprise) EMU sports teams were terrible, and I was spending the majority of my time with graduate students who were not interested in sports.

The biggest strike that EMU has going against it is that the shadow of the University of Michigan looms large over all of Washtenaw County. Unlike fellow Mid-American Conference brethren Central Michigan and Western Michigan, Eastern is only eight miles away from an enormous university with twice the student body of EMU--and this is not just any enormous university, but one with just about the most storied and famous athletic programs in the nation. There's really no way EMU can compete against that, and not only can they not compete, they can barely keep themselves afloat.

But EMU also has themselves to blame. I trace it back to 1968 when Eastern decided to demolish its football stadium, located on the southwest corner of the main campus at the corner of Oakwood and Washtenaw. By this point, EMU was transitioning into primarily a commuter school and desperately needed parking, so Briggs Field was sacrificed to make way for a commuter lot. Briggs Field's replacement, Rynearson Stadium, was built several miles west of the main campus making it difficult for students to get to games and killing any excitement on the main campus on football Saturdays.

Eastern didn't help itself by getting rid of the Hurons nickname. I know this brings up the whole issue of political correctness--and in general, I'm not a big fan of Native American nicknames, but eliminating "Hurons" in favor of the bland and boring "Eagles" alienated many EMU alumni.

Ron English is the new coach at EMU, and has injected some signs of life in the program, but it's hard to imagine EMU's football program ever becoming a consistent winner or a draw for fans. There just seem to be too many inherent disadvantages in Ypsi for this to be possible.

When your offense is "offensive": Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 3

I'm writing this immediately after the MSU/ND game, and I'll just write it as I see it, but try not to be too emotional or hysterical. It's one game, and things can improve...at least I hope.

First of all, the important parts. Tonight's drink of choice was Pinot Evil pinot noir. Finished up the last bit remaining in the bottle: one glass in the first half and a refill in the second half. As it turned out, I probably should have just guzzled an entire bottle of wine to make me pass out in order to avoid the ugliness I witnessed on the field.

This offense has GOT to improve. It can't get much worse that it was tonight...or can it? I am willing to give credit to Notre Dame's front seven, but for cryin' out loud can anyone on MSU's team besides Dion Sims catch a pass consistently? And why does Andrew Maxwell feel the need to throw every pass like its a Justin Verlander fastball? You need to put a little more touch on those throws, Andrew (says the blogger whose highest level of football achievement was intramural "Air Force" football--where said blogger was decidedly the most mediocre participant on the field).

Michigan State was not helped by the consistently bad field position they had--and here is where the loss of Keshawn Martin was really and truly felt. Nick Hill was not able to return anything tonight. At least part of the credit has to go the Notre Dame's punting, but something tells me Keshawn could have returned at least one or two of those punts for a significant gain.

The Spartans also had a few chances to change the game's momentum, with both Max Bullough and Chris Norman almost intercepting Everett Golson. Speaking of Golson, he is a talented young quarterback. Paticularly impressive is his ability to throw on the run. He's elusive with a great arm, and he did not make any mistakes in the game.

MSU's defense played quite well, but looked gassed in the fourth quarter. They were on the field too long and it showed on the deciding drive of the game when ND took it from their own 4 yard line, into Spartan territory, and booted a field goal to make the score 17-3.

I believe I made it through the entire game without hurling any F-bombs, which is good for me. Then again, my kids were in the same room with me, so I was on my best behavior for the most part. But honestly, the game was such a snooze that it was hard to get overly angry. Frustrated, but not angry.

I have to stop making predictions on MSU games. I'm always wrong, and that's because I go with my heart and not my head.  But even I couldn't have predicted such a terrible offensive showing.

If Notre Dame doesn't crush Michigan next week, I will not be happy. This Irish defense should be capable of making Denard Robinson's life most unpleasant.

Thus begins a week when I will attempt to avoid most sports talk radio, as well as the hand-wringing, complaining, and name-calling on the Red Cedar Message Board (the main MSU sports-related message board on the world wide web, for those not in the know).

I sure hope this Notre Dame defense is the best MSU will face all year, because if it's not, we could be in for a disappointing year.

I can't help but wonder how far MSU will fall in the polls after this one. #17 or so? I'm disappointed that MSU laid such an egg on national television (ABC and not just ESPN) with the Goodyear Blimp overhead and the national championship trophy on the sideline. It's just further proof that life is never easy for MSU fans.

Watching the Notre Dame game right now...

...and of course I am disappointed. Were we all just whistling in the graveyard with this MSU offense? The offensive line has been owned, Maxwell has no touch on his passes, and MSU has nobody who seems to be able to consistently catch a pass besides Dion Sims.

Then again, this could end up being the best defense the Spartans have faced all year. I am very impressed with the Irish's front seven. Still, I can't help but think that Cousins, Martin, Cunningham, and company would have been able to muster more than 3 points.

(By the way, I've turned the volume down on Musburger and Herbie. I can't take them anymore).

Well, Maxwell just threw a long incompletion and that's all she wrote for the Spartans. Kelly doing the classy thing and taking it on a knee. I tell ya, if ND doesn't just crush Michigan next Saturday, I will not be happy. Notre Dame's defense looks very good.

This Spartan team looks like some of George Perles' teams that had really good defenses but offenses that couldn't get out of their own way. I'm thinking of the 1988 team, in particular for some reason. Seems to me the offense that year started off very slow (and the team had that 0-4-1 start) but improved in the second half of the season. Someone tell me if I'm remembering this wrong.

It's all over. Notre Dame ran out the clock and won 20-3.