Friday, September 30, 2016

#17 Michigan State at Indiana: A Whirling Dervish

Sagarin Ratings: MSU #46, Indiana #66

#17 MSU 2-1/0-1. Indiana 2-1/0-0
Saturday, October 1, 2016.
8:00 pm ET.
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

Line: MSU by 6 (vegasinsider.com)
TV: BTN
Weather: 63 degrees, 50% chance of showers

Depth Chart - MSU - Indiana

Which team will show up? Will Tyler O'Connor show up?  Will Dave Warner show up?  Will the defensive line show up?  Will the RBs block?  Who will show up?  Reschke is OUT, Bullough didn't even dress last week... wha????

After Wisky lit up MSU because of our MISTAKES, I don't know where to go or what to expect.  Indiana has, as typical, struggled against the sisters-of-the poor all year.  This time, let's wing this prediction like a Whirling Dervish


Da ES will be up in Mt Pleasant to tailgate and witness the End of the World, CMU vs WMU... but tuning in via B1G2Go, the ES will see the Spartan O-Line getting back to basics to dictate the game, and opening up holes for LJ Scott and Gerald Holmes.  Expect 175+ yards out of the two backs combined.  Also, expect the maligned d-line to push up front and stop the run.  Indiana has a prolific offense, as usual, but it is also prolifically mistake-prone.  Who is MSU?  Too tough to tell at this point.

Is the Big Green the brute that ran a 25-play drive over Iowa like a 26-wheeler over a Mac Truck?  Or, is this the Big Green playing like a scared kitten in a box with a rabies-infested Rottweiler?  This is more on Dave Warner and the offense.  Stat to remember: MSU is 13-2 since 2010 after a loss; ain't too shabby.

ES sez:  MSU 27-21 over Indy.

Peanut Barrel: Tom, MSU 36-24; Feather, MSU 35-17; Brad, Indiana, 31-17; Brock, MSU 21-17; Rick, MSU 35-21
LSJ: MSU 37-31
Freep: Solari,  MSU 27-21
The Spun:  MSU 31-23
Det News: Charboneau, MSU 30-21; Chengelis, MSU 24-17; Wojo, MSU 38-31; Niyo, MSU 34-21
SpartyMSU:  MSU 35-17
MLive: MSU 41-28
Athlon:  MSU 27-23
CFN:  MSU 34-23
Campus Insiders:  MSU 31-20
Winners And Whiners:  MSU by 7.5+
CBSSports.com:  5 of 7 pick MSU

Danger Will Robinson! S.O.S.???

If you saw the Spartans on Saturday, God Bless You. They sucked.  Made so many mistakes everywhere, extremely disappointing.  The ES' bud, Brock, threw out a 50-0 Wisky prediction about the game - and he was actually CLOSE.


It is only one game.  Is it an aberration?  Only time will tell.  But, there are lots of questions raised - particularly, in order...

1.  Tyler O'Conner.  He played AWFUL.  Andrew Maxwell-awful.  What took the cake was when he rolled right from pressure and did not see Donnie Corley FREE to the end zone on a post route (the other 75,000 people saw it), and instead checked down and threw a terrible INT in the short flat.  The ES threw up watching that.

2.  Tyler O'Conner.  OK, he deserves multiple mentions.  ES thought improvement - but his play vs. a redshirt freshman was embarrassing.  Can't find your tight ends? Jesus

3.  Dave Warner.  Worst game he called since... the Cotton Bowl.  Poor opportunities to throw the ball downfield.  Poor running plays - not enough trap blocking to open holes; Wisky made it tough, don't get me wrong... but lack of inspiration on the offensive line.  They looked lethargic.

4.  Defensive line.  Where were they?  Hardly any pass rush on their frosh QB?  Give me a break.

5.  MISTAKES!!!!  Spotting Wisky 20 points off turnovers (60-yard fumble return, fumbled punt at the 5 y/l, O'Conner INT at MSU 30 y/l... ugh).  You just can't do that.

6. Wisky 7-16 on 3rd downs, a diaper-dandy  (Horney-brook)16-for-26 passing????

Stripe out was tres cool.  The Spartans were ice cold.  Sucked. 

I stopped here because I couldn't take it any more.  We have lots of work to do to right this ship.

