MSU nabs #1 seed in latest Bracketology

After the recent impressive performances by Michigan State, the Big Green move up to #6 in the coaches poll... and are awarded with a #1 seed in the West, as projected in ESPN's Bracketology by Joe Lunardi.

Loving the Big GREEN Machine as it heads to the Final Four!  GO SPARTANS!

Three in a row: Spartans destroy Boilers

Did you watch the nationally televised game today, Michigan State AT (may I repeat, AT) Purdue?  The Spartans completely destroyed the Boilermakers in a 76-62 victory. MSU's solid defensive intensity in the second half, particularly the inside play by Green, Nix, and Payne, literally ripped apart the Boilermakers.  At one stretch, Purdue went 1-21 shooting -- part just cold shooting, but mostly GREAT Spartan defense -- that helped to eliminate the team from West Lafayette, Indiana.  By the time Branden Dawson pulled off a windmill (or wheelhouse) slam-dunk (photo courtesy MSU Media Relations) off a clean break away, the Spartans were leaving the Boilers in the dust.

This is the third of consecutive, THREE DOMINATING PERFORMANCES against the three toughest teams in the Izzo era: double-digit waxing at Ohio State, at Purdue, and against Wisconsin.  Wow.

If you read Hammer and Rails, they need to wake up and smell the coffee - they could play us 10 times with all their players, and we'd win 10 times.... OK, there was some of Purdue's poor performance, but far far more, it was more that PURDUE WAS OUTCLASSED... it was Michigan State is GREAT.  Purdue ain't.

It was an embarrassing second stanza for Purdue, which had no answer for MSU.  MSU shot 51% and held Purdon't to 34% for the game.

Yes, Spartan fans, it is easy to say right now Michigan State is playing as well as any team in the nation.  Depth, bigs, good stewardship from guards, diversity in shooting... rebounding domination (38-27 edge by MSU today; ranked #3 in the country in rebounding margin)... and an improving Assist-to-TO margin (16 assists vs. just 8 TOs today).... just unreal efficiency by MSU so far.

Draymond Green had another yawner, just 20 pts, 10 rebs and 7 assists -- adding yet another tally to his B1G Ten Player of the Year trophy-in-waiting.  MSU's Freshmen of the Year, Dawson (the next Jason Richardson), was spectacular with the multiple hamstrings-like-rubber-bands in each leg, jumping through the roof on the way to add another double-double to Green's, with 15 pts and 11 rebs.

Check out how impressive MSU's last five games:

Opponent	Pts	Opp Pts	Diff	FG%	Opp FG%	Diff%	Reb	Opp Reb	Reb Diff	Green         P-R-A
vs 22 Mich	64	54	10	52.2	39.6	12.6	39	15	24	14-16-4
vs Penn St	77	57	20	43.4	38.5	4.9	41	22	19	23-12-5
@ 3 Ohio St	58	48	10	40.4	26.4	14.0	35	32	3	12-9-2
vs 17 Wisc	69	55	14	52.2	34.0	18.2	27	33	-6	20-10-5
@ Purdue	76	62	14	50.8	33.8	17.0	38	27	11	20-10-7
AVERAGES	69	55	14	47.8%	34.5%	13.3	36	26	10

What really stands out is: 1) only allowing 55.2 ppg; 2) holding opponents to just 35% shooting on average; 3) shooting by 13% better per game than opponents on average; 4) outrebounding by an average of 10+ per game; and Draymond's three double-doubles with 20+pts AND 5+ assists.  THIS SPELLS VICTORY and, look at the consistency...

Is MSU a great team now?  YES.  And, it is Izzo-time... Time to cruise to another Final Four and hopeful National Title.  This team is the BEST Spartan hoops team since our 2000 team with Mateen Cleaves.  The similarity?  Leadership (Green=Cleaves) and team chemistry.

If you aren't watching the Spartan hoops, you should be.  It's been broken down from last year, and this year rebuilt from the inside out, with defense FIRST.  This team is on ABSOLUTE FIRE and is amazing to watch.  GO GREEN.

Hate da Badgers

Feel free to Hate Wisky... the ES is on board!

Breaking down Michigan State bigs dominating Ohio State bigs

The ES is gushing pride and joy after the Spartans' complete, defensive-minded domination of the Ohio State Buckeyes last night.  The 10-point win in Columbus, ending the OSU 39-game home winning streak, was as convincing as it was dominating.  The ES' favorite stat?  Lookit ESPN's game flow:  MSU took an 11-10 lead with 12:13 left in the first half, and never looked back, leading by as much as double-digits for most of the rest of the way...

