Sunday, November 30, 2014

Big Green move up to #7. NICE!

FREAKING NUMBER 7!!!!  The demolition of Penn State, 34-10, leads to a nice move up the polls, thanks to an amazing weekend of college football upsets...

Watch these teams crash and burn:  #5 Baylor lose to #9 Kansas State next week, #6 Ohio State lose to #11 Wisky (Big Ten title game), #1 Alabama lose to #14 Missouri, #2 Florida State lose to #12 Georgia Tech, and #3 Oregon lose to #8 Arizona.    Then, Michigan State will likely leap frog Ohio State and jump to the #5 position.  Win the bowl game, and maybe jump up to #3 or #4 again by the end of the season.  LOVE IT!!!!

Here are the current AP rankings:

AP Top 25
RKTEAMRECORDPTS
1Alabama (25)11-11426
2Florida State (29)12-01423
3Oregon (5)11-11391
4TCU10-11274
5Baylor10-11243
6Ohio State11-11192
7Michigan State10-21048
8Arizona10-21027
9Kansas State9-2995
10Mississippi State10-2944
11Wisconsin10-2910
12Georgia Tech10-2823
13Ole Miss9-3753
14Missouri10-2740
15Georgia9-3606
16UCLA9-3512
17Arizona State9-3495
18Oklahoma8-3485
19Clemson9-3418
20Auburn8-4358
21Louisville9-3346
22Boise State10-2265
23LSU8-4145
24Utah8-479
25Nebraska9-364

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Michigan State hits rare 2-weekend TRIFECTA (paired with UM and ND losses)

TRIFECTA HISTORY – Past 46 years (since 1968). Weekends: 544. Occurred: 21 times.  3.8%


OK, so Michigan State whipped Penn State, 34-10 in Happy Valley.  Now, let's revisit our trifecta... The ES looked back at this in 2009… and that was when Mark Dantonio was just kicking off as coach. My, oh my,  how things have changed… or have they?  While MSU’s dominance in the rivalry vs Michigan is solidified, we’ve struggled vs the hated Irish… and thusly, the trifecta seemingly is still pretty tough.

But, this weekend we HIT THE TRIFECTA! FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW (only third time this has happened since 1968)!  MSU beat Penn State, Michigan lost to Ohio State, and ND lost to Southern Cal.... Spartan fans, the trifecta is a a very, very, very difficult thing to do.  What is the trifecta?  Again, the ES Trifecta is defined as: on the same weekend for there to be a Michigan State victory AND losses by Notre Dame and Michigan. Note, on some weekends over the past four decades not all three teams played. But, again, the TRIFECTA makes for a PERFECT football weekend when all three events are combined.

The ES looked back over his lifetime, 46 years long now, to see how often his weekend football Trifecta had occurred.

Is it happening more frequently than the ES remembers in the past? Certainly, YES.  Dantonio is now among the nation’s elite,  Rich Rod and the soon-to-be-has-been Brady Hoke are both Michigan coaching history… Chuck E Weis is a goner at ND, but Brian Kelly seems to have the ability to stick around for the Irish.  Still, let's take a looksie… 

The statistics, plain Ws and Ls are below.
  • From 2007 - 2014, the Trifecta occurred 11 times (11 times over 88 weekends = 12.5% frequency).
  • From 1968 – 2006, the Trifecta occurred 10 times (10 times over 443 weekends = 2.3% frequency).
  • Seven times in the past 46 years has a weekend included either MSU defeating Michigan and ND losing, or MSU defeating ND and Michigan losing. 
  • Three times has the Trifecta occurred in back-to-back weekends: the first weekends of the 2007 season, from 11/7 to 11/14 in 2009, and NOW - the last two weekends (11/22-11/29) in 2014.
  • There has not been a Trifecta three times in a row in the past 46 years. And, the next opportunity to do this is the opening weekend of 2015, since Michigan is ineligible for bowl season.  (it is possible to FINALLY do the trifecta thrice first week of 2015:  MSU at WMU, Michigan at Utah, ND hosts Texas).
The year-by-year break out is below.

2014 (2)
11/22.  Michigan at Maryland. L, 16-23.  ND v Louisville, L, 28-31.  MSU v Rutgers, W, 45-3.
11/29.  Michigan at Ohio State. L, 28-42.  ND at USC, L, 14-49.  MSU at Penn State, W, 34-10.

