Michigan State a 13 point fave at Illinois after 14-0 blanking of Purdue; MSU defense ranks #1!!!!

The 6-1/3-0 Michigan State Spartans, fresh off their blanking of Purdue, and will likely crack the Top 25 when the polls are announced,  are an early 13 point favorite at 3-3/0-2 Illinois according to the early Vegas line.  Iowa is favored by 3 home over Northwestern; Nebraska by 8-1/2 at Minnesota; Ohio State by 14-1/2 home over Penn State.

The Spartans shutout Purdue, 14-0, in what was the ugliest performance from Connor Cook this season.  Michigan State's defense gave up a few big plays between the 20s, but did not allow Purdue to get any closer than the 25 yard line all game long - that is ZERO red zone opportunities for the Boilermakers.  The Spartan defense gave up just 226 total yards, just 66 rushing yards on 34 attempts (1.9 average).  Max Bullough's stat sheet lit up like a XMas tree: 10 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 forced fumble (returned for a TD), 1 sack, and 1 QB hurry.  Nice.

Spartan RB Jeremy Langford looked very good, running for 131 yards on 24 carries (5.5 average).  State had 182 yards on the ground.  The offensive line opened up some nice holes all game long.

As for our QB, Cook wasn't close to having an INT... he wasn't close to hitting on half of his throws.  Cook looked terrible and consistently missed wide open receivers on third down.  Heck, even though the Spartan offense looked good on its only TD drive, a 9-play 73 yard drive in the 4th quarter, Cook didn't throw the TD pass... it was WR Tony Lippett throwing the pass on an end around.   Cook was 13-of-25 for 107 yards.  Before that final drive, Cook had just 33 yards passing on the day. The ES would give Cook a "D" grade for his performance on Saturday.  Two steps forward, one step back for Cook.

	PUR	MSU
1st Downs	14	21
3rd down efficiency	5-15	5-13
4th down efficiency	1-1	1-1
Total Yards	226	294
Passing	160	112
Comp-Att	14-25	14-26
Yards per pass	6.4	4.3
Rushing	66	182
Rushing Attempts	34	41
Yards per rush	1.9	4.4
Penalties	3-30	2-14
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Possession	28:59	31:01

Statistically, MSU's defense is certainly the best in the nation. Through Oct 19 games, this is where Michigan State ranks nationally:

Category,  Rank,  Statistic
Total Defense, #1, 228.0 ypg
Rushing Defense, #1, 59.1 ypg
Passing Yards Allowed, #4, 168.9 ypg
Team Passing Efficiency Defense, #1, 88.41
Scoring Defense, #4, 13.6 ppg
3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense, #3, 27.3%
First Downs Defense, #1, 13.4 pg
Time of Possession, #4, 34:11

The ES has gotta print the Big Ten standings, with Michigan State on top of the Legends through the first three Big Ten games.

Big Ten - Legends	CONF	OVERALL
* - Michigan State	3-0	6-1
Nebraska	2-0	5-1
* - Michigan	2-1	6-1
Iowa	1-2	4-3
Minnesota	1-2	5-2
Northwestern	0-3	4-3
Big Ten - Leaders	CONF	OVERALL
* - Ohio State	3-0	7-0
Wisconsin	3-1	5-2
x - Penn State	1-1	4-2
Indiana	1-2	3-4
Illinois	0-2	3-3
Purdue	0-3	1-6

And, here are some nice photos by the ES of Saturday's victory over the Boilermakers.  After the first quarter, it stopped raining and turned out to be a beautiful, 55-and sunny fall game.  Indeed, the weather was nicer than the Spartan offense....

Second quarter backed up on our 10...

 Second quarter struggles...

 Beginning to see some sunlight...

 

 Third quarter defense bends bud doesn't break...

 4th quarter lineup for our only offensive TD...

Spartans alone on top of Big Ten; #13 in AP Poll

Wow, what an amazingly fantastic game yesterday, Michigan State topping Ohio State on the hardwood, 59-56. And, with Iowa beating Wisconsin, now the Spartans stand atop the Big Ten. MSU's bigs are for real, and as a group, make up the best interior defense in the conference.  Save for Deshawn Thomas and his 28 points, MSU snuffed out the rest of the Buckeye squad all game long.  Here are the standings.... next up: at Wisconsin on Tuesday.  Go BIG GREEN!   MSU has zoomed up to #13 in the AP poll.....

