Spartan Defense is vicious, ferocious, unrelenting; MSU moves to #13, TD underdog to Wisky

The ES keeps thinking about the ferocious Spartan defense on Saturday, which put to rest for good the argument any notion of scUM's Denard Robinson as Heisman-trophy caliber.  Indeed, he looked downright ordinary on Saturday, with a bludgeoning and bruising Spartan front line that completely dominated the "vaunted" Wolverine offense. When Michigan's 4th-and-1 effort was smashed with yet another Spartan sack of Robinson, the AArogant Nation has to wonder if Robinson's shoelaces aren't more effective tied to the bench, even if tied at all.  Sweet beauty, sweet beauty.  It was as vicious of an effort by the Spartan defense witnessed by the ES in his lifetime.

As loud as the cheers are roaring in Spartan Stadium is the whining out of Ann Arbor, which has never been louder: "the Spartans play dirty", etc etc.  Whatever, what the whining shows is several things:

1. inability for the Wolvies to use multiple gifts from MSU; the Spartans penalized 13 times for 124 yards, giving the Wolverines 6 of their 20 first downs by penalty... five personal fouls by MSU resulted in a FRESH SET OF DOWNS each time... and in EVERY CASE, Michigan punted.  Yes, Michigan got NOTHING from the 15 yards and first downs each of the five times through the entire game. 
2. difficulty for the AArrogant Nation to accept the fact it has taken a back-seat to Michigan State in football.  This is four years of pounding in a row.
3. unwillingness for the AArogant Nation to acknowledge the fact of being physically and mentally defeated.  They weren't as tough, and couldn't compete. They were pounded into submission, and the AArrogant Nation just can't accept that, either.
4. sore losers.

As my parents always said, stop yer bitchin' and keep your nose to the grindstone. Or, more bluntly: "Let me tell you a thing about stupidity: It is better to be quiet than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

At least the players weren't complaining, and recognize the game of football involves physical brutality.  Even Robinson told the New York Times: “They were playing football. It’s a dirty game.” “They were definitely more physical,” said Michigan redshirt junior safety Jordan Kovacs. “They pounded us. They beat us up.”

NY TIMES, MEDIA PRAISE SPARTANS FEROCITY
The praise for Michigan State's ferocity is wide across the nation (NY Times called the win over scUM a "beating"; USA Today acknowledges MSU defense; even the Michigan Daily acknowledged MSU's pummeling.). In back-to-back games, against Ohio State and Michigan, the Spartans looked, well... MEAN and unrelenting.  Jeez, it looked like an Alabama-defense.  Right now, the Spartans rank No. 1 nationally in pass defense (119.1 yards per game) and pass-efficiency defense (84.3 rating), along with a No. 2 ranking in total defense (186.1 yards), No. 3 in run defense (67 yards) and No. 4 in scoring defense (10.8 points).

ESPN GAME DAY COMING TO TOWN 
Now, the #13 Spartans get the supreme test:  hosting #4 Wisconsin.  The Badgers are a 7 1/2-pt favorite at Spartan Stadium.  Notably, it is not only MSU's Homecoming... but ESPN Game Day crew are coming to town, likely to set up shop at Munn Field - it is Corso and Herbstreit's fourth visit to Spartan Stadium, and first since 2005.  In other Big Ten tilts, Iowa favored by 23 over Indiana, Illinois favored by 6 at Purdue, Nebraska favored by 25 at Minnesota, and Joe Pa favored by 4 at Northwestern.

TIDBITS
ES predicted MSU 27-18 (final 28-14)... not bad, eh?  And, the ES poll relating to how many yards would MSU limit Denard Robinson?  The answer was 167 total yards -- more than 50% below his average of 342 entering the game. 39% of the 181 who responded to the ES poll said Robinson would be held under 150 yards; 9% said between 151-200; 7% said between 201-250, 4% said between 251-300; and, 38% said he would gain more than 300.  The ES grins, "Ha ha ha."

RANKINGS: MSU #13, #15, #16
For Michigan State, they've climbed to #13 in the USA Today, #15 in the AP Poll, and #16 in the first BCS rankings released today.

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (31)	6-0	1426
2	LSU (15)	7-0	1410
3	Alabama (12)	7-0	1403
4	Wisconsin (1)	6-0	1262
5	Stanford	6-0	1222
6	Oklahoma State	6-0	1173
7	Boise State	6-0	1172
8	Clemson	7-0	1028
8	Oregon	5-1	1028
10	Arkansas	5-1	931
11	Nebraska	5-1	775
12	South Carolina	6-1	765
13	Michigan State	5-1	690
14	West Virginia	5-1	688
14	Virginia Tech	6-1	688
16	Kansas State	6-0	678
17	Michigan	6-1	458
18	Texas A&M	4-2	415
19	Georgia Tech	6-1	396
20	Houston	6-0	359
21	Illinois	6-1	260
22	Penn State	6-1	253
23	Auburn	5-2	202
24	Washington	5-1	174
25	Arizona State	5-2	86

• Dropped from rankings: Texas 21, Baylor 24

• Others receiving votes: Georgia 60, Notre Dame 36, Rutgers 31, Southern Methodist 27, Texas 26, Southern Miss 14, Cincinnati 14, Baylor 9, North Carolina 9, Virginia 3, Temple 3, TCU 1

MSU 28, Michigan 14 (2011)

MSU 28, Michigan 14 (2011), a set on Flickr.

Photologue from Michigan State's 28-14 domination over Michigan. Spartan Stadium, East Lansing. October 15, 2011.

Spartans POUND Wolverines into submission

What a game!  Notch up another top-flight effort out of the Spartan defense in its 28-14 annihilation of the overrated Michigan Wolverines. That is four straight years the Spartans have dominated the roadkill on the gridiron: the first time that has happened in 50 years. Once again, MSU ended scUM illusions of grandeur as Michigan State opened up and exploited all of the Wolverine weaknesses:  a weak scUM interior on both offense and defense, and a brittle quarterback in #16 who is nothing more than average when competing against a real defense.  (Photo courtesy MSU Media Relations).