Let's see the stats of the two PTPers coming into the game:  Green (MSU) vs Sullinger (OSU):

## Player Name            FG-FGA 3FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 Sullinger,Jared..... f  5-15   1-2    6-8    8  8 16   4  17  0 10  1  2  40- 

23 Green, Draymond..... f  5-16   1-4    1-2    1  8  9   3  12  2  3  0  1  34 

The biggest difference?  Sullinger with 5 more FT, 7 more OREBs, and 7 more TOs.  Actually, Sullinger had a 0-10 Assist-to-TO ratio; Green's was 2-to-3.  The ES say maybe an even performance, if not give it to Draymond Green because of his ability to run the team and not make mistakes.   More impressively was the Spartan bigs:

## Player Name            FG-FGA 3FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 Green, Draymond..... f  5-16   1-4    1-2    1  8  9   3  12  2  3  0  1  34
05 Payne, Adreian...... c  6-6    0-0    3-4    3  1  4   4  15  0  1  2  2  20
25 Nix, Derrick........    3-8    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   6  2  2  0  0  19

02 Gauna, Alex.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   2

Add it up for MSU, that's 14-30 shooting (47%) from the floor, 14 rebounds, 33 pts (or 57% of the team's 58), and a 4-to-6 assist to turnover ratio (0.67).  OMG, the ES has a wide smile looking at Payne's coming out party, hitting on 6-of-6 (15 pts), 4 boards, 2 blocks, and pulling down 4 boards in just 20 minutes...  NICE.

## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 Sullinger,Jared..... f  5-15   1-2    6-8    8  8 16   4  17  0 10  1  2  40-
01 Thomas,Deshaun...... f  2-12   0-5    4-6    2  0  2   1   8  0  0  0  1  32
30 Ravenel,Evan........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   2   0  0  1  1  0   8

Add it up for OSU, that's 7-28 shooting (25%) from the floor, 20 rebounds, 25 pts (or 52% of the team's 48), and a 0-11 assist to turnover ratio (0.00).

This points to Spartan offensive efficiency dominance in the paint, and superior defense causing 11 Buckey turnovers.  Take THAT Sullinger and Buckeye nation.

Look at these TEAM stats, which defines the Spartans' victory:

Points in the paint-MSU 30,OSU 12. Points off turnovers-MSU 16,OSU 12.
2nd chance points-MSU 11,OSU 8. Fast break points-MSU 4,OSU 4.
Bench points-MSU 9,OSU 2. 

Ummm.... wow, Spartans dominating in the paint (read that, Sullinger?), off TOs, and off the bench. Interestingly, Michigan State played 8 players with 10 or more minutes, Ohio State with just 6.

Brennan from ESPN hit the nail on the head with his notes on the Spartan domination: "Michigan State didn't have to light it up to get this victory. When you defend this well, when you execute your defensive game plan this perfectly, when you thoroughly dominate one of the nation's elite teams in its own building, you don't have to put up points in bunches to get the job done. No team in the country this season has posted 40 minutes of defense this strong against a team this good.  So, yeah, Tom Izzo loves this team. Can you blame him?"

Aahhhh, the satisfaction of a big victory on the road.  Check out the Big Green, once again on top of the conference race.... 

Michigan State	9-3	20-5
Ohio State	9-3	21-4
Wisconsin	8-4	19-6
Michigan	8-4	18-7
Indiana	7-6	19-6
Illinois	5-6	16-8
Northwestern	5-6	15-8
Purdue	5-6	15-9
Minnesota	5-7	17-8
Iowa	5-7	13-12
Nebraska	3-10	11-13
Penn State	3-10	11-15

Welcome to the top, Sparty.  Time to buckle down hand hold serve. We got the hated Bucky Badger coming to town in five days, and we need to FOCUS AND CRUSH.  Proud, PROUD day to be a Spartan.

Spartan hockey - still fun after all these years

Went to the MSU Spartan hockey game last night.  Unfortunately, the #15 Spartans lost to Miami-Ohio, 2-1, in overtime.  Fun game, over 6,400 in attendance.  MSU could have played better on the offensive ends - hell Miami was seemingly in a perpetual penalty, and State even had a two-man advantage, but spent most of that time passing to the points instead of movement around the net and making good shots.  Tough. 

But, what the ES will say is that it is still a BLAST going to Munn Ice Arena after all these years.  MSUFCU had a promotion, free two tickets for every membership, so I brought the kids... Three tickets for $10... Now that wa a GREAT deal. 

MSU is 11-8-2 and #15, 6-6-1 in the CCHA.  It is the swan song year for the Big Ten teams in the CCHA.  Sayonara CCHA, hello Big Ten!  That said, MSU has its rematch with Miami tonight at 7 pm.  Go GREEN!

"We are supposed to be playing on the big stage."