                                    WIS      MSU
FIRST DOWNS...................       15       21
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   41-122    27-75
PASSING YDS (NET).............      195      250
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  26-16-1  43-20-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   67-317   70-325
Fumble Returns-Yards..........     1-66      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............      0-0     1-13
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     2-37     4-70
Interception Returns-Yards....      3-8      1-4
Punts (Number-Avg)............   5-40.8   3-51.0
Fumbles-Lost..................      1-1      1-1
Penalties-Yards...............     7-67     5-35
Possession Time...............    32:48    27:12
Third-Down Conversions........  7 of 16  4 of 13
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 2   0 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-3      0-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     4-20     2-11


Friday, September 23, 2016

#8 Michigan State hosts #11 Wisconsin: Cooking Up Badger Meat

Sagarin Ratings: MSU #28, Wisky #29

#8 MSU 2-0/0-0. #11 Wisky: 3-0
Saturday, September 24, 2016.
12:00 pm ET.
Mecca: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI

Line: MSU by 5 (vegasinsider.com)
TV: BTN
Weather: 64 degrees, partly cloudy, wind 8 mph ENE

Depth Chart - MSU - Wisky

Injuries - Wisky.  Out - PK  Rafael Gaglianone; LG Jon Dietzen; RB Bradrick Shaw; LB Chris Orr; CB Natrell Jamerson. Questionable - LG Micah Kapoi; RB Corey Clement; RB Taiwan Deal.

Injuries - MSU.  None.  

STRIPE THE STADIUM!!!  EVEN SECTIONS WEAR GREEN.  ODD SECTIONS WEAR WHITE.

Wow, check out that injury list for Wisconsin, particularly on offense.  This is rough for a unit that had to come back from a 17-13 deficit to squeak by that upstart team, 0-3 Georgia State, last week at home.  Bucky Badger is hurting at the right time to meet the Spartoonies... but, Wisky seems to always bring their lunchpail when playing the Big Green.

Why in the good lord did ABC or ESPN not pick up a #8 vs #11 matchup?  Very odd, because it screwed up SpartanNation's plans for 'gating.  Instead, with a Noon kick, the ES is just gonna skate over to the PB for some common sense and meet up with the gang prior to the game.  So long as it pairs up with a scUM loss to Penn State, it actually might work out just fine...

Let's cut to the chase.  The ES wuz with Ronnie and Rick at the Peanut Barrel on Thursday when CNN's Ultimate Tailgate showed up.  It was pretty cool hanging with former NFLer Coy Wire (Stanford Cardinal, Buffalo Bills) We were put on the tube rebel-rousing about the food, the beer, and left the producers with a rowdy "Go Green Go White!"  You can tune into CNN Headline News' Weekend Express between 7 am - Noon, prior to kickoff on Saturday to see the ES and the PB in action.  Thanks, Joe Bell!

There's Joe Bell (far left), proprietor of Peanut Barrel yucking it up
with Mr. Clean, a.k.a. Coy Wire and the Ultimate Tailgate Crew...
A great visit, thank you CNNHL! 
ES Thoughts?  MSU is healthy, and was incredibly impressive at times taking ND to the woodshed on the ground.  However, if there is a strength of the beer-drinkers and hell raisers, it is their interior defense which is giving up 82.3 ypg on the ground, and just 3.3 yards per carry.  Meanwhile, LJ Scott and Madre London ripped through the Irish last week for 198 yards on 35 carries. Through the air, Tyler O'Connor played the best game of his career, going 19-26 for 241 yards and a pair of TDs.  He looked sharp, and added another 46 yards on the ground.  RJ Shelton came alive as his go-to receiver with eight grabs, but Donnie Corley (4-88) looked insane as the youngster with great hands.  Looks like a stellar receiving corps that will test the Badger defense. Overall, the Badgers are allowing just 261 yards per game.

Da Badgers benched their shitty experienced QB to start a redshirt freshman, Alex Horney-brook, who led the Big Ten West stalwart back from the jaws of defeat to UGA State.  That spells trouble for UW, in addition to all their injuries against a strong Spartan defense.  If we can keep the foot on the jugular, MSU should be able to press Bucky into some turnovers and keep them at bay much of the game.