MSU held "the nation's most exciting performer," scUM's Denard Robinson,  to just 42 yards rushing and a miserable 9-of-24 passing for 123 yards... that is just 167 total yards of offense, folks. That was less than half of his total of 342 yards per contest prior to the MSU tilt.   The defense also battered Robinson all day long, with 7 sacks and countless hits.  The pick-six by Spartan DB Isaiah Lewis in the fourth quarter was a result of a brutal blitz package by MSU, with Spartan LB Max Bullough right in his face.  Indeed, after Michigan scored to close the Spartan lead to 21-14, the defense picked up the pressure, with blitz after blitz harassing the scUM QBs.  Indeed, if Robinson was such a great player, why not have him in at the end of the game?  In addition, the Wolverines were held to a miserable 20% third down conversions, just 3-of-15.  It was misery all day long for scUM, thanks to the Spartan vice-grip defense.

Asf  for the Spartan offense, Kirk Cousins was as sharp as he was all year -- actually the biggest issue on offense were the several dropped passes by both Cunningham and Martin (although Martin's sideline tiptoed efforts on the 2 TD catches were fantastic).  The OL started opening up gashing holes for Edwin Baker and LeVeon Bell.  Baker's 167 yards was his best of the year, and the 213 yards rushing dominated the measly 82 yards of Michigan.

As for the Nike combat uniforms,  they looked better in photos than in action -- it was real tough to see the numbers throughout the game, at least from the upper deck.

A dominating performance on all sides of the game from the opening kickoff to the final seconds.  Congrats to the 5-1 Spartans who have a chance to make the claim as the Big Ten's best this weekend's homecoming vs. Wisconsin.  Go GREEN!

 Team Statistics (Final)
                          2011 Michigan State Football
    #11 Michigan vs #23 Michigan State (Oct 15, 2011 at East Lansing, Mich.)

                                   MICH      MSU

FIRST DOWNS...................       20       16
  Rushing.....................        8        9
  Passing.....................        6        7
  Penalty.....................        6        0
NET YARDS RUSHING.............       82      213
  Rushing Attempts............       36       39
  Average Per Rush............      2.3      5.5
  Rushing Touchdowns..........        1        1
  Yards Gained Rushing........      151      224
  Yards Lost Rushing..........       69       11
NET YARDS PASSING.............      168      120
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  12-31-1  13-24-0
  Average Per Attempt.........      5.4      5.0
  Average Per Completion......     14.0      9.2
  Passing Touchdowns..........        1        2
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      250      333
  Total offense plays.........       67       63
  Average Gain Per Play.......      3.7      5.3
Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      2-0      2-2
Penalties: Number-Yards.......     5-40   13-124
PUNTS-YARDS...................    7-223    5-205
  Average Yards Per Punt......     31.9     41.0
  Net Yards Per Punt..........     27.1     36.6
  Inside 20...................        4        1
  50+ Yards...................        0        0
  Touchbacks..................        1        0
  Fair catch..................        1        0
KICKOFFS-YARDS................    3-158    5-333
  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     52.7     66.6
  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     37.0     48.2
  Touchbacks..................        0        3
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.   2-22-0   1-13-0
  Average Per Return..........     11.0     13.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD   2-32-0   3-47-0
  Average Per Return..........     16.0     15.7
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..    0-0-0   1-39-1
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0
Possession Time...............    29:27    30:33
  1st Quarter.................     8:23     6:37
  2nd Quarter.................     6:31     8:29
  3rd Quarter.................     6:50     8:10
  4th Quarter.................     7:43     7:17
Third-Down Conversions........  3 of 15  7 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 4   0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      1-2      3-3
  Touchdowns..................      1-2      3-3
  Field goals.................      0-2      0-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0     7-62
PAT Kicks.....................      2-2      4-4
Field Goals...................      0-0      0-0

Pound GREEN Pound!

Time to dominate scUM with our old Spartan ways of pounding the ball with the run, running rough-shod all over the Wolverines... and playing nasty, no-holds-barred defense.

SPARTANS WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?!!!  Beat Michigan!

Game Day: ES predicts MSU vs scUM

Michigan Wolverines (6-0) at MSU Spartans (4-1)

East Lansing, MI. 12:00 pm.

Rankings:  MSU #19 (USA Today), #23 (AP), #34 (Sagarin).  scUM #11 (USA Today), #10 (AP), #11 (Sagarin)

TV:  ESPN

Weather: 52 degrees, windy.

Line:  MSU favored by 2 1/2 

Picks: ESPN/Bennett: MSU 24-20, ESPN/Rittenberg: MSU 23-21, NBCSports.com: MSU 23-14, CBSSports.com/Expert Picks: MSU, Rivals/Yahoo: scUM, Scout/CFN: MSU 27-23, DetNews: MSU 24-21, MSU 31-14, MSU 27-20, MSU 34-28... will add more as time moves on.

ES pick:  MSU 27, scUM 18.
Stat of the week:  Defense wins championships. Spartans  top-ranked D will hold scUM's Robinson to under 100 rushing yards.

#19 Spartans favored by FG vs #10 Michigan

Sorry for the delay, Spartan fans... the ES is out and about on vacation on the other side of the country.  That said... IT IS ROADKILL WEEK.  Time to open up a can of whoop-arse on scUM and kick some Robinson butt.  How many total yards (rush, pass, receive) will the Spartans' top-ranked defense hold that little feller to this weekend? Make your guess is on the right. 

The Michigan State Spartans are favored by a FG for the home tilt against the overrated #10 Wolvies.  #15 Illinois is favored by 4 at home over the Buckeyes.  #25 JoePa is favored by 13 at home over Purdon't.  Iowa is favored by 6 at home over Northwestern. And.... poor ole Indiana, the Hoosiers are a 39-pt dog to #4 Wisconsin. 