People around the nation wonder why there is such hatred between the Michigan State faithful and the Michigan faithful.  Give the Wolverines (yes, the ES uses the word GIVE deliberately) a victory in an unearned BCS bowl berth with pitiful Va Tech coaching decisions, and the AArogant Wolverine Nation thinks they own the world.  To wit, scUM AD David Brandon, in USA Today: "We've had a bumpy three years, but we're Michigan," Brandon said. "We're supposed to be playing on the big stage. We're supposed to be playing against formidable competition. We're supposed to be in the national hunt. For years and years and years, that was Michigan. That's what we want Michigan to be in the future.":

Matter of fact, NO YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYING ON THE BIG STAGE.   You need to earn it.  Michigan State earned it with 22 wins the LAST TWO YEARS, including double-digt wins against YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM each year, and didn't get a BCS berth.  And, Michigan State was in the Conference championship game.  And, Michigan State isn't supposed to play on the Big Stage -- no, MSU needs to earn it, just like every other team.

You know what, screw you and your Aarogant Aass.  This pisses the ES off to no end.  Now you know why there are thousands of t-shirts worn across the Big Ten that state "Muck Fichigan!"

Formidable competion? Don't get me wrong, congrats for the win over VaTech, but the ES argues that VTU is anything but formidable -- the.Hokies looked handcuffed by their coaches, and still outgained scUM by twice as many yards; stupid VaTech coaching decisions led to scUM victory with Christmas gifts that would have made Jesus Christ proud. 

Gimme a break Brandon, you embarrass the college football nation.

With the Spartans' record the past three years, the ES could say, "we are supposed to play on the Big Stage." But, let us let our performance dictate things - as the ES said, we had our fate in our hands, losing to Wisky and thus losing our bid for a BCS. I accept that.  But, to think that "we are supposed" to get a BCS bid is absolute height of arrogance.  Screw you. 

Once again, thank you Aan Aarbor, you once again lay claim to the ownership of Aarogant Aasses.

SPARTANS kick Badger tail

MSU wins 63-60! Nice to be able to STICK IT to Bo Ryan at the end. He is the Devil incarnate. He tried to get it to Double-OT, but sorry,unless you are counting thousandths of a second, there is no question the SHOT WAS LATE.  GO GREEN - HATE BUCKY BADGER!!!

Live Chat: Spartans at Badgers men's hoops

#10 Michigan State at #18 Wisconsin. Wisconsin favored by 6.

17 TACKLES FOR LOSS, led by Gholston

Adam Rittenberg over at ESPN deserves some kudos for writing what we all know:  the Spartan defense rocks.  He calls the Big Green Machine a "model to emulate" for other teams looking to compete on a national basis.  My God, that trench crew in our Outback Bowl win over Georgia --  DE William Gholston (#2), DT Jerel Worthy (#99), DT Anthony White (#98), Marcus Rush (#44) -- consistently pushed the Dog line back time and time again.  Right in their face.  Look at the DEFENSIVE STAT SHEET below, lit up like a Christmas Tree.  When three of your four tackle leaders are defensive lineman, it means you have a devastating defense.  (In the JLS-slapface era, our leading tacklers were SAFETIES). Lookit the stat sheet, by God - Gholston 7 tackles (5 TFL), Rush 6 tackles (2 TFL), White 5 tackles (3 TFL), Worthy 4 tackles (2 TFL) ... brings tears of joy to the ES.   17 TACKLES FOR LOSS by the Spartan defense... 17!!  Unreal, the effort. Gholston put on a First Team All-American effort the Spartan Nation can be proud of.  Denicos Allen, Chris Norman, Max Bullough all laid the wood in support where necessary... but this was a DEFENSIVE LINE led effort.  Gholston's post-game You Tube video ("everybody gotta eat") ain't too bad, either.  Lots to look foward to, Spartan fans, for many years to come...

Michigan State      
## Player               Solo  Ast  Tot  TFL/Yds  FF FR-Yd Intc BrUp Blkd Sack/Yds QH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2  Gholston, William       7    .    7  5.0/16   .  1-6    .      1    .   2.0/10   .
44 Rush, Marcus            6    1    7  2.0/4    .   .     .      1    .      .     .
98 White,Anthony Rashad    5    2    7  3.0/7    .   .     .      .    1      .     .
39 Robinson, Trenton       5    1    6     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .
99 Worthy, Jerel           4    1    5  2.0/2    .   .     .      .    .      .     .
10 Norman, Chris           4    1    5  1.5/7    1   .     .      .    .      .     .
28 Allen, Denicos          2    3    5  1.5/6    .   .     .      .    .   1.0/5    .
31 Dennard, Darqueze       3    1    4     .     .   .    2-38    .    .      .     .
40 Bullough, Max           2    1    3     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .
52 Drone, Denzel           2    1    3  1.0/4    .   .     .      .    .      .     .
9  Lewis, Isaiah           1    2    3     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .
5  Adams, Johnny           2    .    2     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .
23 Jones, Jairus           1    1    2     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

Michigan State deserves Top Ten nod after Outback win over Georgia

More on this later.  BUT GREAT BIG GREEN VICTORY!!!!  Michigan State 33, Georgia 30 - in 3 OT!  Said the Doctor - "We've beaten every football team in the Big Ten in the last four years. The standard has been set by our seniors. ... Two 11-win seasons, There's not too many football teams in the country that are saying that right now. I would think that this, hopefully, helps solidify a Top 10 ranking in this year's final polls."

