Michigan State vs Wyoming photologue

Wow. The Spartans are certainly impressive, just utterly kicking Wyoming's butt up and down the field yesterday.  338 yards rushing on the day for the offense, while only giving up 98 yards on the ground to the Cowboys.  Connor Cook was especially sharp - 8/12 for 126 yards and 2 TDs - and he looks like the best QB in the conference right now.  The secondary gave up a pair of long passes - something to work on - but overall a sound game, as the 56-14 score would indicate.

What a beautiful day for football!

Connor Cook for a TD!

Yet another long drive for MSU leading to a MSU 42-7 first half lead...

Photologue: Michigan State 73, Eastern Michigan 14

Now, that was ugly.  Michigan State 73-14... The ES has gotta admit... he wuz pretty close, guessing a 62-14 MSU hammering.  Here is a brief photologue:

Not even Jesus could help out Eastern on this gorgeous Saturday... 

This was 49-0.  Still 2 minutes left in the second quarter.  My daughter says, "can I use the bathroom?  I'm bored."  The bathroom did sound more interesting... so, we left.

This was Eastern's only chance: "what a beautiful day for football!"  It was 0-0.

Just a beautiful day.  70 degrees and sunny.

MSU North End stadium expansion photos

So, here it is... one week before the season opener, and the ES and his littlest decide to go for a biking jaunt down to campus, tool through to see if construction season is over and timely, get some books at the MSU Library, some ice cream at the Dairy Store... and

well, check out the new digs on the north end of the stadium.  Here are some shots for your viewing pleasure:

Photos from MSU vs Minnesota

Some photos from Saturday:

Please recycle!  Final score, 14-3

Actually, a beautiful day

ES, Big Bob, and Sloth:

 Going in to... SCORE!

The victory formation

The best formation in the history of football.

And, the iconic photo of the final score and brutalizing statistics...

Best defensive performance in ES' 45 years of life: Spartans crucify Wolverines

LET'S BE HONEST. WE KNOW WHAT WE SAW. That includes this jerk in our Section 19, who kept yelling "where's that defense?"  What an idiot. 

Spartans were up 16-6, dominating on defense.  MSU just got the ball at midfield, but they had a tough time moving the ball throughout the game.  QB Connor Cook rolled right and lofted a ball - a bad pass - intercepted by Michigan, returned to the MSU 40.

And, then the dance began.

Michigan State beared down in a Herculean effort greater than any effort I have seen in my life.  Three straight plays, three sacks in a row, mauling and overrunning that Wolverine offensive line.  Instead of moving the ball into Spartan territory, the Wolverines retreated 21 yards!!!  Time to punt; and, MSU took that return, made it into a drive that ended all the way in the end zone.  

I have been alive since 1968.  But, I never thought I'd ever see complete devastation by a MSU defense until what I saw today... luckily, the Spartans used their horror to destroy Michigan.

We destroyed them. Humiliation. Annihilation.  Obliteration.  Mauling.  Destruction.  Cremation.  Dilapidation.  Decapitation. Whipping.  Slaughter.  Massacre.

It was a feast of roadkill. That Spartan defense ate Michigan alive.

While humiliation is a good word for what I saw today - it was closer to a burial. As predicted by the ES, Michigan State's defense dug a hole and buried Gardner like a potato.   Time and time again.  Stomped on Gardner as if he were a fly.  Seven sacks?  Is that all? it seemed like 30 sacks.  He was running for his life all game long. 

And, Michigan had two weeks to prepare for this.  You could have given them two months and it would not have mattered.  Michigan State is just a far far better football team than that line of blue.

Michigan had 29 attempts at running, for -48 yards rushing in a 6-29 mauling at the hands of Michigan State. In other words, every time they ran the ball, Michigan lost 1.7 yards. It was the worst outing in the history of Michigan football.  And, it looked worse than that. Seven sacks by the Spartans, and 11 tackles for loss.  Another 7 QB hurries, 3 pass breakups. Wow.  Talk about pressure.  And, complete domination.  Michigan finished the game a meager 2-of-14 (14%) on third downs. Look at the MSU defensive stats, lit up like a Christmas tree.

Love the quote from Brady Hoke on Gardner: "He had taken a lot of shots earlier in the game, and he's a little bit warn out. I wouldn't say he has an injury. I'd say beat up." Or, this from Hoke:  "I think they played awfully well and executed awfully well. I don't think we did."

Better yet was this from Spartan LB Denicos Allen: ""Two years ago wasn't nothing. It was a lot worse today, and I think they felt it."

REPEAT:  I THINK THEY FELT IT. 

At the end of the third quarter, Devin Gardner  had just threw away the 7th of 8 throws against an incredible Michigan State's defensive rush.  Next play, to Jeremy (built up to be a "God for catching 300+receiving yards in a game") Gallon, was caught but he fumbled, losing the yards just gained and leading to a punt ... a play that defined Michigan's destiny as no match against the more talented and physical Michigan State team.  Gallon was a mere afterthought in this game, as was anyone on the Michigan offense.  

