Spartans finish #3, preseason #6, move Oregon game up a week

OK, the ES has taken some time off and healed his victory wounds from Pasadena.  Michigan State ended up #3 in the BCS, and in the final USA Today Poll; just 13 votes behind Auburn. The complete final AP poll is below, but as the ES said, MSU should have finished #2 above the Tigers.

What IS interesting, is that the "way-too-early" ESPN Poll picks the Big Green as a preseason #6 pick, with a favorable schedule - first time I can remember in my life that the Spartans were a preseason top 10 in football.

In other news.... the Spartans scheduled game at Oregon has been moved up to September 6, with a 3:30 ET kickoff.  Future schedules are listed below the USA Today Poll

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Florida State (59)	14-0	1475
2	Auburn	12-2	1388
3	Michigan State	13-1	1375
4	South Carolina	11-2	1219
5	Missouri	12-2	1200
6	Oklahoma	11-2	1189
7	Clemson	11-2	1091
8	Alabama	11-2	1086
9	Oregon	11-2	975
10	Ohio State	12-2	872
10	Stanford	11-3	872
12	UCF	12-1	865
13	Baylor	11-2	796
14	LSU	10-3	719
15	Louisville	12-1	703
16	UCLA	10-3	597
17	Oklahoma State	10-3	587
18	Texas A&M	9-4	443
19	USC	10-4	313
20	Arizona State	10-4	302
21	Wisconsin	9-4	266
22	Duke	10-4	202
23	Vanderbilt	9-4	180
24	Notre Dame	9-4	125
25	Nebraska	9-4	123

• Others receiving votes: Washington 67, Fresno State 54, Northern Illinois 21, Marshall 17, Texas Tech 13, Kansas State 11, Ole Miss 7, Texas 4, Miami (FL) 4, Cincinnati 3, East Carolina 3, Arizona 2, North Texas 2, Utah State 2, Navy 1, Louisiana-Lafayette 1

2014 SPARTAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 30 JACKSONVILLE STATE
Sept. 6 at Oregon
Sept. 20 EASTERN MICHIGAN
Sept. 27 WYOMING (HOMECOMING)
Oct. 4 NEBRASKA
Oct. 11 at Purdue
Oct. 18 at Indiana
Oct. 25 MICHIGAN
Nov. 8 OHIO STATE
Nov. 15 at Maryland
Nov. 22 RUTGERS
Nov. 29 at Penn State

2015
Sept. 12 OREGON
Sept. 19 at Western Michigan
Sept. 26 CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Oct. 3 PURDUE
Oct. 10 at Rutgers
Oct. 17 at Michigan
Oct. 24 INDIANA
Nov. 7 at Nebraska
Nov. 14 MARYLAND
Nov. 21 at Ohio State
Nov. 28 PENN STATE
* Additional game to be scheduled

2016 (BIG TEN ONLY)
Oct. 1 at Indiana
Oct. 8 WISCONSIN
Oct. 15 NORTHWESTERN
Oct. 22 at Maryland
Oct. 29 MICHIGAN
Nov. 5 at Illinois
Nov. 12 RUTGERS
Nov. 19 OHIO STATE
Nov. 26 at Penn State

2017 (BIG TEN ONLY)
Sept. 30 IOWA
Oct. 7 at Michigan
Oct. 14 at Minnesota
Oct. 21 INDIANA
Oct. 28 at Northwestern
Nov. 4 PENN STATE
Nov. 11 at Ohio State
Nov. 18 MARYLAND
Nov. 25 at Rutgers

2018 (BIG TEN ONLY)
Sept. 22: at Indiana
Oct. 6: NORTHWESTERN
Oct. 13: at Penn State
Oct. 20: MICHIGAN
Oct. 27: PURDUE
Nov. 3: at Maryland
Nov. 10: OHIO STATE
Nov. 17: at Nebraska
Nov. 24: RUTGERS

2019 (BIG TEN ONLY)

Sept. 21: at Northwestern
Sept. 28: INDIANA
Oct. 5: at Ohio State
Oct. 12: at Wisconsin
Oct. 26: PENN STATE
Nov. 9: ILLINOIS
Nov. 16: at Michigan
Nov. 23: at Rutgers
Nov. 30: MARYLAND

WOW! What a day for college football, Big Green style!!!!

Today is unbelievable, like watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Up and down and all around, what a ride.

