A few thoughts before the big game

The 2011 Big Ten championship game broke my heart.

I can still picture the official tossing the yellow flag while Keshawn Martin was in the process of returning a Wisconsin punt deep into Badger territory in the waning moments of the game, and knowing with a heavy heart that his long return was not only coming back, but the game was essentially over. I can also picture Russell Wilson, on fourth down, eluding MSU defenders like a matador and throwing a spectacular 36-yard pass to keep the winning Wisconsin drive alive. If MSU had stopped Wilson on that play, the Spartans probably could have sealed the victory. There were many "what-ifs" and "woulda coulda shoulda's" in that game. It took me days to get over the agony of that loss.

I don't want a return of that game.  I don't know if my heart can take it. Of course, I've said that on countless occasions, but I always come back for more.

The thing about being a fan is that we always want our team to be successful no matter what. But the more successful ones team becomes, the higher the stakes. Now, MSU compiling an 11-1 record and the Big Ten Legends Division title isn't quite "good enough"--which is completely absurd. I would have been ecstatic if someone had told me, during the dark days of the Bobby Williams/John L. Smith era, that the day would soon come when the MSU football team would record three double-digit win seasons in four years and go to seven straight bowl games.

But it's just not enough. Gotta win that outright Big Ten title. But I have to keep in mind that, regardless the outcome of tonight's game, it's been a great season. This beats the hell out of the misery we Spartan fans have had to endure for far too many seasons.

I know I'm biased, but I see this game as a battle between what is right about college football versus what is wrong with the game. I don't like Urban Meyer, as I've already mentioned in this blog. He seems just a little shady and at least somewhat ethically challenged, not to mention arrogant. I see a Michigan State victory as proof that a team can win with players that were overlooked as high school recruits. Proof that hard work and a team concept (MSU) can overcome an athletic budget equal to the GNP of some small nations and a team loaded with 4 and 5 star players (OSU).

And then there are the Ohio State fans. I'm sure there are some out there who are intelligent and reasonable, but I have yet to encounter many of them. Most seem completely maniacal and almost comically arrogant with little to no knowledge of any school or team beyond their beloved Buckeyes.

So let me conclude this post by imploring the football gods to smile down upon the Spartans tonight. How much longer must be suffer? Isn't 26 years long enough to wait for an outright Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth? Can you please throw us a bone? Thank you in advance...and as always, Go Green!

Gearing up the Big Ten championship game

If this was boxing, Michigan State would be Joe Frazier. The battler, the scrapper, the fighter who, despite being a bit undersized, never ever quit and made his opponents earn everything they attained. Frazier didn't win every fight, but if you fought against him, you damned well felt every punch.

In this boxing analogy, Ohio State is Muhammad Ali. Glamorous, sexy, seemingly effortless.

As is generally the case in almost any big athletic contest it enters, Michigan State is the underdog. The Spartans enter the game with a chip on its shoulder. MSU is a defensive team, and defense is decidedly unglamorous.

I have no idea who will win tonight, but MSU definitely has a shot. Play within themselves, don't get too caught up in the emotion of the moment, play the same aggressive, relentless defense that got them there. The same defense we saw against Michigan. I don't expect the Spartans to dominate Ohio State's offense the same way they did Michigan's, but the key to victory may be to simply limit the Buckeyes' scoring chances in the red zone. On the other side of the ball, Connor Cook needs to remain the same steady performer he has been for the last 3/4 of the season, and don't be surprised one bit if Coach D throws in a few trick plays.

And don't forget special teams. Great special teams play has been a hallmark of the Dantonio era, and this year is no exception. Mike Sadler is the best punter in the Big Ten, and it's obvious why Michael Geiger was the most highly recruited placekicker last year. In a close game, the final could very well be decided by special teams play.

There is still a part of me that isn't sure what to expect from Ohio State. Are they a team that has been playing with one arm tied behind the back all year? Have they put in just enough effort to win their games, but are saving their very best for this game? Could we be in for a repeat of the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Alabama? I highly doubt it, but it's in the back of my mind. I'd prefer to compare this to the MSU basketball team's 1999 Elite Eight game against Kentucky. It was, to that point, Tom Izzo's biggest game as coach, and the MSU basketball team was on the ascent and trying to make a name for itself. Most of the national pundits predicted a Kentucky win and gave MSU little chance, but the Spartans shocked everyone by decisively beating the Wildcats, though the game got off to a rocky start with MSU falling behind early 17-4. Still, it was a signature win and established MSU basketball as a program to be reckoned with on the national stage.