Don't expect a lot of points in this game. Nearly everyone in human history is picking the Spartans to win this one... except for Brock (see below), who is busy drinking IPAs across the Upper Peninsula.

ES sez:  MSU 20, Wisky 17

Skooz (from PB), MSU 33-17; RGMIII, MSU 24-21;  Brock, WIS 50-0; Tom (PB regular), MSU 38-21

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MSU 21-16
Madtown Badgers:  Nick, MSU 24-17; Rayan, MSU 24-14;
FoxSports.com: Feldman, MSU 17-9; Mandel, MSU 27-20
Freep: MSU 27-13
LSJ:  MSU 27-19
DetNews: Charboneau, MSU 27-13; Chengelis, MSU 35-13; Wojo, MSU 24-10; Niyo, MSU 23-17
BTN: Dienhart, MSU 17-13; Merriman, MSU 27-15; Yarina, MSU 23-19
ESPN: Bennett, MSU 21-17; Moyer, MSU 28-20; Murphy, MSU 24-21; Temple, MSU 17-14; Ward, MSU 20-16
CampusInsiders:  MSU 20-14
Athlon:  MSU 26-20
MLive.com: MSU 24-10
CBSSports.com: MSU 20-16
Sports XChange:  MSU 31-13
College Football News:  MSU 23-20
The Oklahoman: MSU 30-19
Chicago Tribune:  MSU 23-20

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Go Green! Go Rgmiii

Rgmiii is the best and he predicts the Michigan State Spartans win 24-21 this Saturday at Spartan Stadium
The ES with RGM-III... right after the CNN live spot from the Peanut Barrel!  

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Best points of pavement-grading win by Spartans over Frigging Irish

My, oh my, there are few things better in life than watching the Michigan State Spartans destroy the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  Under the arms of Touchdown Jesus.  Yes.

That's an Irish road we paved-graded
last Saturday
There was the ES at the altar, the Peanut Barrell, as he watched Madre London run straight through a gaping hole in the Irish defense, 73 yards to paydirt.  Jumping in the air with the rest of the Spartan brethren, screaming "run it down their troats."  Up 36-7, up by 29 points. In South Bend.  Jesus?  Yes. Or, for that matter, LJ Scott running 5 yards here, 6 yards there, etc..  Tyler O'Conner, as predicted, will be just fine.  An impressive, 19-for-26 with 241 yards in the air, 2 TDs, including several downfield 25+ yarders to RJ Shelton (8-80), Madaris(2-40) and incredible play by Corley (4-88).  Third down conversions?  MSU 9-of-18 (50%).  Wow.  Get the pavement grader ready this year.  We're back. 

Guinness can get you to 100, but it
won't help you beat the Spartans
Now, let's talk smack.  The Irish came into the game with their typical swagger, 80,000 under the open arms of God, expecting to revamp their failed crappy play at Texas (who lost at Cal 50-44 by the way). Well, Brian Kelly has his Irish boys consuming the Guinness instead of paying attention to the O-Line gap blocks that left wide open holes for the Big Green all day.  

Defensively, the Spartans played GREAT ALL DAY until they took the foot off the gas.  When you got a pig cornered, put a leg on the throat and stick the knife in real good - let the blood squirt all over.  Prevent defense NEVER works, surprised to see it out of Coach D. He should know better.  Still MSU amassed a huge lead on the road that was difficult to Fk-up. 

MSU's defense and offense combination was dominant enough for a 37-23 time advantage.  A 260-57 rushing advantage.  Dominant.

Although giving up 401 yards, most of those were after the Spartans were kicking ass by 29+ points.  The defensive line controlled scrimmage, and the LBs were lights out.  The secondary is rounding into shape, and the ES digs Darian Hicks and Chris Frey.  

Damn, we're fine. We've moved up to #8, and rightfully so.  MSU kicked ass! Bring on Wisky. 

Team Statistics (Final) 
2016 Michigan State Football 
#12 Michigan State vs #18 Notre Dame (Sep 17, 2016 at Notre Dame, Ind.)