Michigan State whipped Minnesota, 14-3 today.  But, it is everything else across the nation that is giving #11 MSU a chance to really move into a solid standing.  '

First off, Ohio State needed a bone-headed call by Michigan coach Brady Hoke at the end of the game to win, 42-41 (umm, State gave up just 6 points to the Wolvies).  This makes the ES felling even better about our chances in the B1G Title game next week.  If OSU is favored by more than 3 points, the ES will eat his socks.

And, even if we lose (the Big Green won't), the BCS bid for Big Ten's second place team grew brighter with a #15 Wisky loss to Penn State today - at home!   Wow, that was a shocker if the ES ever saw.

#1 Alabama lost to #4 Auburn on a 109.75-yard FG return on the last play of the game, something that even the $6 million man should know:  PREPARE YOUR TEAM for returns.  Saban's look was fantastic at the end of the game:  looked like he was slapped in the face.  Can't happen enough to the former Spartan coach.

Elsewhere, the ES is giddy.  The ES is rooting for #21 Texas A&M is at #5 Mizzou; #6 Clemson is at #10 SoCarolina, one of them will lose; #25 ND is at #8 Stanford - the Big Green can really get a lift from an Irish win at the Trees; and, Rich Rod's Zona is at #12 Ariz State, with a loss to the Devils providing more distance between the Big Green and other BCS contenders.

THIS IS THE YEAR!!!!!

Spartans ranked #1 USAT hoops, #13 BCS football

Wow.  Lookie here.  Tom Izzo's hoop team is ranked #1 in the land.  Mark Dantonio's gridders are ranked #13 in the BCS and climbing.  Hell, even the Big Green field hockey team defeated Syracuse in the NCAA tournament, ending the 'Cuse's 45 home game win streak (although we lost in the second round).

What a great year to be a Spartan.

USA Today Coaches Poll - M HOOPS
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	MICHIGAN STATE (22)	3-0	789
2	Louisville (8)	3-0	761
3	Kansas (2)	2-0	735
4	Arizona	3-0	684
5	Kentucky	3-1	658
6	Duke	2-1	630
7	Syracuse	3-0	601
8	Ohio State	3-0	597
9	Oklahoma State	3-0	541
10	Virginia Commonwealth	3-0	443
11	Memphis	1-0	404
12	Gonzaga	3-0	381
13	Michigan	2-1	362
14	Florida	2-1	359
15	Wisconsin	3-0	332
16	Wichita State	4-0	330
17	Oregon	2-0	275
18	Connecticut	4-0	265
19	North Carolina	2-1	208
20	New Mexico	2-0	180
21	Baylor	3-0	131
22	Indiana	4-0	129
23	Creighton	3-0	111
24	UCLA	2-0	105
25	Iowa	4-0	74

• Others receiving votes: Marquette 71, Iowa State 49, Virginia 42, Boise State 21, Harvard 20, Pittsburgh 19, Georgetown 14, Notre Dame 13, Colorado 10, California 9, Tennessee 9, Saint Mary's 8, Massachusetts 8, Saint Louis 5, Missouri 5, Belmont 5, Arizona State 3, Villanova 2, Brigham Young 1, Utah State 1

