brainsplotch

I didn't think MSU had a realistic shot at going undefeated, but I definitely didn't foresee the drubbing they took at Iowa. I now consider myself lucky that I had to work at the library yesterday, and did not have to subject myself to the pre-Halloween horror show put on by the Spartans. Hats off to the Hawkeyes, they definitely came to play, and it was exactly the scenario that I was afraid of after Iowa suffered their heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin last week. Iowa was angry and focused. The game exposed MSU's deficiencies that have been glossed over in their recent victories over Illinois and Northwestern. The running game has improved, but is still not where it needs to be. Kirk Cousins is not a great quarterback, but a very good quarterback still prone to making mistakes, and the secondary continues to be a liability. Michigan State also looks like a physically and emotionally tired group right now. This has been one rollercoaster of a season and the guys look li...

Not much time to write, since I have to work today. Unfortunately, my schedule has changed at work and now I must work one weekend per month. It's too bad that on the eve of MSU's biggest football game in 44 years, the big story was not the GAME itself, but the reinstatement of Chris L. Rucker. Everyone has to put in his or her two cents, and MSU has gotten a big black eye over this whole situation. Well, gotta run. Wish me a quick day at work and good luck to the Spartans.

Wow, yet another amazing win for the Spartans. They really had to dig deep to get it done against the Wildcats. Now it's on to Iowa to play a huge game against the Hawkeyes, in the hostile and crazed atmosphere of Kinnick Stadium. No doubt, the Hawkeyes will be ornery after their heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin. (I'm not sure whether to thank the Badgers or curse them. I'll go ahead and thank them for pinning a Big Ten loss on Iowa). I will be adding a little more to this entry when I get time.

Michigan State takes its undefeated record to Evanston to face the pesky Northwestern Wildcats. I expect a big crowd of Spartans to invade Ryan Field. Northwestern is a tough team to call. They are 5-1, but they have looked unimpressive in their wins, and lost at home to Purdue. I expect they will come to play, and their spread offense will keep the Spartans on their toes. I just don't expect the Wildcats to be able to make enough big plays, or the Spartans to make enough mistakes, for Northwestern to pull out a victory. However, this game does make me nervous. The Wilcats are certainly capable of winning. I'm going to assume MSU's athleticism and depth will be enough to give them a 37-24 victory. _______________________________________________ Awful first half. Is this SOS, Same Old Spartans? Bad tackling, no energy, inability to pick up third downs, Conroy misses his first field goal of the year. State needs to pick it up in the secon half or they will have their first lo...

No longer undefeated, a team beset with injuries and slammed by the dreaded bye weeks. I'm sitting at 5-1 now and have another slapped together team for this weekend. With the Jets, Texans, and Colts not playing this Sunday, I can't start Austin Collie, Braylon Edwards, or Andre Johnson. I will be starting such luminaries as Danario Alexander and the underperforming (and overshadowed by Terrell Owens) Chad Ocho Cinco. Could I be staring at 5-2?

I'm a big fan of National Public Radio, in fact I listen to it every single day, but I'm dismayed at their handling of the recent Juan Williams situation. They played directly into the hands of the right wing and the ilk at Fox by making themselves look the like the politically correct "thought police". Unless you've been living in a cave for the last four days, you're probably already familiar with what Juan Williams said on Fox News and NPR's response. (If you don't know what happened, why are you reading this?). I didn't particularly like what Juan Williams said on Fox (essentially, he stated that people he sees in airports, dressed in Muslim garb, make him "nervous"), although compared to some of the stuff that passes for political discourse on that network, it wasn't THAT egregious. (The readers of this blog, if there are any, may wish to argue that point). The broader issue is the aftermath of Williams' comments, and I did ...

Somebody pinch me, please. Tell me I'm not dreaming this up. Is the Michigan State football team really 7-0? What a ride this season has been thus far. The Spartans overcame first half miscues, unispired play, mental errors, and a terrific Illinois defense. They turned up their performance more than a notch in the second half and dominated the Illini. Now they stand as the only undefeated team in the Big Ten. Once again, somebody pinch me and tell me this isn't a dream. I started watching the game on our bedroom television, since the kids were playing Wii on the living room TV. With the Spartans behind 6-3 late in the first half (and they were lucky to only be down by a field goal), I knew I'd have to assume my "nervous nelly" Spartan football watching position in our basement, where I'd be relatively safe in screaming at the TV and whooping it up. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge, headed to the dungeon, and watched the second half. Thankfully, M...

My point total this week was the lowest it's been this season, but thanks to my opponent having an even lower point total, I was able to win yet again. My team is held together with duct tape at this point, with Knowshon Moreno still out and Andre Johnson still struggling with injuries. Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates once again had excellent weeks, and Peyton Hillis made a solid contribution at the running back position.

