One Part WTF, Two Parts FTW: Michigan State 35, Northwestern 27
by LVS on Oct 24, 2010 10:35 PM CDT
in Michigan State Spartans Football
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Saturday's game, for all its craziness and emotional swings, seems eerily fitting in retrospect. Fair or not, MSU carried the burden of Spartan teams past that handled success very poorly. Northwestern was/is a team which periodically gives MSU fits, and has a habit of ruining seasons. The weather was crappy. MSU lost one of its best playmakers early on. Northwestern kept on converting 3rd downs, and their defensive line played like a brick wall. I had no idea what the hell was going on.
This tweet showed up in my feed midway through the first half:
Yeah man, I knew the feeling. (Never mind that I'm now resorting to using Carles' tweets to help establish a storyline.)
And then funny things started happening. The weather started to clear. MSU's defensive line started bowling over Northwestern's linemen. Cousins--who was bothered by the rain and the Wildcat pass rush in the first half--started clicking with his receivers. This wasn't the unstoppable force comeback of '06; Northwestern pushed back repeatedly. MSU brought the score to 17-14; Northwestern pushed it to 24-14. (Aided, of course, by an inexplicable decision to have Keith Nichol run the wildcat on 3rd-and-9.)
Nothing came easily on Saturday. Mark Dell was cut off by the umpire, preventing a sure 3rd down conversion. Persa converted a huge 3rd-and-7, aided by a generous spot. MSU played into the wind in the fourth quarter. Cousins took a poor sack. I threw my hat on the floor.
And then: the most beautiful wounded-duck pass I've ever seen landed in the arms of Bennie Fowler. Cousins then threws the opposite: a missile strike to Mark Dell to bring MSU within 3. But again, nothing was easy: Northwestern's kicker, who had been such a disaster all season, nailed a 41-yard field goal to increase MSU's deficit once again.
And then, this. My God, this:
Woo! WOO! WOOOO!!! Clutchiest concentrating-est improbable-est catch I've seen since Charles Rogers' highwire act against Notre Dame in 2002. And this one means so much more, obviously.
This game exposed chinks in MSU's armor -- not that we didn't know they existed. The offensive line had its second consecutive poor game. Third down play was poor on offense and atrocious on defense. Dan Conroy missed his first kick of the season. Kirk Cousins struggled when confronted with pressure in the first half.
But Cousins was also marvelous in the second half, and hasn't thrown an interception since the first half against Wisconsin. Edwin Baker grinded out several first downs. Keith Nichol made several huge catches, and Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham were absolutely irrepressible. Bennie Fowler stepped up enormously to fill Keshawn Martin's role. Jerel Worthy and Tyler Hoover were unblockable in the second half. And when the game was on the line, MSU made all the plays needed to get the win. For once, we ripped another team's heart out. Unbelievable.
Many have said that a major characteristic of great teams is the ability to win on bad days. Saturday was a bad day for MSU, and yet, the Spartans are now 8-0, and are now 5th in the BCS standings. The "same old Spartans" reputation ain't an easy one to kick, and if MSU loses in Iowa City on Saturday, we'll surely hear it again. Win or lose, these guys are different. This team has prevailed against adversity and handled success -- and indeed, on Saturday, did both in the same game. Soak it up, MSU fans: this is a special, special team.
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SOS..they are not.
I agree with Drew Sharp from free press.They are not the same old spartans.
This ‘good’ Michigan State team isn’t afraid to take chances
Read more: Drew Sharp: This ‘good’ Michigan State team isn’t afraid to take chances | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20101024/COL08/10240694/1055/sports07/MSU-isnt-afraid-to-take-chances#ixzz13LB8jA00
"This is a special team."
A year ago, I told myself I wasn’t going to get stressed over sports. Over the course of this season, I’ve been breaking my rule more and more. Yesterday’s game, particularly during the “comeback” portion, was nerve-racking. The reason it’s so scary, at least for me, is that if we lose even once, it’s looking like we wont even make it do a BCS game (as per this post ).
Many Spartan fans seem to be planning for an MSU loss next week. I’m not so convinced. I think we show up and take care of business next week over a moderately overrated team. I’m not saying Iowa isn’t pretty good, but as Dantonio often puts it, “this is a special team” we have here in East Lansing.
Hey,
The consensus amongst people last week was that Wisconsin was PLANNING for a loss to Iowa.
All of Wisconsin’s wins since 2000 have been by less than a TD. All of Iowa’s wins have been by double digits. Iowa cannot win close games against Wisconsin. And the fact that the game was that close was alarming, and it was still epic.
