This shot of Glenn Winston getting gang tackled by Penn State's outstanding defense tells you everything you need to know about this game. So much for that 1997 magic I was hoping for!
I intended on writing about this game much sooner after the fact, but am just getting to it now. Saturday night I spent watching Oklahoma's massacre of Texas Tech, Sunday I was busy doing other things, and yesterday I was both coming down with a cold and helping my son finish up a school project. So here I am at home trying to recover from my first bout of the winter cruds.
At this point, I don't have much to add to what has already been said or written about MSU's loss to the Nittany Lions. It's pretty simple that the better team won. Penn State is a team that, if not for losing control of their game against Iowa (a game the Lions dominated), would be undefeated and possibly playing for a national championship. Michigan State has the misfortune, every other year, of having to conclude the season at Beaver Stadium. State College, PA is arguably the most difficult place to play in the Big Ten. MSU, a program that usually doesn't have the personnel to line up against PSU, has to play the Lions every single year and when the game is in Happy Valley, on PSU's senior day, in front of a rabid crowd and consistently terrible weather, you're looking at, for all intents and purposes, a guaranteed loss. MSU has done themselves no favors in making Penn State one of their two protected rivalries.
It was a successful year for Michigan State football. Mark Dantonio and his staff got as much out of this team as could ever be expected. One could make a valid argument that, man for man, this year's Spartan team is not as talented as last year's 7-6 team. Certainly from an offensive standpoint, MSU lost an extra dimension with Devin Thomas' departure to the NFL and were unable to find another runningback to fill the shoes of Jehuu Caulcrick. Perhaps the single biggest disappointment of this season was that none of the backup runningbacks were able to step up and give Javon Ringer some relief.
Here are a few more random observations:
I liked what I saw of Kirk Cousins in the waning moments of the game. Sure, it was "garbage time," but the kid showed good presence on the field and really has some zip on his passes. It should be quite a battle next year for the starting quarterback spot between Cousins and Keith Nichol.
Is Glenn Winston the man to beat for starting running back next year? Anderson, Leggett, and Jimmerson all had shaky seasons and never really stood out. Incoming freshman Edwin Baker is highly touted. Will he and Winston be battling out?
Was it really necessary for Penn State to be going for the homerun ball with a 42-7 lead? I realize you want to give your backups a chance to play and have fun, but throwing a deep ball when the game is already in the bag seemed like rubbing it in. I liked Dantonio's gamesmanship at the end, calling consecutive timeouts near the end of the game. Hopefully, the Spartans will remember the sour taste in their mouths after this game and let it serve as motivation for next year.
Having said that, congratulations to Penn State on winning the Big Ten title and going to the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions are a worthy champion and I hope they clobber whatever team represents the Pac 10.
Congratulations to Javon Ringer, Greg Jones, and Otis Wiley for their selection as first team all-Big Ten. I was also happy to see Brett Swenson make second team all-Big Ten and former walk-on Blair White make honorable mention. Blair White's emergence at receiver was one of the best stories on this MSU football season.
I have had lots of fun following MSU football this fall, and it's been a blast sharing my thoughts about the games in this blog. I'm not a football expert by any means, but I am an enthusiastic fan. I hope that if there are still any people out there checking out this blog, you've have an enjoyable time following this season as well.
I future posts, I may give an overview of the Big Ten football season that was, and perhaps give out the first annual Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards.
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