BIG TEN CHAMPS! BRING ON $ATAN AND 'BAMA CAN HAVE ITS 9 POINTS

The ES was in Indianapolis, in Lucas Oil Stadium, on his hands and knees, once again in tears of joy, as our Michigan State Spartan football team won its second Big Ten title in three years and advance as the #3 seed to the Cotton Bowl in the National Playoff to take on the Great Satan - Nick $aban and Alabama.  We're a 9-pt underdog.

I have lived my life for 47 years and have dreamed of this moment - to have a shot of getting to the Promised Land.  Our moment is at hand.

If you are a football purist, for all those purveyors of good old-fashioned football, then this Michigan State Spartan team is your dream, it is an early Christmas gift that keeps on giving - we get to continue to watch this team as it pounds its way to Glory.  The Big Ten Championship win was dominated by MSU up front in tough, ugly fashion, in a bare-knuckles fight against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The football gods once again shined on MSU at Lucas Oil Stadium

State seemed to move the ball between the twenties but poor play calling on third downs and tight defense by Iowa kept the Big Green from doing nothing but kick field goals.  Michael Geiger, who kicked the winner at Ohio State, hit three but missed a 45-yarder wide and hit the crossbar on a 53-yarder.

Iowa - give them credit - they are a DAMN FINE TEAM.  They are playing in the Rose Bowl... and they should.  That's the best team Michigan State faced all year.

GREATEST DRIVE IN HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL

What was pure beauty to watch - what makes MSU the most fun team to watch in the country - was the final drive, the longest drive I've ever heard of or witnessed.  It has to be the drive with the most plays in Big Ten history.  A bone-crushing 22-play, 82 yard drive (just 3.7 yards per play) that took... get this... 9:04 out of the final 9:31 of the game.  The drive forced Iowa to burn all their time outs.  Connor Cook, who played OK for much of the game (16-31, 191 yards, and his usual boneheaded INT), played exceptionally well on the final drive, with a laser-beam toss to Aaron Burbridge on third down and the critical 3 yard gain to the 2 yard line on 4th down with 55 seconds left.




MVP WAS L.J. SCOTT... NOT CONNOR COOK

Not sure who made the MVP decision for the game, but they must be smoking crack.  Cook played fine, but not great.  However, LJ Scott played well whenever inserted into the game.  He ran 14 times on the final drive, and the winning TD was sheer brilliance - all Scott as he spun through three Hawkeyes and reached the ball into the end zone for the winning score.  THAT was an MVP performance.

REFEREE INCOMPETENCE

The Spartans had far too many penalties (8 for 80), and the Big Ten referees remain incompetent. Once again, John O'Neill and his crew (which blew the call in the Nebraska game) remain inconsistent, blind, and questioning their own decisions. First, one can question a phantom defensive holding call on Hicks in the 4th quarter that added to an Iowa drive; second, consider the terrible offensive pass interference call on Burbridge for throwing a pick that didn't exist.

But... what really gets my ire is the puzzling decision by O'Neill to review the video on the Burbridge out-of-bounds catch that resulted in a penalty AFTER THE REFS ALREADY RULED IN-BOUNDS.  Even O'Neill didn't know what to do and called up to the conference office to see if they could even review the play...  What?  How can you not use video to overturn the stupidity in the Nebraska game, but you can to overturn and penalize MSU for its out-of-bounds catch by Burbridge on the final drive.  This once again leads the Spartan Nation to believe MSU is targeted by the Big Ten conference as a team the conference office really doesn't want to win and will use the referees as a way to try and impose its way.

The refereeing in the Big Ten Conference is a national embarrassment and must be overhauled.  Jim Delaney... wake up.  This stinks like bad fish.

MSU STATISTICAL DOMINATION

When you do look at the stats, you can see that the Big Green dominated Iowa along the front lines (MSU 174 yards rushing, Iowa 52 yards rushing).  Look at this gem:

                                    MSU     IOWA

FIRST DOWNS...................       20       13
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   46-174    24-52
PASSING YDS (NET).............      191      216
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  33-16-1  27-18-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   79-365   51-268
Fumbles-Lost..................      0-0      4-2
Penalties-Yards...............     8-80     5-45
Possession Time...............    36:38    23:22
Third-Down Conversions........ 10 of 20  3 of 12
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     3-20     2-10

Other than the blown coverage by Darian Hicks on a very well thrown, 85-yard TD bomb by Iowa QB CJ Beathard that gave Iowa a 13-9 lead into the fourth quarter... Iowa was basically shut down all game long.

The ES to $atan:  You better get ready... Bring it, you traitor!

THE GREAT SATAN - $ABAN

Yes, #2 Alabama is a 9-point favorite over #3 Michigan State.  Perfect, we have them right where we want them - come join the ES in Dallas as the Spartans ruin the Great $atan's season.

Enlightened Spartan Preview: #5 Mich State vs #4 Iowa Uglybirds

Sagarin Ratings:  MSU #11, Iowa #14

MSU: 11-1/7-1. Iowa: 12-0/8-0
Saturday, December 5, 2015. 8:17 pm ET.

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN.

Weather: Doesn't F'ing matter. But outside, it will be 50 degrees earlier.  

Line:  MSU favored by 3-1/2

TV:  FOX

GO BIG GREEN!  Watch this sheisse.  ES and April are joined by Ronnie and Nicole as they yeeee-haw toward the Big Ten championship.   One note;  Rod of the PB predicts at Michigan State 36-35 win over Iowa.   ROD IS ALWAYS RIGHT.  Enjoy this video.  :)

Michigan State favored by 3 in B1G Title vs Iowa

Big Green is an early 3 point fave vs Iowa in Big Ten title game.

Alabama is favored by 16 over Florida in the SEC showdown. Stanford is a 3-1/2 pt fave over Southern Cal.  San Diego State is favored by 3-1/2 over Air Force (who MSU beat earlier this year) in the Mountain West stint.  Clemson is favored by 6 over North Carolina.  Houston is a 5.5 fave over Temple in the American Athletic title game.  Western Kentucky is favored by 8 over Southern Miss in the Conference USA championship. Bowling Green is favored by 9 over NIU in the MAC title.

After what we just did to Penn State, we should be favored... GO GREEN!  Woop woop!

Enlightened Spartan Preview: #5 Mich State vs Penn State

This is what awaits Quackenberg... 

Sagarin Ratings:  MSU #15, Penn State #42

MSU: 10-1/6-1. Penn St:  7-3/4-3
Saturday, November 28, 2015. 3:30 pm ET.

Spartan Stadium, Columbus, OH

Weather: 40 degrees, cloudy, winds 5-10 mph

Line:  Big Green favored by 11

TV:  ABC

The ES actually recorded a preview in Chicago... but the audio petered out.  So, here we are with our standard preview.  Hope to be back next week with a preview of the Big Ten Title game... IF WE BEAT PENN STATE

Penn State has a very good defense, but their offensive line is atrocious.  And, the Lion QB Hackenberg has been hammered all year - he only passed for 130-odd yards against Michigan last week on 13-32 (40%) passing... and yet PSU still hung around, trailing by only five points (21-16) midway through the fourth. 