Love the Big Ten and Georgia fans squirming... :)

Here are the stats: notable are that MSU was 6-20 on third downs and UGA was 6-18 on third downs; and, on Red Zone TDs, MSU was 3-5 while UGA was 1-3.  MSU's stout d-line held the Dogs to just 51 yards rushing on 39 carries - just 1.3 yards per attempt. OUCH!

Team Statistics (Final)
                          2011 Michigan State Football
           Michigan State vs Georgia (Jan 02, 2012 at Tampa, Florida)

                                    MSU       GA

FIRST DOWNS...................       15       15
  Rushing.....................        2        4
  Passing.....................       13        9
  Penalty.....................        0        2
NET YARDS RUSHING.............       73       51
  Rushing Attempts............       29       39
  Average Per Rush............      2.5      1.3
  Rushing Touchdowns..........        2        0
  Yards Gained Rushing........       94       98
  Yards Lost Rushing..........       21       47
NET YARDS PASSING.............      318      288
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  28-51-3  20-32-2
  Average Per Attempt.........      6.2      9.0
  Average Per Completion......     11.4     14.4
  Passing Touchdowns..........        1        2
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      391      339
  Total offense plays.........       80       71
  Average Gain Per Play.......      4.9      4.8
Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      0-0      1-1
Penalties: Number-Yards.......     8-50     5-15
PUNTS-YARDS...................    8-401    7-306
  Average Yards Per Punt......     50.1     43.7
  Net Yards Per Punt..........     33.6     43.3
  Inside 20...................        4        2
  50+ Yards...................        3        2
  Touchbacks..................        2        0
  Fair catch..................        1        3
KICKOFFS-YARDS................    6-366    5-294
  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     61.0     58.8
  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     45.3     40.4
  Touchbacks..................        0        0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.    2-3-0   1-92-1
  Average Per Return..........      1.5     92.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD   5-92-0   6-94-0
  Average Per Return..........     18.4     15.7
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..   2-38-1   3-55-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    1-6-0    0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0
Possession Time...............    28:26    31:34
  1st Quarter.................     4:28    10:32
  2nd Quarter.................     8:24     6:36
  3rd Quarter.................     7:07     7:53
  4th Quarter.................     8:27     6:33
  OT  Quarter.................     0:00     0:00
Third-Down Conversions........  6 of 20  6 of 18
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 0   0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      5-5      2-3
  Touchdowns..................      3-5      1-3
  Field goals.................      2-5      1-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     4-16      1-6
PAT Kicks.....................      1-1      2-2
Field Goals...................      2-2      2-4

ES Game Day: OUTBACK BOWL, Michigan State vs Georgia

#12 Michigan State (10-3) vs. #18 Georgia (10-3)
1:00 pm ET. Monday, Jan 2.
Rankings:  MSU #12 (AP), #13 (USA Today), #17 (BCS), #19 (Sagarin). Georgia #18 (USA Today), #18 (AP), #16 (BCS), #18 (Sagarin).

TV:  ABC

Weather: 65 degrees and sunny.

Line:  Georgia favored by 3

Predictions: SportsRatings (lots of stats in this): MSU 19-17; SEC Football Blog - MSU 28-27; MLive - MSU 27-24; Sporting News - MSU; So Fried Sports Blog - UGA 23-17; Sports Rumble Blog - UGA 34-31; CFB Computer Predictions - MSU 26-23;   Athlon Sports - UGA 20-17; DocSports - UGA 24-20;  BetVega - UGA31-24;  ESPN/Bennett - MSU 17-14; ESPN/Rittenberg - MSU 21-20; ESPN/Aschoff - UGA 27-24; ESPN/Low - UGA 30-21; CBSSports.com - MSU;  NBCSports/Tamahana - UGA 26-20; Rivals/Yahoo - UGA 24-17; CFN/Scout - MSU 27-24; Front Office Blogs - UGA 24-21; Dubsism Blog - MSU

Key Stat: The Spartan defense will be sturdy and consistent, as it has all year long.  Michigan State's offensive success will be the story of the game. The Spartans will score TDs in the Red Zone, and demonstrate a balanced offense, with more than 200 yards passing from Kirk Cousins and over 120 yards rushing as a team. And, expect Dantonio to once again pull a rabbit out of his hat with a trick play or three...