We owed Iowa a butt-kicking after the previous season. You guys do as well, I was devastated by MSU’s stunning loss to MSU Iowa last year.
If the media picks Iowa, you guys will win. Handily. But don’t fall asleep; this isn’t Iowa’s basketball team!
You can't be serious, man! You cannot be serious! His foot was on the line! It was ON THE LINE! He was clearly out! How could you possibly call him in!?
"I'm going to award a point against you, Mr. OBrienSchofieldismyHero."
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Oct 25, 2010 12:28 AM CDT up reply actions
Thanks
I really like that we play them the week after you guys. It can’t hurt to follow a performance by one of the most physically punishing teams in the conference.
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
Oh, we punished them.
Bell and Baker might find slightly bigger holes to work with than they would normally.
Their fanbase was utterly inconsolable after we put the whammy on them. When they lose Big Ten games, they usually lose a bunch in a row. So you guys beating them would fill me with gladness. And hopefully silence all this foolish talk of OMGIowa’sundefeatedinconferencethey’llwintheBigTen… Seriously, last time WE had a 3 game stretch like that we blew all three games and more, and it took Ron Zook to save our season.
You can't be serious, man! You cannot be serious! His foot was on the line! It was ON THE LINE! He was clearly out! How could you possibly call him in!?
"I'm going to award a point against you, Mr. OBrienSchofieldismyHero."
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Oct 25, 2010 12:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Nice job Scansin!
I lived in Milwaukee for a couple of years – tomato beers, brandy, Mader’s, fish smokers, Summerfest, County Stadium – it was all good. I thought White was going to put up some big numbers and he goes down and the mystery back is going to be hard to keep out. Congrats and I look forward to our annual hoops war.
Ed Hightower, should he officiate
is going to get shot with a blowgun ala the guy in the DirectTV commercials…
Really, this is unnecessary. Just send that man to the next level where he can foul LeBron James out of the game in 15 seconds…
You can't be serious, man! You cannot be serious! His foot was on the line! It was ON THE LINE! He was clearly out! How could you possibly call him in!?
"I'm going to award a point against you, Mr. OBrienSchofieldismyHero."
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Oct 25, 2010 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions
I hate the fact
that people think we need him to win.
We don’t. Not with Leuer healthy.
You can't be serious, man! You cannot be serious! His foot was on the line! It was ON THE LINE! He was clearly out! How could you possibly call him in!?
"I'm going to award a point against you, Mr. OBrienSchofieldismyHero."
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Oct 25, 2010 2:45 PM CDT up reply actions
Not so fast!
Props to Wisconsin for a great win. I must, however, take exception to the utter falsehood that Iowa fans are inconsolable — why do you think that God made alcohol?
What's your deal?
by PCarroll_u_sm(j)irk on Oct 25, 2010 5:50 PM CDT up reply actions
I should have expected something like that!
I thought WE were the ones who needed the alcohol after a dreadful run in the 70s and late 80s before Alvarez resurrected us…
Why do you think Milwaukee had so many breweries?
You can't be serious, man! You cannot be serious! His foot was on the line! It was ON THE LINE! He was clearly out! How could you possibly call him in!?
"I'm going to award a point against you, Mr. OBrienSchofieldismyHero."
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Oct 25, 2010 7:22 PM CDT up reply actions
Retirement party
I’m going to urge the Spartan fans on this site to retire the ‘SOS’ meme and the ‘Sparty-no!’ meme. We should never use these phrases again, even in ‘SOS no more’-type articles. For one, the period of MSU history that they purportedly refer to is brief and hardly representative. Giving any credence to the meme is falling victim to the fallacy of projecting from a small sample size. For another, we don’t want these memes associated with the MSU football program. Having these memes floating around probably makes it harder for the coaches to recruit, probably makes it harder for the program to move forward.
I think that this team—really, all the teams of the Dantonio era—have done a remarkable job in moving the program forward. There have been struggles and shortcomings, but MSU is now looking at a 4th consecutive bowl game and a possible trip to a BCS bowl. This is major, major progress. We need to create a new meme to help this progress along, not reiterate the old tired meme of the Slappy era.
I say this too with the wild feeling that great things could be afoot. There is a power vacuum looming in the Big Ten, as UM has been in decline for a few years now and PSU will soon enter the post-Paterno era. There is room for a team—an Iowa, a Wisconsin, or a Michigan State—to rise up and become a Big Ten power. I think MSU has a chance to do that under Dantonio’s leadership. We should be trying to generate that meme.
by njd on Oct 25, 2010 12:32 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
I'd have to look it up for official stats
But someone on BTN said that MSU was something like 17-9 in October+November under Dantonio, compared to 5-19 under JLS. Approximated from memory.
