" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

At 11:00 Eastern Time, the total margin of victory in the three games on ABC in Michigan today is 110 points.  And two other Big Ten teams each won by 50+ points today (Purdue and Iowa).  The only drama for Big Ten football fans today was watching Wisconsin clinch a winning record by taking advantage of a horrific performances by Cal-Poly’s place kicker (three missed extra points) to win in overtime.

Regarding the MSU game, I’m not quite sure how to feel about it at this point.

On the one hand, I think we were clearly outclassed by a superior team playing at its full potential today.  When Penn State had the ball on offense, I’m not exactly sure what we could have done to stop them.  The MSU defense actually played pretty well against the run, holding the Nittany Lions to 4.1 yards/carry.  They had no answers whatsoever for the Penn State passing attack, though.  They couldn’t get any pressure on Daryll Clark all afternoon, and the Penn State quarterbacks exposed the Michigan State secondary to the tune of 419 yards.  (On that note, can someone please teach Ross Weaver how to look back for the ball when he’s covering a receiver downfield before next season?)

On the other hand, there were two things that disappointed me in terms of MSU’s preparation for the game.  First, they came out looking flustered by the road environment, as evidenced by the early false start penalties on veteran offensive linemen.  Second, I didn’t understand why they weren’t more aggressive throwing the ball downfield.  It’s hard to believe the coaching staff thought we could beat Penn State by running Javon Ringer (51 42 yards on 17 carries) up the middle all afternoon, yet the first six first down plays MSU ran were all running plays.  I don’t recall one deep throw in the entire first half to loosen up the defense.  Brian Hoyer actually completed 62.5% of his passes, but averaged only 8.2 yards per completion.  In a game in which you have nothing to lose, why not try to put the defense on its heels for at least a few plays?

A record of 9-3 is certainly nothing to sneeze at.  And a 6-2 conference record gives MSU the third spot in the conference standings all by themselves.  It’s just that the six wins came on a total margin of victory of 62 points, while the two losses were by a total of 69 points.

Anyways, those results equate to a trip to Tampa or Orlando (depending on whether Oregon can beat Oregon State next Saturday) for a New Year’s Day bowl game–and perhaps one more chance to beat a ranked opponent.  Not bad for year two of a rebuilding project.

P.S. I just noticed that video highlights of the MSU-IPFW game are available via the official MSU website (you have to install a video player).  The highlights include several Delvon Roe scoring moves, including a basket set up by a great Austin Thornton hustle play.

Tags: football, penn state