Big Ten Standings

TEAM	CONF	OVERALL
Michigan State	5-1	16-3
Michigan	4-1	17-1
Wisconsin	4-1	13-5
Indiana	3-1	15-2
Minnesota	3-2	15-3
Ohio State	3-2	13-4
Purdue	3-2	10-8
Iowa	2-3	13-5
Northwestern	2-3	11-7
Illinois	1-4	14-5
Nebraska	1-5	10-9
Penn State	0-6	8-10

RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Duke (39)	16-1	1,578
2	Michigan (11)	17-1	1,539
3	Kansas (7)	16-1	1,486
3	Syracuse (8)	17-1	1,486
5	Louisville	16-2	1,348
6	Arizona	16-1	1,270
7	Indiana	16-2	1,211
8	Florida	14-2	1,181
9	Butler	16-2	1,146
10	Gonzaga	17-2	994
11	Kansas State	15-2	927
12	Minnesota	15-3	905
13	Michigan State	16-3	831
14	Ohio State	13-4	701
15	New Mexico	16-2	659
16	Oregon	16-2	624
17	Creighton	17-2	611
18	North Carolina State	15-3	587
19	Virginia Commonwealth	16-3	433
20	Wichita State	17-2	363
21	Cincinnati	16-3	322
22	Missouri	13-4	234
23	Ole Miss	15-2	172
24	Notre Dame	15-3	123
25	Miami (FL)	13-3	93

• Others receiving votes: Marquette 92, Wisconsin 55, UCLA 41, UNLV 32, Wyoming 28, San Diego State 26, Colorado State 7, Memphis 6, Georgetown 4, Iowa State 3, North Carolina 3, Louisiana Tech 2, Pittsburgh 1, Bucknell 1

• Dropped from rankings: San Diego State 15, Illinois 23, UCLA 24, Marquette 25

Michigan State sits atop the Big Ten

Just seeing this, brings a tear to mine eye...

TEAM	B-10	ALL
#7 Michigan State	3-0	7-0
#15 Iowa	2-0	5-1
Purdue	2-0	4-2
#13 Wisconsin	2-1	6-1
#10 Ohio State	2-1	6-1
Northwestern	1-1	5-1
Michigan	1-2	5-2
Illinois	1-2	3-3
Indiana	0-2	4-2
Penn State	0-2	3-3
Minnesota	0-3	1-6

Big Ten Standings: MSU on Top

Here are your Big Ten men's basketball standings, as it should be - with Big Green on top. Next to be slain: Illinois (Saturday, 3:30 pm, CBS).

Standings	Conference				Overall
	W	L	GB	PCT	W	L	PCT
#7 - Michigan St	4	0	-	1.000	14	3	.824
Illinois	4	0	-	1.000	12	5	.706
#13 - Wisconsin	4	1	½	.800	14	3	.824
Minnesota	3	2	1½	.600	12	5	.706
Michigan	3	2	1½	.600	9	7	.563
#6 - Purdue	2	2	2	.500	14	2	.875
Ohio State	2	3	2½	.400	12	5	.706
Northwestern	1	3	3	.250	12	4	.750
Indiana	1	3	3	.250	7	9	.438
Penn State	0	4	4	.000	8	8	.500
Iowa	0	4	4	.000	6	11	.353

Big Ten Rankings: Week 9.

Time to grade out the Big Ten as it stands today, and looking ahead.

TOP TIER
#1. Iowa. 8-0/5-0. Solidly the Ugly Birds are in the driver's seat. After winning in East Lansing, they've survived the heavies, save Ohio State in two weeks. BUY.
#2. JoePa. 7-1/3-1. Solidly in number two. They still play Ohio State and at Michigan State; but they've dominated everyone on their schedule, except for the loss to Iowa. BUY.
#3. Ohio State. 6-2/4-1. The Buckeyes still travel to JoePa and scUM, and host Iowa. They'll win at least one (scUM) of the three, but methinks all three are asking too much. HOLD.
#4. Wisconsin. 5-2/2-2. Purdue, Indiana, scUM, NW. The Badgers finish the season playing the bottom feeders. It would be tough to believe Wisky do worse than 9-2/6-2 at this point. BUY.
#5. Michigan State. 4-4/3-2. Michigan State played toe-to-toe with the Hawkeyes, who had help from the half-blind Big Ten refereeing crew. MSU is just one play away from 5-3/4-1, and three plays away from 7-1/4-1. A trio of Minny, WMU, and Purdue before JoePa puts Sparty in a solid BUY mode. MSU should finish 7-5 or 8-4 (you predict at poll on the right column).