 Team Totals MSU ND 
FIRST DOWNS 22 19 
   Rushing 
   Passing 12 14 
   Penalty 
NET YARDS RUSHING 260 57 
   Rushing Attempts 52 25 
   Average Per Rush 5.0 2.3 
   Rushing Touchdowns 
   Yards Gained Rushing 277 74 
   Yards Lost Rushing 17 17 
NET YARDS PASSING 241 344 
   Completions-Attempts-Int 19-26-1 20-37-1 
   Average Per Attempt 9.3 9.3 
   Average Per Completion 12.7 17.2 
   Passing Touchdowns 
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS 501 401 
   Total offense plays 78 62 
   Average Gain Per Play 6.4 6.5 
Fumbles: Number-Lost 0-0 2-2 
Penalties: Number-Yards 3-45 4-51 
PUNTS-YARDS 7-266 6-302 
   Average Yards Per Punt 38.0 50.3 
   Net Yards Per Punt 37.0 50.3 
   Inside 20 
   50+ Yards 
   Touchbacks 
   Fair catch 
KICKOFFS-YARDS 6-383 5-276 
   Average Yards Per Kickoff 63.8 55.2 
   Net Yards Per Kickoff 45.5 36.8 
   Touchbacks 
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD 0-0-0 3-7-0 
   Average Per Return 0.0 2.3 
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 3-42-0 3-60-0 
   Average Per Return 14.0 20.0 
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD 1-0-0 1-30-0 
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD 0-0-0 0-0-0 
Miscellaneous Yards 
Possession Time 37:57 22:03 
   1st Quarter 8:46 6:14 
   2nd Quarter 9:15 5:45 
   3rd Quarter 9:52 5:08 
   4th Quarter 10:04 4:56 
Third-Down Conversions 9 of 18 4 of 11 
Fourth-Down Conversions 1 of 1 1 of 1 
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 3-3 4-4 
   Touchdowns 3-3 4-4 
   Field goals 0-3 0-4 
Sacks By: Number-Yards 2-11 0-0 
PAT Kicks 4-4 4-4 
Field Goals 0-0 0-0 
Points off turnovers 15 0


Saturday, September 17, 2016

Enlightened Spartan Preview: #12 Michigan State vs #18 Notre Dame Farging Bastages

A thing of beauty in 2008
Sagarin Ratings: MSU #35, ND #15

MSU 1-0/0-0. ND: 1-1
Saturday, September 17, 2016.
7:30 pm ET.
Touchdown Jesus. South Bend, IN. 

Line: ND by 7-1/2 (vegasinsider.com)
TV: NBC
Weather: 74 degrees, showers/partly cloudy.

Depth Chart - MSU - Friggin Irish

I hate Notre Dame.  Just can't stand the arrogance of the program.  Brian Kelly smells like rotten fish, no matter how Irish he is you can't pour enough malt vinegar on him to smell better.  And, it's the 50th anniversary of the 10-10 tie of MSU vs ND in 1966, at the time, the first ever regular season matchup of #1 vs #2 in college football history.  This time, no ties, and we're under the lights.

The Irish were outplayed by Texas and showed their vulnerabilities in the defensive backfield giving up 50 points to a frosh QB.  However, TD Jesus also was able to score 47 at Texas, with 444 total yards - and over 200 on the ground. Their QB, DeShone Kizer, accounted for 292 of those yards, with 5 passing TDs and 1 on the ground (85 total rushing yards on 13 carries).  So, you can expect to see lots of Kizer tonight.

But, has the ND front line improved since week 1?  Likely.  Tyler O'Connor will get a great test today, as he has some years but not much experience.  Will the Spartan defensive line prove itself today and contain Kizer and the Irish?  The addition of Ed Davis and his pass rush skills should help.   Expect far fewer penalties out of the Spartans, who committed 10 (most of them stupid) against Furman.

As Don (from PB) noted - and the ES concurs - a good healthy does of LJ Scott will tame the ND defense: 25 carries should do it.

Enough with the write up - it doesn't matter anyway, because I just CAN'T STAND THE IRISH.  Another victory will never ever get old.

PREDICTION? ES sez... MSU 27, Drunk Leprechaun 24

Rick: MSU 21-17, Joe: MSU 35-31, Carly: MSU 24-21, Shea: MSU 32-18, Brock: MSU 30-19, Don: MSU 24-21, Brad (I met on the street walking to HopCat): MSU 21-14.

Ronnie sez "ND will not score in the second half.  MSU wins 35-17."