• Dropped from rankings: Marquette 17, Notre Dame 22, Virginia 25

BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - FOOTBALL

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	RK	PTS	%	RK	PTS	%	AVG	A&H	RB	CM	KM	JS	PW	%
1	Alabama	.9914	1	1	2620	.9981	1	1544	.9961	1	1	1	2	1	2	2	.980
2	Florida State	.9661	2	2	2517	.9589	2	1487	.9594	1	2	2	1	2	1	1	.980
3	Ohio State	.8869	3	3	2375	.9048	3	1404	.9058	5	4	3	4	6	5	7	.850
4	Baylor	.8856	5	4	2343	.8926	4	1386	.8942	3	3	5	5	4	4	4	.870
5	Oregon	.7917	6	5	2102	.8008	5	1231	.7942	6	6	4	9	5	10	6	.780
6	Auburn	.7860	7	7	1967	.7493	7	1145	.7387	3	5	7	3	3	6	3	.870
7	Clemson	.7681	8	6	2019	.7691	6	1217	.7852	7	9	6	6	8	12	5	.750
8	Missouri	.7231	9	8	1919	.7310	8	1129	.7284	8	7	11	7	9	9	8	.710
9	Stanford	.6238	4	11	1584	.6034	12	865	.5581	8	8	8	8	7	11	9	.710
10	Oklahoma State	.5890	12	9	1660	.6324	9	1030	.6645	14	12	12	15	20	8	18	.470
11	South Carolina	.5883	10	12	1459	.5558	11	882	.5690	10	10	9	11	11	7	10	.640
12	Texas A&M	.5394	11	10	1626	.6194	10	928	.5987	17	16	18	16	13	19	14	.400
13	MSU	.4646	16	13	1269	.4834	13	729	.4703	15	14	16	14	15	16	15	.440
14	UCLA	.4615	13	15	1110	.4229	14	700	.4516	13	13	13	17	12	15	12	.510
15	Fresno State	.4134	14	14	1126	.4290	16	622	.4013	16	18	19	13	25	13	13	.410
16	Northern Illinois	.3729	15	18	864	.3291	21	418	.2697	12	21	10	12	14	3	16	.520
17	Arizona State	.3414	19	22	570	.2171	22	352	.2271	11	11	22	10	10	14	11	.580
18	UCF	.3033	17	20	793	.3021	20	446	.2877	18	20	14	18	22	17	17	.320
19	Wisconsin	.2907	22	19	794	.3025	17	511	.3297	20	19	24	21	18	20	20	.240
20	Oklahoma	.2760	18	21	746	.2842	18	502	.3239	21	15	17	19	23	24	23	.220
21	Louisville	.2664	20	16	1010	.3848	15	627	.4045	26	NR	15	25	NR	NR	NR	.010
22	LSU	.2645	21	17	880	.3352	19	478	.3084	23	NR	21	NR	17	21	21	.150
23	USC	.1070	NR	23	202	.0770	25	115	.0742	22	17	23	20	21	23	24	.170
24	Ole Miss	.1048	NR	NR	110	.0419	NR	35	.0226	19	22	20	24	16	18	19	.250
25	Minnesota	.0604	NR	25	183	.0697	23	173	.1116	28	NR	NR	23	NR	NR	NR	.000

Spartans favored by 3-1/2 over the Corn; move up to #16 in BCS

The Big Green soundly defeated Bye this week, vaulting to #14 in the Associated Press poll, and #16 in the BCS.  Next up:  at Nebraska, a team Michigan State has never defeated in seven tries.  The ES says:  bring it on.  If State is to advance to the Big Ten title game, it has to win these tough tests on the road.  Timing is very good, with the Spartan defense surging and the offense with Connor Cook improving.  MSU and Nebraska will kickoff this Saturday at 3:30 pm ET on ABC.

As such, the #14 Spartans are early 3-1/2 point favorites at Nebraska.  Other odds (the ES is using the early "Open" line from Vegas Insider), include: Wisconsin by 18-1/2 hosting Indiana; Penn State by 20-1/2 hosting Purdue; Michigan by 1 at Northwestern (although the alternate line shows NW by 3); Ohio State by 32 at Illinois.

Below is the AP Poll.

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (56)	9-0	1472
2	Florida State (3)	9-0	1418
3	Ohio State	9-0	1310
4	Baylor	8-0	1303
5	Stanford	8-1	1272
6	Oregon	8-1	1139
7	Auburn	9-1	1109
8	Clemson	8-1	1049
9	Missouri	9-1	1012
10	Texas A&M	8-2	909
11	South Carolina	7-2	857
12	Oklahoma State	8-1	780
13	UCLA	7-2	669
14	Michigan State	8-1	633
15	UCF	7-1	596
16	Fresno State	9-0	588
17	Wisconsin	7-2	503
18	LSU	7-3	470
19	Louisville	8-1	467
20	Northern Illinois	9-0	396
21	Arizona State	7-2	362
22	Oklahoma	7-2	285
23	Texas	7-2	185
24	Miami (FL)	7-2	121
25	Georgia	6-3	78

• Dropped from rankings: Notre Dame 24, Texas Tech 25

• Others receiving votes: Ole Miss 68, Minnesota 60, Nebraska 16, Duke 11, USC 10, Washington 9, Ball State 7, Virginia Tech 5, Brigham Young 3, Notre Dame 2, Houston 1

And, below are the BCS standings, notably sans Michigan, sans Notre Dame, sans Southern Cal, and sans Florida.  Thank goodness.   Big Green is at #16. 