But, Michigan State seems to be back with a force in the trenches... with a completely healthy offensive line and defensive line.  It showed in the total domination of the Ohio State interior.  Spartan defense allowed only 123 total yards to the Buckeyes, while rolling up 203 on the ground against OSU.  The surprise was the solid play of backup QBs Tyler O'Connor and Damien Terry, who filled in for our star QB, Connor Cook.  Each made a mistake, but for the most part ran a very, very well called game by the Spartan coaching staff: a combined 8-16 for 91 yards, 1 TD; better yet, a combined 16 carries for 50 yards.  And, allowing only 5 Buckeye first downs while the Spartans possessed the ball for 38+ minutes?  Domination. 

The refs?  If they did not allow the force-out-of-bounds by Aaron Burbridge that led to a 36 yard completion from Tyler O'Connor - the longest pass of the game on either side - I would have gone ballistic (considering how MSU was screwed at the end of the Nebraska game).  But, the Big Ten crew allowed it, and it was a different crew than what the Big Green has faced this year.  With the football gods on our side, MSU ended up scoring on the drive.  

Bottom line, it is amazing how well you can accomplish a task when you have the right tools: namely, your best, healthy players. 

MSU doesn't need to get fancy against the Lions.  As long as the boys play inspired in the trenches, it should wear down PSU as the game goes on.  I would expect to see a bit more of a passing game out of MSU - whether it is Cook or not.  Regardless, I find it difficult to fathom how the Lion offense will be able to stop the flood of the MSU defense pouring in on Hackenberg - and the repositioning of the MSU defensive backfield with the addition of Darian Hicks helping to create better pass coverage.  

With so much on the line - a trip to the Big Ten title, potential trip to the College Football Playoff. And, Michigan State's coaching has been, for the most part this season, very good.  

Predictions:  ChiSpartan:  MSU (with Cook) 34-21; (without Cook) 24-21.  EnlightenedSpartan:  MSU 31-13.    

If the Spartans win, a variety of scenarios are set up for the Big Ten title vs Iowa - read here.

Enlightened Spartan Preview: #9 Mich State vs #2 Ohio State

Sagarin Ratings:  MSU #21, *uckeyes #4

MSU: 9-1/5-1. Ohio St:  10-0/6-0
Saturday, November 21, 2015. 3:30 pm ET.

Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH

Weather: 50 degrees, cloudy

Line:  Ohio State favored by 13

TV:  ABC

This is Game Day, the third time this year for the Spartans... yet MSU is getting zero love or respect from the national media.  This plays right into our hands.  With 2 inches of snow falling here in EL, it's nice to see the weather better down in Columbus for the game today.  Ohio State has yet to play a quality opponent - wait until they get a load of us!

Coach Dantonio always has his teams prepared and the Spartans play to the level of their competition.  It's nice to be as healthy as we have been all year, with Darien Hicks returning to the defensive backfield to add depth.  Key to the game:  the Spartan defensive line vs the Buckeye offensive line.  MSU needs to limit the OSU rushing game and put pressure on QB TJ Barrett to keep some pressure off the secondary.  

Sorry no video this week - just no time!  But the prediction:  Sparty will win, the ES is as confident today as he was 2 years ago heading into the Big Ten Title game.  MSU 27, Ohio State 26.  

Paybacks are Hell: How rude Buckeye fans got their just desserts

Zero thanks to Ohio State Buckeye fans in Indianapolis who ended up giving the ES the flu this week.  But now, Friday night, and da ES is finally back on his feet!

Wow, what a victory.  ES made the trip with Big Bob, Keith, and Seth - a bunch of old State fraternity guys on the best road trip ever to witness a big-time Spartan victory.  The ES was extremely confident going into this game, and was boasting of the Big Green to plenty of Buckeyes and Spartans at the Colts Grille, the outdoor beer plaza, and the Slippery Noodle.

And, man-oh-man was it cold at the beer plaza.  Like, zero degrees cold.  Just brutal, booger-freezing cold.  Let's talk some about the Buckeye fans before and after the game.  First, off, the ES never heard this song before, "We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, cause we're from O-HI-O"... la de da.  The ES heard it all night long Friday night, especially at the beer plaza underneath the heating lamps (which worked very well, but only if you were within 1 feet).  But, what is strange is the song is all about hating Michigan/Michigan State/Michigan Tech/Univ of Detroit/Ferris State/etc. instead of praising Ohio State. Methinks if you write and sing a song about another, it means you care more about winning than you care about your own school.  It lacks, well, cooth.  However, at the time, I thought it was fine, mainly because I was too damn cold to give a crap.

When we popped into different pubs, the Ohio Staters we met were really friendly.  I mean, down right nice.  Maybe because they nearly always kick our butt, and they were confident at #2 they were going to walk over the Spartans into the national title game.  But, the ES had some great conversations.  Notably, even after the Spartans won, going into a few of the pubs, the Buckeye faithful agreed we were the better team and Michigan State deserved the victory.

On game day, after waiting 90 minutes for a cab, and taking a 45 minute cab ride (SUCKED, even the Sloth beat us downtown by an hour), we arrived around 2 pm and did all the B1G Ten stuff.  When we went to the MSU pep rally (photo below), it was filled with Ohio Staters.... that was an early sign of things to come.  Right outside the Big Ten studio within the convention center, there were people lined up to get an autograph from former MSU QB Jim Miller; the ES asked Miller for a chest-bump, was turned down, and ended up back-bumping Miller. It was cool; not sure if he liked it, but harmless.  We saw some dude wearing Ohio State gear run a timed 4.37-40.  That was amazing.  I think the ES ran a 6.05-40 in his loafers (or was it 6.45, 6.75?  whatever)? Fun.

Big Bob cheers on the Big Green with Sloth (at right) in a sea of red
at Spartan Pep Rally

We did our best to buy tickets to microbrews at the beer plaza and slug them down before the game.  The B1G shut down one end, and then the other, about 2 hours before kickoff.  They didn't give any slack.  Bummer is I still have 2 beer tickets left.  Oh well, I didn't need anymore.  But, it was really really cold.  I mean, like the night before, 10 degrees cold.  The lines to get into the stadium were very long, and while organized it just seemed lethargic... methinks the Big Ten can do a better job opening up more doors and processes to get fans in earlier.  Maybe even provide promotions to get people into the game earlier? 

