More photos » Al Goldis - AP

Totally made up for the earlier drop with this.

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LVS has already covered the individual-level high-/lowlights, so I'll try to stick with the big picture.  Box score is here.


Offense

• Running game was obviously the big story.  260 yards on 28 running back rush attempts for 9.3 yards/attempt.  19 of those 28 attempts went for at least 4 yards.  Only one negative rush, two no gains.  Can't ask for much more than that, regardless of the level of competition.  Consistent run blocking plus some shiftiness from Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell when they hit the second level.  Plus 43 yards on the ground from Keshawn Martin.
  
• Kirk Cousins didn't put up particularly Cousinsesque stats: 13-21 for 186 yards, 1 TD, zero interceptions.  Still, when a 61.9% completion percentage and 8.9 yards/attempt--with dropped passes representing half your incomplete passes--is a weak performance, you're doing OK.
• Cousins was sacked twice, but Western didn't record a quaterback hurry, so the pass blocking was competent.
• Mark Dell's 6 receptions were tied for the second most of his career (behind the 9 he posted vs. Cal in 2008).  He looks like Cousins' go-to guy.
• 10 first downs on rushes; 9 on passes.  Good balance.
• Only 3 of 11 on 3rd downs, contributing to a feeling of inconsistency on offense, but 3rd-down conversion percentage is a randomish stat.
• Western's defensive disruption percentage was just 13.6%.  As much as any game over the last couple seasons, MSU ran its offense the way it wanted to on Saturday.  The 8.2 yards/offensive play the team posted was higher than any game from last season.
  

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• MSU's Rouse could avoid surgery DETNEWS | Big Ten Blog
  And apparently he did, which is good.  Rouse already graduated, and a vertebra injury presumably isn't an easy one to return from, so it seems unlikely that he'll play for MSU again.  There's very little depth at fullback; it'll be interesting to see the depth chart later this week.
• Bell Selected Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week - MICHIGAN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
  Deservedly so.  The other winner is PSU (and former OLSM) quarterback Robert Bolden.
• Undisciplined! Undisciplined! Undisciplined! " JollyGreenGiants
  A, uh, contrarian take on Saturday's game.
• Florida Atlantic Owls vs. UAB Blazers - Recap - September 02, 2010 - ESPN
  FAU blocked a 28 yard UAB field goal try on the game's final play to preserve a 32-31 victory.  They should head to Detroit with some confidence -- but they also allowed 345 rushing yards on Saturday.
  
• Blair White returns to Indianapolis Colts as member of practice squad | MLive.com
  The Colts first released him, and then signed him to the practice squad.  In the Colts' final preseason game (against the Bengals), White caught 7 passes for 132 yards, including a 52 yarder.  The bet here is that Blair will be on the active roster soon enough.
• High school football: Kankakee holds off Michigan State recruit Mika'il McCall, Thornridge - chicagotribune.com
  25 carries for 226 yards and 2 TDs in a losing effort.
• No. 24 Spartans Down No. 6 Maryland in OT - MICHIGAN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
  Wild, wild game: Maryland scored 2 goals in the 89th minute to take a 3-2 lead.  MSU scored 9 seconds (!!) later to tie the game, and won the game in extra time on a gorgeous volley.  Testudo Times says, "Oh, and it had to be Michigan State."  I say: JUST LIKE BASKETBALL [clap clap clap clap clap].
• What could've been>>> on Twitpic
  What The Swoosh would have liked to do with Penn State's uniforms.  At long last, Nike, have you no shame?

More photos » Al Goldis - AP

3 days ago: Michigan State's Le'Veon Bell rushes for a 75-yard gain against Western Michigan's Mario Armstrong during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010, in East Lansing, Mich. Bell had 141 yards rushing in Michigan State's 38-14 win. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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Welcome to a new postgame feature, which may become a weekly regular depending on the dedication and diligence of yours truly.  Here we'll evaluate the best- and worst-performing players in each week's game, in the mold of Adam Rittenberg's weekly "helmet stickers" posts.  Each week's best performers will receive the imaginary Biggie Award, named in honor of MSU's greatest coach.  The worst performers will receive a Slappy Award, named after a certain coach ranking slightly lower on that list.  Without further ado (and ignoring the slightly pornographic names of the awards), the winners:

BIGGIES

  Le'Veon Bell.  The easiest choice.  Bell completely validated all of his preseason hype by delivering a record-breaking performance.  He rushed for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns on only 10 carries, and showed the ability to both run inside and also to turn the corner on sweeps and off-tackle plays.  And, the burst of speed he showed on his 75-yard run (the game's defining play) was truly impressive.  Don Treadwell summed it up after the game:  "We are very excited by [Bell], and we think the sky is the limit as we keep moving forward."  Joe Rexrode is even more enthusiastic, comparing Bell to Marion Barber (!).  Larry Caper will obviously take plenty of the carries once he returns from injury, but Bell should be a major component in the offense going forward.  Let the Elton John jokes commence.

Edwin Baker.  And, you can't name Bell without recognizing his backfield compatriot.  Baker clearly built on his strong performances at the end of last season, as he came out looking even stronger yesterday: 19 carries for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Many of those were tough inside handoffs, and Baker showed toughness and balance in spades -- on his 28 yard touchdown run, he made one Bronco defender miss, and then another simply bounced off of him.  An impressive performance from a vitally important player.

Keith Nichol.  Nichol's day started inauspiciously: on a 3rd-and-6, he stumbled and allowed Kirk Cousins' pass to bounce off his hands.  From that point, however, he was great: his touchdown catch was fantastic, and made Cousins' dangerous throw look good.  Nichol was equally impressive in blocking downfield; Baker's second touchdown was a direct result of Nichol's efforts, and it at least looked like Keith was really having fun playing wideout.

The offensive line.  True, Cousins was sacked twice, but one of those sacks was Cousins' fault (where he didn't throw the ball on a planned bubble screen).  Otherwise, the line looked good: Cousins had plenty of time to throw, and Baker and Bell consistently had big holes to run through.  Hey, Mark Dantonio, can you repeat my sentiments back to me, please?

Based on what I saw, I thought our protection of the quarterback was very good. I also thought we ran the ball. We ran the ball for almost three hundred yards. We're doing something right there. They played very well.

Well done.  I'm encouraged by what we saw.

Todd Anderson.  He was little-discussed or noticed until he was listed, surprisingly, as co-starting defensive end (along with Colin Neely) prior to the game.  Well, now we know why the coaching staff had such confidence in him: he had three tackles, a pass breakup, and a hurry, and was responsible for much of MSU's best pressure on Alex Carder.  It was no accident how many times his name was called during the broadcast.  An impressive performance, and a player to watch going forward.

Johnny Adams.  Many of us were hoping that Adams could spur vastly improved play from the secondary.  So far, so good: Rexrode lists him as his "unsung hero" of yesterday's game.

The redshirt sophomore cornerback, who played as a true freshman and sat out last year in part because of a shoulder injury, was airtight in his coverage for most of the afternoon. He finished with five tackles, a pass break-up and zero notable busts.

I'll second that, as he kept close coverage on several of WMU's talented receivers and looked very good yesterday.  One gets the sense that he would have been useful last season; I'm just happy that he's around for this one.

Aaron Bates.  On a day with strong, swirling wind, Bates averaged 44.6 yards on 7 punts.  His efforts probably prevented WMU from taking the lead during MSU's 10-minute sleepwalk in the first/second quarters.  A very good start.

The lowlights, after the jump.

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More photos » Al Goldis - AP

3 days ago: Michigan State's Edwin Baker (4) rushes for a touchdown during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010, in East Lansing, Mich. At right is Michigan State's Garrett Celek (85). (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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On a beautiful (if windy) day in East Lansing, Your Spartans started the 2010 season on the right foot by defeating the Western Michigan Broncos, 38-14.  After MSU took an early 7-0 lead, WMU clearly was the better team during the rest of the first quarter and the opening 3 minutes of the second quarter.  But, when ESPN started showing highlights (lowlights?) of last year's CMU debacle, MSU, as if on cue, started on a 3-play 99-yard drive, including a 75-yard run by Le'Veon Bell and Edwin Baker's 7-yard touchdown scamper.  State added another touchdown before halftime and never looked back.

