Ha Ha! scUM Pulls A Spartan, Loses To Nebraska Late, 32-28

(12/28/05)--The ES was in tears of laughter and joy, having just watched the mighty Blue blow an 11-point 4th quarter lead to lose to lowly Nebraska, 32-28. Michigan was asking for it, with all their loyal fan base stating emphatically that they would blow the Corn out of the dome. Now, all you Michigan fans know what it's like to be a Spartan -- blowing big leads late and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And, to try the Cal-Berkely lateral play on the end with 70+playes on the field and not get a penalty in their favor was PURE JUSTICE... a better script couldn't have been written. This 7-5 overrated squad that thinks it's God's gift deserved this ending for its season of dashed hopes and plush reality.

Everyone hates scUM except for alums and white-trash college wannabes (proof: the ES saw THOUSANDS of "Muck Fichigan: Ann Arbor is a Whore" shirts in Champaign at the MSU-Illinois game). It's time this dirt gets whipped... But, they can't take it like real men, can they? Here comes SORE LOSER, MR. CONSTIPATION FACE, LLLLLoyd Carr, pissing and moaning at his press conference: "the players deserve better." Matter of fact, they don't Llllloyd, they deserve WORSE. They LOST, you dumbshit, because of the whole game, not just one play. Mr. Carr and his shit-eating grin is an embarrasment to college football and to that pissy school in Ann Arbor.

The ES couldn't have asked for more. Thank you, Nebraska... maybe I'll start appreciating my Corn Flakes more from now on. The ES couldn't have asked for a better holiday gift.

Ha ha!

MSU Nabs LB As #16

(12/31/05)--The Spartans received its 16th verbal committment overall, from Josh Rouse to play LB at MSU. Rouse (6-3, 210), from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA, is already enrolled and will play spring ball. Rouse was given just one-star by Rivals.com, yet he turned down offers by Boston College, Iowa, Northwestern, and Illinois to play for MSU. Rouse will switch to LB from his experience as an All-Conference quarterback in high school.

Spartans pour it on, 98-69, over Packers

(12/22/05)--The Spartan men's hoops team was in a fight with Wisc-Green Bay early, but when push came to shove midway through the second half, they taught Favre and the Packers a lesson, whipping them GB Boys, 98-69. UWGB had no answer for the Spartan trio, which combined for an impressive 76 points on 27-39 shooting: Davis with 25 pts on 10-13, Brown with 26 pts on 9-13, and Ager with 35 pts on 8-13 shooting. Really impressing the ES was Matt Trannon, who scored a career high 10 pts in 21 minutes, nearly equaling his high of 12 pts on 2 TDs in the gridder victory over Notre Dame. Trannon had a few jams and hit all five of his shots. Truly, Trannon is proving he 's a better defensive forward cager than offensive wideout gridder. Next up: a six day rest before hosting the Moonshiners from Tennessee Tech on Dec. 28.

Spartans move to #10 in MBB; ES #1 in Gridiron Blit

(12/21/05)--Most importantly, the Spartan men's hoops team has moved up to #10 in the Associated Press poll, and they travel on the road to play a 3-point crazy team in Wisconsin Green Bay (4-6 overall). MSU is favored by 14 1/2, and the Lansing State Journal favors MSU, 73-65. ES thinks MSU will kick some Green Bay Butt.

And, after the first bowl game -- which Southern Miss won, 31-19, against Sun Bowl champ Arkansas State -- well, the ES is atop the Gridiron Bowl Blitz Standings (link here). Note: never pick a conference champion whose overall record is 6-5 (Arkansas St, Sun Belt Conf).

Spartans get stud TE; move to #35 in recruiting

(12/20/05)--Sam Gardner (6-5, 255-lbs) of Lexington, KY, turned down offers from Oklahoma, Louisville, Nebraska, Clemson, Cincinnati, Kentucky, and Western Kentucky to don the green and white. Gardner runs a 4.8-40 yard dash, Rivals.com lists Gardner as a two-star tight end and the 13th best player in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Scout.com ranks him with three-stars and lists him at #45 in the nation as a lineman recruit.

Gardner is MSU's 13th verbal committment and the Big Green is now listed in the recruiting wars at #35 overall by Rivals.com. Florida is ranked by Rivals at #1 overall, followed by Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame at #4 (all four programs have 24 or more recruits). Michigan leads the BigTen in recruiting at #14 with 13 recruited players; Ohio State is #19 (10 recruits), Illinois is #22 (25r), JoePa is #33 (11r), Purdue is #36 (22r), Wisconsin is #39 (12r), Iowa is #40 (15r), Minny is #47 (20r), Indiana is #66 (13r) and Northwestern is #72 with 10 recruits.

MSU Lands Another DB While Basketball Wins Again

(12/17/05)--The ES will be podcasting sometime this weekend, but in the meantime, we'll take in some great hoop action witnessing the Spartans crushing puny opponents over the Holidays. Case One: MSU beating up on Cleveland State, 83-75, behind 27 points from Shannon Brown, 24 from Paul Davis and 22 from Mo Ager. Next team in the woodshed: Florida International.