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	RK	PTS	%	RK	PTS	%	AVG	A&H	RB	CM	KM	JS	PW	%
1	Alabama	.9958	1	1	2625	1.0000	1	1546	.9974	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	.990
2	Florida State	.9619	2	2	2514	.9577	2	1485	.9581	2	2	2	1	2	1	2	.970
3	Ohio State	.8926	4	3	2373	.9040	3	1401	.9039	4	4	4	4	6	5	3	.870
4	Stanford	.8689	5	5	2240	.8533	5	1307	.8432	3	5	3	3	3	3	4	.910
5	Baylor	.8618	6	4	2304	.8777	4	1376	.8877	5	3	6	5	7	4	8	.820
6	Oregon	.7665	3	6	1968	.7497	7	1162	.7497	6	6	5	8	5	7	6	.800
7	Auburn	.7206	9	9	1843	.7021	9	1069	.6897	7	8	8	6	4	8	5	.770
8	Clemson	.7200	7	7	1940	.7390	6	1164	.7510	9	9	7	9	10	13	9	.670
9	Missouri	.7118	8	8	1855	.7067	8	1083	.6987	8	7	10	7	8	9	7	.730
10	South Carolina	.5584	12	12	1417	.5398	12	830	.5355	10	10	9	12	13	10	12	.600
11	Texas A&M	.5473	15	10	1582	.6027	11	898	.5794	13	15	16	13	12	17	14	.460
12	Oklahoma State	.4671	14	11	1545	.5886	10	965	.6226	22	14	20	18	NR	22	25	.190
13	UCLA	.4548	19	16	1026	.3909	15	641	.4135	11	13	13	17	11	11	11	.560
14	Fresno State	.4317	16	13	1124	.4282	14	646	.4168	14	17	17	11	25	12	13	.450
15	Northern Illinois	.3505	18	18	825	.3143	21	445	.2871	14	24	12	20	17	6	10	.450
16	Michigan State	.3417	17	15	1090	.4152	16	620	.4000	21	18	21	15	22	23	22	.210
17	UCF	.3411	21	19	791	.3013	19	468	.3019	16	16	11	14	19	16	16	.420
18	Oklahoma	.2926	10	20	732	.2789	17	510	.3290	17	12	15	16	23	NR	23	.270
19	Arizona State	.2833	22	22	475	.1810	22	262	.1690	12	11	23	10	9	18	15	.500
20	Louisville	.2806	20	14	1104	.4206	13	653	.4213	28	NR	18	NR	NR	NR	NR	.000
21	LSU	.2757	13	17	919	.3501	18	476	.3071	24	NR	19	NR	16	21	21	.170
22	Wisconsin	.2612	24	21	674	.2568	20	460	.2968	18	22	22	NR	18	19	18	.230
23	Miami (FL)	.1471	11	23	457	.1741	23	228	.1471	25	21	NR	21	21	NR	24	.120
24	Texas	.1092	NR	24	247	.0941	24	176	.1135	25	20	14	24	24	24	NR	.120
25	Georgia	.0857	NR	25	102	.0389	NR	44	.0284	22	19	24	22	15	25	20	.190

BCS title is now officially FBSBCSCFP

OK, so now it is the NCAA Division I-FBS-BCS-CFP.  Bowl Championship Series "College Football Playoff" is the new name for the 2014 college football championship at the highest level of NCAA competition.

Even BCS was simpler.  So, just remember, it is not "college football title game", rather it is FBSBCSCFP. 

It was so much simpler as Division I-A.

Michigan State moves to #10 in corrupt polls; favored by TD over Northwestern.

More on the Spartoonies later this week.    Michigan State is favored by a TD at Northwestern.  Bummer for the ES - he has tickets to the NW stint, but will have to take a backseat this year and watch from the beautiful confines of his Man Cave.  MSU improved to #10 in the USA Today poll, which is about as big of a crock of shit as you can imagine.  MSU below HOUSTON and BOISE STATE (bullcrap).  In the AP Poll, Oregon is ranked ahead of USC... who defeated the ducks in Eugene on Saturday night.  That is about as dumb as anything the ES has seen in years.  Stanford struggles at home to beat Cal, Oklahoma State loses to IOWA STATE for Godsakes; Baylor BEATS Oklahoma, which remains at #9... And, you wanna talk about CORRUPTION?  LSU, Alabama, Arkansas are 1-2-3... and all are from the SAME DIVISION (West) of the SAME CONFERENCE (Southeastern).  Noone with any authority in college football knows what the hell is happening. MICHIGAN STATE is no lower than #8, maybe #7.

In a word?  BULLSHIT. 