Notably, while the ES was gone, Michigan State moved up to #19 in the coaches (USA Today) poll, and #23 in the media (AP) poll.  The USA Today poll is below.

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (32)	5-0	1434
2	LSU (15)	6-0	1409
3	Alabama (11)	6-0	1399
4	Wisconsin (1)	5-0	1244
5	Stanford	5-0	1232
6	Boise State	5-0	1170
7	Oklahoma State	5-0	1168
8	Clemson	6-0	1046
9	Oregon	4-1	995
10	Michigan	6-0	891
11	Arkansas	5-1	871
12	Georgia Tech	6-0	805
13	South Carolina	5-1	678
14	Nebraska	5-1	671
15	Illinois	6-0	634
16	West Virginia	5-1	528
17	Virginia Tech	5-1	523
18	Kansas State	5-0	462
19	Michigan State	4-1	431
20	Arizona State	5-1	343
21	Texas	4-1	243
22	Houston	6-0	200
23	Texas A&M	3-2	198
24	Baylor	4-1	185
25	Penn State	5-1	77

• Dropped from rankings: Florida 18, Florida State 22, Auburn 23

• Others receiving votes: Florida 72, Washington 52, North Carolina 43, Auburn 33, Notre Dame 31, South Florida 30, Wake Forest 22, Georgia 15, Southern Methodist 11, Texas Tech 9, Rutgers 8, Southern Miss 7, TCU 4, Hawaii 1,

Michigan State advances to #20 in coaches poll

Spartans move up to #20 in USA Today coaches poll...

Oct. 2, 2011
Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points	Last week's poll
1.	Oklahoma (27)	4-0	1,421	1
2.	Alabama (21)	5-0	1,410	2t
3.	LSU (10)	5-0	1,408	2t
4.	Stanford	4-0	1,237	4
5.	Wisconsin (1)	5-0	1,236	7
6.	Boise State	4-0	1,186	5
7.	Oklahoma State	4-0	1,162	6
8.	Clemson	5-0	1,028	15
9.	Oregon	3-1	1,017	11
10.	Texas	4-0	879	17
11.	Michigan	5-0	808	19
12.	Arkansas	4-1	788	18
13.	Georgia Tech	5-0	728	21
14.	South Carolina	4-1	559	9
15.	Nebraska	4-1	557	8
16.	Illinois	5-0	541	22
17.	Virginia Tech	4-1	470	10
18.	Florida	4-0	456	12
19.	West Virginia	4-1	436	23
20.	Michigan State	4-1	366	25
21.	Kansas State	4-0	264	NR
22.	Florida State	2-2	229	24
23.	Auburn	4-1	217	NR
24.	Arizona State	4-1	177	NR
25.	Texas A&M	2-2	160	13
Dropped out
No. 14 South Florida (4-1, lost to Pittsburgh 44-17), No. 16 Baylor (3-1, lost to then-unranked Kansas State 36-35), No. 20 TCU (3-2, lost to Southern Methodist 40-33 OT).
Others receiving votes
Houston (5-0) 97; Baylor (3-1) 90; Texas Tech (4-0) 68; South Florida (4-1) 49; Penn State (4-1) 37; Washington (4-1) 30; Notre Dame (3-2) 13; Pittsburgh (3-2) 11; North Carolina (4-1) 10; Southern Methodist (4-1) 10; Tennessee (3-1) 6; Iowa (3-1) 5; Air Force (3-1) 3; Southern Mississippi (4-1) 3; Cincinnati (4-1) 1; Duke (3-2) 1; Ohio State (3-2) 1.

Spartan defense CRUSHES Ohio State, 10-7, in Columbus

It was as big a win for Michigan State as any in recent years.  The monkey that is Ohio State is now finally off Mark Dantonio's back.  The Spartan defense had its most dominating game since the 1987 Rose Bowl years, with a smothering, continuous attack all game long, dominating a Buckeye offensive line. MSU lived up to its statistical billing as the nation's top-ranked defense, and its reputation as the best Spartan defense in the ES' lifetime.  (photo courtesy MSU Media Relations).

Let's talk first about this crushing Spartan defense.  William Gholston, Jerely Worthy, Max Bullough, and Marcus Rush (who?  Yeah, that #44 guy) were in the Ohio State backfield all game long -- making 9 sacks and holding the Buckeyes to just 35 rushing yards on 39 attempts (that is an 0.9 yard average).  But, what was really impressive was early in the third quarter, seeing OSU QB Braxton Miller, and his eyes looked SCARED, terrified of this never-ending Spartan blitzkrieg.   As the ES noted in his post on Buckeye Battle Cry going into the game: "So far, MSU’s 2011 defense is better than in any year since the ES has been alive the past 43 years.  Interestingly, it is also ranked #1 in the nation.  Why is it so good?  The defensive line (Worthy, Pickleman, White, Strayhorn, Drone, etc.) is the most ferocious and by far the deepest for the Spartans since before the ES was born – too much talent, too deep to keep at bay"
And, you know what, MSU more than lived up to it.  It was a crushing, physical ass-kicking of the Ohio State offensive line.

After giving up just 178 total yards to Ohio State, the Spartans are now allowing just 173.4 yards per game IN TOTAL DEFENSE.  That remains #1 in the land. It's rushing defense of 64 yards per game is #6 in the nation, and its passing defense of 109.4 yards per game is #2 in the nation. 

Look at this drive chart out of Ohio State... Read it and weep.  OSU had only one posession over 4 minutes long, and 9 of its 14 drives were 10 yards or less (four went backwards).  Amazing. Too bad about the TD at the end, but by then  the game was out of reach.