The Spartans also added another JUCO defensive back, Nehemiah Warrick (6-0, 206-lbs), from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. That's 12 recruits in all for John L Smith so far -- he needs about 26-28 overall. He had 60 tackles, 2 INTs, and 8 PBUs last year and was a first team JUCO All-American. Maybe he'll return kicks as well: last year, Warrick had 7 kickoff returns for 208 yards, a TD, and returned 2 punts for 38 yards. He chose MSU over Tennessee and Arkansas.

MSU Kicks Wichita Butt

(12/10/05)--Wow, when Mo Ager (21 pts), Shannon Brown (18 pts) and Paul Davis (21 pts) start rolling like against Wichita, the Big Green can beat anyone. They completely dominated at the Palace, looking and playing like the Pistons in a 83-64 blowout of Wichita State. Defense looked solid and Mo Ager (21 pts, 8-12 FGA) was on fire all night long with his rainbow jumpers. Add in another solid double-double by Davis (21 pts, 10 rebs) and MSU crushes another opponent. MSU should vault up the polls this week to Top10 status.

Bowl Lineup Set: Big10 Gets Two In BCS; scUM Headed to Alamo

(12/5/05)--As expected, the Big Ten landed two BCS spots, with JoePa playing Florida State in the Orange Bowl and Ohio State playing ND in the Fiesta Bowl. scUM is headed to the Alamo Bowl to take on Nebraska. For the entire bowl lineup, link here. Later this week, the ES will open up his Gridiron Blitz bowl picks game with prizes... stay tuned!

President Simons Lays Down the Rules on JLS, Football

(12/3/05)--Yesterday's John L Smith post-season press conference was interesting. MSU President Lou Anna Simon stated: "I'm tired of losing. I love sports. I hate listening to the fact that we used to have a winning team in 1960-something... we expect to go to bowl games and we expect to win championships. I expect to go to a bowl game next year and be successful." JLS ackowledged the disappointing season but didn't point a finger to himself and the coaches, but rather he challenged the players coming back: "they need to have a committment to getting it done." Yada, yada, yada.

Bottom line: JLS better get to a bowl game next year, or he is out... and he's got a few more years until he better win the Big Ten title. ES supports this move by Simon: hey, we support you, but we're tired of the losing and the excuses. Get your shit in gear. Read more via the Lansing State Journal HERE.

Of note, Drew Stanton will not have surgery on his injured thumb, but he does need it to heal. Stanton will survey the NFL Draft... but, after the see saw year and the trio of poor performances (Michigan, Nwestern, Penn State), he'd be wise to stick it out at MSU another year. He has said as much.

2005 ES Gridder GPA Winner: Eric Smith - 3.30 GPA; Team GPA 2.62 for '05 Season

(12/2/05)--The ES has calculated the GPA for the entire season, and -- with over 4,000 public votes counted -- Eric Smith is the 2005 ES Gridder GPA Winner for the Spartan Football Team. Smith finished with an impressive 3.30 GPA overall (That's a B+) -- he was by far the most consistently highly graded Spartan all year, even with the downward spiral of the team. The voters recognized his consistently high play and gave him high marks all season long; he was ranked among the top 7 players in 8 of the 10 games graded (winning with a 3.39 GPA vs Purdue), never finishing worse than 11th. Jerramy Scott was a close second with a 3.21 GPA. Twice, versus JoePa and Ohio State, Scott graded out highest as the teams best player. Drew Stanton finished seventh with a 3.04 GPA (B). The coaching staff finished with a 1.85 GPA (D+) for the season, and the team finished with a 2.62 (C+) overall.

Check out all the grades, and thanks to everyone who voted! Link to Grade the Gridders.

Spartans Nab Kicker Thank God

(12/1/05)--The Spartans nabbed their 11th recruit to meet their weakest position: that of field goal kicker. Brett Swenson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla, hit just 2-of-3 FGs last year but all 25 PAT attempts; he also had 25 touchbacks on kickoffs. The year prior, he hit 9-of-11 including a 45-yarder. He has a pretty decent personal recruiting website: link here. He was ranked Second Team All-Florida last year. He turned down offers from Bowling Green and Ole Miss to join MSU. Scout.com ranks him with one star, and Rivals.com doesn't even list him.

J Scott Gets 3.58 GPA vs JoePa; Final GPAs Due

(11/30/05)--The final Gridder GPAs are out for the loss to Joe Paterno at home. (The ES will calculate the season-long Gridder GPAs, and the season winner later this week). The Spartans mailed it in long ago, but congrats to Jerramy Scott for winning the final gridder GPA of the season in the finale against JoePa, with a 3.58 GPA based on his 87 receiving yards and 1 TD rushing. DL Michael Bazemore follwed up with a 3.30 GPA, and Eric Smith had a solid effort at SS with a 3.29 GPA. Notable is that despite his 4 INTs, Drew Stanton didn't fail -- he got a 1.89 GPA. And, PK Matt Haughey's miss wasn't enough to fail him, with a 2.0 GPA. Terry Love brought up the rear with a piss-poor FAIL of 0.40, and the coaching staff failed again, with a 0.73. Overall, the team improved to 2.08 -- a passing grade against JoePa, even though they'll stay home for the holidays. Link here to view all of the Gridder GPAs for the outing vs JoePa.