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
I would believe that stat...
but it is always difficult to shake a reputation.
by St8rBoiInMN on Oct 25, 2010 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions
What a crazy game
Congrats to the guys for never giving up. Cousins and the receivers really stepped it up starting on our scoring drive in the 2nd quarter. In the second half we scored 28 and put up 277 yards, most of those through the air.
I’m definitely a little concerned about our running game though. That’s two games in a row we haven’t been able to establish the run. Illinois is accpetable with their very good defense, but NU was previously shredded on the ground by Minnesota and Purdue.
Big props to Hoover for his second huge game in a row. His forced fumble at the goaline may have saved the season. Worthy and Strayhorn were beasts most of the afternoon as well. We’re supposed to get Pickleman and Treadwell back next week to help shore up the middle of the line. I’m hoping them not playing was a big reason why NU had success running the ball.
These are the types of games
those of us in the “little 8” have to win sometimes to take at least a share of the Big Ten title. Even OSU, in years when they are clearly the best team in the conference, often has to eke out a win or two where they don’t look dominant.
I don’t really care about the BCS – partly because thinking about the MSU football program and a national championship just does not compute. Also because I’ve never paid much attention to the BCS because it’s a half-assed way to choose a national champion. So long as we win our first Big Ten championship in more than two decades I’ll be satisfied. We spend the next two to three more .years near the top of the Big Ten over the next half-decade and I’ll start thinking of us as a national power
I just had an epiphany
I’m sick of “waiting for the other shoe to drop” with this team. This is a damn good team and we need to just enjoy it. As a fanbase, we also need to not worry so much about garnering national respect because frankly, that doesn’t mean anything. Our boys don’t play football for national respect, they play to win.
I think that one of the best things to come of this season is that we no longer look at our team in comparison to U of M every week. Frankly, we don’t care (nor should we) what’s going on over there right now. Schaudenfreude is not the weapon of choice these days for us Spartans.
We need to go into Iowa expecting to win and quit saying things like “well, if we lose, we’re still a great team”, as to soften the blow that we foresee. I know this feeling of being on top is foreign to us as MSU football fans but we must embrace it and not run from it.
I’m all in right now. Complete and total emotional investment. If we lose at Iowa, I will be truly devastated. If we win, well… I haven’t figured that part out yet.
I agree with 3/4 of what you are saying.
“Quit waiting for the other shoe to drop, don’t look at MSU in comparison to Michigan, go in to Iowa knowing that we are capable of winning”.
Where I disagree is in taking a loss to Iowa as truly devastating. It is entirely possible that MSU loses to Iowa but still wins out and wins a share of the Big Ten title. It would require help, to be sure, but still possible. That’s why I look at a loss to Iowa as disappointing but not devastating: because it wouldn’t cripple this special season, not because of trying to preemptively cushion the blow.
This feeling….that MSU is indeed a great team…and watching the other games to judge MSU’s chances to win the Big Ten….I remember seeing it before, but from an outside perspective: watching Michigan fans and listening to Detroit Sports Radio in the mid- to late-90’s. The colors have shifted from Maize and Blue of the memory to Green and White of the present.
I guess "devastating" was harsh
but it’s a testament as to how invested I am. If we lose, I’d not be disappointed in the team, per se, but just heartbroken because we all know how often these 8-0 starts come to East Lansing. A win at Iowa would be like the final scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when they bust through the glass ceiling. It would mean that not only has our program arrived, but it’s here to stay.
And I can’t say it would make up for all of the heartbreak endured over the past 20 years but it would go a long way towards helping.
by B-Race Miles on Oct 25, 2010 9:05 AM CDT up reply actions
Well said
A win at Iowa would be like the final scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when they bust through the glass ceiling. It would mean that not only has our program arrived, but it’s here to stay.
QFTT (Quoted for Tylersashin’ Truth).
Totally agree with Hoolie
Hawk fan here. I think that MSU IS having a special season, but even great teams can lose. (And terrible teams can play brilliantly i.e. our 3-toed cousins from Ames). Anything can happen this weekend, but if I were an impartial observer, I would say that MSU is the more complete team right now. That said, great teams can lose games and still go on to have a great finish, so I wouldn’t place too much importance on one game. When jNW knocked Stanzi out for the season last year, some Hawk fans thought that the season was a wash — until we spanked Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Good luck this weekend.