At the game... the ES walked in, and it was an 80% Buckeye crowd.  That's when I realized what a treat of a game:  NOW WE GOTTA WIN.  We had to stick it to the ugliest coach in the land, Urban Meyer.  Michigan State had to be the team to beat the Buckeye undefeated streak.  The Spartans had to beat up on the confident Buckeye Nation which came to Indianapolis expecting to be anointed and head to a National Title, expecting Michigan State as only a roadbump.  And, we needed to beat these cheaters which vacated their victories from tattoo-gate and cost the Spartans a trip to Pasadena in 2010.  The ES got to thinking:

Paybacks are hell. 

Furthermore, the Spartans had to win after this "downright nice" fanbase turned sour within the stadium.  From kickoff to the Langford game-clinching TD, Spartans in our section were berated by Buckeyes every other play time and again throughout the game, and with Buckeye faithful standing up the ENTIRE GAME and unwilling to sit down (see my seat below).  Said one Buckeye fan early in the 2nd quarter after we politely requested (not demanded) him to "please sit down,"... the Buckeye said: "You haven't been to the Rose Bowl in 26 years, what don't you get up and cheer on your fu**ing team."   Said, Sloth: "well if you aren't using your seat, can I?" and he walked over and sat down in the seat of that really ripe Buckeye fan.  Good for Sloth pointing out their ridiculousness. The Buckeye Nation should be totally embarrassed at how their fans treat others.  These are the ones that cause Kirk Herbstreit to move out of Ohio.

The view of the ES at the B1G Ten Title game.  My guess is Stanford
fans will be more appreciative of others at the Rose Bowl than were
Buckeye fans at the B1G Ten Championship.  

This is just a sample of how these Buckeye fans at the game were AWFUL, TERRIBLE.  Seriously, what terrible, mean people.

So, HOW WE WON was even better.  The Spartan defense was awsome early and late - that's how defense wins championships... when it matters.  That Buckeye offensive line and Braxton Miller really gave a good sucker punch to the Spartans in the third quarter.  The ES turned to Buckeye fans sitting next to him and said, "wow, Miller is awesome, and that line is playing great."  Sloth turned to the ES and said, "we're done."  But, the Spartans weren't done - not these Spartans.  No more S.O.S.  The Spartans, with Cook and Langford, punched right back with a nice mix of run and pass.  Hard-nosed play out of Michigan State, with a 4th-Down conversion on the option by Cook in the process.  For the Spartans to have the resilience they did, for the defense to shut down OSU, to beat them down and demoralize them in the final 15 minutes - it was beautiful. POUND GREEN POUND. Better yet, seeing the "WTF" look on the face of Urban Meyer at the end of the game was... well, priceless.   That was worth $1,000.

Sure enough, these Buckeye fans, including the jerk above standing all game, left when Langford ran for paydirt to seal the MSU victory. If you care so much for your school and your football team has won 24 straight, wouldn't you want to stick around?  I guess not - because you Buckeyes don't care about the school; just your team winning.  What sore losers, terrible football fans.

All the ES wanted was to get back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988.  Who cares about the National Title?  It is all about the Rose Bowl.  AND WE DID IT! The Spartans did it our way - with grind it out defense, a timely running game behind drives with long times-of-possession, and the best game of his career by QB Connor Cook.  

Yeah, it was pretty much all red. The Buckeye Nation figured this was a walk in the park. 
Michigan State ruined the Ohio State dream, and ruined their season. 

After the game, the ES jumped onto the railings outside with his "yeee-haws."  High-fiving every Spartan in shouting distance.  It was 5 degrees outside, 27 below freezing, but it felt like it was 80 degrees on a California beach.  Then, the ES walked with Keith and Big Bob into another three or four bars and high-fived all the Spartan fans in eyeshot.  98% of all Spartans said they were going to Pasadena, had no idea how but didn't care about the cost.  Must have had 1,000 high-fives between 1-3 am in Indianapolis.  The place was electric... and exhausting over time.  How much partying and jumping up and down can one do in one evening?  The ES must've burned 5,000 calories, and got the flu in the process.

The ES is bringing his posse of 10-15 Spartan fans to the Rose Bowl.  OMG, I can't wait.  

Ohio State and Buckeye Nation:  We got payback for your cheating ways; Paybacks are Hell.  

Just look at these basic stats.  Read 'em and weep:

OSU	MSU
1st Downs	20	23
Total Yards	374	438
Passing	101	304
Rushing	273	134
Penalties	5-62	3-20
3rd Down Conversions	1-10	5-15
4th Down Conversions	0-2	2-2
Turnovers	0	1
Possession	27:09	32:51

ES Game Day, Championship version: Spartan defense will lay the hammer

ES Game Day:

B1G Ten Conference Championship
#9 Michigan State Spartans (11-1/8-0) vs #2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0/8-0)

Where:  Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
When:  8 pm, December 7, 2013
TV:  Fox
Line:  Ohio State by 5-1/2

SPARTANS: WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION!!!!

Predictions: 

• BTN.com:  Merriman, MSU 24-21; Bardo, MSU 28-24; Yarina, OSU 27-23; Dienhart, OSU 30-27
• ESPN.com:  Rittenberg, MSU 30-28; Bennett: OSU 27-24
• CFN/Scout:  OSU, 27-17
• CBSSports:  Palm: OSU wins & covers; Feldman: OSU 14-10
• OffTackleEmpire:  OSU 27-23
• BeforeItsNews: MSU 27-17
• Bloguin: Kenney, OSU 20-13; Coppens, OSU 34-21; Torres, OSU 20-14; Singleton, OSU 42-28; Biles, OSU 28-18; Parcell, MSU 24-21; Causey, OSU 31-28; McGuire, OSU 24-20; Perry, OSU 28-12
• movoli:  MSU 27-17
• CollegeFootballPoll:  Computer says OSU by 7.66, but the blogger picks MSU outright
• Channel3000/SportsXChange:  MSU 30-27
• International Business Times:  OSU 41-28
• CappersPicks: OSU 31-20
• NewsOK:  OSU 19-17 
• BuckeyeFansOnly:  probably the most painful website blog on the eye, but it's an aggregate of a ton of different previews out there.  Some predictions, but it just too difficult and bothersome to splice up for the ES site.

Dear Buck-nut fans: 

Those of you who have never set foot on THE OSU campus, who paint yourselves up as ugly looking red and silver Christmas trees, or some reddish porcupine roadkill... those of you who will return on Sunday to your $50,000 two-story, plastic-shuddered houses in Euclid, Mansfield, Zanesville, or your trailers in Springfield... that's right, those of you Buck-nut fans who use your copy of Catcher in the Rye to prop up your garage sale ottoman for your fat ugly legs when watching your Buckeyes on a plasma tv for which you took out a second mortgage... those of you Buck-nut fans who will go to work on Monday to your $15 shifts repairing General Electric microwaves, filling in potholes in 25 degree weather, realigning the plumbing in the shack of another saddended Buck-nut fan whose Little Caeasar pizza didn't agree with him while watching the Buckeyes lose... that's right, you Buck-nuts who think the unethical, cheating, and admitted liar Jim Tressel is a saint and a martyr... those red and white fans who never picked up a book, who never went to college but choose this historically scandalous football program as one deserving your allegiance, this allegiance which is at the pinnacle of arrogance of college football.  Wake up, the ES is speaking to you, you uneducated Buckeye scum. To those fans with NO ties to Ohio State athletics other than the red and white poop-stained underwear in your drawers... the ES sez: why don't you buy a paper, read it with your pink eye, and stick it where the sun don't shine.