OSU      1st O23  15:00  Kickoff       O30  13:28  Punt           3-7    1:32
OSU      1st O21  12:26  Punt          O23  10:02  Punt           3-2    2:24
OSU      1st O28  07:36  Kickoff       O25  05:23  Punt           4--3   2:13
OSU      1st O13  02:17  Punt          O30  13:13  Punt           6-17   4:04
OSU      2nd O37  09:45  Downs         M34  07:39  Int   4-29   2:06
OSU      2nd O18  05:58  Punt          O22  02:33  Punt           6-4    3:25
OSU      2nd O37  00:50  Fumble        O47  00:00  Halftime    4-10   0:50
OSU      3rd O32  12:54  Punt          M47  09:41  Punt           5-21   3:13
OSU      3rd O34  05:46  Missed FG     O39  02:41  Punt           5-5    3:05
OSU      4th O20  14:09  Int            O03  11:50  Punt           3--17  2:19
OSU      4th O38  10:28  Kickoff       O26  08:52  Punt           3--12  1:36
OSU      4th O07  07:04  Punt          O04  05:31  Punt           3--3   1:33
OSU      4th O24  04:24  Int            M43  03:06  Downs          8-33   1:18
OSU      4th O38  01:51  Punt          M00  00:10 *TD      7-62   1:41

When have you Spartans ever cheered so loudly for a 50-yard field goal?  That long kick by Conroy -- the Peanut Barrel in EL exploded in cheers, knowing that would be the difference because our defensive line had just dominated all game long.

As for the Spartan offense -- again it squandered away so many opportunities.  MSU was by far more dominant moving the ball between the 20s, but a la the Notre Dame game, mistakes by Kirk Cousins at inopportune times led to empty possessions.  The ES felt bad for Cousins about the ball falling out of his hands -- it happens.  But the interception to the corner of the end zone at the end of the 3th quarter on third down deep in OSU territory -- that ball should have never been thrown; into double coverage, no less.  What a waste of a perfectly good drive.  Cousins' INT late in the fourth quarter also should have never been thrown, just a poor pass on a well covered out pattern.  Cousins also missed open receivers all game long, including a wide open Cunningham streaking down the sidelines, and a wide open Sims.  Those are TDs you need against good teams.  Cousins has to make those plays. Indeed, the ES figures you can put much of the blame on the Spartans' #103 ranking in Red Zone Offense on the shoulders of Captain Kirk.  (25 drives, 18 scores, 110 pts for a 0.72 scoring pct). Thank God for the nation's best defense.

The offensive line for MSU, actually was serviceable -- Bell and Baker combined for 86 yards on 26 carries, about a 3.3 average.... and Cousins had time to throw much of the day, he wasn't sacked though he was whacked a few times.  The biggest question mark from this point forward for MSU is one:  Kirk Cousins.  He is playing nowhere near the level of last year, and his accuracy is most telling again on third down - where MSU was just 3 of 14 (just 21%).  Cousins has to finish drives; he just has to get better in his decision-making on third downs.

A well coached game by Dantonio for the most part -- the ES doesn't question going for it on 4th down, nor the missed 51 FG attempt by Conroy... MSU needed points, and was having difficulty getting the ball deeper into OSU territory, and its defense was ferocious.  So, why not take those gambles?

Bottom line, this was a game MSU HAD to win to be considered the real deal, and to make a run for the B1G Ten title game.  The Spartans have work to do, but we have an extra week to prepare and kick Denard Robinson's tail all over the field - wait till scUM gets a load of the Spartan defense instead of the pansies they've been playing all year.  The ES is licking his chops.

But, congrats to MSU for an amazing defensive domination!  We did what is among the most difficult things to do in major college football: win in Columbus (and a near shut out at that). Congrats to the Big Green Machine!

     Team Statistics (Final)
                          2011 Michigan State Football
         Michigan State vs Ohio State (Oct  1, 2011 at Columbus, Ohio)

                                    MSU      OSU

FIRST DOWNS...................       15       12
  Rushing.....................        2        4
  Passing.....................       12        6
  Penalty.....................        1        2
NET YARDS RUSHING.............       71       35
  Rushing Attempts............       31       39
  Average Per Rush............      2.3      0.9
  Rushing Touchdowns..........        0        0
  Yards Gained Rushing........      104      110
  Yards Lost Rushing..........       33       75
NET YARDS PASSING.............      250      143
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  20-32-2  12-25-1
  Average Per Attempt.........      7.8      5.7
  Average Per Completion......     12.5     11.9
  Passing Touchdowns..........        1        1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      321      178
  Total offense plays.........       63       64
  Average Gain Per Play.......      5.1      2.8
Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      2-1      1-0
Penalties: Number-Yards.......     6-54     9-82
PUNTS-YARDS...................    6-245   10-406
  Average Yards Per Punt......     40.8     40.6
  Net Yards Per Punt..........     38.3     38.8
  Inside 20...................        3        2
  50+ Yards...................        1        0
  Touchbacks..................        0        0
  Fair catch..................        1        2
KICKOFFS-YARDS................    3-188     1-70
  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     62.7     70.0
  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     40.3     50.0
  Touchbacks..................        0        1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.   5-18-0   1-15-0
  Average Per Return..........      3.6     15.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD    0-0-0   3-67-0
  Average Per Return..........      0.0     22.3
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..    1-0-0    2-4-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0
Possession Time...............    28:26    31:34
  1st Quarter.................     6:26     8:34
  2nd Quarter.................     6:52     8:08
  3rd Quarter.................     8:42     6:18
  4th Quarter.................     6:26     8:34
Third-Down Conversions........  3 of 14  4 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 1   1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      0-1      0-0
  Touchdowns..................      0-1      0-0
  Field goals.................      0-1      0-0
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     9-64      0-0
PAT Kicks.....................      1-1      1-1
Field Goals...................      1-2      0-0

Game Day: ES predicts MSU at Ohio State

Doctor: Hey, you wanna chance for a "program win?"  You wanna turn back the demons and make a statement, defining Spartan new defensive dominance?  Well, the time is nigh, time for MD and the Spartans to prove they belong in the upper tier... bring on da Buckeyes!!! 