Spartans Roll Over Ft Wayne, 84-73

(11/28/05)--The Big Green Machine rolls along, dumping Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne (IUPUFW), 84-73. The Spartans were spent with energy, but were able to us their size and talent advantage to victory... coming home after an emotional -- but successful -- road trip to Maui. This team needs its two days of rest before hosting a 2-1 Georgia Tech team which was smoked by Illinois -Chicago, 73-51, last Friday.

Izzo, Olsen Impressed With MSU as Green Dumps 'Zona in OT; Podcast Notes

(11/24/05)--Wow, the Spartans are light years ahead of their early season performances in recent years, demonstrating the grit and toughness of the '00 Championship team with a hard fought, 74-71 win over Arizona in OT. MSU controlled yesterday's consolation game vs #8 Arizona up to the last 5 minutes... when the 'Cats went on a 16-0 tear to take the lead.... yet MSU, coming off its 3OT loss to Gonzaga on Tuesday, found a way to grit it out and beat the Cats.

Impressively, Arizona coach Lute Olsen said of MSU: "I want to acknowledge the courage and heart of that team. Following the best preseason game I've ever seen, to go to another overtime and sustain that effort." And, more impressively, Izzo stated: "I love my team. I didn't like them with a minute left. I learned they have bigger toughness than I have. I could have never done what they've done."

What we have found out is that Maurice Ager can shoot the lights out and is arguably a First Team All-America, Paul Davis is playing stronger and at a more consistently higher level (and is hitting all his free throws), Shannon Brown is amazingly athletic, and -- of all people -- Goran Suton is surprising the ES and pundits alike at his willingness to provide valuable minutes pounding at the #4 low post spot. This Walton kid at point guard is a great defensive player, and has provided valuable minutes spelling Naymick. With Suton and Walton getting this much p;aying time this early, and with Trannon coming back to the team by January... well, we are looking at a mighty fine season come March!!!!

PODCAST UP BY FRIDAY

The ES busted his computer and is working off his laptop -- so the next podcast will be up by Friday, post-Tgiving Day.

Spartans Nab Two Recruits

(11/23/05)--MSU has upped its recruits to NINE overall so far for 2006 -- they need a good 25-30 recruits.

Looking at more help in the defensive backfield, MSU has received a commitment from 6-1, 190-lb Mombroso Washington of San Bernardino Valley CC, California. While not rated by Rivals.com, he chose MSU over offers from Nevada, San Diego State, and UNLV. He made three picks last year for SBVCC.

And, it looks like the Spartans have snatched a great lineman (DL/OL/TE) recruit with 6-4, 239-lb John Stipek of Macomb Dakota (MI). He runs a 4.71-40 yard dash. Stipek turned down offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Bowling Green, CMU and Toledo to don the green and white. His highlights last year include: in a 35-7 victory over Utica, Stipek had 12 tackles and 4 sacks. Scout.com rates him with just one star. Link here for bio.

No Worries As MSU Bkb Drops Epic Clash, 109-106 in 3OT to Zags

(11/23/05)--OK, so you're bummed that the Spartans couldn't pull out the epic battle last night, falling 109-106 in triple overtime to Gonzaga -- the tiny, but very good, #8 Jesuit school from Spokane, Washington. All the ES has to say is... NO WORRIES. These are the games MSU may lose in the fall, but wins when it really counts in the NCAA Tourney. This is the game that makes men out of boys. Watch MSU try to take out #9 Arizona today in the Maui Classic Consolation game. Great job, Spartans -- we'll get 'em next time when we see the Zags in the tourney!

Final Chance To Grade MSU Gridders (vs JoePa)

(11/22/05)--Now is your final chance to grade the MSU players for their swan song in the loss to JoePa. The polls are open (link here) through Sunday. Next week, the ES will take these grades, post them, and then tabulate the season gridder GPAs for all the Spartan players as well as the coaching staff. One player will win the ES Gridder GPA Award for 2005 -- will it be Drew Stanton, Javon Ringer... maybe even Domata Peko?

So, GRADE THE GRIDDERS and watch next week for the final season grades!

Mail Delivered: Same Old Spartans Give JoePa BCS Bid, 31-22; Stanton Injured

(11/20/05)--As predicted, the Spartans blew it yet again -- this time ruining their best defensive effort of the season -- falling 31-22 to JoePa and delivering the mail they sent following the halftime debacle at Ohio State. Once 4-0 MSU ends its season 5-6, and John L Smith is in simlar fashion with Spartans Coaches Of Yesteryear at 18-18 after three seasons. And, they gave the Old Man his first BCS bid.

Of interest, QB Drew Stanton revealed that his thumb on his throwing arm is broken and has ligament damage, suffered in the Purdue loss. You wonder how much effect that had on him the past two games -- but, he was jittery throughout and seemed to hesitate too often besides the thumb. More problems between the earholes than on the throwing hand in this game...