What's your deal?
by PCarroll_u_sm(j)irk on Oct 25, 2010 9:22 AM CDT up reply actions
I agree with the Hooligan as well
Even if this team goes 11-1 or 10-2, it won’t dimish the feeling of having done well this year and continuing to see the progress this program has made under Dan-“The Man”-tonio.
by St8rBoiInMN on Oct 25, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t understand that Nichol-wildcat play. That was a big momentum buster for us. We had come out blazing in the 2nd half, moving the ball really well, wind at our backs, and the D had finally gotten a stop. Then, on 3rd & 9, Treadwell calls for that wildcat play -- I think Coach T out-cuted himself with that call.
Other than that, no complaints- great game to be at! I was literally shaking the entire 2nd half. Not sure if this was from nervousness or the after-effects of too much booze on Friday night though!
Yeah...
…I think if you’re going to pull that, you have to at least give him an option to throw. Like fake the end around one way and roll him the other, with the option to run or throw.
by witless chum on Oct 25, 2010 9:05 AM CDT up reply actions
I've always laughed at the "wildcat"
The strength of those who are successful with it has always come from these options. I laugh about how teams (MSU included) will put a guy back there and there is a 1% chance he does anything other than run it right up the gut.
This will always be a dumb playcall by Treadwell until we do something useful out of it.
"It's a trap!"
by AdmiralAkbar on Oct 25, 2010 4:02 PM CDT up reply actions
I sent a very non-family-friendly text to a buddy after that play
Didn’t get it then, don’t get it now. Oh well. I’m willing to pretend that it didn’t happen.
by Ducking Delvon on Oct 25, 2010 9:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Other weirdness/adversity from 1st half
Our first play from scrimmage, a 20 yard run by Baker, got called back for holding, followed by Bell getting stuffed on 3rd and 1. The next possession, we failed to convert a 3rd and 1 when BJ caught the ball and slipped trying to move forward. On Northwestern’s first scoring drive, Persa appeared to complete a pass that was knocked loose for a fumble, but it was ruled incomplete and wasn’t even reviewed. Darqueze, starting for Rucker, got banged up on a play and Persa converted a 3rd and 18 when Dennard’s replacement (Mitchell White) lost his assignment. Baker fumbled for what seemed like the first turnover in forever.
The Hoover-Adams fumble-recovery (that sounds like the name of a federal statute or something) at the goal line may very well have saved the season. I agreed with Griese at the time (punch me for saying that), but it was strange that they ran a straight-ahead play to the RB instead of Persa keeping it.
After the first half, you could have easily written the story for the game: just not MSU’s day, couldn’t catch a break, played an inspired NU team, yadda yadda yadda. Except, somehow, they sucked it up and played through it all. Incredible.
by Ducking Delvon on Oct 25, 2010 8:44 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
The Hoover-Adams Fumble And Season Recovery Act of 2010 (!!!)
I like this! And it should be a federal statute!
Way off, but I'll rationalize (and complain)
I predicted a wider margin of victory for this game, I think something like 45-21, but I’ll argue that this was actually the score.
1. The catch and fumble by NW in the first half that was ruled incomplete would have resulted in MSU ball relatively deep in NW territory, I’ll call it a field goal. And this drive resulted in a NW touchdown, minus 7 for them with the right call.
2. The obvious pass interference at the 1 yard line on what certainly would have been a touchdown.
That’s 10 more points for MSU and 7 less for NW.
Yeah, you’ve got to overcome bad calls on the road, but wow.
do not want.
the game happened the way it happened. for your first point, the defense should have stepped up again. the touchdown wasn’t guaranteed after that call. i mean, i have complaints, too, but have some dignity. we got trounced for most of the game. accept it and enjoy the W.
Dignity?
Lighten up Francis. I know you’re just waiting for someone to flame, but if you read more closely you’ll see that I admitted that I was complaining and that any team will need to overcome some bad calls. It’s not unreasonable to be frustrated by bad officiating, and in case you haven’t noticed, it get’s discussed in a variety of venues constantly. I’m not the only one who see’s issues.
But, if it makes you feel like a message board tough guy, feel free.
I would not call it a trouncing
I would call it comically bad luck combined with Northwestern capitalizing on it for a little while. A trouncing is what the Badgers did to Ohio State for the first 20 minutes of their contest. Complete and utter domination.
The Spartans, regardless of whether or not you want to believe it, did not get massacred in nearly the same fashion.
I love in the video
how the camera gets all shaken around as everyone is going crazy
my thoughts on Spartan basketball
http://isportsweb.com/college-basketball/big-ten/michigan-state-basketball/
what happened to the run game?
where has it been the last two weeks? i’m not trying to be down on the team, but the run game of the first 6 weeks has evaporated the last two games. one game is an off week, but two in a row makes me nervous. we can’t go to Kinnick one dimensional.
what a great comeback, and i love the fact that we overcame the lack of a good run game and sluggish starts two weeks in a row and found ways to win.
next week at Iowa will be won on the line of scrimmage and we need our OL to open up some holes for BBC. if our run game comes back our D has proven that it can hold good teams, we just need our offense to run some clock and give the D a chance to rest.