#25 Michigan State (3-1) at Ohio State (3-1)

Columbus, Ohio.  3:30 pm ET.
Rankings:  MSU #25 (USA Today), #26 (AP), #41 (Sagarin).  Ohio State #27 (USAT), #30 (AP), #34 (Sagarin)

TV:  ABC

Weather: 50 degrees,partly cloudy.

Line:  Ohio State favored by 3

Picks:  ESPN/Rittenberg: MSU 23-21, ESPN/Bennett: MSU 16-14, Freep: MSU 27-24, Scout/CFN: MSU 23-16, Rivals/Noon: OSU 24-21, Rivals/Rowland, MSU 24-23, Rivals/Givler, OSU 24-21, Rivals/McLachlan, OSU 20-17, NBCSports: MSU 24-23, CBSSports.com/Tillman, OSU, GR Press: MSU 24-23, Cleveland Plain Dealer: OSU 24-21, MSU 21-13, MSU 30-17.

ES pick:  OSU 23, MSU 21. Pray I'm wrong! 
Predicted stats of the week:  Spartans hold Buckeyes to under 300 yards total offense; but, Cousins suffers 4 sacks and MSU held to under 100 yards rushing.

Buckeye Battle Cry on Michigan State-Ohio State

In advance of the gridiron battle between the #25 Spartans at the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes, the ES is providing the OSU side of a reciprocal blogchat with Buckeye Battle Cry - the ES response to MSU-OSU is up on BBC - link here.

Here are the responses from BBC to the interrogation by the ES.  Enjoy, and, thanks BBC!

Braxton Miller seems to at least temporarily be the answer for the Buckeyes at QB, after the rough game by Joe Bauserman at Miami.  But why swap QBs so soon in the season, particularly after Bauserman’s serviceable performance in the tight win vs. Toledo (ahem)?  Is Bauserman the fall guy here? Is this an itchy trigger finger by Luke Fickell?

This is certainly anything but an itchy trigger finger from Luke Fickell.  During the Toledo game, the Buckeyes had intended to bring Braxton Miller into the game, only to find themselves down 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.  That situation, and the fact that the Bucks were never able to gain a solid lead led to Fickell and company sticking with Bauserman the entire game.

Now, many fans viewed Bauserman's performance against Toledo to be far less than serviceable, despite the fact that he committed no turnovers and ultimately won us the game.  Bauserman missed plenty of open targets, always overthrowing his receivers, and often throwing the ball away with an open receiver somewhere else on the field.  While the outcry about Braxton not getting to play wasn't deafening, it was pretty loud.

Then came the Miami game, and down crashed any illusion of the OSU passing game surviving the loss of Terrelle Pryor.  Joe Bauserman completed 2 of 14 passes for the entire game, often throwing the ball away rather than risking a pass to a perfectly open receiver.  While Braxton Miller did not do much better in crunch time (0-2 with 1 INT) he wasn't given a lot of opportunities, constantly being pulled from the game after the slightest mistake.  If anything, Luke's itchy trigger finger was keeping him from giving the young gun a shot.

The Colorado game demonstrated to us that Braxton Miller is absolutely the future of the program.  Coming in, it was a certainty that Miller would get the start, particularly considering that "playing it safe" was not going to gain us as much as giving the future of the program a shot.  While that decision led to only 5-13 passing for 2 touchdowns, many of those misses were due to drops from the receivers rather than a poor pass from Miller.  In fact, Miller's play during the Colorado game was particularly impressive overall, and hopefully he can continue to progress from there.

How instrumental is the passing game for OSU, or is all that matters is a little bit of running here and a lot of defense there?

It's just as instrumental to the OSU offense as the running game is.  Luke Fickell had a fantastic quote in the Colorado postgame,

COACH FICKELL: Obviously the whole goal of an offense is to be balanced. I think that’s the number one most important thing. To me you don’t want to lead the nation in rushing, because if you lead the nation in rushing you probably can’t throw the football. If you lead the nation in passing, you probably don’t run the football too well. So we’ve got to continue to figure out how we can be a little bit more balanced in everything we do.

Obviously, the OSU strategy strongly depends on excellent defense. In the last decade or so, the Buckeyes have rested their hopes on the defense keeping the other team from succeeding at their game-plan, and allowing their offense to do whatever it can.  Sometimes the offense goes crazy, and sometimes it struggles - but OSU's long list of 10 and 11 win seasons has happened because the defense has kept opponents from scoring particularly often.  This has not changed at all with the changing of the coaching guard.

Give a little insight into the OSU backs, Carlos Hyde or Jordan Hall: who is the better running back or receiver… and why are these Buckeyes so damn effective when they get their hands on the ball?

Carlos Hyde has started to come into his own the last couple of games, but Jordan Hall is absolutely the better back of the two.  Jordan Hall has an incredible field vision that few players manage to develop.  He hits the gaps in the defense better than many, in both the running game and in the return game, and has a swiftness that belies his lack of breakaway speed.  Carlos Hyde is probably not going to be the next amazing OSU back, but he's certainly improved his vision the last couple of games.

Ultimately, it's the offensive line that makes these backs so successful.  The Buckeyes have a veteran line led by senior Center Mike Brewster.  This line is absolutely one of the best that has played at OSU during the last decade.  They get a fantastic push in run blocking, and often single-handedly break the running back into the secondary without a single defender getting a whiff at him.

Who has stepped up their game to make the Buckeyes once again so tough this year on defense?  If the Spartans are to be effective at all on Saturday with their offense, how can they take advantage of the Buckeyes? 

Several names come to mind on the defensive side of the ball.  For the most part, the entire OSU Secondary is new, and they are doing a fantastic job.  Most notably are Travis Howard and Bradley Roby, OSU's corners.  Joining them are CJ Barnett and Christian Bryant in the safety positions.  All four have combined to be a very effective coverage unit.