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	LSU (59)	11-0	1475
2	Alabama	10-1	1413
3	Arkansas	10-1	1349
4	Virginia Tech	10-1	1242
5	Stanford	10-1	1222
6	Oklahoma State	10-1	1156
7	Houston	11-0	1075
8	Boise State	9-1	982
9	Oregon	9-2	933
10	Michigan State	9-2	928
11	Oklahoma	8-2	826
12	Wisconsin	9-2	808
13	South Carolina	9-2	806
14	Georgia	9-2	803
15	Kansas State	9-2	671
16	Michigan	9-2	618
17	Clemson	9-2	587
18	TCU	9-2	494
19	Penn State	9-2	455
20	Baylor	7-3	302
21	Georgia Tech	8-3	203
22	Nebraska	8-3	165
23	West Virginia	7-3	158
24	Notre Dame	8-3	156
25	Virginia	8-3	154

• Dropped from rankings: Southern Miss 20, Florida State 22

• Others receiving votes: Rutgers 54, Auburn 33, Southern Miss 25, Tulsa 23, Brigham Young 21, Arkansas State 10, NORIL 10, Missouri 8, Texas A&M 4, Utah 3, Texas 1, Florida State 1, Iowa State 1

Spartan Defense is vicious, ferocious, unrelenting; MSU moves to #13, TD underdog to Wisky

The ES keeps thinking about the ferocious Spartan defense on Saturday, which put to rest for good the argument any notion of scUM's Denard Robinson as Heisman-trophy caliber.  Indeed, he looked downright ordinary on Saturday, with a bludgeoning and bruising Spartan front line that completely dominated the "vaunted" Wolverine offense. When Michigan's 4th-and-1 effort was smashed with yet another Spartan sack of Robinson, the AArogant Nation has to wonder if Robinson's shoelaces aren't more effective tied to the bench, even if tied at all.  Sweet beauty, sweet beauty.  It was as vicious of an effort by the Spartan defense witnessed by the ES in his lifetime.

As loud as the cheers are roaring in Spartan Stadium is the whining out of Ann Arbor, which has never been louder: "the Spartans play dirty", etc etc.  Whatever, what the whining shows is several things:

1. inability for the Wolvies to use multiple gifts from MSU; the Spartans penalized 13 times for 124 yards, giving the Wolverines 6 of their 20 first downs by penalty... five personal fouls by MSU resulted in a FRESH SET OF DOWNS each time... and in EVERY CASE, Michigan punted.  Yes, Michigan got NOTHING from the 15 yards and first downs each of the five times through the entire game. 
2. difficulty for the AArrogant Nation to accept the fact it has taken a back-seat to Michigan State in football.  This is four years of pounding in a row.
3. unwillingness for the AArogant Nation to acknowledge the fact of being physically and mentally defeated.  They weren't as tough, and couldn't compete. They were pounded into submission, and the AArrogant Nation just can't accept that, either.
4. sore losers.

As my parents always said, stop yer bitchin' and keep your nose to the grindstone. Or, more bluntly: "Let me tell you a thing about stupidity: It is better to be quiet than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

At least the players weren't complaining, and recognize the game of football involves physical brutality.  Even Robinson told the New York Times: “They were playing football. It’s a dirty game.” “They were definitely more physical,” said Michigan redshirt junior safety Jordan Kovacs. “They pounded us. They beat us up.”

NY TIMES, MEDIA PRAISE SPARTANS FEROCITY
The praise for Michigan State's ferocity is wide across the nation (NY Times called the win over scUM a "beating"; USA Today acknowledges MSU defense; even the Michigan Daily acknowledged MSU's pummeling.). In back-to-back games, against Ohio State and Michigan, the Spartans looked, well... MEAN and unrelenting.  Jeez, it looked like an Alabama-defense.  Right now, the Spartans rank No. 1 nationally in pass defense (119.1 yards per game) and pass-efficiency defense (84.3 rating), along with a No. 2 ranking in total defense (186.1 yards), No. 3 in run defense (67 yards) and No. 4 in scoring defense (10.8 points).

ESPN GAME DAY COMING TO TOWN 
Now, the #13 Spartans get the supreme test:  hosting #4 Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a 7 1/2-pt favorite at Spartan Stadium.  Notably, it is not only MSU's Homecoming... but ESPN Game Day crew are coming to town, likely to set up shop at Munn Field - it is Corso and Herbstreit's fourth visit to Spartan Stadium, and first since 2005.  In other Big Ten tilts, Iowa favored by 23 over Indiana, Illinois favored by 6 at Purdue, Nebraska favored by 25 at Minnesota, and Joe Pa favored by 4 at Northwestern.

TIDBITS
ES predicted MSU 27-18 (final 28-14)... not bad, eh?  And, the ES poll relating to how many yards would MSU limit Denard Robinson?  The answer was 167 total yards -- more than 50% below his average of 342 entering the game. 39% of the 181 who responded to the ES poll said Robinson would be held under 150 yards; 9% said between 151-200; 7% said between 201-250, 4% said between 251-300; and, 38% said he would gain more than 300.  The ES grins, "Ha ha ha."