To the rest of the Buckeye Nation, the Spartan Nation, and the rest of college football, the ES sez:

Thank the good lord Ohio State is undefeated.  It's hard to like Urban Meyer.  More directly, it's hard not to hate Urban Meyer.  He's a bottom feeder.  The national media is swimming along next to him, sucking up to Meyer and the Buckeyes in the press conference on Wednesday.  Asking MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi about the greatness of the Buckeye offense, Narduzzi quipped, appropriately: “Shoot, maybe we shouldn’t even show up.”  Thankfully, we have the vicious Spartan defense to take its hot poker and stick a big 'ole "L" on his butt cheek.

The ES is looking for payback in this game.  Payback for the cheatin' ways of Tressel, whose players' arrogance for free tattoos and swapping jewelry ended up pushing Michigan State out of what should have deservedly been a Rose Bowl appearance in 2010-2011.  In the record books, Ohio State now has L's next to all the games that season - but what hurt was the collateral damage of the Big Green NOT making it to its Promised Land of wine and roses, instead being sent to Florida for a slaughter at the hands of Alabama.  And, no remorse from the Buckeye faithful.  ES sez: payback is hell.

This is the most significant football game in my 45 years of life.  Why?  This is the best Spartan football team I've ever seen.  It's better than the 2011 team with Kirk Cousins that failed to win the B1G Title game vs Wisconsin.  It's definitely better than the 1988 Rose Bowl team, of which I attended every game: ES watching the title clinching game vs Indiana with mononucleosis, and spending New Years Day basking in the Rose Bowl victory over Southern Cal.

This season, our Michigan State Spartans have defeated every Big Ten team by double digits.  So, when the media says the Big Ten is soft in 2013 - that's fine; the Big Green whooped 'em all.  This is the best Spartans team since we last won the national title in 1966.  That's why we NEED this game:  it's in our blood, THE ROSE BOWL means everything to the Spartan Nation and our proud program.

You can read about the matchups, the stats, all the other hoopla elsewhere. ES sez the player of the game will be Max Bullough, using his storied family Spartan pedigree as inspiration to slow the Buckeye run game and position the defense for game-making plays.  The leader of the best defense in the land that will get it done, and sacrifice himself so his teammates can break Braxton Miller in two. The angry Spartan defense will bully the Buckyes, and by the end of the game will shove a pail of buckeyes right up their arse. The whole nation is rooting for the Spartans because of the near-unanimous hatred of Meyer.  The Spartans will deservedly end this ugly winning streak of that rodent of a coach, Urban Meyer.    

The ES will be at Lucas Oil Stadium, in tears of joy, with Big Bob, Keith, Seth, Sloth and his juniors - handing out red and white roses to Green and White fans who've made the trip.  

ES sez:  MSU 24, Ohio State 20.  See ya in Pasadena!

Smack on Ohio State

Let the smack run free and rampant. 

Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee said he never considered firing Tressel: "No, are you kidding me?" Gee said. "Let me be very clear. I'm just hoping the coach doesn't dismiss me."

ESPN announcer Kirk Herbstreit: "To continue to have to defend myself and my family in regards to my love and devotion to Ohio State is unfair. …Eighty to ninety percent of the Ohio State fans are great. It’s the vocal minority that make it rough. They probably represent only 5 to 10 percent of the fan base, but they are relentless.”


Found this lovely website.  Did not do any fact-checking, but methinks this is pretty accurate.  Or, close enough.  Corrections are welcome.

"My G.P.A. was bad [0.0] because I never attended class. It wasn't bad because I did the work and failed."
-Reggie Germany, former Ohio State wide receiver
 
"I don't think he's [Clarett's] lying. If he feels it's right to speak out, then I'm behind him 100%."
-Chris Vance, former Ohio State wide receiver

"He gave us furniture all the time. At least $2,000 worth of nice tables and couches."
-Marco Cooper, former Ohio State linebacker, speaking about an Ohio State booster

"When you'd leave, [the booster] sets you straight. They say, 'You got any money in your pocket?' They make sure your money's straight."
-Maurice Clarett, former Ohio State tailback

"What would have become of Ohio State if I said everything? Half the team would have been suspended, and it would have been worse for everybody. I was like, 'Why don't I just take it?'"
-Maurice Clarett, former Ohio State tailback

"Ohio State created me. They created what they suspended."
-Maurice Clarett, former Ohio State tailback

"I don't say that anymore. I found out four things can happen on a forward pass. The fourth is that you can get fired."
-Woody Hayes, former Ohio State coach

And..

The thread on Ohio State for today

The Facebook thread from the Sloth:

... As much as I love getting fired up for the Michigan rivalry, or the incredibly intense battles our Spartans have had in both hoop and football with Wisconsin, I truly and deeply hate Ohio State. everything I dislike most about college sports - the cheating, the double-standards, the looking the other way at the transgressions of kids who very often have no business ever stepping foot on a college campus, the wannabe tough-guy idiotic fans who never attended college and confuse college sports for armed combat, etc. - is epitomized by no alleged institution of higher learning more than The Ohio State University. befitting of its long tradition of white trash assholedom, even its beloved superfan, "Big Nut", did not attend the university, which of course helps to explain why so many Buckeye fans are surprised to learn that the word "college" or "amateur" appears as part of the phrases "college athletics" or "amateur sports". for over 30 years and despite having teams in both Cleveland and Cincinnati, the Buckeyes have remained the best professional football team in the state of Ohio. Lord knows I will cheer as loudly or even louder for our Spartans as any other fan next Saturday in Indy, but regardless of outcome I will grin ear to ear the entire evening knowing that, regardless of which team wins on the football field, I will wake up Sunday morning a Michigan State Spartan, and not just a Spartan for the convenience of being a fan of college sports, either.

• sloth: and yes, Ma Ward, there are of course exceptions. 

   

  • ES: the older I get, the more I dislike all of the other Big Ten teams. But, yes, Ohio State is the ugliest of the bunch. Whether its Jim O'Brien and his hoops scum 1999-2002 (and we still kicked their ass), or the entire OSU program and its transgressions dating back to the days of Woody Hayes (too many to name), THE Ohio State University and its athletics arrogance is defined by THE. Can't wait until I see Max Bullough pile-drive Braxton Miller into that plastic grass. Multiple times. That will be worth the price of admission. It's just a matter of time until Urban "I can't have a real heart attack" Meyer gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, just like his predecessors. What a piece of junk.
     