Quick bullets:

• Based on the limited evidence of one game, it seems as if any consternation regarding the running game is unwarranted.  The offensive line consistently gave Baker and Bell plenty of room to run, and both backs seized the chance.  MSU ended up rushing for 297 yards -- their highest total since the 2007 Indiana game.
• Le'Veon Bell will get all the headlines tomorrow, and deservedly so: he showed tremendous vision on his first touchdown run, and remarkable quickness and ability to turn the corner on the aforementioned 75-yard run.  He's the first MSU running back to gain 100 yards in his first game, a feat he accomplished by halftime.  The hype that's slowly been building up around Bell throughout the spring and summer camps appears to have been warranted.
• Kirk Cousins started very slowly but got much better as the game progressed.  (His early struggles weren't helped by several B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin drops.)  His more successful play was really spurred on by a tremendous touchdown catch by Keith Nichol -- after that point, Cousins looked quite good, if a bit rusty.
• The secondary looked OK.  The two touchdown passes were semi-breakdowns, but the first play in particular was very difficult to defend.  Marcus Hyde's interception was the result of a very nice read, and it came in a big spot.  Johnny Adams also looked very good in his first competitive game in 20 months.  Chris L. Rucker looked, well, Ruckerish, although he did make a nice 4th quarter pass breakup.
• Dan Conroy looked great on all of the extra points and on his one field goal (a 33-yarder).  Kickoffs may still be a problem, but the truly terrible first-quarter efforts seem to have been caused by the wind.

In sum, it was a fine effort and a good start to the season, and it came against a WMU team which I think will be quite good by the end of the year.  Thanks to everyone who participated in the game thread; we'll have a more thorough recap tomorrow.  For now, State's 1-0, and we have quite a bit to be encouraged about.

Korie Lucious pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge of reckless driving earlier today, reduced from the original charge of operating while intoxicated.  I am, of course, not an attorney (and I don't even play one on TV), but I'd think the facts that (1) this is a first-time offense, (2) Lucious was barely over the legal limit, and (3) he's only 9 weeks from being 21 were factors in the court's leniency.

Tom Izzo released this statement:

"I am disappointed in Korie, and Korie’s disappointed in himself. We look forward to moving past this."

While the incident certainly reflects distnictly poor judgment on Lucious' part, particularly coming so closely on the heels of Chris Allen's dismissal from the program, Izzo's statement also recognizes the less-than-criminally-sinister nature of the event.

I had the over/under for games missed to start the season at 5 (which would include the trip to Maui--could there be a sterner punishment for a college athlete, short of dismissal, than missing out on a trip to Hawaii?).  After today, missing the first 2 games (which would still include a home game vs. a major conference opponent, albeit a less-than-intimidating one, in South Carolina) seems like a potentially reasonable outcome.  I wouldn't be surprised if Izzo waits to announce the length of the suspension--and I do think a suspension is definitely warranted--for at least a few weeks to help motivate Lucious to stay on the straight and narrow.  Expect to see some Mike Kebler action early in the season.

Nothing more to see here, for now.  Back to the football talk.

More photos » Al Goldis - AP

10 months ago: Michigan State's Keshawn Martin (82) and B.J. Cunningham (3) celebrate Martin's touchdown on a 48-yard pass reception during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 49-14. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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Your MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS vs. the WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS
SPARTAN STADIUM, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN
NOON (ET), ESPN2
ONLINE RADIO FEED: WJR [pause] DUH-troit!
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY, COOL, AND BREEZY (~22mph), 63 DEGREES (!)

As I wrote in this space last year: "Good riddance, offseason.  It's time to play."  WMU makes the short drive up from Kalamazoo on Saturday to open the 2010 football season.  The Broncos are a nearly ideal early-season opponent for MSU: they're an in-state team, they're good enough that a sleepwalking effort won't cut it, but probably not good enough (at least at this point in the season) to put a serious scare into the Spartans.

MSU should be quite familiar with WMU, as the Broncos came to Spartan Stadium last November.  MSU won 49-14, in a game notable for 1) being the high point of Ashton Leggett's short MSU career, 2) Kirk Cousins' nearly-flawless performance (22-25, 353 yards, 2 TDs), and 3) MSU's last good defensive effort on the season.  Last season, WMU was supposed to be quite good: they were led by 4-year starter Tim Hiller, they had gone 9-4 the previous season, and many expected them to push CMU for the MAC title.  That didn't end up happening, as WMU struggled to a 5-7 finish, punctuated with Big Ten losses to Michigan, Indiana, and Michigan State.  This season, WMU returns 13 starters (although the departed include Hiller, 1000 yard rusher Brandon West, and their top two tacklers (LB Austin Pritchard and DE Justin Braska).  Nonetheless, Phil Steele lists WMU as his favorite to win the MAC West, and has them on his most improved list.