BOTTOM TIER
#6. Northwestern. 5-3/2-2. Significant drop off in competition begins here, with a team Sparty crushed at home. 'Cats play JoePa, Iowa, Wisky, and Illinois. Time to SELL.
#7. Purdon't. 3-5/2-2. The Boilers have awoken. Future losses to Wisky and Sparty will knock them out of hope for a miracle. SELL.
#8. scUM. 5-3/1-3. Yes, now these are your real Wolverines. And, the schedule is none easier with Illini, Purdue, Wisky, and Ohio State on the docket. They will do no better than win 2 of the 4; definite losses vs Ohio State and Wisky. Don't be surprised to see a 6-6 or 5-7 Yellow Belly season when it's all over. SELL.
#9. Indiana. 4-4/1-3. Iowa, Wisky, JoePa, Purdon't. They'll be lucky to win one. SELL.
#10. Minnesoter... is dropping like a rock, and their all-world receiver is gone for the year. Games against MSU, Illinois, and Iowa are iffy. And don't look now Gopher fans, South Dakota State is 6-1. ES predicts Minny to go winless down the stretch and finish 2-6/4-8. You can't SELL fast enough. Their season is over.
#11. Illinois. 1-6/0-5. The Illini are atrocious, Zook gets to stay on for a year. But schedule is now in their favor, as they play scUM, Minny, and NW. ES sez Illini shock scUM this week, and beat Minny or NW. Then, they will lose to Fresno State and Cincy. Still, for the Zooks, that is a BUY.

Sagarin and the Spartans; Blair White gets POW

Let's take a look at the Big Ten under the loopy eyes of Jeff Sagarin last week and this week... Note, the Big Green has moved up to #42, a mere 37 spots below Iowa. Yet, 'tis an even spread, so certainly momentum, Dantonio, and "skinny" has lots to do with the current spread. SS = schedule strength.

Oct 19. / Oct 12.
#5. Iowa, SS = 20. / #9. Iowa, SS = 30
#19. Ohio State, SS = 35. / #8. Ohio State, SS = 37
#21. Joe Pa, SS = 106. / #28. Joe Pa, SS = 113
#32. Wisconsin, SS = 29. / #21. Wisconsin, SS = 31
#34. scUM, SS = 90. / #37. scUM, SS = 47
#42. MSU, SS = 32. / #44. Michigan State, SS = 26
#59. Minnesota, SS = 27. / #54. Minnesota, SS = 46
#76. Purdue, SS = 23. / #91. Purdue, SS = 23
#90. Indiana, SS = 79. / #86. Indiana, SS = 61
#100. Nwestern, SS = 125. / #95. Northwestern, SS = 139
#125. Illinois, SS = 34. / #112. Illinois, SS = 25

BLAIR WHITE WINS BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Here's a "no shit" no-brainer: Blair White won the Big Ten's offensive player of the week award:

"Blair White, Michigan State
SR, WR, Saginaw, Mich./Nouvel Catholic Central
White set career highs with 12 receptions and 186 receiving yards and matched a career best with two touchdowns to help Michigan State rally from a halftime deficit to a victory over Northwestern. The senior wideout averaged 15.5 yards per catch to record his third effort of 100 yards or more this season and the fifth 100-yard outing of his career. With the Spartans trailing 7-0 at the half, the hosts knotted the score on their first offensive possession of the third quarter, with quarterback Kirk Cousins hitting White on a 22-yard scoring strike. After a Northwestern punt, MSU struck again, with Cousins hitting White on a 47-yard touchdown toss to give the Spartans a lead they would not relinquish. White’s 12 catches equaled the fourth-best single-game total in school history while his 186 yards ranked 10th in program annals. The Michigan native earns his first career weekly award."

