Spartans drop out of Top 25, favored by 15 at Indiana

Well the Spartans certainly played far better on Saturday, despite being tripped up in a 17-16 tough loss to Ohio State.  Anytime you play the Buckeyes, you're in for a great game.  OSU's Braxton Miller is the real deal, he made it tough on a Spartan defense that held the Buckeye offense in check and out of the end zone for much of the game.

What cost MSU the game was Johnny Adams' blown coverage, giving up a 63-yard passing TD, and the defenses' inability to stop OSU and get the ball back in the final 4-minutes.  Give the Buckeyes credit, they earned the win in a game of two very different teams who were fairly evenly matched.  The biggest disappointment was the Spartan offensive line, which didn't find holes for LeVeon Bell and allowed Andrew Maxwell to be battered.   A VERY NICE SURPRISE to see the Spartan receivers finally catch the ball.  Yes, this team is improving, but it was a tough loss.

A note about the call by the refs that stopped MSU from scoring a wide open TD on the fumble recovery...  Well, we still could have scored the TD, if the offense had put it in the end zone; instead, we settled for a FG off that turnover.  Sure, the refs blew it, but MSU did have its chance to put score a TD anyways, and failed to do so.  You gotta take advantage of the turnovers and overcome adversity.  We didn't.

If MSU wants a nice bowl, or the Rose Bowl, it can't lose the rest of the year.  Improvements are still needed, particularly on the O-Line.

As for this upcoming week, the opening line out of Wynn Casino in Vegas has MSU as a 15-point favorite at Indiana. Indiana gave up - get this - 394 rushing yards to Northwestern.  The ES figures we can expect a real heavy dose of LeVeon Bell on Saturday. Penn State is favored by 4 at home over #24/#22 Northwestern. Wisconsin is favored by 14 at home over Illinois. Michigan is favored by 3 at Purdue. #12 Ohio State is favored at home by 4-1/2 over #21/#20 Nebraska.

And, predictably the Spartans fell out of the AP Top 25, but are on the door knocking to get back in.  The two losses -- to Notre Dame and to Ohio State -- were to quality opponents with the Spartans also beating Boise State.

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Alabama (60)	5-0	1500
2	Oregon	5-0	1430
3	Florida State	5-0	1349
4	LSU	5-0	1310
5	Georgia	5-0	1252
6	South Carolina	5-0	1152
7	Kansas State	4-0	1123
8	West Virginia	4-0	1066
9	Notre Dame	4-0	1043
10	Florida	4-0	937
11	Texas	4-0	932
12	Ohio State	5-0	793
13	USC	3-1	703
14	Oregon State	3-0	647
15	Clemson	4-1	608
15	TCU	4-0	608
17	Oklahoma	2-1	581
18	Stanford	3-1	509
19	Louisville	5-0	404
20	Mississippi State	4-0	306
21	Nebraska	4-1	240
22	Rutgers	4-0	160
23	Washington	3-1	159
24	Northwestern	5-0	143
25	UCLA	4-1	122

• Dropped from rankings: Michigan State 20, Boise State 24, Baylor 25

• Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 72, Boise State 53, Texas A&M 51, Michigan State 43, Texas Tech 39, Michigan 38, Louisiana Tech 37, Baylor 31, Ohio 30, Arizona State 15, Arizona 4, Miami (FL) 4, Iowa State 3, Tennessee 3

Spartans favored by 3 over Notre Dame

The early line out of Vegas has the Michigan State Spartans favored by a FG (3 1/2) over Notre Dame. The rats from Ann Arbor are favored by, gulp, 45 over UMass. Northwestern by 4 at home over Boston College. Purdon't by 23 at home over Eastern Michigan. The Buckeyes by 17 1/2 at home over the University of California Golden Bears. Minny by 3 at home over Western Michigan. Wisky by 14 at home over Utah State. Nebraska by 24 at home over Arkansas State.

MSU Spartans favored by 24 at CMU

According to the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas (via Vegas Insider), the Michigan State Spartans are a hefty 24-point favorite at Central Michigan this Saturday. Notre Dame is favored by 2 TDs (14-1/2) at home over Purdue; Wisconsin is favored by 8-1/2 traveling to lovely Corvallis, OR, to take on Oregon State; Iowa is favored at home by 4 over Iowa State; Nebraska is a 5-pt fave at UCLA; at home, Northwestern is a 3-pt underdog to upstart Vanderbilt; Arizona State is favored by 1 at home over Illinois; Ohio State is favored by 16-1/2 while hosting Central Florida; Virginia is favored by 9-1/2 at home over Penn State (oh, how the mighty have fallen); Indiana is a once-in-a-decade road favorite, this time at UMass; and, Michigan can lick their wounds at home, returning from their whipping to 'Bama as a 3-TD favorite at home over the U.S. Air Force Academy.

One week til kickoff! Current odds... MSU a TD fave over Boise

Here is what the oddsmakers out of Vegas have today for week 1 of college football:

Michigan State favored by 7 pts over Boise State; Minnesota favored by 8 1/2 at UNLV; Penn State favored by 6 at home over Ohio; Illinois favored by 9 1/2 at home over Illinois, Nebraska favored at home by 19 1/2 over Southern Miss; Iowa favored by 9 1/2 at Northern Illinois; Alabama favored by nearly 2 TDs (12 1/2) over Michigan at Texas Stadium;

ND favored by 5 - what the x$#@%!

OK, so many folks pointing out to the ES that it is ND favored by 5.  Thanks, the correction is appreciated... But, where does the ES get his info?  From a source called VegasInsider.com.  Yesterday, at 6 pm, they posted a line from Wynn in Vegas that said MSU -5 and from BoDog via OffShore Odds that stated MSU -5.5 vs ND (so if Wisconsin is -16 vs Miami, since I can't read lines it would mean they are an underdog to Miami Ohio? Of course, they aren't).  Now, we see that the VI website switched it from a stupid idiot input error.  Those that say the ES can't read betting lines, come on, gimme a break... The ES is only sharing the info as it is disseminated.  But, what is good to know is that this VI website is not to be considered the best source of info on Sunday evenings.  Lesson learned...

Thanks, for the correction - MSU SHOULD be favored by 5...  We'll win by at least that much... Go GREEN!