You saw the game, and saw a valiant effort by the Spartans who played their tails off. And, for the first time all year, MSU woke up in the second half and played harder as the game wore on. MSU, trailing 17-0 at half, made a game of it through the third quarter and actually outscored JoePa 22-14 after half. Yet, Drew Stanton took another game off, trying to do too much by taking untimely sacks which forced John L Smith to try two field goals on 4th-and-forever, both of which were missed. Brandon Fields had a punt blocked for a TD, and bobbled the second FG attempt. And, Drew Stanton also threw 4 INTs, including an incredibly poor throw to wide open Kerry Reed as he waited until Penn State DBs were in position to make a play before he threw the ball; that was returned to the MSU 3 yard line, and JoePa cashed in on the next play. In all, Penn State only scored 17 points on sustained drives and the other 14 on MSU gifts... while MSU missed two field goals in addition to plenty of other opportunities.

The game was a microcosm of the Spartans season. In typical fashion for the '05 Green, MSU outgained JoePa 401-293 in total yards, and 23 first downs to JoePas 16, had the edge in time of possession 33:20-26:40... yet lost. But, in this game the Spartans played hard throughout, but made just too many mistakes to win.

First order of business after the game, said John L, is to get the team a new kicker -- no shit, JLS, and you may want to put your QB as holder instead of your punter as well.

Thank God the season is over. What a disaster, and a season to forget.

Team 1.95 GPA for Blowout at Minny; Peko gets 3.14 for Team High

(11/18/05)--Link here to Gridder GPAs for the grades from the Minnesota failure -- YOU VOTED THESE GRADES. Despite the blowout at Minnesota, someone had to grade out the highest: in this case, Domata Peko wins his second Gridder GPA of the year (first one was vs Michigan), with a 3.14 GPA after 9 tackles and a blocked kick vs the Gophers. Drew Stanton's solid effort led him to a 2.88 GPA. Interestingly, the coaching staff again failed with a 0.75 GPA and the team received its worst grade for mailing in this game before kickoff - just a 1.95 GPA. For all grades, link here.

Gotta Love the Dead Schembechlers

(11/18/05)--Though not the biggest Buckeye fan, the ES is an avid Michigan-hater. On name alone, you have to check out the band "Dead Schembechlers" at thedeadschembechlers.com

SPARTAN STATUS REPORT FOR JOEPA

Looks like Aaron Alexander is done for his career, he won't be back in an MSU uniform and won't redshirt. This week, both Stefon Wheeler and Kyle Brown will be back to help kick-start the struggling Spartan offense.

MSU Named Best Field

(11/17/05)--Well, we sure as hell don't have the best team... but we have a championship field for the team to play on! The turf at Spartan Stadium has been named the best in the country by the Sports Turf Managers Association (for previous winning fields, link here).

ESPN GameDay at Dem Hall, 10 - Noon

(11/16/05)--Here is the official email from StateMail:

Michigan State STATEMAIL
The Official Source for Spartan Ticket Office and Athletic Information

See Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit and get on T.V!

Broadcast is from Dem Hall Field - 10:00 a.m. to Noon. Penn State fans are planning on coming, are you?

Wear Green! Bring flags!! Have fun!!!

Game Day: JoePa 42, Spartans 28

(11/15/05)--It will be perfect weather for the Game Day crew: cold and rainy. Let's make them suffer as much as we fans will suffer getting soaking wet and freezing, paying our good money and loyalty to watch the Big Green get its butt kicked. The ES sez the Spartans will try to stick it to the Old Man, but they've mailed in the season LONG AGO and will lose, 42-28. Check out the ES preview at Game Day - stats, two-deep, predictions, more than you want to know. Link here.

GameDay To Witness Slaughter

(11/15/05)--The ESPN College Game Day crew is coming to town this weekend to witness JoePa's predicting annihilation of the Spartans. ESPN is all giddy over Old Man Paterno, and they should be. It will be interesting to see how Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit handle the whirlwind surrounding John L Smith. My guess is they will also express their disappointment.

By the way, YOU can vote on what you think of the performance vs Minnesota. LINK HERE.

JLS is under attack all over the airwaves, and he deserves it. This year is one of the poorest coaching efforts in recent years, and MSU has taken a big step backward intead of maintaining some momentum for the program. The team is going through the motions, not focused, and has mailed in the season a la Bobby Williams. JLS has suffered his first ever losing record in conference, and needs to beat #4 Penn State to be bowl eligible. A tall order indeed, and this team has shown no ability to stop an opponent's big play, or make a big play themselvers.

Let's get this straight -- JLS shouldn't be fired this year, but the honeymoon is over and if he thinks it is all fun and games he is in DENIAL. He has one year to turn this thing around and he is now sporting the same shit-eating grin that Bobby Williams had, that "what happened?" expression that makes him look like a moron. Next year, beat Michigan and win 8 games or get fired. That is reasonable for $1.6 million. Otherwise, let's hire Randy Walker from Nwestern.

JoePa favored by TD at Spartans

(11/13/05)--The bookies in Vegas have JoePa as a 7-pt fave at MSU on Saturday. Purdue is favored by 11.5 at Indiana; Northwestern is favored by 14 at Illinois; Iowa is a 4-pt home fave over Minny; Ohio State is favored by 2.5 at Michigan.