RANKINGS: MSU #13, #15, #16
For Michigan State, they've climbed to #13 in the USA Today, #15 in the AP Poll, and #16 in the first BCS rankings released today.

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (31)	6-0	1426
2	LSU (15)	7-0	1410
3	Alabama (12)	7-0	1403
4	Wisconsin (1)	6-0	1262
5	Stanford	6-0	1222
6	Oklahoma State	6-0	1173
7	Boise State	6-0	1172
8	Clemson	7-0	1028
8	Oregon	5-1	1028
10	Arkansas	5-1	931
11	Nebraska	5-1	775
12	South Carolina	6-1	765
13	Michigan State	5-1	690
14	West Virginia	5-1	688
14	Virginia Tech	6-1	688
16	Kansas State	6-0	678
17	Michigan	6-1	458
18	Texas A&M	4-2	415
19	Georgia Tech	6-1	396
20	Houston	6-0	359
21	Illinois	6-1	260
22	Penn State	6-1	253
23	Auburn	5-2	202
24	Washington	5-1	174
25	Arizona State	5-2	86

• Dropped from rankings: Texas 21, Baylor 24

• Others receiving votes: Georgia 60, Notre Dame 36, Rutgers 31, Southern Methodist 27, Texas 26, Southern Miss 14, Cincinnati 14, Baylor 9, North Carolina 9, Virginia 3, Temple 3, TCU 1

Why is the BCS a crock? MSU-Alabama or UConn-Oklahoma

UConn is going to a BCS game. What a joke of a BCS game.

Jeff Sagarin ranked UConn #62 in his ratings of teams for the BCS.
UConn is 8-4. MSU is 11-1.
UConn lost to Michigan 30-10, a team Michigan State beat by 17.
UConn also lost to Temple 30-16, Rutgers 27-24, and Louisville 26-0.

What's better is the Capital One Bowl, with Michigan State facing the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide and Nick $aban. That's gonna be one helluva game. A shitload better than UConn vs Oklahoma. The Sooners will win by at least 40 points.

The early line is that Oklahoma is favored by 17 points over UConn. The other BCS matchups? Wisconsin by 3 over TCU in the Rose Bowl, Stanford by 3 over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Ohio State by 3 over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, And, Auburn by 3 over Oregon in the BCS Title game.

#7 Michigan State awaits BCS

Here comes the BCS and Michigan State's justifiable hopes for Orange/Sugar/Fiesta. AP Poll relaesed earlier this week has #4 Wisconsin, #6 Ohio State, #7 Michigan State -- and, #7 MSU beat #4 Wisconsin handily earlier this year... all three teams are 11-1. Shall the Spartans get its just due in its best year in 45 years, or will it get the shaft in favor of Ohio State in a down year?

Tune in on ESPN or Fox Sports (not sure which one, channel flip) at 8:15 pm to see the official BCS pairings...

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Auburn (36)	13-0	1473
2	Oregon (23)	12-0	1462
3	TCU (1)	12-0	1379
4	Wisconsin	11-1	1289
5	Stanford	11-1	1283
6	Ohio State	11-1	1179
7	Michigan State	11-1	1101
8	Arkansas	10-2	1085
9	Oklahoma	11-2	976
10	Boise State	11-1	932
11	LSU	10-2	863
12	Virginia Tech	11-2	817
13	Nevada	12-1	759
14	Missouri	10-2	705
15	Alabama	9-3	628
16	Oklahoma State	10-2	622
17	Nebraska	10-3	608
18	Texas A&M	9-3	601
19	South Carolina	9-4	332
20	Utah	10-2	312
21	Mississippi State	8-4	288
22	West Virginia	9-3	283
23	Florida State	9-4	188
24	Hawaii	10-3	111
25	Connecticut	8-4	74

• Dropped from rankings: Northern Illinois 24

• Others receiving votes: UCF 63, Maryland 30, Tulsa 18, Navy 11, Miami (OH) 8, Northern Illinois 7, San Diego State 6, Pittsburgh 2, Fresno State 2, Iowa 1, North Carolina State 1, Air Force 1

#6 MSU M-HOOPS TRAVELS TO #7 SYRACUSE

Meanwhile, the #6 Spartan men's hoops team (6-2) travels to Madison Square Garden in New York to take on a #7 Syracuse team (8-0). Wait until the 'Cuse gets a load of the athleticism of the Spartans. Back to get our mojo, starting this week... Tuesday night at 9 pm on ESPN.