ES pick:  MSU 24, Georgia 17.

Basketball on grass SUCKS

Anyone watch that disaster of an Alamo Bowl last night?  Seemed like anytime either team (Baylor or Washington) touched the ball, they were going to score.  The 67-56 final score was NOT an overtime game, and the teams combined for over 1,400 total yards. It was absurd -- the defense was the WORST of any game the ES has ever seen.  Receivers wide open on both sides of the ball every single play, missed tackles (that #8 on Baylor defense is horrid) every play... the defensive line of Washington was embarrassing, not sure how many runs of 50+ yards Baylor had (440+ total yards rushing).   If it wasn't so terrible, it was hilarious.  Basketball on grass sucks.  That dude from Washington threw 5 TDs and ran for 2 more (that's 49 points)... and the Huskies still lost.   No defense = A terrible game to watch.

Spartans and Dogs: Red Zone TDs and Third Downs

ES keeps thinking of two stats:  red zone and third downs.  Let's compare these stats of UGA and MSU in their three losses, and the last five games. 

	MSU	UGA
LOSSES
Third down off	15-44 (34%)	14-46 (30%)
Third down def	18-41 (44%)	9-35 (26%)
Red zone scoring off	4-11 (36%)	4-7 (57%)
Red zone scoring def	9-10 (90%)	10-11 (91%)
LAST FIVE
Third down off	29-67 (43%)	38-75 (51%)
Third down def	28-77 (36%)	23-68 (34%)
Red zone scoring TD off	13-20 (65%)	15-19 (79%)
Red zone scoring TD def	12-20 (60%)	8-11 (73%)

What is notable here is third down defense in the three losses, and red zone scoring defense in the three losses.   In its three losses, Georgia's defense remained admirable in stopping opponents on third downs - just 9 out of 35 attempts (26%).  However, in Michigan State's three losses, its defense allowed 18 third downs on 41 attempts (44%).  And, both teams red zone defense was horrific in losses.  Both Georgia and Michigan State gave up touchdowns 90% or more of the time that opponents were inside their 20 yard line.  

What the ES finds is that the Spartan defense is vulnerable on third downs when they lose... and both teams easily give up TDs in the red zone when they lose.  Stopping third downs and stopping red zone TDs are critical to success.  Georgia's defense seems to have the advantage on third downs.

But, what do the last five games mean?  The ES uses this as a barometer of how the teams fared going into bowl season.  When you look at the Sagarin ratings of the opponents in each of the final five games, the average rating is roughly equal (MSU 67.6, Georgia 63.2). Look below:

MSU (average opponent rating = 67.6)	UGA (average opponent rating = 63.2)
Wisconsin (8). Loss. Neutral.	LSU (1). Loss.  Neutral.
Northwestern (62). Win. Away.	Georgia Tech (50). Win. Home.
Indiana (138). Win. Home.	Kentucky (87). Win. Home.
Iowa (41). Win. Away.	Auburn (45). Win. Home.
Minnesota (89). Win. Home.	New Mexico State (133). Win. Home.

Again, while UGA has marginally better stats in its last five games, four were played at home - while MSU had to earn two wins on the road at locations they have lost frequently in the past several seasons (Iowa and Northwestern).  UGA was humiliated in its championship game loss to the nation's best team, LSU.  In the Big Ten championship, Michigan State outplayed Wisconsin, except for the final two minutes, and lost a heartbreaker. Both teams struggled at home against opponents they should have whipped easily (Minnesota, Kentucky); both teams had a shit-kicking win at home (Indiana, NMSU); both teams had a surprisingly dominating victory (Iowa, Auburn).

The ES sees Michigan State's defense as standing up a bit better than Georgia under road conditions, but both teams are about equal statistically. 

LIVE CHAT: Michigan State hosts Indiana in Men's Basketball

Hut, hut, Merry Christmas...

Love the "ready, Merry Christmas on three... hut, hut, MERRY CHRISTMAS." LOL.  Kirk Cousins rocks.

http://www.msuspartans.com/allaccess/?media=289627

OUTBACK hype: Spartan vs Bulldogs, will it be third down conversions?