Notes on John L Smith's performance after Minny loss

(11/13/05)--(NOTE: vote at ES Poll to the left to register your thoughts). In all honesty, is the MSU program playing any better now than the 2002 squad under Bobby Williams and Morris Watts? The one difference is that we beat ND this year -- but at this point, that's the only garing exception the ES sees. Hell, even BW beat Northwestern before being shown the exit. This program is headed the WRONG way, and I don't see any improvement out of the coaches or the players for the $1.6 million annual investment. Notes on John L Smith:

• It will be the first losing record in conference in JLS' 17 year heading coaching career
• In 2005, MSU has lost to Minnesota, Northwestern and Purdue in the same season for the first time in history
• JLS' record at MSU now stands at 18-17 overall and 11-12 in the Big Ten; this in stark contrast to Bobby Williams record of 16-17, and Nick Saban's record of 34-24, and George Perles' record of 68-67.
• Under JLS, the Spartans are a combined 0-6 against Michigan and Ohio State
• John L Smith has shown some consistency: failure to keep the Spartans playing at a high level at the end of each season. In 2003, MSU started 7-1 and finished 1-4; in 2004, MSU started 4-3 and finished 1-4; in 2005, MSU started 4-0 and is finishing 1-5.
• It was 20 years and five coaches between the Spartans '66 Rose Bowl team and the '86 Rose Bowl team; can JLS make it as the fourth coach and 20 years to Pasdena in 2006?

Smith earns 3.39 GPA vs Purdue; Trivia for MSU v Minny

(11/11/05)--You, the public at large, have graded your Spartan gridders again for their performance (link here to Grade the Gridders). For the second straight game, MSU as a team receives a C- overall, this time with a 2.12 GPA. SS Eric Smith wins his first gridder GPA after returning the fumble for a TD in the first half, he had a 3.39 GPA. On offense, WR Jerramy Scott's solid game gives him the runner up with a 3.36 GPA. Also notable, DL Domato Peko continues to score high with a 3.0 GPA and QB Drew Stanton earned a "passing grade" with a 2.39 GPA. The coaches earned another F, earning a team-worst 0.64 GPA. The coaching staff has now not earned above a 1.0 since posting a 1.69 GPA vs Michigan. For all grades, link here.

TRIVIA
Of note: did you know that MSU has never lost to Northwestern, Purdue and Minnesota in the same season? Has the ES just put a hex on the Spartans?

One Last Chance for JLS To Save Season

(11/11/05)--It doesn't look good from the outset: 5-4 MSU, losing four of its last five, its offense sputtering, and limping into its final two games against opponents with a combined record of 15-4.

But, there's hope Spartan fans... and it rests on the paycheck of one John L Smith. Let's be realistic, here. MSU is NOT as bad as they have performed in the four losses. They were smoked by Northwestern, but should have defeated Michigan and outplayed Ohio State. Clearly, the talent and ability to win is there.

The ES calls on John L Smith to chase the echoes of defeat and run them out of Spartan lore. He can still do that by running the table. An improved season to 8-4 is NOT out of the question, here, folks. At this point it doesn't seem realistic... but, hey, funnier things have happened. Would you take an 8-4 season? Would you call it a success? The ES says, well, YES, it is an improvement but NO it isn't a success because we didn't beat Michigan. But, it would get JLS off the chopping block.

What has happened? The problems have lied in:

• poor coaching decisions on the field especially trying to outsmart themselves on offense,
• substitution problems,
• the inability to instill a sense of urgency in the team to "win at all costs,"
• lack of improvement in defensive play,
• failure to put players in position to win on each play,
• poor second half adjustments (in fact, not showing up at all in the second half),
• and, downright conservative playcalling on offense when the team has the lead.

Check out Dave Dye's article in the Detroit News, and it spells out why John L Smith has been so disappointing after a promising start. There is not much good to point to after the 4-0 beginning.

Yet, he can hang his hat on the fact that the Spartan team can play well... if the coaches put the players in the best chance to win, as was the case during the 4-0 start. It starts tomorrow at Minnesota. They say you can really tell how good a coach is when the team is down. We'll see on Saturday.

JLS Concerned Over Attitude; Wake Up!

(11/7/05)--Well, John L Smith directed much of the emphasis in his press conference yesterday to MSU's seemingly lack of "spark" and "spirit" from the team that was evident early in the season. "We have to show some emotion," said JLS. No shit, Sherlock. This is one of the major jobs of a coach -- to get the team ready, prepared, and energized for its opponent.

And, once again, JLS has no halftime response as MSU comes out flat in the third quarter. John L said that he will be reevaluating the offense and that coaches have been too conservative in the second half. JESUS, WHAT TOOK SO LONG? They've been too conservative since the ND game!!! Wake up!

So much for the offseason comments from Stanton and others that "we really stressed the need to finish games." Whatever they worked on in the offseason has BACKFIRED, as they are NOT finishing. All that time bowling in the offseason to bring together team unity may be as close as the Spartans get to travelling to a bowl this winter.

OL Stefon Wheeler and WR Kyle Brown both sat out vs Purdue and were sorely missed. They'll play at Minny on Saturday.

What did you think of the Purdue game? YOU grade the gridders, linking here.

Minny favored by 5-1/2 over Spartans

(11/6/05)--As expected, the Spartans are 5 1/2-pt underdogs at Minnesota this weekend... all Big Ten home teams are favored this week. Michigan is favored by 24 at home over Indiana; Purdue is favored by 22 at home over Illinois; Ohio State is favored by 16 at home over Nwestern; Wisconsin is favored by 2.5 at home over Iowa.