SPARTANS DESERVE BCS: Let us state the reasons

Why does Michigan State deserve a BCS bowl as Big Ten champs: Adam Rittenberg really goes on the nut supporting the Spartans' argument. But the best quote is from the Doctor hisself, MD: " "If you look at things statistically, Ohio State lost 31-18 to Wisconsin and we beat Wisconsin 34-24. If you were just taking those things into consideration, things ought to weigh more in our favor."

Sez Rittenberg:

"Let's get on with the story. Michigan State has a good case for BCS selection, and here's why:

• The Spartans won a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1990 and claimed a team-record 11 victories.
• Judging by the BCS standings, the Spartans have the best win among the Big Ten leaders, a 34-24 triumph against Wisconsin on Oct. 2.
• The Spartans are the only team out of the three that hasn't lost to one of the other two.
• The Spartans have played the nation's 38th toughest schedule based on cumulative opposition. Ohio State's schedule ranks 54th, while Wisconsin's ranks 66th.
• The Spartans have eight wins against bowl-eligible teams, more than both Ohio State (6) and Wisconsin (4).
• Michigan State received the highest TV rating among Big Ten teams for games played on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. It's only fair to point out that the Spartans got a major boost from their Sept. 18 double-overtime thriller against Notre Dame, a reliable ratings grabber.

There are also circumstantial factors that add to Michigan State's case." We all know those.

MICHIGAN STATE TO THE BCS. You Orange/Sugar bowl leaders think we won't travel? I'll be there, and I have a PhD to complete and four college classes to teach. But I wuz at the 1988 Rose Bowl and I'll make it this year. So will 40,000 more of the Spartan Nation, damn straight!

Screw Ohio State - they have been to the damn BCS a zillion times - now we actually have a shot, have the best record among the three Big Ten champs, and get zilch? T'ain't fair.

A hot coffee enema or root for Michigan?

Enlightened Spartan Nation:

My dear bro in Chicago, a Spartan faithful, sent me an email that made me LOL, in tears of joy and agony. Why reinvent the wheel on our bowl possibilities. Here it is, read it and weep:

"Dear all,

Unfortunately, OSU's win vs Iowa pretty much sealed MSU's fate to a lesser New Year's Bowl. It's a shame, but this is the year when there may be three teams atop the Big Ten with only one loss. How remarkable.

It is still possible for MSU to get to the Rose Bowl with a victory this weekend and OSU loss to Michigan in Columbus - this latter is as likely as finding signs of life on Venus. And as it causes exceptional nausea to root for Michigan against Ohio State, I will try and refrain from watching it and do something more enjoyable like having a root canal or a hot coffee enema.

Another possibility: Oregon and Auburn lose, throwing TCU or Boise in the title game vs Wisconsin and putting MSU if not in the Rose then in the Orange or Sugar. If this were to happen I'd expect the earth to split in two in utter shock.

Here are the bowl projections now; nearly everyone sees MSU in the Capitol One Bowl in Orlando (again); this would happen whether MSU wins or loses vs Penn State because they'll remain in the contracted Big Ten #2 slot as the other two will go to BCS games.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls/projections?season=2010&week=12

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/bowls/predictions

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/39922542/ns/sports-college_football/?ns=sports-college_football

all vs Alabama (!)

http://cfn.scout.com/2/1024029.html

vs South Carolina

Only Bleacher Report has a potential shocker with MSU in the Sugar Bowl:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/523950-bcs-rankings-week-13-bcs-bowl-projections-based-on-sixth-bcs-rankings#page/7

And here's an article all about MSU post Purdue that sums up how we all feel: http://noise.typepad.com/hey_joe/2010/11/roses-are-out.html#more

In reality, do we deserve a BCS bowl? Hate to say it, but probably not. Other than Nevada we're certainly the weakest 1 loss team in the nation and I personally cringe to see us play 'Bama. If we want to be with the big boys we gotta play with them and we'll see if we are of the same caliber come January 1st.

Close your eyes, keep busy and hope for a Michigan victory this weekend. And please note this is the one and only time you'll see me say such a thing."

Vote to the right: Which do you choose? A hot coffee enema, root canal, or rooting for Michigan?

UPDATE (5:45 pm): The ES just received this update from Mike Vest at the Big Ten Network:

"Hello, The producers of The Big Ten Pulse want to get the input of Michigan State fans and bloggers for a segment that we plan to include in this Thursday’s show (7:30pm ET).

This week’s question: “Michigan State could sure use an Ohio State loss to help the Spartans’ chances for a Rose Bowl or a different BCS game berth. As an MSU fan, can you bring yourself to CHEER for Michigan this Saturday?”