2013 (1)
11/30.  Michigan v Ohio State, L, 41-42.  ND at Stanford, L. 20-27.  MSU v Minnesota, @. 14-3.

2012 (1)
Bowls.  Michigan v South Carolina (Outback), L, 28-33.  ND v Alabama (BCS Title), L, 14-42.  MSU vs TCU (BWW), W, 17-16.

2010 - 2011: none

2009 (2)
11/7. Michigan vs Purdue. L, 36-38. ND vs Navy. L, 21-23. MSU vs WMU. W, 49-14.
11/14. Michigan at Wisconsin. L, 24-45. ND at Pitt. L, 22-27. MSU vs Purdue. W, 40-37.

2008 (2)
10/11. Michigan vs Toledo. L, 10-13. ND at North Carolina. L, 24-29. MSU at N’western. W, 37-20.
11/1. Michigan at Purdue. L, 42-48. ND vs Pittsburgh. L, 33-36. MSU vs. Wisconsin. W, 25-24.

2007 (3)
9/1. Michigan vs. Appalachian St. L, 32-34. ND vs Georgia Tech. L, 3-33. MSU vs UAB. W, 55-18.
9/8. Michigan vs. Oregon. L, 7-39. ND at Penn State. L, 10-31. MSU vs BGSU. W, 28-17.
11/10. Michigan at Wisconsin. L, 21-37. ND vs Air Force. L, 24-41. MSU at Purdue. W, 48-31.

2006 – 2004: none

2003 (1)
9/20. Michigan at Oregon. L, 27-31. ND vs MSU. L, 16-22. MSU at ND. W, 22-16.

2002: none

2001 (2)
9/8. Michigan at Washington. L, 18-23. ND at Nebraska. L, 10-27. MSU vs CMU. W, 35-21.
11/3. Michigan at MSU. L, 24-26. ND vs Tennessee. L, 18-28. MSU vs Michigan. W, 26-24.

2000 - 1999: none

1998 (1)
9/12. Michigan vs Syracuse. L, 28-38. ND at MSU. L, 23-45. MSU vs ND. W, 45-23.

1997 - 1988: none

1987 (2)
10/10. Michigan at MSU. L, 11-17. ND at Pitt. L, 22-30. MSU vs Michigan. W, 17-11.
11/21. Michigan vs Ohio St. L, 20-23. ND at Penn St. L, 20-21. MSU at Wisconsin. W, 30-9.

1986-1985: none

1984 (1)
10/6. Michigan vs MSU. L, 7-19. ND vs Miami-FL. L, 13-31. MSU at Michigan. W, 19-7.

1983 (1)
9/17. Michigan at Washington. L, 24-25. ND vs. MSU. L, 23-28. MSU at ND. W, 28-23.

1982-1980: none.

1979 (1)
11/10. Michigan at Purdue. L, 21-24. ND at Tennessee. L, 18-40. MSU vs Minnesota. W, 31-17.

1978-77: none.

1976 (1)
11/6. Michigan at Purdue. L, 14-16. ND at Georgia Tech. L, 14-23. MSU vs Indiana. W, 23-0.

1975-1968: none.

ES Game Day: MSU gonna kick Penn State's arse


#8/#10 Michigan State (9-2/6-1) at Penn State (6-5/2-5)
Beaver Stadium, Happy Valley, PA
3:30 ET, ABC/ESPN2
Sagarin Ratings: MSU #10, Penn State #50

Weather: 36, cloudy, 7 mph wind

Line:  MSU by 13.5

Predictions:  

  • Free Press: Rexrode, MSU 24-10
  • Onward State: Berkman, MSU 24-7, Abrzeese, PSU 17-16; Doon, MSU 27-10; Reisman, MSU 20-13; Leeson, MSU 26-19; Berger, MSU 27-10; Hardinger, 23-10; Purcell, MSU 40-9; Gilbert, MSU 17-0
  • Victory Bell Rings:  Leonard, MSU 24-7; Lance, MSU 31-6; Jezewski, MSU 38-9; Sio, MSU 35-14
  • Det News: Charbenou, MSU 31-14; Changelis, MSU 24-10; Wojo, MSU 30-10; Niyo, MSU 27-14;  
  • CFN Scout:  MSU 23-13
  • CBSSports.com:  MSU unanimous
  • Rant Sports:  MSU 24-10
  • Black Shoe Diaries: Page, MSU 33-17; Ryan, PSU 20-17;  Matt, MSU 24-7; bacaff, PSU 24-23; Blonde, MSU 16-7; Tim, MSU 24-13; Dan, MSU 27-10; PREVIEW: MSU 30-10
  • WSBT-TV:  MSU 37-21

ES sez:   OK, the Spartan defense is not as stout as last year... but it is pretty damn good, and adjustments in the secondary (Lippett playing both ways, for instance) are paying dividends.  On offense, MSU CAN'T score less than 35 against a mediocre team.  Spartan Defense is UP, Spartan Offense is SCREAMING.  Penn State is mediocre.  The ES sees this as a blow-out, unfortunately for the Nittanies.

