45-7. Ho Hum shit-kicker

OK, so the ES was off by 7, final 45-7. Great defensive effort by State, but it was nice to see the team with a complete performance from Cousins (16-of-20) and Bell with 95 yards was just a horse, amazing. He reminds the ES of Lorenzo White, just guys bouncing off him everywhere and deceptively quick. Slippery moves, big, and strong.

Next up: bring on them STINKING BADGES.

What a great day for football. If Cal, Boise State, LSU, and South Carolina win tonite, that is 4 spots for Mich State to move up in the polls. Don't be surprise to see the Big Freaking Green in the top 20 tomorrow!

How GREAT was it to see Brian Kelly CRASH AND BURN vs Stanford, losing at home 37-14. The Irish got their ASSES kicked under the long arms of Jesus Christ. Couldn't happen to a better team. Their 1-3 butt is about to become 1-5 (next up BC, Pitt) and with stints vs Navy, Tulsa, USC, and Utah on the schedule, a 4-8 year looks about as good as the Irish can hope for. HA HA HA HA HA HA. Whip the Goddam Irish!

Prediction: MSU vs Northern Colorado

ES sez: Michigan State 45, Northern Colorado 14. Kickoff set for 12 noon, on Big Ten Network. The ES will be there!

Spartans favored by 29 over Northern Colorado

While there is no official line from the bookies, one can use the Jeff Sagarin predictor ratings to help provide some level of comparison between Michigan State and Northern Colorado.

Michigan State is ranked #41 but has 76 predictor points.
Northern Colorado is ranked #169 and has 50 predictor points.
Michigan State is at home (+3 home field advantage).

Prediction: 76-50+3=29 point margin of victory.

Kickoff is set for Noon from Spartan Stadium, it will be on the BTN. Early forecast for Saturday is 66 degrees and partly sunny.

About Northern Colorado (website)

Well, The Bears are 2-1 and compete in the Big Sky Conference as a Division I-FCS school. Before the season Northern Colorado was predicted to finish 7th out of the 9 teams. They defeated Division II Adams State 54-0 and are coming off a 35-21 win over Idaho State. Two weeks ago, the Bears lost in overtime to Weber State, 47-50. They seem to have a balanced offense, running for 201 yards per game (3.9 yards per carry) and passing for 203 per game. Their best player is senior cornerback Korey Askey (#2). On offense, senior RB Andre Harris (6-1, 220, #21) is their best player, with 275 yards (5.4 yds per rush) through three games and six TDs. Punter Cameron Kaman is averaging 37 yards per kick. FG kicker Mason Puckett already had two kicks blocked this year, is 4-8 with a long of 39 and 0-2 from beyond 40. That's enough scouting. Back to work.

Quick Stats

Michigan State's Edwin Baker is ranked #9 in the nation, and #3 in the Big Ten, in rushing with 130 yer game. LeVeon Bell is #26 nationally with a 101.3 avg per game. The Spartans are ranked #16 nationally in rushing with 241.7 yards per game. Aaron Bates is ranked 13th in punting with a 45.8 yard avg. Keshawn Martin is #22 in punt returns with a 13.4 yard avg. MSU is ranked #28 in total offense with 442 yards per game, and #74 in defense giving up 362 yards per game.

Biggest blemish? MSU's past defense ranks #108 out of 120 Division I-FBS teams, giving up 288 yards per game through the air.

MSU Athletics confirms Northern Colorado in 2010, Youngstown State in 2011 - Schedule Big Ten despite not sanctioned status

As noted by the ES earlier in the week, MSU does play Youngstown State in 2011, and Northern Colorado in 2010... MSU Football has released schedules for 2010 and 2011... watering down the schedule is truly unfortunate and does little to benefit MSU other than a "guaranteed win" (exception: Appalachian State) - it reduces BCS rankings, it brings in less income. In 2010, Ohio State and Indiana are off the Spartans' schedule; in 2011, Iowa and Northwestern are off the schedule.

Here's an idea: MSU plays Northern Colorado on Sept 25, 2010; Ohio State plays Eastern Michigan the same day. Why can't MSU and Ohio State play each other, despite it not being on the Big Ten docket? And, on Sept 3, 2011, MSU plays Youngstown State; Iowa plays Pittsburgh the same day. Why can't Iowa play MSU on Sept. 3, 2011? Obviously, the scheduling dates are open for these teams, and the schedule would be improved for all Big Ten teams if they played each other as a "nonconference" game. Why not?

2010

9/4 WESTERN MICHIGAN
9/11 @ Florida Atlantic
9/18 NOTRE DAME
9/25 N. COLORADO
10/2 WISCONSIN
10/9 @ Michigan
10/16 ILLINOIS
10/23 @ Northwestern
10/30 @ Iowa
11/6 MINNESOTA
11/13 PURDUE
11/20 @ Penn St

2011

9/3 YOUNGSTOWN ST.
9/10 FLORIDA ATLANTIC
9/17 @ NOTRE DAME
10/1 at Ohio St.
10/8 CENTRAL MICH
10/15 PURDUE
10/22 MICHIGAN
11/5 at Illinois
11/12 at Wisconsin
11/19 INDIANA
11/26 PENN ST

MSU to play Akron, Youngstown State, Northern Colorado? Why not play Michigan Tech?

The ES was tooling through the web and found NCAApalace.com which showed schedules in the next few years against Akron and Northern Colorado in 2010, and Youngstown State in 2011.... Akron in 2010 also showed up here. This scheduling was a surprise, and a disappointment if MSU continues to "schedule down."

But, there is NOTHING official out of Michigan State, and only the Youngstown State game is confirmed by their own publication on their website (see bottom of last page of PDF).

The ES previously stated his unhappiness of scheduling out of the division (FCS, aka 1-AA), largely due to lack of competitiveness and potential to lower BCS rankings; and, noted that MSU had earned an average of $73,000 less per game over the past decade scheduling non-BCS teams, let alone out of the division, as compared to 1-A opponents. Sigh, is anyone listening? Is Michigan Tech next?