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More photos » Al Goldis - AP

The Bronco, The Baker, The Touchdown Maker.

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Welcome to the first edition of Around the Big Ten.  In this section I review all the Big Ten football games, and since failure is an inherent part of the human condition, make picks on each game straight up and against the spread.  This feature comes with not only my lock of the week, but my miss of the week as well - a game I am absolutely guaranteed to get wrong.  Note: I made the Thursday picks on Monday, but not against the spread.

THURSDAY:

Indiana v. Towson

You know it's college football season when Indiana takes on a massively outmatched 1-AA opponent.  Hey, at least they got the game in Bloomington. PICK: INDIANA

Ohio State v. Marshall

At the time I'm writing this, OSU's up 41-7.  In a massive upset, Terrelle Pryor is in the double digits for pass attempts.  PICK: the OHIO STATE

Minnesota v.  Middle Tennessee State

I picked Minnesota, and MTSU is up by 3 currently.  The Tim Brewster farewell tour is coming soon to your town!  PICK: MINNESOTA (which I'll soon regret)

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More photos » Paul Sancya - AP

Final Saturday of the regular season, as the Founding Fathers intended.

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So, big picture, the process of arriving at Big Ten divisions can be summed up as follows:

• Step 1: Maximize the odds that Michigan and Ohio State meet in the title game by putting them in opposite divisions and precisely balancing the two divisions based on post-1993 performance.
• Step 2: Guarantee that, should the outcome you want from Step 1 actually occur, there will be at least some level of anticlimax associated with the outcome since the two teams in question will be playing in back-to-back weeks.  As a bonus, you reduce the odds of getting semifinal-type games in the final week of the regular season and stick several teams with decided non-rival Rivalry Week opponents.  And, that's not enough, every Big Ten team will miss playing one conference opponent for a full four-year period starting next season.
  

So, like, smashing success, boys.  So much more interesting (and revenue maximizing!) than a simple geographic split.

Moving right along: Within the context of the jury-rigged framework Jim Delany et al. have created, MSU comes out looking pretty good.  Our primary rival is in our division, Nebraska and Iowa are somewhat less frightening than Ohio State and Penn State as divisional foes, and fixed cross-divisional rivals don't come much friendlier than Indiana (as artificially-generated as that rivalry may be, Brass Spittoon or not).  (Bonus: Mark Hollis gets his regular trips to Chicago to play Northwestern.)  If/when MSU puts itself in a position to make a run at a Big Ten title, odds are we won't be able to complain about schedule imbalances as a major obstacle.

Of course, the two non-fixed cross-divisional opponents we drew for the first two years of 12-team play both came up "CONTENDER": Ohio State and Wisconsin.  There was a decent chance we'd draw two teams from the OSU/PSU/Wisconsin group, 30%, but that does take the short-term sheen off the IU thing.  (By the way, there was some sort of a random draw, right?  Right?  Who am I kidding?  Probably not.)

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OK, so we most likely know what the divisions are going to be, and that those divisions will apply for football only.  Still, there should still be some good information coming out of this special, and what else do you have to watch at 7 on a Wednesday night?  Tune into the Big Ten Network or bigtennetwork.com and follow along in this thread.

In the Big Ten Network's summer programming season finale, the two divisions for football will be announced at 7 PM Eastern, 6 Central. Jim Delany will do the announcing I assume, and Mark Hollis will be in the Big Ten Studios along with three other athletic directors. Andy Katz of ESPN is reporting from several sources that the divisions will be set up thusly (with the division names being entirely my creation):

Once again, this is not definite, but Katz seems pretty sure this is how everything shakes out.  For football that seems split pretty evenly, for basketball though, holy crap. If the Big Ten goes to an SEC 16 game model (10 games in division, 6 out), when does State lose that division for the first time, and how far does their RPI drop?  For that sake alone, I hope they stick with the 18-game schedule.

We'll have a live blog starting at 6:30 PM tonight of the Big Ten's announcement.  Until then, discuss away.