Not surprisingly given their youth, they do still give up a big play here or there, particularly in their zone coverage.  The Buckeyes tend to run a hybrid zone/man defense, rarely depending on a full zone.  However, when they do run a zone, the defense seems to struggle in the coverage, giving up soft targets over the middle (primarily due to the linebackers).  The other method of attack is to use the screen, which OSU struggled to defend against when playing Toledo.  The Rockets repeatedly went back to the screen and gashed big gains against the Buckeyes.  Colorado had less success, but that could have more to do with their quality as a football team than anything to do with the Buckeyes improving their defense.

The best player on the Buckeye defense who the Spartans need to have etched into their foreheads is ___________  (name one).

John Simon, #54.  Know the number, because he will hit Kirk Cousins, even if he doesn't quite get there in time for the sack.  Blocking him coming off the edge is very nearly impossible, and he likes to make quarterback's pay for their tackle's mistakes.

If this game came down to a kick by Drew Basil or Dan Conroy from 45 yards… who do you choose?  From what maximum distance do you have faith in Basil when the game is on the line?

If this game comes down to a kick by anybody, I'm not gonna be a happy camper.  At this point, I'd take Dan Conroy, but only because Drew Basil has yet to demonstrate that he is anything more than an acceptable place kicker.  Early in the season he missed several chip-shot field goals, shanking the kicks in entirely the wrong direction.  Now he's on a streak, hitting 5 straight including a 47 yarder.  How he plays in this one will go a long way towards improving our confidence in his abilities as a kicking threat.

What will be the play of the game that the Spartans can try to avoid?

The Buckeyes don't usually depend on a single play that opposing teams can avoid.  Often, OSU will simply use a never-ending stream of less significant plays that slowly drive you absolutely insane.

Or was that drive us insane?  I can't ever keep that straight.

If we learned anything from the Colorado game, the OSU Special Teams completely crushed the Buffaloes.
The best thing MSU could try to avoid is a big return from Jordan Hall.  He's bound to break one for a score one of these days, and has very nearly done it already, so it would behoove the Spartans to practice sealing the gaps before this one.

Hayes (205 wins, 76%) – Bruce (81 wins, 76%) – Cooper (111 wins, 70%) – Tressel (94 wins, 81%) – Fickell?  Fickell… really? This guy can top 70% wins over a 10+ year career? 

And how did you guys feel about Dantonio following in Saban's footsteps?  Exactly.

To be honest, we don't know yet how Fickell will do in the head spot.  We've seen 4 games to date, and he's done a reasonably solid job of taking care of business.  It's hard to say yet if he's the right choice for the job. in fact we didn't know that Tressel was "right" for the job until he beat Michigan in his first season.
Though, you could also argue that it required the majority of the 2002 season for us to really feel like he was the right guy.

As for Fickell, he's got the right personality and mentality to be able to do a good job, he just needs to get some experience under his belt.  I think he'll do fine eventually, he's just got to be given a little time.

So, how does Gordon Gee feel about handling orders from his new boss?

Just fine, thanks.  Everything is peachy-keen down here.

I’ll bet you the state of Ohio that the ES hates scUM more than you, more than Mr. Bucknut, and more than the entire Buckeye nation.  I bet you. 

Well, considering you don't own the state of Ohio I'm gonna need a wager on your end before I defeat you mercilessly.

As a graduate of Ohio State University, and a current graduate student at Michigan State University, I can honestly say with 100% certainty that Michigan State fans do not hate Michigan more than Ohio State fans. But even given that, considering I enjoy the non-Michigan side of both of these charming rivalries, I absolutely hate Michigan more than you.  Hands down.

Patience young grasshopper, someday you will find true zen Michigan hating.

You can go ahead and keep the UP, we don't need it.

(ES REBUTTAL:  The ES likely ain't as young as BBC thinks, the ES dislikes the UP after working as an SID and living up dere for a year, and the ES just earned his PhD from MSU last week...  That said, at least we have a common hatred.)   

Spartans drop to #25, a FG underdog to Ohio State

After the Big Green's 45-7 thumping of CMU, the Spartans find themselves as 3-point underdogs at Ohio State, according to VegasInsider.com.   In other Big Ten matchups, JoePa is favored by 17 at Indiana; Illinois is favored by 7 over Northwestern; Michigan by 21 over Minnesota; Wisconsin by 10 over Nebraska; Notre Dame by 13 at Purdue; Iowa has a bye this week.

The coaches must've seen through the Spartans' lackluster offense.  They dropped from #23 to #25 in the USA Today poll - despite winning by 38 pts.  Here is the weekly poll;

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (32)	3-0	1434
2	Alabama (7)	4-0	1404
2	LSU (20)	4-0	1404
4	Stanford	3-0	1225
5	Boise State	3-0	1223
6	Oklahoma State	4-0	1172
7	Wisconsin	4-0	1156
8	Nebraska	4-0	1040
9	South Carolina	4-0	976
10	Virginia Tech	4-0	935
11	Oregon	3-1	914
12	Florida	4-0	817
13	Texas A&M	2-1	681
14	South Florida	4-0	631
15	Clemson	4-0	598
16	Baylor	3-0	528
17	Texas	3-0	525
18	Arkansas	3-1	432
19	Michigan	4-0	414
20	TCU	3-1	364
21	Georgia Tech	4-0	333
22	Illinois	4-0	181
23	West Virginia	3-1	158
24	Florida State	2-2	157
25	Michigan State	3-1	153

• Dropped from rankings: North Carolina 25

• Others receiving votes: Houston 70, Ohio State 61, Arizona State 57, Penn State 34, Iowa State 33, Kansas State 13, North Carolina 13, Texas Tech 13, Utah 11, Northwestern 5, Washington 3, Tennessee 3, Auburn 2, Temple 1, Air Force 1

MSU crushes CMU, needs help on interior O-line

OK - reality is that MSU won 45-7, should have won 100-0, and the Spartans were not that impressive... which means this was the worst CMU team I have ever seen. Chips were dreadful. As for MSU, yes, Cousins looked... bad. He missed 3-4 wide open recs, including Sims and Cunningham each without any Chip within 15 yards. But he DID hit Caper on a beautiful wheel route in the 3^rd for a TD. As for the O-Line. They stink. The interior of the off line is the biggest, major concern for this team to have any chance; injuries are affecting the play, and it shows. Without a decent O-Line we are a 7-5 team. It showed today, 100-0, 45-7, or whatever, we are in a bind along the front. As for the DEFENSE, well defense wins championships, and from front to back left to right, this is the best Spartan defense since 1988. Mark my word, best defensive UNIT in years.