LSJ:  Couch (whom the ES met last night at Reno's) ND 30-20; Solari, ND 31-28
Chicago Tribune:  MSU 27-24
Mlive.com: ND, 21-17
Freep:ND, 31-28
Frankie V:ND, 31-21
Athlon:  ND, 27-21
ND Rivals:Somogyi, ND 27-23; Driskell, ND 33-20; Jones, ND 30-24; Boden, ND 34-23; McKinney, ND 27-20
Heavy.com:  ND 23-20

Monday, September 05, 2016

Furman Review: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Let's cut to the chase and talk about the lackluster performance by the Michigan State Spartans in their victory over the mighty Paladins from Furman.

The Good:

1.  Tailgating. Are you kidding?  The ES picked a stellar location, lucky when some moron backed out of his parking spot across from IM Circle (south side of Landon/Adams Field) and the ES popped right in - around 3:15 pm.  Opened up the sunroof, blasted some Van Halen, fired up the grill and cracked those PBRs.  A five-star performance indeed.

2.   LJ Scott.  Enough of Madre London, etc.  Coach D puts in LJ Scott, and everything changes.  105 yards on 20 carries, the moves, running over defenders.  I could watch Scott all day long - he IS the BMOC.

Monty Madaris (#88) was finger-licking-good 
vs Furman. Photo courtesy WXYZ.
3.  Monty Madaris (#88).  Get used to him, Spartan Nation.  The dude had wheels, great hands, a 5 -for-85 receiving day, looking good doing it as well.  Nice routes.  He's the real deal.

4.  Defense.  With the exception of the 11-play, 73 yard drive by Furman in the third to early fourth quarter, the defense gave up very little other than stupid penalties (see Ugly).  MSU held Furman to a total of 226 yards on 64 plays for an average of 3.5 yards per play.

5. Chris Frey (#23).  The dude played lights-out, he was all over the place on defense.  He ended up with a team high nine tackles, and looked good doing it.

6.  Tyler O'Connor.  Let's face it, he's no Connor Cook.  But he is also no Andrew Maxwell. On second thought, the ES didn't have a sleepless night after the game because of TO - he did fine (13-18 for 190 yards with a pick).  He might not win games for us... but he likely won't lose them either.  His performance was fine, a couple of nice throws, a couple of hurries, etc.  He'll get better, which is a relief.

7. Watching ND lose last night to Texas.  The Irish losing never gets old.

8. A bye week. After watching that yawner on Friday, we need it. So much for a $55 ticket price and entertainment.

Michael Geiger needs to straighten
out his kicking game.
The Bad:

1.  Overall offensive inefficiency.  Maybe it should be in the ugly category.  You could tell the team was not very fired up, seemed disinterested on offense.  4-for-10 (40%) on third downs against a FCS team should be better. Was Coach D sandbagging it to wait for ND and Wisky in 2-3 weeks?  We shall see... but, that offense was a bore. Grinding out 361 total yards on offense ain't exactly something to write home about.

2. Lack of use of tight ends.  What the hell is going on?  If we have the best TE unit in the Big Ten, they were absent on Friday, with the exception of the beautiful 21-yard TD from O'Connor to Price.  

3.  The 43-yard missed FG.  We Geiger-ed it wide left.  Need some improvement immediately.

The Ugly:

1-5.  Penalties.  Wha???  10 for 120 yards, and many were of the "are you an idiot?" variety - THREE personal fouls, two pass interference calls... all were blatant stupidity by the Big Green.  This has GOT to be priority #1.

6.  The 11-play, 73 yard drive by Furman in the third to early fourth quarter.  Where the hell did that come from?  D-Line can't fall asleep against ND for a drive like they did vs Furman.

7. Watching sUM put 60+ on a pathetic Hawaii squad, Ohio State dropping 70+ on Bowling Green, Wisconsin's impressive performance beating a senseless LSU team, well... the B1G sans-MSU & Northwestern (which lost to WMU) looked pretty damn strong for the opening week.  The bye week is timely for the Big Green.