MSU Season Turns Predictible with 28-21 Loss to Purdue; Same Old Spartans Return To Form

(11/5/05)--What do you need to say? Same Old Spartans, Same Old Spartans, just an expensive coach... that's all. MSU lost, as the ES predicted (see below), 28-21 to Purdue. The Spartans fell FLAT on offense after scoring its first two TDs. MSU gained just 380 yards of offense, and barely 100 yards on the ground. MSU demonstrated a truly pathetic second-half performance against a Purdue team hungry for a win. MSU just didn't want it bad enough, and the coaches don't have any answers at this point -- we aren't getting our money's worth. Hell, Bobby Williams' record was just as good as JLS' at this point in the third season of each coach. Difference is, BW cost us $3.6 million less than JLS for the virtually the same record on the field. And, now we are getting the same dumbfounded, shit-eating grin from JLS that we saw from BW. It's very disappointing.

Not much more to say here, other than John L Smith is in danger of his first ever losing season in conference in the history of his 17-year coaching career; he has never done worse that .500 in conference play. Will MSU win another game? The ES says: YES they will win at Minnesota... to be predictible, they have no business winning in Minneapolis, so they'll win that game, but lose at home to a red hot JoePa team and end up 6-5 overall.

Who cares about the stats or the AP writeup. You saw the game. What a joke. We are paying $1.6 million annually for the same old mediocrity since 1967. JLS is now officially on the hot seat.

Spartans Mail In Season; MSU Sucks In 41-18 Drubbing to Minny

(11/13/05)--Well, yesterday's latest football disaster for Michigan State, a 41-18 whitewash in Minnesota, leads us pondering whether or not John L Smith is doing anything positive at all for the football program. Michigan State sucks -- plain and simple folks, the football team just isn't very good. The Spartans have mailed in the season, limping home to take on one of the best teams in the nation in Penn State, which is coming off a bye week. Minnesota crushed MSU on the ground with 326 yards rushing -- about what was expected, yet the Spartans couldn't stop them. And, MSU failed miserably on offense, time and time again moving between the 20s but failing to get the ball into the end zone. Spartan receivers dropped passes all day long -- don't blame this one on Stanton, who performed as well as he has the past six weeks, including 50 yards rushing. An onside kick in the fourth quarter was ill-timed; everyone expected that. Whatever... it would be a miracle for MSU to wake up out of this nightmare and beat Penn State.

ES Game Day: MSU 34, Minny 30

(11/9/05)--There's no real good reason for it... other than a hunch. ES figures MSU's consistent inconsistency will continue with a 34-30 win at Gopherland. For stats, injuries, scouting report, two-deeps, etc. link here to Game Day.

JoePa Kickoff 4 pm

(11/8/05)--The Spartans will end its regular season on Nov 19 with a 4 pm ESTkickoff at home against JoePa. The game is on ESPN.

MSU Cagers Ranked #4

(11/8/05)--The Spartan men's basketball game shot out of the gate last night, whipping Division II Lake Superior State, 107-73, in Breslin Center. The men are now ranked #4 in the Associated Press poll, behind #1 Duke, #2 Texas, #3 UConn and ahead of #5 Villanova. Next game: Saturday, 8 pm, home vs Division II Northern Michigan.

Thank God for basketball season.

ES Predicts Purdue Victory, 37-35; Williams POW; Recruit Picks MSU

(11/4/05)--Well, though the ES is bypassing his normal Game Day writeup, we still look at the history of MSU vs Purdue, the injury report, and the current makeup of the teams. MSU has won just one of the last six meetings against Purdue in a tight 29-25-3 series lead dating back to 1918. The Spoliermakers have had their number as of late, and they host MSU while CRAVING for their first BigTen victory.

Looking at Purdue, they have had disappointing play from the QB, and may switch between Brandon Kirsch and Curtis Painter. Let's hope that MSU d-coordinator wakes up and takes advantage -- it makes sense for the defensive line to mimic last week and blitz at will to put added pressure on the Boiler QBs -- they'll tear MSU apart with their prolific receivers as it is, so may as well get a few sacks and maybe get lucky a few times... the defensive backfield has nothing to lose and may as well sell out.

On the other side of the ball, if Spartan OL Wheeler is out, don't be surprised to see the experienced Purdue defense to blitz at will at MSU QB Stanton... with a receiving corps returning in tact and with Ringer coming on, the Spartan offense should continue its high play vs Indiana unless Stanton has another Nwestern or Penn State '04 outing.

Bottom line, the ES sees MSU playing a shootout all game to a dangerous team that just hasn't caught any breaks this year. Playing at home, with nothing to lose (Purdue is out of bowl contention), and with the players to get it done, watch MSU bellyflop and make enough mistakes to give Purdue another win in the series. Let's make it 37-35 Boilers over MSU. The pressure is on JLS to win these games... let's see if he and his compadres have the balls to get it done.

INJURY REPORT
OL Stefon Wheeler is questionable for the Purdue game. WRs Matt Trannon and Kyle Brown will return to the lineup and are at 100-percent.