OK, the ES returns from his Holiday absence and is back for the attack, with the hype for what should be a GREAT game in the Michigan State vs Georgia Outback Bowl.  First off, the ES is NOT upset at the Big Green getting a fourth-tiered bowl game instead of a top-tiered BCS game.  Mind you, scUM is completely undeserving of such an accomplishment to give them a nod to the Sugar Bowl, considering how well and consistent the Spartans have played all year, including a 2-TD thumping of the roadkill earlier this year (Why not pick MSU vs Michigan? The Spartan Nation would have sold that out in an instant… but why watch the Spartans break Robinson and scUM’s bones again?).  That said, MSU had all the cards in their hands, and had a chance to win to go to Pasadena… at least we could play for it Spartan fans, we never had that chance in previous years.   Yes, baby steps suck. 

But, this is a BIG baby step. The Spartans need to use their heartbreaking loss to Wisky in the Big Ten title game and feast on Georgia in the Outback Bowl.  Defeating an SEC team on January 2 will be a big deal, especially the Dogs.

The ES pulled out his Phil Steele 2011 preview and first looked that bowl predictions:  Steele predicted a Spartan trip to the Gator Bowl and a Georgia trip to the Cap One bowl. Give Steele credit there, pretty close.   Steele also predicted Georgia to win the SEC East, and for the Spartans to tie Nebraska and win the B1G Legends.  So, Steele’s predictions come true, or at least within the ballpark.

About the Outback Bowl:  both teams come in with great defenses.  

	MSU	UGA
Rush def	104 ypg (#12)	103 ypg (#9)
Pass def	168 ypg (#12)	165 ypg (#8)
Total def	273 ypg (#5)	268 ypg (#3)
Scoring def	18 ppg (#9)	20 ppg (#17)
3rd down conv def	34%	29%
Rush off	143 ypg (#76)	173 ypg (#40)
Pass off	248 ypg (#45)	241 ypg (#50)
Total off	391 ypg (#61)	414 ypg (#39)
Scoring off	31 ppg (#38)	32 ppg (#33)
3rd own conv off	40%	44%
Turnover difference	+ 0.54 (#23)	+0.54 (#23)

What is the biggest difference in the stats?  Third downs – UGA held its opponents to a lower percentage on third down conversions (29%) than did Michigan State (34%).  And, at 40%, the Spartan offense has been good on third downs, but far from the MOST efficient third down offense in the nation…  This is a concern for MSU, for its defense to be able to rise and make the plays in the most difficult situations – something it failed to accomplish late in the two games against Wisconsin….

That said, the ES is getting jacked for the Outback.  I’ll watch at the Peanut Barrell.  Check out the polls at the right… There will be more to come throughout the week.  But, this is a first start – GO GREEN!

Michigan State takes on UMKC tonite at 8:30 ET

Tonight, be lazy like the ES and kick back at home and watch the Big Green men's hoops take on Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) at 8:30 ET on Big Ten Network.  MSU moves up to #19 in the AP media poll after their impressive second half performance over Bowling Green on Saturday.  According to Sagarin, MSU is ranked #15 in the nation, and UMKC #143; Sagarin predicts a 20-pt win.

AP Top 25 Men's Hoops - 12/19/2011
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Syracuse (53)	11-0	1,585
2	Ohio State (5)	10-1	1,474
3	Kentucky (4)	9-1	1,457
4	Louisville (2)	10-0	1,364
5	North Carolina	9-2	1,340
6	Baylor	9-0	1,271
7	Duke	9-1	1,266
8	Connecticut	9-1	1,102
9	Missouri	11-0	1,076
10	Marquette	10-0	1,021
11	Florida	8-2	946
12	Kansas	7-2	939
13	Wisconsin	10-2	746
14	Xavier	8-1	728
15	Pittsburgh	10-1	707
16	Georgetown	9-1	644
17	Indiana	10-0	601
18	Mississippi State	11-1	576
19	Michigan State	9-2	413
20	Michigan	9-2	381
21	UNLV	11-2	251
22	Murray State	12-0	222
23	Creighton	8-1	130
24	Virginia	9-1	102
25	Illinois	10-1	96

• Others receiving votes: Harvard 88, San Diego State 67, Stanford 61, Saint Louis 33, Gonzaga 23, Kansas State 22, Texas A&M 18, Wichita State 8, Alabama 8, Cleveland State 7, Northern Iowa 7, Vanderbilt 5, California 5, Northwestern 4, Ohio 3, Long Beach State 2, Indiana State 1

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ES has been kicking back on break a bit, but will be back with some skinny on the Outback Bowl here later this week.

MSU will play Georgia in Outback

#16 Michigan State will play #17 Georgia in the Outback Bowl on January 2 on ABC.  MSU dropped to #16 in the BCS because they played an extra game, and Michigan moves up to #12 without playing a game.

Pure unadulterated bullshit.  Let's kick Georgia's ass.

Ouch. That hurts

Wisky 42, MSU 39.  It hurts real bad. 

