Ouch! (Ohio State 45, Michigan State 7)

First the good news, it was a lovely, sunny day in the Lansing area today.

Now the bad news, Ohio State kicked MSU's tail today. This was one ugly game. So ugly that I pretty much turned it off at halftime and only tuned in sporadically in the second half to see how bad the carnage was.

Wow, I feel a little foolish to have ever doubted Ohio State. How in heaven's name did they ever lose 35-3 to USC? (Yeah, I know, unsettled quarterback situation, Beanie Wells hurt, etc. But still, is USC that good to have hammered OSU that badly? How the heck did USC then lose to a mediocre Oregon State team? I'll have to save that for a different discussion).

As the Lansing State Journal's Joe Rexrode wrote, it was a "reality check" for MSU. Yes, they have improved, but they are not yet close to being in Ohio State's league. Perhaps if the Spartans had caught the Buckeyes earlier in the year, they could have won this game, but Ohio State has had some time to work out the bugs, Beanie Wells is close to 100 percent healthy, and Terrelle Pryor has arrived in a big way. The guy is really, really good--and he's only a freshman. It's absolutely scary to think how outstanding this kid will be in the next few years. Lucky for MSU that the Buckeyes are off the schedule for a few years.

 

I just hope that the team can rebound from this disappointment and take care of business against Michigan next week. I want to beat Michigan in the worst way this year. I'm trying not to obsess over the Michigan game, but despite my better judgment, I obsess.

Let's face it, based on previous Spartan late season meltdowns, this could be a make or break game for the season. I hate to be so pessimistic after one game, but if State loses to Michigan, I could very well see MSU being flat for the next game, against Wisconsin. (Ugh, enough with the "sky is falling" talk!). I've got to believe that the attitude is different under Mark Dantonio. I imagine he's telling the players, "Guys, we just lost to maybe the best team we'll see all year. Let's forget about it and move on. There's a lot left to play for."

I'll try and focus on work this week, maybe even try to avoid the Detroit news media (I'm sure they'll be all over MSU once again), and try not to obsess over a stupid football game. I seriously doubt that it will work, though!