Actually, the MSU defense was in CMU QBs face all game long.  Radcliff could have taken a sack, but instead stupidly threw the ball and it was returned for a pick-6; CMU was 2-12 on third downs, and hit only around 1/3 of their passes -- because of lots of pressure from Gholston, Pickelman, and Worthy.  How many, 4, 5, 6 passes were broken up at the line of scrimmage? The ES argues that sacks (or lack thereof) don't equal quality of D-line.  MSU was all over CMU.  4 INTs, all thrown off the back foot by both CMU QBs because MSU d-line was in their face. The Spartan d-line was strong in this game.  Lack of sacks may not show it, but the Green was dominant up front on defense, totally. Very impressive. MSU gave up just 21 yards rushing and only 91 yards passing demonstrate the major impact of the d-line.

Now, the Spartan Offense has some explaining to do, as far as all the missed open passes by Cousins, and only one run longer than 16 yards - against a bad team. But, we did win big time...

                   CMU      MSU

FIRST DOWNS...................        8       23
  Rushing.....................        3        9
  Passing.....................        5       12
  Penalty.....................        0        2
NET YARDS RUSHING.............       21      197
  Rushing Attempts............       18       47
  Average Per Rush............      1.2      4.2
  Rushing Touchdowns..........        0        3
  Yards Gained Rushing........       42      208
  Yards Lost Rushing..........       21       11
NET YARDS PASSING.............       91      284
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  12-33-4  20-30-1
  Average Per Attempt.........      2.8      9.5
  Average Per Completion......      7.6     14.2
  Passing Touchdowns..........        1        2
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      112      481
  Total offense plays.........       51       77
  Average Gain Per Play.......      2.2      6.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      3-0      2-0
Penalties: Number-Yards.......     3-26     4-20
PUNTS-YARDS...................    7-266     3-87
  Average Yards Per Punt......     38.0     29.0
  Net Yards Per Punt..........     35.3     12.3
  Inside 20...................        1        0
  50+ Yards...................        0        0
  Touchbacks..................        0        1
  Fair catch..................        1        1
KICKOFFS-YARDS................    2-132    8-535
  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     66.0     66.9
  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     45.5     45.2
  Touchbacks..................        0        0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.   1-30-0   4-19-0
  Average Per Return..........     30.0      4.8
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD  8-173-0   2-41-0
  Average Per Return..........     21.6     20.5
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..   1-28-0   4-75-1
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0
Possession Time...............    21:55    38:05
  1st Quarter.................     7:06     7:54
  2nd Quarter.................     6:38     8:22
  3rd Quarter.................     4:04    10:56
  4th Quarter.................     4:07    10:53
Third-Down Conversions........  2 of 12  6 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 1   1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      1-1      6-7
  Touchdowns..................      1-1      5-7
  Field goals.................      0-1      1-7
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0      1-4
PAT Kicks.....................      1-1      6-6
Field Goals...................      0-0      1-1

Football notes:  

1) Alabama is the #1 team in the nation by a mile, Oklahoma friends and family are high on glue if they think they are in the same league as the Tide.  After watching the 38-17 crushing of AR-Kansas, methinks noone is near the southern elephant.   

2) Minny losing to N Dakota State.   Wow.  Ain’t it great the Gophers have a brand new stadium to stink up?

  

Hoops on the Carrier 11-11-11?   

Nice update by Katz/ESPN on the details for hoops on the USS Vincent, though the ES notes the idea first appeared publicly from the ES, when he tossed out a lie in March 2003 about a potential FOOTBALL GAME on an aircraft carrier a full year before any conception of a hoops game on a carrier..

Game Day: ES predicts MSU vs CMU

Central Michigan Chippewas (1-2) at MSU Spartans (2-1)

East Lansing, MI. 12:00 pm.

Rankings:  MSU #23 (USA Today), #26 (AP), #49 (Sagarin).  CMU #114 (Sagarin).

TV:  ESPNU

Weather: 65 degrees, sunny.

Line:  MSU favored by 23

ES pick:  MSU 45, CMU 14.
Stats of the week:  A vicious MSU pass rush collects 5 sacks and 4 turnovers.

Spartans drop to #23, favored by 23 over CMU

So, the Spartans drop to #23 in the USA Today coaches poll, and fall to #26 in the AP media poll. A well earned snubbing by the pundits.   Interestingly enough, the Spartans are also a 23-pt favorite over CMU this upcoming Saturday, as noted by VegasInsider.com.  Ohio State is favored by 16 over Colorado, Illinois by 13 over WMU, JoePa by 29 over EMU, Michigan by 9 over SDSU, Nebraska by 23 1/2 at Wyoming, Indiana  by 7 1/2 at North Texas, and Iowa by 18 over La-Monroe.  Here is the latest USA Today poll :

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Oklahoma (50)	2-0	1463
2	Alabama (4)	3-0	1402
3	LSU (5)	3-0	1373
4	Boise State	2-0	1212
5	Stanford	3-0	1208
6	Oklahoma State	3-0	1126
7	Wisconsin	3-0	1121
8	Texas A&M	2-0	1033
9	Nebraska	3-0	966
10	South Carolina	3-0	876
11	Virginia Tech	3-0	852
12	Arkansas	3-0	851
13	Oregon	2-1	804
14	Florida State	2-1	801
15	Florida	3-0	670
16	West Virginia	3-0	529
17	South Florida	3-0	485
18	Texas	3-0	464
19	Baylor	2-0	391
20	TCU	2-1	310
21	Michigan	3-0	243
22	Clemson	3-0	181
23	Michigan State	2-1	119
24	Georgia Tech	3-0	118
25	North Carolina	3-0	99