Well, I guess Connor Cook is less talented of a QB than Devin Gardner, right?  Ummm.... lookit the stats:

Cook: 18-33, 252 yds,  1 TD, 1 INT.  Rush: 5 carries, -15 yds
Gardner 14-27, 210 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT. Rush: 18 carries, -46 yds

Jesus, Cook outplayed Gardner.  Not as flashy, but certainly more effective within his offensive scheme. 

And, Fitz Toussant with his "little brother" comment?  Gimme a break.  He had 20 yards on 8 carries; a complete non-factor. 

However, today belonged to the Spartan defense, solidifying itself as the best in the land.  The Spartan defense DOMINATED Michigan the entire game, pushing around that offensive line as if the UM O-Line were filled with rag dolls. Embarrassing?  Yes. Beautiful?  Absolutely.

Can't wait 'til Michigan returns next year.  They can come to East Lansing anytime.  

Enjoy the pics below.

Today was the best defensive football game I have ever seen Michigan State University play in my lifetime.  Period. 

MICH	MSU
1st Downs	12	19
3rd down efficiency	2-14	9-18
4th down efficiency	0-1	0-0
Total Yards	168	394
Passing	216	252
Comp-Att	15-30	18-33
Yards per pass	7.2	7.6
Rushing	-48	142
Rushing Attempts	29	39
Yards per rush	-1.7	3.6
Penalties	3-39	5-25
Turnovers	1	1
Fumbles lost	0	0
Interceptions thrown	1	1
Possession	27:39	32:21

++

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...

WOW - Spartan Stadium scoreboard all lit up!

Well... this afternoon (Sunday), the ES was again heading over to hurl the ball around, this time at Munn Field (before the students return and take it over)... and wouldn't you know it but the folks over at Spartan Stadium were testing out the scoreboard.  So, the ES took some pics.  Check it out - and just hope their ain't a power outage:  all of the sponsorships, stats/time/score, and video are all interconnected on one HUGE flat screen.  Very slick.  Click on all these photos to see a large version.

Testing, 1-2-3... It's all on huge digital screen.  Wow

Can you believe how big the screen is??? Wow.

From the bike path near the Red Cedar.  The screen is HUGE. Zoom in!

How big is this?  Check out the two workers on top right

Spartan Stadium scoreboard update

Impressive... amazing what 11-win seasons will buy a football team.  The outside of the scoreboards at Spartan Stadium are impressive.  The Enlightened Spartan was heading to the Michigan State University library and took these shots at 1:30 pm today.  Feel free to share and let folks know you found it at the ES website.  :) 

Scoreboard pics for Spartan Stadium

Some updated stadium pics; the ES was riding by Spartan Stadium on Friday and took these shots...  scoreboards are HUGE, looking nice and coming right along.  Check out the shot from inside the stadium...

MSU thumps Illinois, 26-6, behind stout defense. PHOTOSTREAM

Well, the ES wasn't that far off. What a DOMINATING performance, particularly defensively in the second half. Jerel Worthy, William Gholston, and Tyler Hoover played very well along the D-line; Greg Jones, Marcus Hyde, and Eric Gordon were SWARMING from their LB spots; and, the DBs played EXCEPTIONAL FOOTBALL... with 3 picks and forcing a fumble. New DB Darqueze Dennard played fantastic for suspended Chris Rucker.

Outstanding football game. See photos below. Actor Gerard Butler was in the house (star of movie "300") and just loved it -- leading the crowd in chants of 'What is your profession? Hooo - hooo - hooo". Just amazing.

We are 7-0 for the first time IN MY LIFETIME. BCS comes out at 8:15 pm tonight, and the ES predicts MSU at #8. Big Ten championship HERE WE COME!

Photos & Video: Michigan State 34, Notre Dame 31

Here is the ES' photo stream from the game, as well as video he shot from the stands of MSU's Chris Norman stopping Notre Dame on a 4th and 1 late in the fourth quarter. LISTEN TO THE SPARTAN CROWD ROAR!





And the ES is in roaring laughter at the comments posted on the South Bend Tribune:

"Notre Dame is obviously about to become the illustrative sentence in Webster's Dictionary under the definition of "loser" and what man or woman, with a degree here needs to live with that. This is a program in a death spiral..."

"This might be the most painful loss in years and there have been many. The team performance and intensity have greatly improved because of practice coaching but game coaching is a disaster." HAHAHAHAHA

MSU vs Florida Atlantic slideshow

Just added some photos from the MSU vs Florida Atlantic game in Detroit. It was a yawner, but at least we won. Maybe 25,000 there? But, they served beer.