                      FUR      MSU
FIRST DOWNS...................       18       19
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............    33-87   40-171
PASSING YDS (NET).............      139      190
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  31-16-1  18-13-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   64-226   58-361
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............      1-5     4-23
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     1-25     3-70
Interception Returns-Yards....      1-2      1-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............   5-37.8   3-44.7
Fumbles-Lost..................      2-0      1-1
Penalties-Yards...............     4-34   10-120
Possession Time...............    29:31    30:29
Third-Down Conversions........  3 of 14  4 of 10
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 3   0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-3      4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      2-3      1-5

Friday, September 02, 2016

Enlightened Spartan Preview: #12 Mich State vs Furman Paladins

Sagarin Ratings: MSU #23, Furman #198

MSU: 0-0/0-0. Furman: 0-0/0-0.
Friday, September 2, 2016.
7:00 pm ET.
Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI.

Weather: 70 and sunny; will dip to 60 by 4th quarter.
Line: MSU favored by 45 (oddsshark.com)
TV: BTN

Depth Chart - MSU - Furman

Going up against Furman, an FCS team that finished 4-7 a year ago, means a potential blowout this evening in East Lansing.  The Paladins lost 45-3 to Va Tech last year, but beat a woeful Central Florida team 17-16 (UCF finished 0-12 last year).

On offense, the ES is looking for sharpness out of our QB crew (Tyler O'Connor) and good protection up front with a newly revamped O-Line led by LG Brian Allen and C Kodi Keiler.  It will be interesting to watch our receiving crew - RJ Shelton has the wheels and experience, but is Felton Davis (6-4, 192, So.) the real deal?  We know LJ Scott is the stud, but the best name on the team goes to FB Prescott Line (#45).

On defense, it's usually about the DBs - Darian Hicks (#2), Demetrious Cox (#7), Montae Nicholson (#9), and Vayante Copeland (#13) all have experience... but, they were also torched by 'Bama in the National Semifinals.  The proof is in the pudding.  How close to the No Fly Zone do they get?  

On special teams, we have Michael Geiger returning at kicker - he had a rough year early on in 2015; let us see the extent that Jake Hartbarger changes the field at punter (if at all necessary vs Furman).  It's exciting to have RJ Shelton return kicks - he's got the wheels, a speed burner.  A runback or two vs. Furman would be nice.

FINAL PREDICTION?   ES sez... MSU 38, Furman 10.

Freep:  MSU 48-6
DetNews:  Charboneau, MSU 41-10.  Chengelis, MSU 38-3. Wojo, MSU 44-10.  Niyo, MSU 45-13.
LSJ: Couch, MSU 36-13. Solari, MSU 48-6.
USAToday:  MSU 48-14
BTN: Dinehart, MSU 38-7. Merriman, MSU 35-10. Yarina, MSU 41-10.

Thursday, September 01, 2016

Enlightened Spartan Preview 2016

The ES has been outta commission for much of the year... but we're back!  Here is the season preview by our master prognosticators, dating back to 2001...

MSU is listed in Stassen's Top 25 of all the preview magazines, at #12 - anywhere from at #4 (College FB Poll) to #24 (Sports Cruncher).  The ES is looking for a great year out of the Big Green... let's see what the prognosticators chime:

ES
  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016: 10-2
  • Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans?  Rose Bowl
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten?  10-2, tied with scUM for 2nd in East
  • Will MSU beat sUM, OSU, and Wisky at home? Yes, No, and Yes - 2-1 out of the three
  • MVP for the Big Green this year?  Riley Bullough
Furman, W; @ ND, W; Wisconsin, W; @ Indy, W; BYU, W; NW, L; @ MD, W; scUM, W; @ Illinois, W; Rutgers, W; OSU, L; Penn St, W.

GO GREEN! A step down these years is a step up in our history!  Let's see what Coach D can pull off!

CHock
  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016: 9-4
  • Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans?  Citrus Bowl, lose to Ole Miss 31-28
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten?  9-3, tied for 2nd with UM in B1G East
  • Will MSU beat sUM, OSU, and Wisky at home?  No, No, Yes
  • MVP for the Big Green this year?  Riley Bullough
My take: we dominated the last couple of years because we had absolutely ROCK STAR lines. We basically lost 5 guys off the line (3 on O, 2 on D) to the NFL and while the O line does have some depth, the D line has been completely wiped out. Aside from McDowell, the last time most of the rest of our D line will have been on the field was when they were playing High School ball. Great LBs and an improved secondary will insure we’re not dropping to MAC level, but those very close ones where we need to win in the trenches won’t go our way like they have in the last couple of years.