Big Ten war of attrition

Early battles against the Sisters of the Poor don't stand the test of time when you start taking on the Ohio States, Iowas, and Michigan States... Yes, the season is a war of attrition, and order is being restored to the conference. Let's see where the Big Ten stands:

1. Ohio State. 5-1/3-0. The Buckeyes put Wisky back in their place and stand alone atop the Big Ten. They will stay here a while, with next three stints at lowly Purdue, home vs Minny and New Mexico State before they travel to Joe Pa. BUY.
2. Iowa. 5-0/2-0. The Hawkeyes pushed back scUM, and showed they have some bend-but-dont-break. How far will Wisky bend the Hawkeyes this week? HOLD.
3. JoePa. 5-1/4-1. Smoking Eastern Illinois doesn't tell us a lot; neither will hosting Minny this week, unless Minny pulls the upset. It won't, JoePa will roll. BUY.
4. Wisky. 5-1/2-1. The Badgers are brutally tough at home, and could pull the upset over a Hawkeye team that looked vulnerable against a weakish scUM squad. BUY.
5. Michigan State. 3-3/2-1. Sparty is on the rebound; this week, they play a softy in Northwestern that has been tough in recent years, but won't be this year. Spartans will open a can of whoop-ass on the Wildcats as the Spartans' play in the trenches and as its defense surges. Next week, they face stiff resistance hosting Iowa. BUY.
6. Minny. 4-2/2-1. The Gophers are a middle-of-the-pack team. Now they play the gritty part of their schedule (at Joe Pa, at Ohio State, vs MSU) and won't measure up, even with a new stadium. SELL.
7. scUM. 4-2/1-2. Bo is turning in his grave, as the Wolvies sink low low low to host #178 Delaware State; then they host JoePa. SELL.
8. Northwestern. 4-2/1-1. The 'Cats struggled mightily last week over winless Miami-Ohio; they've also beating woeful Purdue, sneaked past Eastern Michigan (throttled by CMU 56-8 last week), and lost to Syracuse. Now they will be crushed at Sparty. This team stinks -- the worst 4-2 team in the nation. SELL.
9. Indiana. 3-3/0-2. The Hoosiers were smoked at Virginia, 47-7; they lost to Ohio State and Michigan. They have hope, and should beat Illinois this week... maybe Northwestern next week, before a murderous row of Iowa, Wisky, and JoePa. BUY for now.
10. Purdon't. 1-5/0-2. At least the Boilers make it interesting for a while. They've scored at least 20 points in each of their six games, but they've lost five in a row - make that six, as they host the Buckeyes. SELL.
11. Illinois. 1-4/0-3. The Zooks really looked out of sync vs Sparty with their musical quarterback situation. They should have stuck with the Juice. If they have any hope, they need to win at Indy and Purdue the next two weeks. How bad are they? We will find out soon. HOLD.

ES ranks the Big Ten in Week 6

ES ranks each of the Big Ten teams through the first five games, and gives you a Buy/Hold/Sell prognostication.

1. Ohio State. 4-1/2-0. #8 Sagarin. Lone loss was to SoCal; outscored opponents 101-14 last three games, including Illinois & Indiana. Buy.
2. Iowa. 5-0/1-0. #9 Sagarin. Seems to be playing to its level of competition, with a squeaker over Arkansas State. But, they are 5-0 with a butt-kicking at JoePa. Buy.
3. Joe Pa. 4-1/1-1. #18 Sagarin. Joe Pa fell to #3 after it was pounded at home by a gritty Iowa team, but rebounded nicely with its thumping of woeful Illini. Hold.
4. Wisky. 5-0/2-0. #23 Sagarin. The Big Ten's other undefeated, with a pounding of the Big Green, but a nice win at Minny. Now comes the litmus test: at Ohio State. Buy.
5. Michigan State. 2-3/1-1. #47 Sagarin. Is Michigan State back from the brink? The defense woke up after a four game funk by limiting scUM to 82 total yards and -27 yards rushing mid-way through the fourth quarter. The Big Green left many points on the field, and bent late but didn't break. Best 2-3 team in the nation (we Spartans have heard that before). Buy.
6. Minnesota. 3-2/1-1. #51 Sagarin. Minny's squeaker wins over Syracuse, Air Force, and its butt kicking at the hands of a then-overrated Cal team may diminish their stock, but its late pull-away over Northwestern and competitiveness vs Wisky give the Gophers my "Bi-polar" award. Hold.
7. scUM. 4-1/1-1. #42 Sagarin. What, a ranked, undefeated Michigan team was an underdog to a 1-3 Spartan team, the first time that's ever happened? The pundits are enlightened as Sparty reveals scUM as overrated. scUM can prove otherwise, but won't, at Iowa this week. Sell.
8. Indiana. 3-2/0-2. #72 Sagarin. No shame for Indy losing to Ohio State and scUM - that's par for the course for a program that is about 2-100 against those teams the past 50 years. Now at... Virginia? A win would help the Hoosiers sweep their non-conference slate. Hold.
9. Northwestern. 3-2/1-1. #85 Sagarin. A loss to Syracuse and struggles against Eastern reveals the Cats belong among the cellar dwellars; a squeaker over Purdue just demonstrates Purdue belongs there, too.... Sell.
10. Purdon't. 1-4/0-2. #82 Sagarin. See NW above, but at least the Boilers are competitive, losing their last four by a combined 18 points, something you can't say about... Sell.
11. The Uncompetitive Zooks. #91 Sagarin. 1-3/0-2. Illini are falling fast - and so is Ron Zook's job. This team resembles more of the team MSU thumped by a 69-21 score under John L Smith than it does a team moving up the leaderboard. Against BCS teams, the Illini are 0-3 and outscored 126-22. Sell fast.