WILLIAMS BIG10 POW
Oh, and Spartan's Demond Williams was named Big10 Special Teams Player of the Week for running the opening kickoff back for a TD vs Indiana, as well as blocking the Hoosier extra point that Ashton Watson returned for 2 pts.

OL RECRUIT PICKS MSU
Jason Diehl (6-4, 290-lbs), New Berlin, N.Y. has chosen to attend MSU. Rivals.com ranks Diehl as the No. 20 prospect in the nation and as a three star recruit overall.
Diehl chose MSU over Pitt, Miami (Fla.) and Ole Miss.

Spartans Favored by 6.5 at Purdue

(10/31/05)--It must be Halloween. For the first time in what seems like eons, the Spartans are favored at Purdue, with the experts at Stardust in Vegas making the Green 6.5-pt faves. Iowa is favored by 1 at Northwestern, Minnesota is favored by 13 at Indiana, Ohio State is favored by a whopping 35-pts at home over Illinois, and JoePa is favored by 10 at home over Wisconsin in the big to take the BigTen lead.

Spartans Roll Over Indy, 46-15

(10/30/05)--Well, JLS proved the ES wrong by lighting a fire under the Spartans to punish Indiana, 46-15, on a beautiful Saturday in October. MSU returned to its form of earlier in the season with a solid offensive effort and had its best special teams outing of the season. Remarkably, the Spartans also blitzed relentlessly -- what took so long to figure that out, why did JLS and Smeland allow the last three opponents to pick our defense apart?

Drew Stanton played well -- not his best effort of the season, but much better than last week -- and finished 17-of-31 for 244 yds, 2 TDs and an ill-advised INT. Stanton also ran for another score and 27 yds on 10 carries. Freshman Javon Ringer had has best effort of his short career, continuing to impress with 109 yds on 11 carries, including a beautiful 45-yd score down the left sideline in the third quarter. The special teams looked solid, with Demond Williams returning the opening kickoff for a TD and blocking an Indiana PAT, which Ashton Watson returned for 2 pts in the second quarter.

Anyhow, the Spartans returned to its winning ways and now stand 5-3 overall, needing another win to become bowl eligible. But, MSU travels to face an extremely hungry Purdue squad that stands a surprising 0-5 in conference play... ES doesn't have a good feeling with this up and down Spartan squad on the road against a Boilermaker program that has had MSU's number in recent years. Let's see what JLS has up his sleeve this week.

Ringer wins Gridder GPA for Nwestern with 3.62; Coaches 0.87

(10/28/05)--All the MSU gridder grades -- as voted on by YOU, the public -- went straight into the crapper for the lowly performance vs the Wildcats, with the exception of Javon Ringer's 3.62 GPA -- he wins this week's Gridder GPA award. Only four players managed a 3.0 or better, the other three being WRs Jerramy Scott, Terry Love and Kerry Reed. The coaching staff received a justified 0.87 GPA, PK John Goss -- who you won't see on this anymore due to his being benched -- received a 0.54, and DB Jaren Hayes earned an 0.50... all FAILING grades. Link here to check out all the lowly GPAs for the Nwestern performance.

Game Day: MSU 31, Indiana 27

(10/27/05)--The ES looks to this game at being pretty dang close as the Spartans limp physically and mentally down the stretch. ES asks the players and coaches to prove him wrong... check out scouting report, stats, injuries, two-deeps and more at Game Day.

MSU Injuries Mount; DB Recruit Committs

(10/25/05)--The injury toll for the MSU Spartans is beginning to mount, especially at the deep WR position. WR Aaron Alexander has yet to return to the lineup after suffering a broken ankle in preseason; and both wideouts Kyle Brown (ankle) and Matt Trannon (quad) are questionable. Expect Ryan Allison and redshirt Deon Curry to be injected into the lineup for the Indiana tilt. Terry Love will fill in for Brown at kick returner, and freshman Matt Haughey is now the Spartans' permanent placekicker (said JLS of Goss: "you can't give a guy a thousand chances."). Kyle Mayer is back and kicking in practice, and likely will be the #2 placekicker.

The Spartans earned a verbal committment from 6-3, 190-lb defensive back Enrique Shaw of Lexington, KY. Shaw is listed as one of the top 26 players in the state of Kentucky by the Kentucky Football Coaches Assn. He runs a 4.5-40 yard dash, and has a 35-inch vertical leap. His daddy, Eric Shaw, played for the Bengals and Chiefs in the mid-1990s. He chose the Spartans over Purdue, Louisville, Cinci, Kentucky and Marshall. The real question is: CAN HE SUIT UP AND START ON SATURDAY?

Also, MSU announced the Nov. 5 game at Purdue is scheduled for a noon kickoff.

