Little brother beats up big sister, again. (Michigan State 34, Michigan 17)
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 he was supposed to bend down and plead, "Thank you sir, may I have another!"
Kidding aside, Dantonio gets this rivalry in a way that his predecessor, John L. Smith, never did. It's probably because Dantonio was on the MSU staffs of Nick Saban and, briefly, Bobby Williams, and saw first-hand the importance of this game to MSU fans. Then, he moved on to Ohio State where he took on the qualities and attitude of Jim Tressel--and we all know how the Buckeyes feel about the Wolverines.
Michigan fans like to pretend that the game against Michigan State doesn't mean anything to them. I will not argue that it's as important to them as the Ohio State game. Quite frankly, based on the Wolverines' domination of the series prior to 2008, it's hard to fault Michigan fans for not thinking of the Spartans as a rival. But now that Dantonio has raised the stakes by beating Michigan three straight times, with this years' victory being the most decisive of them all, Michigan will have to take MSU seriously from now on.
Michigan State is playing absolutely the best football I've seen in these parts in...gee whiz, 11 years? You've got to go back to the 1999 team of Plaxico Burress, Julian Peterson, et al to find a Spartan team that was playing at this level. As usual, I'm trying hard not to get overly excited, but this team is loaded with talent. Unlike the 2008 team, which was physically manhandled by the likes of Iowa and Wisconsin (and needed some huge plays and a little luck to win those games) this year's squad is now doing the manhandling. They outmuscled the burly and bruising Badgers, and thoroughly controlled the line of scrimmage this Saturday against Michigan. I also see more athleticism on this year's team than I've seen since 1999. In fact, I'd argue that this year's team may be more athletic than the '99 team.
Kirk Cousins had perhaps the best game of his career on Saturday. Any argument that he is not a big game quarterback should be forever silenced. This game against Michigan was HUGE. His quarterback counterpart at Michigan, Denard Robinson, was getting all the media attention--and with the unreal numbers he was putting up, it's not hard to see why. (It's probably unfair to compare the two quarterbacks, since they are completely different in what they bring to the table and run completely different offenses). Cousins won this particular duel decisively. Denard threw three interceptions (though, in fairness, two of them were attributable to his receivers making mistakes), while Cousins was flawless.
By the way, let me say that Denard Robinson is an excellent football player, and has a bright future in front of him.
Michigan's problem is not Denard Robinson, it's that they have perhaps the worst defense in the history of their program. I guarantee you that Bo Schembechler is spinning in his grave.
It is as if the two programs have reversed personalities. Michigan State crushed Michigan by employing an offense and defense that Bo Schembechler would have appreciated.
Anyway, I love what I see from this team. If the Spartans can avoid injuries while maintaining their focus and confidence, a record of 10-2 is not out of the question. In fact, if a few bounces go their way, they may even do better than that.
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We watched the MSU/UofM game with our friends Mark and Angela, who we don't see that often. They have two young daughters and they live about a half-hour away, so it's difficult getting together. Mark is a big sports fan, and a Spartan fan, so it's always enjoyable watching sports with him. (By the way, he's also in my fantasy football league and is usually near the top of the standings). I think I cracked everybody up with how tense I was throughout most of the game. Man, I've got to try and not take these games so personally, but it's hard!
Mark and Angela's small daughter, Lucy, was in my immediate vicinity when the Spartans made a big play (interception?) and I yelled at the TV screen. I think I scared the poor child half to death. I tried my best to reassure her that I was only yelling at the television and not at her. (This is why it's best for me, in most cases, to just watch these games alone or in a bar).
In an effort to numb the pain of a potential Spartan loss, I drank about six beers before halftime (that is a lot for me to drink these days--usually after two beers I'm feeling bloated and tired). Once it became clear that MSU was in full control of the game, and definitely NOT going to blow it, I chilled out and cut out the beers.
It was great seeing Mark and Angela again, and I greatly enjoyed experiencing this great Spartan victory with good friends.
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