Wisconsin favored by 3 over MSU

Latest Line from the bookies in Las Vegas: Michigan State is a 3 point underdog at Wisconsin on Saturday (kickoff slated for noon). Ohio State is favored by 15 at home over Illinois; N'western is favored by 1 at home over Minnesota. Michigan is favored by 18 at home over Indiana. JoePa is favored by 11 at home over Iowa. Notre Dame is favored by 7 at Purdon't.

For a 3-0 team like Wisconsin, the nation sure ain't buying into any long-term potential: not one single "also considered" votes for the Badgers in either the AP or USA Today Polls (OK, they got 2 votes in the USA Today poll... but point is made).

Adversity knocked the Doctor upside the head after last week's loss... this week, it's about ready to decapitate him. Let's see what he can do to get his team, and particularly the defense, to get over the hump. ES feels pretty confident in this Spartan team right now, even though they are 1-2.

If the ES were to rank the Big Ten right now (with Jeff Sagarin Rankings):

1. JoePa (3-0, all blowouts). #32 Sagarin
2. Ohio State (2-1, loss to USC). #18 Sagarin
3. Iowa (3-0, wins over Iowa St & Arizona). #7 Sagarin
4. Michigan (3-0, win over ND, two over girly-men). #29 Sagarin
5. Wisconsin (3-0, win over Fresno, two over woosies). #16 Sagarin
6. Minnesota (2-1, loss to Cal, two wins over sisters of the poor). #49 Sagarin
7. Michigan St. (1-2, loss to ND, CMU). #78 Sagarin
8. Indiana (3-0, all close wins over bad teams). #69 Sagarin
9. Illinois (1-1, blown out by Mizzou). #86 Sagarin
10. Northwestern (2-1, loss to Syracuse, barely beat EMU). #112 Sagarin
11. Purdue (1-2, loss to Oregon, Northern Illinois). #66 Sagarin.

AP Poll (week #3, September 20, 2009).

RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Florida (55)	3-0	1488
2	Texas (2)	3-0	1428
3	Alabama (3)	3-0	1390
4	Mississippi	2-0	1213
5	Penn State	3-0	1212
6	California	3-0	1169
7	LSU	3-0	1120
8	Boise State	3-0	1038
9	Miami (FL)	2-0	920
10	Oklahoma	2-1	862
11	Virginia Tech	2-1	852
12	USC	2-1	825
13	Ohio State	2-1	810
14	Cincinnati	3-0	739
15	TCU	2-0	674
16	Oklahoma State	2-1	478
17	Houston	2-0	455
18	Florida State	2-1	363
19	Brigham Young	2-1	349
20	Kansas	3-0	347
21	Georgia	2-1	318
22	North Carolina	3-0	271
23	Michigan	3-0	247
24	Washington	2-1	194
25	Nebraska	2-1	132

Dropped from rankings: Georgia Tech 14, Utah 18

Others receiving votes: Missouri 115, Georgia Tech 102, Auburn 100, Pittsburgh 91, UCLA 62, Iowa 39, Oregon 30, Texas Tech 19, Notre Dame 16, Utah 12, Clemson 11, Colorado State 4, Oregon State 4, South Florida 1