Michigan State 51, Penn State 5.


Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Spartans favored by 2 TD at Penn State

9-2/6-1 Michigan State, which moved up to #8 in the USA Today coaches poll but remained at #10 in the other polls, is favored by 13-1/2 points at 6-5/2-5 Penn State.  Those are 2 Jeremy Langford TDs... and, it is the only Big Ten game this weekend with the road team a fave.

The bookies on the Big Ten slate:

MSU (-13) at Penn State
Iowa (-1) vs Nebraska
Ohio State (-20) vs Michigan
Wisconsin (-14) vs Minnesota
Maryland (-8) vs Rutgers
Illinois (-8) vs Northwestern
Indiana (-2) vs Purdon't

USA Today Poll
RKTEAMRECORDPTS
1Alabama (25)10-11474
2Florida State (30)11-01462
3Oregon (6)10-11431
4Mississippi State10-11323
5TCU9-11259
6Baylor9-11242
7Ohio State10-11191
8Michigan State9-21052
9Georgia9-21002
10UCLA9-2963
11Kansas State8-2912
12Arizona9-2818
13Arizona State9-2783
14Wisconsin9-2758
15Georgia Tech9-2615
16Auburn8-3565
17Missouri9-2560
18Oklahoma8-3420
19Ole Miss8-3390
20Marshall11-0383
21Colorado State10-1304
22Minnesota8-3256
23Louisville8-3208
24Clemson8-3203
25Boise State9-285

Saturday, November 22, 2014

ES Game Day: Michigan State vs Rutgers

#10 Michigan State Spartans vs Rutgers
12 noon/BTN

Weather:  37 degrees and cloudy

Line:  MSU favored by 21

Senior day in East Lansing.  I see this as a game where the Big Green is going to blow Rutgers out of the water.  The MSU offense is the highest scoring in its history, and we still have two games to go.  This one will be a run away early.  Welcome to the B1G Ten, Rutgers...

Final score:  MSU 51, Rutgers 17.


Friday, November 21, 2014

Spartans in DC on Fri night: Head to Capitol Lounge for MSU-Loyola game

Hey, the ES is in Washington, DC, and will head on up to the Capitol Lounge (Capitol South stop on the blue/orange/silver metro lines) for tonight's 7 pm tipoff of our Big Green vs Loyola.  '

Come on and join the crowd!


Sunday, November 16, 2014

Spartans favored to whip Rutgers by 21

After dispatching Maryland yesterday, the Big Green Machine moved up to #9/#10 in the polls, and enters its final two contests against the bottom-feeders of the Big Ten East: Rutgers and Penn State.

Michigan State is favored by a measly three TDs over New Jersey State University.  In all Big Ten games this weekend, here are where the bookies stand:

MSU (-21) vs Rutgers
Nebraska (-10) vs Minnesota
Ohio State (-31 1/2) vs Indiana
Michigan (-4) vs Maryland
Northwestern (-3) at Purdon't
Penn State (-6 1/2) at Illinois
Wisconsin (-9) at Iowa

And... Western Michigan is favored by 1 at Central Michigan.  The winner has the shot at the MAC Championship Game.

Here is the latest polling:

USA Today Poll
RKTEAMRECORDPTS
1Florida State (39)10-01518
2Alabama (17)9-11494
3Oregon (6)9-11434
4Mississippi State9-11296
5TCU9-11279
6Baylor8-11272
7Ohio State9-11228
8Ole Miss8-21041
9Michigan State8-21030
10Georgia8-2981
11Kansas State7-2880
12UCLA8-2862
13Arizona8-2726
14Arizona State8-2721
15Wisconsin8-2715
16Georgia Tech9-2511
17Auburn7-3508
18Marshall10-0427
19Nebraska8-2409
20Missouri8-2406
21Utah7-3286
22Oklahoma7-3265
23Colorado State9-1259
24USC7-3132
25Duke8-2130