Comments on: Game recap of the short and not-so-sweet variety http://www.spartansweblog.com/2008/10/19/game-recap-of-the-short-and-not-so-sweet-variety/ A statistical look at Michigan State basketball, with a dash of football talk Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:34:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rewerts http://www.spartansweblog.com/2008/10/19/game-recap-of-the-short-and-not-so-sweet-variety/comment-page-1/#comment-8373 Rewerts Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:57:20 +0000 http://www.spartansweblog.com/?p=437#comment-8373 I would be much more worried if MSU had outplayed OSU the entire game and still found a way to lose. If that was the case the players would be thinking about every little thing they could have done different in order to get a W. With the way the game turned out, there should not be any player on MSU thinking, "If I would have done this one thing different on that one play, we would have won this game." Because noone can be thinking this, us fans are the only people still thinking about this game. MSU cares about UofM as much as conference titles IMHO. Coach D will have his team fired up and ready to go. I expect the most intense week of practice since Coach D arrived in January 2007. The only concern I have is with UofM's d-line. If MSU's O-line does not establish dominance early on then Michigan's front four will cause a lot of problems for the running game. This will be a game of lots of RB and WR screens, something Toledo showed us Michigan is very susceptible to. Is it Saturday yet? I would be much more worried if MSU had outplayed OSU the entire game and still found a way to lose. If that was the case the players would be thinking about every little thing they could have done different in order to get a W.

With the way the game turned out, there should not be any player on MSU thinking, “If I would have done this one thing different on that one play, we would have won this game.” Because noone can be thinking this, us fans are the only people still thinking about this game. MSU cares about UofM as much as conference titles IMHO.

Coach D will have his team fired up and ready to go. I expect the most intense week of practice since Coach D arrived in January 2007.

The only concern I have is with UofM’s d-line. If MSU’s O-line does not establish dominance early on then Michigan’s front four will cause a lot of problems for the running game. This will be a game of lots of RB and WR screens, something Toledo showed us Michigan is very susceptible to.

Is it Saturday yet?

]]> By: witless chum http://www.spartansweblog.com/2008/10/19/game-recap-of-the-short-and-not-so-sweet-variety/comment-page-1/#comment-8358 witless chum Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:58:35 +0000 http://www.spartansweblog.com/?p=437#comment-8358 I'm very confident. I hear Dantonio makes a bit of a big deal of this Michigan game of which you speak. Even if it wasn't Michigan, I don't think those guys are going to be happy about being blown out. I think the coaches will be able to give them a convienent target. I don't think there's much danger of them coming out flat after a big loss with this opponent. The danger would be underestimating the Wolvies. This loss was certainly bad and on a national stage, too, but MSU has played like a good team in the previous games. I'm sure David Mayo has already written his same old Spartans column and while it's true Dantonio and the staff have never had to handle a blowout loss, I'm not worried about any strange collapses. The team's got every chance to win the next three and go into Penn State with maybe even a chance to play for a share of the conference. I’m very confident. I hear Dantonio makes a bit of a big deal of this Michigan game of which you speak.

Even if it wasn’t Michigan, I don’t think those guys are going to be happy about being blown out. I think the coaches will be able to give them a convienent target. I don’t think there’s much danger of them coming out flat after a big loss with this opponent. The danger would be underestimating the Wolvies.

This loss was certainly bad and on a national stage, too, but MSU has played like a good team in the previous games. I’m sure David Mayo has already written his same old Spartans column and while it’s true Dantonio and the staff have never had to handle a blowout loss, I’m not worried about any strange collapses. The team’s got every chance to win the next three and go into Penn State with maybe even a chance to play for a share of the conference.

]]> By: Stuka http://www.spartansweblog.com/2008/10/19/game-recap-of-the-short-and-not-so-sweet-variety/comment-page-1/#comment-8343 Stuka Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:43:48 +0000 http://www.spartansweblog.com/?p=437#comment-8343 The Spartans finished strong with two conference wins to end the season under Dantonio last year - a solid beatdown of Purdue and a comeback win against PSU. I am very confident in Dantonio's ability to get this team to bounce back emotionally. MSU was down 14-3 at the half to a much better UM team last year, and they rebounded to score 21 straight. Even in this game against OSU, I don't think the team was emotionally out of it until the Cousins fumble killed our drive and made it a 28 point lead again. For my sanity, I don't want to believe that a similar combination of dominant performance by the opponent and back-breaking turnovers can happen again this week. Go State. Beat Michigan. The Spartans finished strong with two conference wins to end the season under Dantonio last year – a solid beatdown of Purdue and a comeback win against PSU.

I am very confident in Dantonio’s ability to get this team to bounce back emotionally. MSU was down 14-3 at the half to a much better UM team last year, and they rebounded to score 21 straight.

Even in this game against OSU, I don’t think the team was emotionally out of it until the Cousins fumble killed our drive and made it a 28 point lead again. For my sanity, I don’t want to believe that a similar combination of dominant performance by the opponent and back-breaking turnovers can happen again this week.

Go State. Beat Michigan.

]]> By: Kurt http://www.spartansweblog.com/2008/10/19/game-recap-of-the-short-and-not-so-sweet-variety/comment-page-1/#comment-8338 Kurt Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:21:54 +0000 http://www.spartansweblog.com/?p=437#comment-8338 I really liked how accurate Cousins threw and thought to myself "Why isn't this guy starting above Hoyer?" but like Witless wrote, we soon found out why. I am not all that confident in Hoyer, either. I'd like to say Im completely confident that Dantonio will keep this team from the typical Spartan slide of letting a bad loss stay around and create another bad loss. But he still has a lot of John L's recruits hanging around so I don't know. I trust Dantonio. This year might be different, they don't seem to be the same typical Spartan teams of the past. But I'm taking a wait-and-see approach. I really liked how accurate Cousins threw and thought to myself “Why isn’t this guy starting above Hoyer?” but like Witless wrote, we soon found out why. I am not all that confident in Hoyer, either.

I’d like to say Im completely confident that Dantonio will keep this team from the typical Spartan slide of letting a bad loss stay around and create another bad loss. But he still has a lot of John L’s recruits hanging around so I don’t know. I trust Dantonio. This year might be different, they don’t seem to be the same typical Spartan teams of the past. But I’m taking a wait-and-see approach.

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