We will take the best/most interesting responses and air them during Thursday’s show. If you could pose this question to your fans, and send us a link to where we can either follow the thread or view the comments, that’d be great."

#10 MSU favored by 2 over Joe Pa; Bo Pelini on thin ice

Michigan State is favored by 2 at Penn State. Kickoff is Noon ET, on ESPN. Ohio State is favored by 17 over scUM; Purdon't favored by 4 at home over Indiana; Wisky by 23 over Northwestern; Iowa is favored by 15 at Minny.

BIG TEN TITLE GAME IN INDY
FYI - The inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played in prime time on December 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It will be televised by Fox Sports.

NEBRASKA CHANCELLOR CALLS OUT COACH PELINI AS HOT HEAD WITH BAD BEHAVIOR
If you saw the Nebraska loss to Texas A & M on Saturday night, you saw Nebraska coach Bo Pelini screaming at his players, officials... anyone who would listen. Well, the president at Nebraska ain't happy about it. "Bo has a lot of passion for his football team," Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman said, "and there is a strong upside to that. But again, overall, the conduct was unfortunate last night." Bo Pelini had a big downside when he was touted as a hire: he was a hothead. It's getting him in trouble...

MICHIGAN STATE AT #10 IN BCS
The Big Green have jumped to a solid #10 in the latest BCS rankings... Wisconsin is #7, Ohio State is #8, Nebraska is #15, Iowa is #24...

		BCS		Harris Poll			USA Today			Computer Rankings
RK	TEAM	AVG	PVS	RK	PTS	%	RK	PTS	%	AVG	A&H	RB	CM	KM	JS	PW	%
1	Oregon	.9764	1	1	2793	.9800	1	1459	.9892	2	2	2	5	2	2	2	.960
2	Auburn	.9682	2	2	2727	.9568	2	1398	.9478	1	1	4	1	1	1	1	1.000
3	TCU	.8995	3	4	2557	.8972	4	1300	.8814	3	3	1	2	4	5	3	.920
4	Boise State	.8860	4	3	2619	.9189	3	1341	.9092	5	5	3	4	6	7	6	.830
5	LSU	.8193	5	6	2227	.7814	6	1175	.7966	4	4	5	3	5	3	4	.880
6	Stanford	.7763	6	7	2209	.7751	8	1112	.7539	6	10	9	6	3	4	5	.800
7	Wisconsin	.7688	7	5	2295	.8053	5	1211	.8210	8	8	7	12	9	9	10	.680
8	Ohio State	.7148	9	8	2131	.7477	7	1116	.7566	9	6	10	10	15	11	9	.640
9	Oklahoma State	.6815	10	9	1805	.6333	9	990	.6712	7	7	8	7	7	10	8	.740
10	Michigan State	.6063	12	10	1797	.6305	10	927	.6285	12	9	11	11	16	15	11	.560
11	Alabama	.6019	11	11	1783	.6256	11	885	.6000	11	13	6	14	13	8	12	.580
12	Arkansas	.5697	13	12	1589	.5575	12	784	.5315	10	14	15	13	8	6	7	.620
13	Oklahoma	.5041	14	13	1412	.4954	13	733	.4969	14	11	14	9	12	16	15	.520
14	Missouri	.4564	15	16	1176	.4126	16	585	.3966	12	12	16	8	10	13	13	.560
15	Nebraska	.4423	8	15	1199	.4207	15	614	.4163	15	15	12	15	14	12	14	.490
16	Virginia Tech	.4213	16	14	1322	.4639	14	723	.4902	18	18	17	17	22	21	17	.310
17	Texas A&M	.3607	19	18	936	.3284	18	492	.3336	16	16	19	16	11	14	16	.420
18	South Carolina	.3583	17	17	1037	.3639	17	577	.3912	17	17	18	19	17	18	20	.320
19	Nevada	.2943	18	19	894	.3137	19	456	.3092	19	19	21	18	19	22	19	.260
20	Utah	.1961	23	20	495	.1737	22	228	.1546	19	20	13	20	20	20	18	.260
21	Arizona	.1848	22	21	471	.1653	20	279	.1892	21	24	20	23	18	19	22	.200
22	Florida State	.1296	25	22	439	.1540	21	243	.1647	24	21	0	21	0	0	24	.070
23	North Carolina State	.0923	NR	23	330	.1158	23	208	.1410	25	0	25	22	0	0	25	.020
24	Iowa	.0899	20	24	284	.0996	24	74	.0502	23	22	23	25	23	23	23	.120
25	Mississippi State	.0862	21	25	178	.0625	25	68	.0461	22	25	22	0	21	17	21	.150