• sloth:  have no beef at all with anyone who wants to cheer for the college team of their choice, but I believe that competing in college athletics should be reserved to student athletes and cheering for college athletics should be reserved to those people who want to cheer for student athletes. I have no patience at all for people who cheer for college teams the same way they do professional teams, because the emphasis first and foremost should always be on the "student" part of the equation.

   

  • ES:  problem with your point being the term "student athlete" was invented by the NCAA to circumvent future lawsuits/workers' comp after a football player died in the early 1950s. I prefer the term "college athlete" or "varsity athlete" instead of the loaded-moniker. Nevertheless, your point still stands.

#2 Buckeyes favored by 6 over #9 Spartans; weird stats on 14-3 slaying of Gophers

Congrats to our Michigan State Spartans, B1G Legends Champs in two of the last three years.  MSU is now ranked #9/#10 in the land after sweeping through the Big Ten undefeated, 8-0, winning every conference game by more than 10 points.  The Big Green's 14-3 victory over Minnesota (see thoughts from ES below) sets up for a nice B1G championship game against #2 Ohio State - the best offense in the conference vs the best defense.  And we all know, defense wins championships!

Ohio State is favored by 6 over Michigan State.  This is a Buckeye team that needed a boneheaded call for a 2 point conversion by Brady Hoke to beat Michigan after giving up 41 points.  As the ES recalls, the Spartans gave up just 6 points to the Wolvies and beat them by 23 points. 

Check out the coaches poll, as the Spartans creep up to #9.   Can't wait to see the BCS rankings this evening... ES expects a #9 ranking by the computers.

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Florida State (58)	12-0	1546
2	Ohio State (4)	12-0	1462
3	Auburn	11-1	1437
4	Alabama	11-1	1333
5	Missouri	11-1	1315
6	Oklahoma State	10-1	1248
7	Baylor	10-1	1100
7	South Carolina	10-2	1100
9	Michigan State	11-1	1037
10	Stanford	10-2	1034
11	Clemson	10-2	853
12	Oregon	10-2	843
13	Arizona State	10-2	765
14	LSU	9-3	720
15	Oklahoma	9-2	660
16	Louisville	10-1	625
17	UCF	10-1	572
18	Northern Illinois	12-0	547
19	UCLA	9-3	473
20	Duke	10-2	402
21	Wisconsin	9-3	266
22	Fresno State	10-1	215
23	Cincinnati	9-2	167
24	Texas	8-3	149
25	Texas A&M	8-4	121

• Dropped from rankings: USC 23

• Others receiving votes: Miami (FL) 47, Georgia 41, Vanderbilt 18, Iowa 13, Marshall 13, USC 10, Washington 6, Virginia Tech 4, Minnesota 4, Notre Dame 3, Ball State 1

THOUGHTS ON SPARTANS VS GOPHERS:

Two stats that really pop out from the game yesterday:  1) Minnesota getting just 249 yards (and 124 on the ground) but needing nearly 39 minutes to do it.  That's a lot of time for very few yards.  It was the only time this year Michigan State lost the time of possession battle.  What it tells the ES is the Spartan defense bent but didn't break; and actually stiffened near the red zone.  Minny finished 1-3 in the redzone.  And, the Spartans had 11 tackles for loss, including 4 sacks on the day.  Wow.  2) MSU 0-8 on third downs.  A surprising stat that needs to be improved if the Spartans are to defeat Ohio State.     

Yesterday, Michigan State played probably the best team on its schedule this season.  The Gophers are an impressive squad, and David Cobb, who gained 101 yards on 27 carries (3.7 per carry) was the best RB the Spartans have faced all year.  Good timing as take on the Buckeyes!

Here are the stats from yesterday:

MINN	MSU
1st Downs	17	15
3rd down efficiency	8-20	0-8
4th down efficiency	1-2	0-1
Total Yards	249	324
Passing	125	143
Comp-Att	9-25	10-20
Yards per pass	5.0	7.2
Rushing	124	181
Rushing Attempts	50	31
Yards per rush	2.5	5.8
Penalties	3-14	2-15
Turnovers	3	2
Fumbles lost	1	1
Interceptions thrown	2	1
Possession	38:41	21:19

Michigan State moves up to #11, favored by 14 over Minny after dismantling NW

Spartans ARE OFFICIALLY GOING TO INDY for the Big Ten Championship... and so is the ES!

#11 Michigan State is an early 14 point favorite over Minnesota in its season finale - Kickoff is noon; on BTN. Nebraska is favored by 3 at home over Iowa; Ohio State is favored by 12 at Michigan; Northwestern is favored by 3-1/2 at Illinois; and, Indiana is favored by 20-1/2 at home over Purdue. 

And, yes, our Spartans moved up to #11 in the AP Poll. 

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (56)	11-0	1496
2	Florida State (4)	11-0	1444
3	Ohio State	11-0	1375
4	Auburn	10-1	1294
5	Missouri	10-1	1202
6	Clemson	10-1	1196
7	Oklahoma State	10-1	1177
8	Stanford	9-2	1002
9	Baylor	9-1	976
10	South Carolina	9-2	960
11	Michigan State	10-1	929
12	Oregon	9-2	731
13	Arizona State	9-2	690
14	Wisconsin	9-2	684
15	LSU	8-3	642
16	Fresno State	10-0	619
17	UCF	9-1	588
18	Northern Illinois	11-0	470
19	Texas A&M	8-3	429
20	Oklahoma	9-2	386
21	Louisville	10-1	383
22	UCLA	8-3	300
23	USC	9-3	262
24	Duke	9-2	135
25	Notre Dame	8-3	68

• Dropped from rankings: Ole Miss 24

• Others receiving votes: Georgia 15, Cincinnati 10, Texas 10, Ole Miss 7, Arizona 6, Nebraska 6, Minnesota 5, East Carolina 1, North Dakota State 1, Vanderbilt 1

COMPLETE DOMINATION

Wow, what a butt-kicking of Northwestern yesterday.  The ES is giving hisself credit:  a 30-6 final; the ES guessed 31-3... nicely done ES!  On offense, the Spartans had career days out of Jeremy Langford on the ground (25-150, 6 yards a pop) and QB Connor Cook through the air (16-24, 293 yards, 0 INTs and 2 TDs).  Just a methodical dissection of the Wildcat defense all day long.

Defensively, MSU manhandled the Wildcats, and gave them a consistently very long field to play on.  While NW managed 19 yards and 319 total yards, the reality is their starting field position was poor for much of the game, thank you to Mike Sadler.  Northwestern gained only 85 total yards in the second half.  Wow.   Darqueze Dennard and Kurtis Drummond played lights-out, total lock down corners all day long for the Spartan secondary.  It was incredible to watch.   You could see NW wear down as the game wore on.  Here are the NW drives for the second half... Nada.