It's been eleven years since Michigan State football started the season 6-0. The last time was 1999, and the next two weeks that followed that great start were not good for the Spartans. The team lost in successive weeks to Purdue (52-28), and eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin (40-10). State eventually righted the ship and went on to a 10-2 final record, but those two ugly weeks cost the Spartans a shot at the conference title and a higher national ranking. Back in 1999, Michigan State couldn't handle the accolades that came with their great start. At that time, it'd been 33 years since MSU had a 6-0 start. (Coincidently, just like this year's team, that '99 squad topped off their great start with an emotional win over Michigan). Local sportscaster Tim Staudt often relates a story of Nick Saban telling him that he was worried about the Purdue game because he didn't think his players could handle the attention (and pressure) of being undefeated. I hope that th...

First of all, allow me to apologize for my hand-wringing, neurotic pre-game posts. If you've been reading this blog, you're probably used to it by now. Call it the most satisfying victory over Michigan in my lifetime. I had waited my entire 42 years on this earth to enjoy an absolutely dominating performance over the Wolverines. A game that left no doubt that the Spartans were the better team. Absolutely nothing for Michigan fans to complain about, they were served in their own stadium in front of 110,000 or so of their fans and supporters. I never thought I'd live to see the day when MSU would defeat Michigan in football three consecutive years. Reading some Michigan Wolverine football blogs and it's clear their fans don't like Dantonio. It's at least partly because Dantonio had the audacity to call out the Wolverines after Mike Hart's infamous "little brother" comment after the 2007 game. Michigan fans are miffed that Dantonio didn't realize ...

Trying to fight off pre-game jitters. I feel as if I'm playing, when in reality I have no control over the outcome of a game between 18-22 year old athletes. Whtether we want to admit it or not, Michigan State people feel that we are the "little brother" in comparison with our snooty brethren in Ann Arbor. We do perceive arrogance, imagined or not, in the folks from the University of Michigan. (Although, in my experience, the most annoying Michigan fans are the ones who never actually attended the school). Though I'm proud of MSU's history as a land grant institution and the advances it made in scientific agriculture, the "Moo U" epithet I hear still stings. It's difficult having the winningest program in college football history only an hour's drive from us. Whether we should or not, we at MSU are always trying to measure up with U of M. Three wins in a row over Michigan would be incredible. I never thought I'd see two in a row, but I find...

After some nifty maneuvering to avoid the pitfalls of the first NFL bye week, I'm happy to report that my team won again and I am now 4-0. I picked up Mike Nugent, who was my kicker for the week, as well as the Tennessee defense. Both performed admirably for me. New running back Peyton Hillis was solid, and I had another outstanding week from tight end Antonio Gates. If I can just get Andre Johnson and Knowshon Moreno back and healthy, I should keep on rolling (knock on wood). Aside from some minor injuries to the forementioned Johnson and Moreno, my team has been injury-free, which has not been the case in previous years.

It's Michigan week, and with it comes my annual hand-wringing, angst-filled, pre-game post. This is the most anticipated Michigan State/Michigan football game since 1999, when both teams entered the game at 6-0. This season, both teams are 5-0 and in the upper reaches of the top 20. There are some intriguing storylines with both teams. On one hand, you have the dazzling Denard Robinson and his quest for a possible Heisman Trophy and on the other hand, there is Michigan State's "rallying of the troops" after Mark Dantonio's heart attack after the amazing Notre Dame victory. I'm nervous about this game. I'm always nervous about this game. I've seen too many MSU losses against Michigan to EVER get overly confident. Denard Robinson scares me. He is a fabulous player and I'm astounded by his improvement from last year to this year. And, despite what some people have been saying, Michigan is not a one-man team. Stonum, Roundtree, Hemingway, and Odoms are...

Yesterday, I entered a drawing at work for two tickets to today's Michigan State/Wisconsin football game. I never win these drawings, so I had no expectations for that to change. Well, lo and behold, I won the tickets. As it turns out, they're great tickets: lower deck, west corner of the south endzone, row 13. These may be the best seats I've ever had at Spartan Stadium. Initially, I thought of having my brother come down for the game, but knew it was short notice and he may not be able to make it. His Saturday was already booked, so I'm taking my son Avery. My plan is to keep him supplied with hot dogs, popcorn, and soda pop and he should make it through the entire game (provided it's a game worth staying until the very end). I have no idea what to expect from this game, but presumably it'll be close. Go State! _________________________________________ Update: I took my oldest son to Michigan State/Wisconsin game and we had a fun time. Above is a picture of hi...