Furman, W, 38-6; @ ND, 17-24; Wisconsin, W 24-23; @ Indy, W 38-31; BYU, W 28-24; NW, W 28-26; @ MD, W 24-13; scUM, L, 20-24; @ Illinois, W 28-21; Rutgers, W 27-23; OSU, L 28-35; Penn St, W 27-21.

BigBob
  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016? 10-3
  • Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans? MSU will win its bowl game against some SEC chump 
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten (record/final standing/B1G Title)? 7-2, second place in division, no title this year 
  • Will MSU beat Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin at home? MSU will lose to Ohio State but beat both Wisconsin and UM at home. Jim Harbaugh will suffer a stroke and die in Spartan Stadium after shitting himself when his team is once again defeated by the Spartans on the last play of the game. Who will be the MVP for the Big Green this year? Malik McDowell
Sloth
  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016: 8-4 
  • Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans? Who cares, the Big Ten Champeenship is what matters 
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten? 2nd in conference 
  • Will MSU beat sUM, OSU, and Wisky at home? Yes, No and No 
  • MVP for the Big Green this year? My liver 
SpartyMSU
  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016: 12-1. I know originally.. I predicted 2 losses.. but the Green cool-aid is flowing..
  • Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans? Rematch against Stanford.. it’s the 2014 Rose Bowl all over again., and just like 2 years ago – The Spartans beat Stanford. I am making my plans now… Last trip to Pasadena was awesome
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten? Win the East and beat to Iowa OSU stumbles.. 1 more loss than the Spartans. scUM proves they are over rated, get beat early (Shades of App State)..
  • Will MSU beat sUM, OSU, and Wisky at home? MSU 27 – scUM 21 (scUM loses early, prove they were over rated – but still advance to Outback Bowl); MSU 23 – TOSU 21 (Buckeyes advance to Cotton Bowl); MSU 31 – Badgers 27 (Badgers head to TaxSlayer Bowl)
  • MVP for the Big Green this year? O - Tyler O’Connor; D- Malik McDowell, Riley Bulgur
The cupboard is not bare on the D-Line. True many are young, but, Demetrius Cooper and Malik are forces andill provide leadership. Grad transfer Kevin Williams will be stout, so will Bowers. Spartans will be using RS-Freshman, although they have been around a stellar program and have learned. In order for the MSU Defensive line to remain one of the best in the nation, they must step up and preform. I believe they will. Offensive will be fine.. No concerns. Bottom line, this is a very good team, underrated, and will hit the “Back2Back” goal for 2016. Sparty On !!

Furman, W; @ ND, L; Wisconsin, W; @ Indy, W; BYU, W; NW, W; @ MD, W; scUM, W; @ Illinois, W; Rutgers, W; OSU, L; Penn St, W

ChiSpartan:
  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016? 11-2 
  • Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans? Rose Bowl 
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten (record/final standing/B1G Title)? 8-1 
  • Will MSU beat Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin at home? Lose to OSU 
  • Who will be the MVP for the Big Green this year? Riley Bullough 
 9/2 FURMAN W; 9/17 at ND L; 9/24 WISKY W; 10/1 at Indy W; 10/8 BYU W; 10/15 NW W; 10/22 at Maryland W; 10/29 scUM W; 11/5 at Illini W; 11/12 RUTGERS W; 11/19 OHIO ST L; 11/26 at Penn St W

Smigdiggler:

The WestCoast Spartan Reporter is the pigskin prognosticating expert who is here to tell you how the season is going to unfold for Big Green.

  • What will MSU's overall record be for 2016? 12-1 
  •  Playoffs or bowl game (which one) for the Spartans? Playoffs - That is what they play for now! anything else is what Harbaugh would wish for!! 
  • How far will MSU advance in the Big Ten (record/final standing/B1G Title)? 9-0 Big Ten Title is only a pitstop on the Green Kool-Aid train ride. 
  •  Will MSU beat Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin at home? That shit Cra! I bet you a harbaugh titty twister that they sweep at home this year. 
  •  Who will be the MVP for the Big Green this year? LJ Scott Loc of the century!