NU       3rd N25  Punt           7-29   3:00
NU       3rd N25  Interception   6-25   1:21
NU       3rd N48  Downs          6-20   2:50
NU       4th N35  Interception   1-0    0:05
NU       4th N16  Punt           3-7    0:56
NU       4th N40  Downs          8-13   2:10
NU       4th N24  Interception   3-1    1:24

Here are the final stats for the game.  Another impressive effort out of the Big Green.

MSU	NW
1st Downs	20	19
3rd down efficiency	4-12	4-15
4th down efficiency	0-1	1-3
Total Yards	464	319
Passing	293	239
Comp-Att	16-23	27-46
Yards per pass	12.7	5.2
Rushing	171	80
Rushing Attempts	40	26
Yards per rush	4.3	3.1
Penalties	4-30	2-15
Turnovers	0	3
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	0	3
Possession	31:39	28:21

ES Game Day: Spartans will pound Michigan into submission; National consensus picks MSU over Michigan

#24 Michigan State Spartans (7-1, 4-0) host #23 Michigan Wolverines (6-1, 2-1)

Time:  3:30 pm ET
Location:  Spartan Stadium, E.L.
Weather:  47 and sunny with a chance of light showers.
TV: ABC
Line: MSU by 6

Predictions - even though a tight game, all favor Michigan State. Amazing:

• Rod @ PeanutBarrel, MSU 35-30
• Freep.com: Rexrode, MSU 24-16; Snyder, MSU 21-17; Sharp,  MSU 15-9; Seidel, MSU 17-14
• ESPN.com: Bennett, MSU 17-14; Rittenberg, MSU 21-17
• CBSSports.com:  Against the spread, all six pick MSU -4.5
• CBSSports.com: Feldman, MSU 17-10
• CFN/Scout:  MSU, 24-17
• International Business Times (?): MSU 35-30
• BTN Twitter Poll: 73-27% MSU (as of 10/31, 11 pm)
• BTN.com:  Bardo, MSU 24-21; Merriman, MSU 24-17; Yarina, MSU 24-17; Dienhart, MSU 21-13
• Mlive.com: MSU 23-17.  Mlive.com bloggers:  Nick, MSU 16-13; Mike, MSU 27-20
• Rantsports.com: MSU
• Fox Sports CFB via WhatIfSports:  MSU 22-21
• Prediction Tracker:  MSU +4.52
• Athlon:  Gall, MSU 24-21; Light, MSU 24-14; Lassan, MSU 27-24; Fox, MSU 24-17
• NewsOK (Oklahoma): MSU 21-20

ES sez:  The Michigan State Spartans are going to pound the Wolverines into the ground.  The Big Green will plant Wolverine QB Devin Gardner like a potato - shove him into the ground, scrape dirt over him, and stomp on him.  It will be a thing of beauty to watch him run for his life all game long, as that relentless Spartan defensive press from Denicos Allen, Shalique Calhoun, and Marcus Rush breaks him in two like it would a toothpick.  Gardner will be pressed to throw the ball often, and Spartan DBs Isiah Lewis and Trae Waynes will be forced to make plays and solid tackles.  Expect it to happen, as it has all year long.  The Michigan Wolverines will be running right into a brick wall playing against the best Spartan defense in my 45 years of life.

Two defensive concerns for the Spartans:  (1) MSU has started slowly recently, giving up big plays to both Illinois and Purdue, early.  But, the Spartans rebounded in the same drive to minimize the damage; such play would prove costly vs Michigan.  (2) Historically, Michigan vs MSU has been all about UM making (or failing to make) the big play.  This will be significant again if Gardner is given time; the ES doubts Gardner will find much time, but funnier things have happened.   Note: Michigan RB Touissant will be a non-factor for Michigan.  He's just not good enough. 

The only offensive concern:  Connor Cook.  Is he the stellar 15-16 QB vs Illinois, or the mediocre 13-25 QB vs Purdue?   The ES expects him to be somewhere in the middle... which should be enough.  Michigan's defense will bottle up the run early in the game and force Cook to make throws, and for the Spartan wideouts to catch those passes to extend drives.  If MSU can hit a few big passes early, the offensive line should be able to use its running game to handle Michigan similar to what Indiana did to Michigan in piling up 162 rushing yards on the ground.

On special teams, the Spartans are on the verge of a breakout:  not from punter Mike Sadler, who is brilliant in booting 50+ yard punts when necessary (69 long this year), or dropping punts inside the 20 (he has 19 of 42 punts, or 45% downed inside the 20!!!!).   And, the breakout won't be from the kicker we've already found, Michael Geiger, who has hit on 6-of-7, including 3-of-3 outside of 40 yards. Rather, there will be a breakout from Andre Sims (long 33) or Macgarret Kings (long 30), either are due to bust out a punt return for a score. 

Bottom line: Connor Cook is improving; so is Gardner... but Cook merely needs to be serviceable and to minimize his mistakes. Gardner needs to be all-world to give Michigan a chance.  The Spartan offensive line is playing very well, and opening up holes for both Langford and Williams to exploit with a good running game.  MSU coaches need to give Cook the chance to use play action, not mess up good, sustaining drives with "outsmarting-ourselves"-John-L-Smith-like-playcalling, and to mix things up equitably.  Michigan State's defense is the most consistent group outside of the Baylor offense - playing at a near-perfect, high level in every game this season.  This MSU defense has a consistently high caliber of play from the trenches, to the backers, to the backfield.  Brings a tear to mine eye just to watch that gorgeous straitjacket of a defense play every week.

The winner of this game has the most rushing yards for something like 27 of the last 30 games.  If Michigan gets more than 100 yards rushing, shoot me.  But, the Spartans should rush for at least 125 yards. POUND GREEN POUND.  Expect this trend to continue with a significant advantage to Michigan State.  Watch the Spartans score on defense again as well.. why?  Well, why not.  

FYI - Love this article on the history of the life and defensive brilliance of Pat Narduzzi.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO THIS GAME!!!!  THE ES IS ALL JACKED UP!!!!   Doug Toma - I'm thinking of you!

ES sez:  MSU 27, Michigan 17.

Spartans crush Badgers: Jud's chooses MSU in Indiana v Michigan matchup

OK, so Wisconsin had its WORST shooting night in forever, and Appling woke up as Michigan State's men's hoop team smoked Wisconsin by 15 points last night, And Michigan State has an outside shot to a four-way tie for the Big Ten regular season title with Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan?... but only if Michigan beats Indiana.

The ES is 100% in line with coach Izzo's comments to ESPN in the pending Indy v Rodents matchup: "Izzo said his mentor, former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote, wouldn't want him to root for rival Michigan to win in any circumstance.  'I'm going to pull for Michigan State,' Izzo said."

"Our defense was unbelievable," Izzo said.

Right.  These Spartans, who outplayed  Indiana and Michigan but folded very late in their losses, have the defense and the grit to make a deep run in the tourney.  If Appling comes to play from this point forward, the ES's $20 bet on the Spartans in Vegas to win it all may make the ES a rich  man for a day.