Speaking as a fan, I have come to despise Ohio State almost as much as Michigan--(although Michigan has been such a Keystone Kops operation in recent years, I've come to pity them more than hate them). It's really the Urban Meyer factor, the guy comes across as so incredibly smug and arrogant. I have never really had that much of a problem with OSU in the past, but I'd love nothing more than to stop that 24-game winning streak and deflate Meyer's enormous ego just a tiny bit.

This is probably the biggest football game Michigan State has played since 1966. A victory would be huge for the program and for the national perception of MSU football. As usual, I'm trying not to get overly jacked for the game, but realistically I know that no matter what the outcome of the game, I'll probably be up until about 4:00 in the morning. That's just how I operate when it comes to MSU sports.

Win or lose, I'll be back later to either celebrate or commiserate. And, as always, Go Green!

Another ugly loss to the Heels; and bring on the Bucks

I'm back home after a long 12-day vacation. Believe it or not, it's good to be back in slate gray, soggy Michigan.

***

Uptight, uninspired, sloppy, soft. All of these adjectives are appropriate descriptions for the MSU basketball team's 79-65 loss last night to North Carolina.

It was a game that reminded me a little bit of the 2003 blowout loss against Duke at Breslin (which coincidentally took place ten years and one day prior to last night's game): The Spartans finally get a big name, blue blood opponent into East Lansing and completely wet the bed. It was not a good night to be a Spartan.

For whatever reason, Michigan State is snake bit against North Carolina. It's amazing to think that Tom Izzo is 0-7 against Roy Williams. At this point, MSU's perpetual struggles against the Heels seem psychological. Something about the mere sight of those baby blue uniforms causes the Spartans to freeze up and play horribly.

I'm still in a football mood though, and I hope that this Saturday's Big Ten championship game has a better result than last night's horror show at Breslin Center. Nothing would give me more pleasure than for the MSU football team to wipe the smirk off Urban Meyer's pompous face.

I watched the Big Ten Network's replay of the Michigan/Ohio State game, and couldn't get over how terrible Ohio State's defense looked. Now, that's not saying the Buckeyes will play the same "matador defense" against Michigan State, but I don't see OSU suddenly transforming into the 1970s Pittsburgh Steel Curtain in a week's time, so the Spartans should be able to move the ball and score points on Ohio State. If MSU can find a way to contain OSU's offense, particularly Carlos Hyde, who is perhaps slightly more dangerous than Braxton Miller, then victory is certainly attainable. Containing that Buckeye offense will be MSU's biggest test of the season. It's really a matter of "picking your poison" when discussing Hyde or Miller. Both players are dynamic offensive play makers.

Ohio State is the final stop in the "Payback is a Bitch Tour 2013." Time to make the Bucknuts pay for the game they stole in East Lansing last year. I have no doubt the Spartans will, as the cliche goes, "leave it all on the field" Saturday. As long as Jim Delany and his black robed Big Ten minions don't send a decree to the officials to "assist" Ohio State in the game, I like the Spartans' chances.

As far as the conspiracy theories regarding this championship game, I'm happy that this has already been addressed by the media. (Kudos to Drew Sharp, by the way, for bringing this up at the MSU press conference this week. As you all know, I'm not a big Drew fan, but he deserves props for addressing this issue). This places the spotlight squarely on the officiating crew. Any questionable call will be magnified, so the officials should go to great pains to call the game as fairly as possible...or so it would seem.

***

Where would a win over Ohio State rank in the pantheon of great Michigan State football victories? It's a question I've been mulling over in my head the last few days. Considering the stakes in this game, and the national prestige and high ranking of the Buckeyes, a win in the Big Ten championship would have to rank in at least the top three MSU football wins of my lifetime.

Reporting from vacation

I'm reporting from Warner Robins, Georgia. On our way to our family vacation in Orlando.

Naturally, I missed the Spartan football game, since we were driving. We were in Kentucky when the game started and had taken a restroom pit stop in Tennessee when it ended. Happy to see MSU took care of business.
 

Checked into our hotel room just as the MSU basketball game started, but it was nowhere to be found on the cable TV here, and honestly I'd have been too wiped out to watch the whole game, anyway. The Spartan hoopsters got the job done.
 

Yesterday was a great day to be a Spartan, and I've been proudly wearing my gruff Sparty sweatshirt.

Back to football, though. I admit I was wrong about Connor Cook. Early in the season, I (along with many others) doubted whether he could be an adequate starter. He has become more than just adequate, he's a leader of the Spartan football team.
 