• Dropped from rankings: Ohio State 16, Arizona State 18, Auburn 19, Mississippi State 25

• Others receiving votes: Ohio State 92, Illinois 90, Houston 60, Miami (FL) 39, Iowa State 27, Missouri 22, California 21, Penn State 19, Utah 17, Arizona State 16, Auburn 14, San Diego State 14, Florida International 11, Vanderbilt 11, Mississippi State 8, Tennessee 5, Texas Tech 3, Notre Dame 3, Washington 3, Ohio 2, Northwestern 1

What does MSU's 31-13 loss to ND mean?

Michigan State was outcoached and made far too many mistakes to defeat Notre Dame yesterday.  Their 31-13 loss included just three points made off of 3 Irish turnovers, with the Spartans coming up empty after two drives within the ND 10-yard line.  That was truly unfortunate.  One of those, a pick of Cousins at the end of the game at the ND 3 was brutal, just a bad throw and poor decision by Cousins.  I didn't understand Dantonio's decision to punt late in the game, but he must have known the Irish were going to fumble, and they promptly coughed it up.  Unfortunately, Cousins threw that INT three plays later, and the game was over.

The OL gave Cousins time to throw, but could open no holes for the MSU rushing game... this looks like one of those years of an "average" O-Line at best. With only 25 yards rushing and 53 pass attempts -- that is a recipe for a loss every time, particularly for the Spartans.   The offense struggled all day to get into some kind of rhythm, but just could not have any sustained drives into the end zone, other than the 11-play, 80 yard drive that ended with the TD pass from Cousins to Sims.  Some of the trickery (failed reverse to Cunningham; failed direct snap to Martin) was as if the Spartans were trying too hard, being cute a la Treadwell instead of getting to basics to be successful.  And, the timing of these plays was most unfortunate; on third downs don't get so tricky, particularly with an Irish D-line that is stuffing the run all day.

The fake-FG at the end of the first half was poor decision-making by Dantonio.  Everyone new the fake was on, and... with the Irish stuffing the interior all day, why bother with an inside shovel pass?   MSU should have put its offense on the field to go for it, instead of coming up with an unconvincing fake FG try.

In the second quarter, the pass interference penalty on Gardiner after stopping ND deep in its own territory was brutal - it led to a 92-yard scoring drive by ND.  And, the ND score off a kick return didn't help. 


Still, MSU had plenty of opportunities to win throughout the second half... but had too few points off the opportunities and ND turnovers.  Give ND credit, they made the plays when they needed to, and the Spartans didn't make the plays at critical times.

The key stats?  #1: ND outgaining MSU 114 to 29 on the ground; and, #2: MSU just 5 of 17 (29%) on third downs.  That means lots of stalled drives for MSU and a one-dimensional offense.

So, what does this loss mean?  This doesn't look like an 11-1 Spartan team... at this point it looks more like an 8-4 team.  Unless the running game gets going, it will be tough for this team to win the line of scrimmage against Wisconsin and at Nebraska. It also puts into further question the Spartans chances against Michigan, at Iowa, and at Northwestern.  I figure of those five games, there may by three losses: that equals an 8-4 mark.  Coach Dantonio can turn this ship around, but the Spartans need to be more advantageous of their turnovers, and need to do a better job converting third downs.   MSU should bounce back just fine vs the Chippewas next week, considering the CMU team was crushed by WMU, 44-14 yesterday.  But the long term prognosis is questionable without some remedy along the front line, and better decision making in critical junctures of the game.

              Team Statistics (Final)
                          2011 Michigan State Football
      #15 Michigan State vs Notre Dame (Sep 17, 2011 at Notre Dame, Ind.)

                                    MSU       ND

FIRST DOWNS...................       21       18
  Rushing.....................        1        6
  Passing.....................       18        8
  Penalty.....................        2        4
NET YARDS RUSHING.............       29      114
  Rushing Attempts............       23       32
  Average Per Rush............      1.3      3.6
  Rushing Touchdowns..........        0        2
  Yards Gained Rushing........       54      141
  Yards Lost Rushing..........       25       27
NET YARDS PASSING.............      329      161
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  34-54-1  18-26-1
  Average Per Attempt.........      6.1      6.2
  Average Per Completion......      9.7      8.9
  Passing Touchdowns..........        1        1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      358      275
  Total offense plays.........       77       58
  Average Gain Per Play.......      4.6      4.7
Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      1-1      3-2
Penalties: Number-Yards.......    12-86     6-53
PUNTS-YARDS...................    6-238    4-166
  Average Yards Per Punt......     39.7     41.5
  Net Yards Per Punt..........     36.8     41.5
  Inside 20...................        1        2
  50+ Yards...................        1        1
  Touchbacks..................        1        0
  Fair catch..................        3        0
KICKOFFS-YARDS................    4-257    6-407
  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     64.2     67.8
  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     28.8     39.7
  Touchbacks..................        0        2
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.    0-0-0   2--3-0
  Average Per Return..........      0.0     -1.5
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD  4-129-0  4-142-1
  Average Per Return..........     32.2     35.5
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..   1-34-0   1-82-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0
Possession Time...............    32:28    27:32
  1st Quarter.................     6:32     8:28
  2nd Quarter.................     7:52     7:08
  3rd Quarter.................     7:16     7:44
  4th Quarter.................    10:48     4:12
Third-Down Conversions........  5 of 17  5 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 3   0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      2-5      2-2
  Touchdowns..................      1-5      1-2
  Field goals.................      1-5      1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      1-7     2-18
PAT Kicks.....................      1-1      4-4
Field Goals...................      2-2      1-1