Go Green!
At this point
Teams are stacking the line and bringing more men into the box. Despite being balanced, teams are playing MSU run first, and given the way Treadwell has play called there’s no reason not to. At this point, I think we need to pass early to open the running game back open.
Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude
Teams are loading up the box, for sure...
…maybe that’s part of Treadwell’s strategy?
Get the opponent to pull the linebackers into the middle and roll the safeties up closer to the LOS, hammer the sideline stop routes to get the corners to cheat to the outside, then start hitting the intermediate-depth posts and flags?
It’s just too suspicious to me; I can’t chalk up MSU’s 2nd-half passing efficiency to coincidence.
I wonder if you're onto something here
Tonight's going to be a good night.
by Spartalytical on Oct 25, 2010 10:20 AM CDT up reply actions
I agree
I’d like to see us throw early on Iowa to open up the running game. Iowa does a good job of defending the run but they can be passed on. The 3 legit offenses they’ve played have averaged a 72% completion percentage with 280 passing yards per game against them.
good points
there is a bit of getting into the mindset of a winning program… that maybe its not that we can’t run, but that we choose not too. i’m so used to working whatever angle we have available.
i had also thought that they might be holding back a bit on the run to that Iowa comes out looking to defend the pass game allowing our RBs a little more room. again, its interesting thinking from that perspective. interesting and awesome.
by traviesodano on Oct 25, 2010 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions
Middle screen right off the bat
Their defense is allegedly “pissed” about what happened to them last week.. I say let them take their agression out on some linemen who are letting them through.
"It's a trap!"
by AdmiralAkbar on Oct 25, 2010 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Players of the Week
I can’t believe it. Three Michigan State players one Player of the Week honors. Seriously?!
Captain Kirk, Tyler Hoover (who DEFINITELY deserves it) and Aaron Bates all got the honors. Looking back, they deserve it, but I just think its insane that after that game on Saturday where we almost lost, we not only win, are now #5 in the BCS AND we got 3 PotWs. Crazy.
I never thought I’d see my team, for which I devoted my childhood and teenage years defending against countless Wal-Mart Wolvies, have such a special season, especially in my senior year of college. I’m shocked.
Fight! Fight! Rah, team, fight! Victory for MSU!
I posted it in a FanShot
but that is now 8 straight weeks that MSU has had a Big Ten player of the week. pretty amazing.
I’d be curious what the record is…
my thoughts on Spartan basketball
http://isportsweb.com/college-basketball/big-ten/michigan-state-basketball/
The video of BJ's catch....
I was sitting a few rows straight up from whoever took that video. The section was entirely Green – I only counted 4 NU fans in the whole section (and one guy wearing a Michigan hat, who was roundly booed and given the “a$$hole” chant when he took his seat)
Yeah that stadium was like 70% green.
The entire east side of the stadium was green, and completely filled. Also, the south end zone was entirely filled w MSU fans (the north end zone is open, no stands). The west side stands were all purple, BUT with the exception of the student section, was only about 2/3 filled. It looked more crowded over there than it actually was, thanks to the pre-installed purple seat backs for season ticket holders.
I remember a U-M hat guy coming in, what a joke! He was like 4 rows directly behind me. Also noticed several random Illinois people, that made slightly more sense, bc at least its in the same state.
My seat was in row 12, but really I was about the 5th row, which made it a little difficult to see the action on the other end of the field without using the TV screen, but it was still great.
My only major gripe was, where was the band? Why couldn’t we even get a little 15 or 20 piece pep band? It made it very difficult to get the whole MSU section going w our fight song, without the band to keep everybody at the same point. Imagine how loud that stadium would have been with 25,000 – 30,000 visitors all singing the fight song at once . . . .
What a great headline
Not only is it clever, but it perfectly captures the fanbase’s mixture of defiance and apprehension. I’m very sure we’re not the fifth-best team in the country, but hey — you have to keep rolling the dice while they’re hot.
After seeing Wisconsin play as well as they have
I’m not so sure. The Spartans have one of the most impressive wins of the season to date with that victory – and, more importantly, they have held up their end of the bargain the other seven weeks as well.
Not so with South Carolina, who has the other claim to that title, but didn’t get up for two of their other seven games (I’m sorry Mizzou, but the Sooners just aren’t that good).
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