Now the Spartans are Legends Division champions for the second time in three years. Now, many doubt whether they can beat Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. To paraphrase Robert Kennedy, "Some people ask 'why?,' I ask 'why not?'" Why can't MSU beat Ohio State? Just because the Buckeyes have won 23 in a row? That streak has to end eventually. All the pressure should be on OSU in this game. The Spartans, as the decided underdog, can play loose and with no worries.

MSU football has been proving the doubters wrong all season. Even the Detroit "blue wall" media have thrown up their hands, given up, and have written glowing stories about them. The Spartans can continue to silence the critics with a win over the Buckeyes. Why not?

Off on vacation

I'll be on vacation in Orlando, Florida until the first week of December. I don't know if I'll get a chance to write in this blog, so farewell for now.

I'm still much more in a football mood than basketball, so my focus is much more on the MSU football team's final two games than it is on the hoops team's tournament in Brooklyn.

Northwestern might be the best 4-6 team in the country. Talk about a hard luck team. After I saw the 'Cats conference opener with Ohio State, I was convinced Northwestern was truly the main contender for the Legends Division title. Unfortunately, injuries and bad luck have plagued them ever since. Still, I expect Northwestern to give MSU a tussle tomorrow, but the Spartans should pull away in the second half for the win.

I'll be driving from Indiana to Georgia on Saturday, and won't see any college football, so I'll have to get updates on my phone and the car radio.

So unless I can write some blog posts via Android RAZR, as I'm doing now, farewell 'til we meet again, and as ever: Go Green.

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).

Izzo and basketball attendance; and Dantonio's place in MSU football history

Tom Izzo and last night's basketball attendance

Last night, after the Spartan basketball team dispatched the Portland Pilots at Breslin Center, Tom Izzo expressed his extreme displeasure that so few people had turned out for the game.

While I can understand Izzo's disappointment, or can at the very least empathize, the terrible storms in lower and mid-Michigan must have had something to do with this. Thousands of people lost power late on Sunday night and the wee hours of Monday morning. I speculate that this is what kept people away.

While I always welcome Tom Izzo's candor, and generally think he's on target with his comments and criticisms, I don't know if his anger over this was well-timed. I wonder if he considered that the damage caused by Sunday night's storm, and its aftermath, had anything to do with the empty seats?

Whatever the case may be, I certainly hope that attendance improves for the upcoming home basketball games. After all, we do have the number one team in the land. If we continue to see empty seats at Breslin Center, than there is a problem due more to complacency than bad weather and power outages.

Mark Dantonio's place in MSU coaching history

From Tom Izzo, undeniably the greatest coach in MSU basketball history (and possibly the greatest coach MSU has had in any sport), to Mark Dantonio, a coach who is staking a claim as one of the best the university has seen.

With the victory at Nebraska, Dantonio won his 60th game as MSU's head football coach. Yesterday, I did a quick Wikipedia search to see how he stacks up with other Spartan football coaches.

Dantonio currently has the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in MSU football history. He's behind only Biggie Munn, who coached the Spartans in their inaugural year of conference play before stepping down to become university athletic director. Munn had a 5-1 conference record in 1953, an .833 winning percentage. Dantonio's current Big Ten record is 36-18 (.667). So among Spartan football coaches who have coached multiple Big Ten seasons (probably a better basis for comparison than Munn's lone conference season in '53), Dantonio is all alone in first place.

Coach D, in only his seventh season, is already fourth all-time in victories. His 60 wins are behind Duffy Daugherty (109), Charlie Bachman (70) and George Perles (officially 68, with 5 wins from the 1994 season forfeited).

Dantonio, with an overall win/loss record of 60-29, has a .674 winning percentage. This is third all-time behind Biggie Munn's virtually unapproachable .846 and Chester Brewer's .699.

It's true that, unlike Munn and Daugherty, Dantonio doesn't have any national championships. But let's face it, the landscape of college football has changed since Munn and Daugherty were coaching in the '40s, '50s, and '60s. It may not be completely realistic at this point to expect MSU to contend for national titles when Alabama and the SEC rule the roost. Demographics have changed substantially over the last few decades, and the Big Ten may never be as powerful as it was in the days of Munn and Daugherty.

For what Dantonio has accomplished, with the resources he's had at his disposal, he ranks among the best football coaches in Michigan State University history.

(Addendum: At the conclusion of the 2013 football season, Dantonio's overall record is even better than it was when I originally wrote this post. He has an overall record of 64-29 (.679), and a conference record of 38-18 (.688)).