Isaiah Lewis shouldn't have gone for the block; but MD rolled the dice and punted instead of going for it on 4th down; that backfired. Cousins threw inc to Martin instead of running for first down. We kicked a FG instead if scoring a TD in the middle of the 4th; and, MSU allowed the 40 yd pass play by Wilson on 4th down. Too many missed chances at the end. You have to make big plays. MSU converts on just one of what is aforementioned, they might have won. But they didn't. Sucks. Lewis blew it, he really blew it.


The end of the day:  Two teams - MSU and Wisconsin 0 are different but equal. The ES would love MSU to get a BCS berth against Michigan and break Robinson in half.  Love to hate that overrated POS.

Game Day: ES predicts B1G Ten Championship, Michigan State vs Wisconsin

Here it is!  The biggest game in the last 45 years of Michigan State football, the inaugural B1G Ten Championship game against Wisconsin.  Why is it the biggest game?  Because MSU is turning the tide in its competitiveness on the gridiron, and this game is THE BEST opportunity to finally make the statement that the Spartans are (not can be, but ARE) a perennial football power.  If the Spartans are to ever earn the respect of the likes of the national pundits, if they are ever to get to a BCS bowl game, they need to earn it the hard way on the field.  And that means winning the B1G Ten title on Saturday, with the ES in attendance - and his GREEN HAIR.

The ES hain't surprised at the lack of respect from most of the media.  Michigan State needs to EARN the respect.  But, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, and the Spartans have had the best and most consistent defense in the conference, if not the nation, all year long.  NOW IS THE TIME.  And, it is PREDICTION TIME. The ES was at the last Spartan Rose Bowl appearance - when he was an undergrad 25 years ago.  This is THE time to get to Pasadena again.

SPARTANS, WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION????

GAME DAY PREDICTION
#9 Michigan State (10-2/7-1) vs. #12 Wisconsin Badgers (10-2/6-2)
Inaugural B1G Ten Championship Game
8:17 pm ET
Rankings:  MSU #9 (USA Today), #10 (AP), #13 (BCS), #20 (Sagarin). Wisconsin #12 (USA Today), #15 (AP), #15 (BCS), #13 (Sagarin).

TV:  FOX

Weather: Indoors.  Outdoors: 38 degrees.

Line:  Wisconsin favored by 9
ES pick:  MSU 24, Wisconsin 23.

Key Stat:  This will be another slugfest on the interior lines.  With Gholston returning for MSU, the dominant Spartan front of Gholston, Pickelman, Worthy, and Rush to hurry Wisconsin's Wilson throughout the game,  and for the Badgers to turn the ball over 3 times.  That defensive line is vicious and will fight tooth and nail for 60 minutes.  Each team will be held to under 350 yards of total offense, but both Bell (MSU) and Ball (Wisc) will have over 100 yards rushing.  Expect better passing efficiency out of the Spartan offense to make the plays and the difference in the end.

B1G Ten Title Notes, Predictions

Normally, the ES would be all over things this week... but the blizzard in mid-Michigan caught the ES right in the middle of things, and involved car wreck that was, well TOAST.  While the ES was uninjured, it's been two days of hell with transportation, jobs, kids, yes, all that b.s.

YET TICKETS TO THE B1G TITLE game arrived on a timely basis, despite the issues.  ES will be back into this on Friday afternoon, with predictions, hype, and GHOLSTON-style viciousness.

GO GREEN. The ES cain't wait.

Spartans a 9-10 point underdog vs Wisconsin in B1G Ten Title game

Michigan State is a 9 to 10 point underdog to Wisconsin in the inaugural Big Ten title game.  Recall, MSU was a 7-point underdog when we defeated the Badgers earlier this year. Again, no respect -- and it is up to the Doctor and the Spartans to earn it.  Bring on the Badgers.

What IS total bullcrap are the ESPN bowl projections:  so, Wisky is expected to blow out Sparty, thus Wisconsin gets a Rose Bowl bid and... Michigan, which the Spartans have firmly defeated 4 years in a row, and which is a game behind MSU in the Legends Division, would then get a notch into the Sugar Bowl????  Sorry, the ES ain't buying it.  If there was ever, EVER, any incentive for Dantonio and the Spartans, thank you to ESPN. 

As for the BCS, Michigan State moved up to #13... but is a solid #9 in the coaches' poll (USA Today) and #11 in the AP media poll.