Joe Lunardi's Bracketology has the Spartans as a #3 seed in the tourney... but methinks this team has as much grit and determination as any Spartan Final Four team in recent years, and a win in the Big Ten championship tourney could make MSU an outside #1 seed.... 

#4 Spartans favored by 1 over #1 Indiana

What a barn-burner.  Michigan State, now standing at #4 in the nation after its whipping of Michigan and Penn State last week, is favored by a mere point over the stand-up, top-ranked #1 Indiana Hoosiers.  This winner of this game may very well set the table for the regular-season, Big Ten Championship. 

Tipoff is 7 pm tomorrow from the Breslin.   Should be a freaking GREAT game.

WEAR WHITE.  GO GREEN!

Enlightened Spartan 2012 Preview for Michigan State Football

OK, so here is the ES season preview below. The ES and The Blue Turf (Boise State) are working on a salvo of banters about our teams and campuses. That should be posted by tomorrow morning (Aug 30). In the meantime, the ES chimes in, along with ChiSpartan, Chock, Big Bob, and Swiss Sloth. Enjoy the predictions; the ES Game Day preview will be up Friday morning.

2012 Enlightened Spartan Season Preview

MSU 12-2 overall, 10-2 regular season. Rose Bowl champions, defeating Oregon.

With all due respect, this is the greatest season ticket package in Michigan State season history: Boise St, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern. Another word: WOW.

BOISE STATE. W. This ain’t Atlanta, this is Spartan Stadium, and a feroucious defense feasts on the Boise backfield. MSU offense scores one TD, the defense scores two en route to a sounding defeat of the Bronco potato-heads.

@ Central Michigan. W. Unlike the Ann Arbor stick-my-nose-in-the-air rodents down the road, the Spartans share the wealth and give CMU a home game to pad its departmental budget. The Chips need the padding, as they are mauled in a big loss at home.

NOTRE DAME. W. The Irish are overrated again, but a very tough s chedule inspires the Catholics to a tough fight for their lives, early on the road in a night game. Doesn’t matter as Sparty’s defense shuts down ND in a low-scoring contest, making it 11 of the last 16 for Michigan State. Another TD for the Spartan D.

EASTERN MICHIGAN. W. The question: against whom will the Spartans score the most points? CMU, EMU, Indiana, or Minnesota.

OHIO STATE. L. Spartans shocked at home, suffer first home defeat since 2009 and giving Urban Meyer the first feather in his cap.

@ Indiana. W. See the intro “@ Indiana”? Enough said.

IOWA. W. ‘Tis interesting the decline of the Hawkeyes and the rise of the Spartans, no? Spartan defense should manhandle the Hawkeye front – a reversal of roles from a decade ago. Rising = Dantonio; Falling = Ferentz.

@ Michigan. W. Denard who? The hype is squashed for the third straight year. Last two years, Spartans viciously ended any Heisman talk, knocking Robinson into another world, with unHeisman-like stats (rush: 39-128 yards-3.3 avg; pass: 26-53-338-4 INTs)…... Defense wins championships, watch Robinson’s cage get rattled again. Spartan defense scores a pair of TDs to shut down Michigan Heisman talk. Again.

@ Wisconsin. L. Michigan State suffers loss number two, on the road, in a tight, heated rivalry that is the 21^st century version of the B1G Ten glory that used to be Woody & Bo. The two squads will meet later…

NEBRASKA. W. Spartans defeat the Huskers for the first time. ES suffers a heart attack upon learning the win actually isn’t a replay of the 55 point shellacking the Spartans suffered to Nebraska in 1996.

NORTHWESTERN. W. Even though the Cats have had a great rivalry in recent years, they’ve been lucky not to schedule Michigan State on its current stretch. Read that: current stretch. This is a Wildcat offense and defense that, on its best day, just isn’t in the same league, even if in the same conference.

@ Minn. W. The days of old Metropolitan Stadium return in a -10 degree blizzard in Minneapolis. Bud Grant would love the weather, but not the result.

B1G CHAMPIONSHIP. W. Michigan State turns the table, avenges its loss to Wisconsin earlier in the season and in last year’s B1G title game with a Rose Bowl-clinching victory. Montee Ball runs for 210 yards for the game; but, on the last play, fumbles into the arms of Johnny Adams, who runs it back 98 yards for the winning score.

ROSE BOWL. W. Michigan State beats Oregon in the fourth meeting of the two teams witnessed by the ES. With a month to prepare, Andrew Maxwell gets his moxy and Spartan receivers have a field day… as do Duck receivers. But, this is the Spartans’ year.

NOT ON SCHEDULE: Purdue, Penn State, Illinois.

EXPERT PREDICTIONS

Swiss Sloth:

1. Total # wins: 8
2. Bowl: Outback bowl v auburn
3. Toughest game: Michigan cuz it’s on the road
4. How much would you bet on MSU to win the Big Ten if in Vegas? 0, but I never bet on anything
5. Score for MSU vs Boise? 24-14 for the good guys!!!
6. Season total TDs vs INTs for Maxwell? 18 td’s, 15 int’s

ChiSpartan:

1. Total # of MSU wins: 11
2. Bowl game for MSU (vs who?): Rose Bowl vs Oregon
3. Toughest game for MSU on schedule: Wisconsin
4. How much would you bet on MSU to win Big Ten in Vegas? 5,000,000 Vietamese Dong
5. Score of MSU vs Boise game 24-10
6. Total # of TDs vs INTs for Maxwell : 20 TDs and 7 Ints

Chock (with welcome commentary!):

1. total # of MSU wins: 8 wins for an 8-4 record not counting the bowl game. I think 9-3 is a good, educated guess and I even think that 10-2 is definitely achievable. But we will lose at least one because of inexperience by our rookie QB. Cousins was really, really good and we’ll miss that.
2. bowl game for MSU (vs who?): Capital One bowl vs. Arkansas and MSU fans relish the return of John L Smith with a second straight bowl victory after Smith’s team crumbles around him at the end of the season
3. toughest game for MSU on schedule: @ Wisconsin
4. How much would you bet on MSU to win Big Ten in Vegas? $100 … although I’m much rather spend my Vegas dollars betting on the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament
5. Score of MSU vs Boise game: MSU 27 – Boise State 24
6. Total # of TDs vs INTs for Maxwell: 24 - 11

BTW, you didn’t ask, but Nebraska wins the Legends and Wiscy wins the Leaders. Nebraska beats Wiscy in the B1G Championship game and goes the Rose Bowl and shits the bed vs. USC. Kill, William, Kill, and Pound, Green, Pound!!! Go State…

Big Bob:

1. total # of MSU wins - 11
2. bowl game for MSU (vs who?) - Rose v Oregon
3. toughest game for MSU on schedule - at Wisconsin
4. How much would you bet on MSU to win Big Ten in Vegas? - $123.45
5. Score of MSU vs Boise game - 20-17. MSU
6. Total # of TDs vs INTs for Maxwell - 24TDs, 13INTs

Smigdiggler (with more commentary!):

MSU WestCoast Correspondent - Smigdiggler Sees positive things from the Spartans this year. with the favorable home schedule with a tough spot right in the middle of the season with UM followed by Wisky on the road, back to back.
1. total # of MSU wins 10
2. bowl game for MSU (vs who?) I want rose bowl, but due to some kind of BCS logic they will be relegated to the Capital One bowl. What's in your wallet?
3. toughest game for MSU on schedule - At Wisky a week after beating the tar out of those scUM bastards in the big sh!t house
4. How much would you bet on MSU to win Big Ten in Vegas? $100.00
5. Score of MSU vs Boise game This will be higher than most people think. MSU-28 BS-21
6. Total # of TDs vs INTs for Maxwell - Going Big - 27/9

MSU in perfect spot to win Big Ten football title; Media gives Mich the nod

Those pesky rodents down the road received the nod as the favorite to win the Big Ten title this year.  MSU was picked behind the Wolvies for second in the Legends division (similar to last year's pick of the Spartans behind Nebraska).  That's perfect - what wins championships?  DEFENSE, and all noted that Michigan State has the best defense returning to the Big Ten for 2012.  Love the USA Today quote from James Ferentz, the starting center at Iowa, said it was a nightmare to prepare to play the Spartans. "I think they are incredible," Ferentz said.

That game down in Ann Arbor looms large as the potential for the Legends title.  The Spartans have won four straight in the series, and have completely shut down that little scat-back of a QB, Denard Robinson, in each of the past three years.  Shall the Spartans make it five in the series?  The ES thinks so.  Nebraska was picked third in the Legends.

Other than that, not much news from the Big Ten media day, other than JOHNNY ADAMS and WILLIAM GHOLSTON noted as players to watch in the Big Ten this year. 

10 warm thoughts about MSU beating Ohio State and earning a #1 seed in the tourney

Top 10 list of Michigan State's dominating victory over Ohio State to claim the B1G Ten title OUTRIGHT. This is in order, from the 10th best to the ultimate best:

10. Watching OSU's Sullinger sulk, after once again stymied to his best effort against MSU, just a 7-19 shooting (37%) and 9 rebounds stint. Thanks to the Spartan BIG trio of Green-Payne-Nix
9. Beating the Buckeyes two of the last three, both away from the Breslin Center.
8. Eddie Hightower wasn't on the court.
7. Tom Izzo's technical foul at the end of the first half, sending a signal for defensive intensity.
6. Draymond Green three-pointer with 1:36 remaining to DEFINE HIS PLACE as Big Ten Player of the Year
5. Derrick Nix jumper in the post over Sullinger with 5:17 left, just showing that Sullinger is no wise-guy and that Sullinger's sh*t still stinks.
4. Brandon Wood, 21 pts. Thank you Valpo.
3. MSU wins the B1G Ten outright, first title since 2000, when we won the national title.
2. Big Green gets #1 seed, first since 2000, when we won the national title.
1. Knowing in every single time MSU has earned a #5 seed or better since 1998, Michigan State has reached the Final Four 6 of 7 times (the other time, we made the Elite 8 in 2008 as a #5 seed).  NICE. 

Ouch. That hurts

Wisky 42, MSU 39.  It hurts real bad. 

Isaiah Lewis shouldn't have gone for the block; but MD rolled the dice and punted instead of going for it on 4th down; that backfired. Cousins threw inc to Martin instead of running for first down. We kicked a FG instead if scoring a TD in the middle of the 4th; and, MSU allowed the 40 yd pass play by Wilson on 4th down. Too many missed chances at the end. You have to make big plays. MSU converts on just one of what is aforementioned, they might have won. But they didn't. Sucks. Lewis blew it, he really blew it.


The end of the day:  Two teams - MSU and Wisconsin 0 are different but equal. The ES would love MSU to get a BCS berth against Michigan and break Robinson in half.  Love to hate that overrated POS.

Game Day: ES predicts B1G Ten Championship, Michigan State vs Wisconsin

Here it is!  The biggest game in the last 45 years of Michigan State football, the inaugural B1G Ten Championship game against Wisconsin.  Why is it the biggest game?  Because MSU is turning the tide in its competitiveness on the gridiron, and this game is THE BEST opportunity to finally make the statement that the Spartans are (not can be, but ARE) a perennial football power.  If the Spartans are to ever earn the respect of the likes of the national pundits, if they are ever to get to a BCS bowl game, they need to earn it the hard way on the field.  And that means winning the B1G Ten title on Saturday, with the ES in attendance - and his GREEN HAIR.

The ES hain't surprised at the lack of respect from most of the media.  Michigan State needs to EARN the respect.  But, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, and the Spartans have had the best and most consistent defense in the conference, if not the nation, all year long.  NOW IS THE TIME.  And, it is PREDICTION TIME. The ES was at the last Spartan Rose Bowl appearance - when he was an undergrad 25 years ago.  This is THE time to get to Pasadena again.

SPARTANS, WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION????

GAME DAY PREDICTION
#9 Michigan State (10-2/7-1) vs. #12 Wisconsin Badgers (10-2/6-2)
Inaugural B1G Ten Championship Game
8:17 pm ET
Rankings:  MSU #9 (USA Today), #10 (AP), #13 (BCS), #20 (Sagarin). Wisconsin #12 (USA Today), #15 (AP), #15 (BCS), #13 (Sagarin).

TV:  FOX

Weather: Indoors.  Outdoors: 38 degrees.

Line:  Wisconsin favored by 9
ES pick:  MSU 24, Wisconsin 23.

Key Stat:  This will be another slugfest on the interior lines.  With Gholston returning for MSU, the dominant Spartan front of Gholston, Pickelman, Worthy, and Rush to hurry Wisconsin's Wilson throughout the game,  and for the Badgers to turn the ball over 3 times.  That defensive line is vicious and will fight tooth and nail for 60 minutes.  Each team will be held to under 350 yards of total offense, but both Bell (MSU) and Ball (Wisc) will have over 100 yards rushing.  Expect better passing efficiency out of the Spartan offense to make the plays and the difference in the end.

B1G Ten Title Notes, Predictions

Normally, the ES would be all over things this week... but the blizzard in mid-Michigan caught the ES right in the middle of things, and involved car wreck that was, well TOAST.  While the ES was uninjured, it's been two days of hell with transportation, jobs, kids, yes, all that b.s.

YET TICKETS TO THE B1G TITLE game arrived on a timely basis, despite the issues.  ES will be back into this on Friday afternoon, with predictions, hype, and GHOLSTON-style viciousness.

GO GREEN. The ES cain't wait.