The Good, The Bad, The Random in MSU football’s thrilling win vs. Penn State

WHY HELLO EVERYONE, HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?

MINE WAS PRETTY DANDY. I BET YOURS WAS TOO.

HEY, DID YOU KNOW MSU BEAT PENN STATE? WHO WAS RANKED NO. 8? ON THE ROAD?!? I ALMOST FORGOT THAT HAPPENED!

The Good

FELTON DAVIS IS THE MAN and there is no more disputing that. From his day with 100 yards and two touchdowns, to him shaking off a hip injury and basically saying “screw it, just throw me the ball and let’s get the hell out of here with a win” further cemented his legacy as one of MSU’s best receivers in program history.

And he only told the facts after the play of the year too.

And did anyone bother answering his question? What is up, guys?

Brian Lewerke got back to his vintage ways to end the game. His final drive was the best he looked all year, and let’s hope that carries into next week and the week after that and the week after and...you get it.

His day ended with 24/52 passing, but there were roughly six or seven drops by his beat up receiving corps. A handful of those on crucial third downs too. He wasn’t perfect, but he’s looking better.

And the run game was serviceable! 123 yards on 36 carries was a step in the right direction, especially with finding success with the zone run.

The defense was incredible, considering they were going up against a dynamic quarterback and a stud running back. Giving up just 17 points, especially with three Penn State possessions starting within 60 yards of the end zone in the second half, is almost beyond best case scenario.

And let’s not gloss over how huge that 3-and-out was right before MSU’s game-winning drive was. That defensive stand changed the season.

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Mark Dantonio dug into his bag of tricks, and it worked two-thirds of the time! The first two times were the Connor Heyward Show, starting with the 26 yard run on a fake punt and then an absolute DIME on a 36-yard pass to Cam Chambers.

And you know what? Dave Warner called a solid game. There, I said it. I feel like this happens all the time — one week we will cry for his firing, and the next week he bounces back and calls a solid game.

Considering the offense was missing six starters and the run game has gone no where throughout the season, he did what he could. He called it well enough for MSU to score more than 21 points, really. MSU shot themselves in the foot with a few drops in key spots, but it ended up not mattering.

The Bad

The greatest trophy in all the land broke. And someone might have snitched on himself...

We still love you, Mufi. The Land-Grant Trophy? Maybe not so much.

The drops and Cam Chambers and Brandon Sowards leaving momentarily during the game was not great.

LJ Scott going from being a game time decision scratch for a few weeks to not even traveling with the team over the weekend is alarming.

The wedding I was at didn’t have Fireball at the bar to celebrate the win. What gives?

The Random

CELEBRATION VIDEO THREAD

Let’s run down a few bowl projections, shall we?

SBNation and CBS Sports have MSU pegged for the Outback Bowl. 247Sports has MSU placed in the Citrus Bowl. College Football News has MSU slotted for the Gator Bowl.

ESPN is split on the Gator Bowl and something called the Redbox Bowl?

Just take a gander at this ol’ stat:

The look Mark Dantonio gives in the clip below says it all.

And welcome to Rivalry Week! Just a few more days of listening to Definitely Not Obsessed People talk about how none of the eight losses in the last decade were legitimate and how great their team was in the Prohibition Era, and it’s finally game time.

If you’re going to partake in trash talking, be easy. They’re a little salty that MSU upstaged their win over the weekend. It happens.

AND, AS ALWAYS, CELEBRATE THIS WIN. GO GREEN YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.