USA Today Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	LSU (59)	12-0	1475
2	Alabama	11-1	1411
3	Virginia Tech	11-1	1291
4	Stanford	11-1	1289
5	Oklahoma State	10-1	1245
6	Houston	12-0	1096
7	Oregon	10-2	1041
8	Boise State	10-1	1033
9	Michigan State	10-2	941
10	Arkansas	10-2	937
11	Oklahoma	9-2	882
12	Wisconsin	10-2	852
13	South Carolina	10-2	833
14	Georgia	10-2	816
15	Kansas State	9-2	681
16	Michigan	10-2	658
17	TCU	9-2	534
18	Baylor	8-3	457
19	Nebraska	9-3	390
20	West Virginia	8-3	295
21	Clemson	9-3	286
22	Penn State	9-3	192
23	Southern Miss	10-2	173
24	Florida State	8-4	86
25	Cincinnati	8-3	56

• Dropped from rankings: Georgia Tech 21, Notre Dame 24, Virginia 25

• Others receiving votes: Texas 51, Georgia Tech 42, Brigham Young 29, Notre Dame 29, Northern Illinois 19, Missouri 16, Arkansas State 13, Ohio 8, Virginia 8, Rutgers 6, Louisiana Tech 4

Michigan State kicks Northwestern butt; BRING ON WISKY

The Spartan defense took a while to get its mojo, but it harassed Northwestern QB Dan Persa for much of the day on a DAMP afternoon in a 31-17 Spartan victory. ES will break this down more, but BRING ON WISCONSIN AGAIN. The Big Ten's BEST DEFENSE in Michigan State will get a load of Wisconsin next week... and the ES just got his tickets. See you in INDY!

Michigan State (10-2,7-1) vs. Northwestern (6-6,3-5)
Date: Nov 26, 2011 Site: Evanston, Ill. Stadium: Ryan Field
Attendance: 32172

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Michigan State...... 3 14 7 7 - 31
Northwestern........ 0 3 7 7 - 17

Scoring Summary:
1st 04:00 MSU - Conroy, Dan 25 yd field goal
13 plays, 72 yards, TOP 5:17, MSU 3 - NU 0
2nd 14:03 NU - Budzien, Jeff 34 yd field goal
12 plays, 44 yards, TOP 4:57, MSU 3 - NU 3
01:40 MSU - Bell, Le'Veon 7 yd run (Conroy, Dan kick)
8 plays, 97 yards, TOP 3:45, MSU 10 - NU 3
00:34 MSU - Martin, Keshawn 57 yd punt return (Conroy, Dan kick)
MSU 17 - NU 3
3rd 13:02 NU - Ebert, Jeremy 2 yd pass from Persa, Dan (Budzien, Jeff kick)
5 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:58, MSU 17 - NU 10
07:35 MSU - Cunningham, B.J. 33 yd pass from Cousins, Kirk (Conroy, Dan kick)
10 plays, 67 yards, TOP 5:27, MSU 24 - NU 10
4th 13:57 NU - Fields, D. 12 yd pass from Persa, Dan (Budzien, Jeff kick)
8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:13, MSU 24 - NU 17
05:17 MSU - Cunningham, B.J. 29 yd pass from Cousins, Kirk (Conroy, Dan kick)
9 plays, 93 yards, TOP 5:05, MSU 31 - NU 17

Team Statistics (Final)
2011 Michigan State Football
#11 Michigan State vs Northwestern (Nov 26, 2011 at Evanston, Ill.)

MSU NU

FIRST DOWNS................... 20 21
Rushing..................... 9 10
Passing..................... 9 8
Penalty..................... 2 3
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 166 117
Rushing Attempts............ 36 41
Average Per Rush............ 4.6 2.9
Rushing Touchdowns.......... 1 0
Yards Gained Rushing........ 170 151
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 4 34
NET YARDS PASSING............. 214 253
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 14-20-1 24-34-0
Average Per Attempt......... 10.7 7.4
Average Per Completion...... 15.3 10.5
Passing Touchdowns.......... 2 2
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 380 370
Total offense plays......... 56 75
Average Gain Per Play....... 6.8 4.9
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 1-0 2-1
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 8-66 6-70
PUNTS-YARDS................... 4-156 4-177
Average Yards Per Punt...... 39.0 44.2
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 39.0 25.0
Inside 20................... 2 2
50+ Yards................... 0 2
Touchbacks.................. 0 1
Fair catch.................. 0 0
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 6-376 4-244
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 62.7 61.0
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 44.7 41.2
Touchbacks.................. 1 0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 1-57-1 0-0-0
Average Per Return.......... 57.0 0.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 4-79-0 5-88-0
Average Per Return.......... 19.8 17.6
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 0-0-0 1-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 29:10 30:18
1st Quarter................. 7:33 7:27
2nd Quarter................. 4:56 10:04
3rd Quarter................. 7:35 7:25
4th Quarter................. 9:06 5:22
Third-Down Conversions........ 8 of 13 7 of 17
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 4 of 5
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-2 3-5
Touchdowns.................. 1-2 2-5
Field goals................. 1-2 1-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 6-31 0-0
PAT Kicks..................... 4-4 2-2
Field Goals................... 1-1 1-1