MSU In Free Fall After Poorest Effort Of Season, 49-14 vs Nwestern

(10/24/05)--Well, John L Smith now has his toughest task of his coaching life after watching his team implode on Saturday, falling 49-14 to Northwestern on homecoming, and MSU losing its last three games after being ranked as high as #11. It was the worst margin of defeat in the history of the series dating back to 1905. It was also the worst outing of Drew Stanton's career. What type of pep-down talk did John L give the team at half time, down just 21-7, to come out and lay an egg and play so lethargically? How pathetic. Many, including the ES, are now beginning to wonder if the guy in the cowboy boots has what it takes to get it done. JLS just doesn't seem to understand the "Same Old Spartans" mantra and is falling into the trap of this long and agonizing saga. Anyhow, the coaches can bear much of the blame as Northwestern seemed to anticipate much of the vaunted spread offense, and the coaching staff has abandoned blitzing altogether.

Stanton looked Smoker-esque, as he was completely out of rhythm and throwing poor passes all game long -- a puzzling performance after being sharp against such better competition all season long. Stanton finished 20-for-38 with 3 INTs (all poor throws) and 234 yards in the air against the nation's worst pass defense. Surely, Stanton's poor effort didn't help the Spartans cause whatsoever.

But, much blame also goes to the players on MSU defense which can't tackle let alone stop anybody, especially the receivers of Northwestern. MSU gave up long drive after long drive... but, you can also count out John Goss for the remainder of the season -- freshman Matt Haughey came in to kickoff and kick the extra point in the second half.

All in all, the Spartans failed across the board in the most embarassing effort at home since MSU was pummelled by Minnesota in Bobby Williams' last home game. JLS is in trouble and needs to right the ship immediately.... luckily, Indiana comes to town but one wonders if JLS has what it takes to notch two more wins to be, at minimum, bowl-eligible. My how tides have turned after such promise, to hope that we are just bowl eligible? MSU has shown it can play with the best teams -- at Ohio St, at N Dame, home vs. Michigan. The loss and poor effort on Saturday was inexcusable out of JLS -- for the third week in a row. How many more can we take?

They say a team is supposed to get better as the year progresses... well, this team is headed in the opposite direction and is getting worse. Come on, John L, wake up!

Here is the AP write up:

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez played part of his freshman year with a broken leg. Last season, he struggled with a shoulder injury.

The senior is relatively healthy this season. And it showed Saturday as he led surging Northwestern to a 49-14 victory over No. 22 Michigan State.

Basanez passed for 331 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead the Wildcats (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) to their third straight win.

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The game was billed as a meeting between two of the nation's best offenses, but miscues by the Spartans (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) allowed the game to turn into a rout. Michigan State has now lost three straight, while the Wildcats remain in the middle of the conference title race.

``I think I've learned a lot in my career here,'' said Basanez, Northwestern's all-time leader in passing yardage. ``I'm kind of at a point now where I know what's it like. You come in and you kind of think you know, but now I know what this team needs and what this offense needs as far as leadership style.''

Michigan State entered the game third in the nation and first in the Big Ten in total offense, while Northwestern ranked fourth in the nation and second in the conference.

Michigan State scored on the game's first possession, going 75 yards in just three plays, the last an 18-yard touchdown pass from Drew Stanton to Kerry Reed. But the Spartans' own mistakes -- two interceptions in the end zone, two missed field goals and a fumble that was returned for a score -- allowed Northwestern to take a 21-7 halftime lead.

The Wildcats went up 28-7 on their first drive of the second half, capped by a 14-yard TD pass from Basanez to Eric Peterman.

Michigan State, playing on its homecoming day, did not score again until midway through the fourth quarter.

``They played harder than we did,'' Michigan State coach John L. Smith said. ``They played much better than we did.''

Basanez, who entered the game as the Big Ten's passing yardage leader, completed 24 of 30 passes and did not throw an interception. His favorite target was Shaun Herbert, who caught 10 passes for 138 yards.

Freshman running back Tyrell Sutton had 109 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

Stanton entered Saturday's game as the nation's leader in passing efficiency. But he struggled Saturday, completing 20 of 38 passes for 234 yards, a TD and three costly interceptions.

``We didn't execute on offense and it falls on my shoulders,'' Stanton said. ``I made too many mistakes.''

Freshman running back Javon Ringer had 104 yards on 18 carries for the Spartans.

The much-maligned Northwestern defense ranked 116th in the nation coming in, allowing more than 500 yards per game. Michigan State had 480 yards of total offense Saturday but not much to show for it, especially in the first half.

Northwestern gained 533 yards of total offense and was more opportunistic than the Spartans.

``We made some big plays, created some turnovers and created some opportunities,'' Northwestern coach Randy Walker said

The Wildcats scored on their third possession -- a 41-yard drive capped by a 4-yard TD run by Basanez -- to tie the game at 7-7.

Stanton was intercepted in the end zone by the Wildcats' safety Brendan Smith, who returned it 37 yards to set up Northwestern's second touchdown drive. On Michigan State's next possession, a fumble by Stanton was returned 86 yards for a touchdown by Northwestern linebacker Demetrius Eaton.

Michigan State's John Goss missed field goal attempts of 47 and 37 yards in the first half.

MSU favored by 18 over Indiana

(10/24/05)--Even after the implosion at home, the Spartans are still seen as 18-pt favorites over Indiana in the eyes of the pundits at Stardust in Vegas. Penn State is favored by 15 at home over Purdue; Wisconsin is favored by 19 at Illinois; Michigan is favored by 3.5 at Northwestern (even though NW is ranked higher than Michigan and at home); Ohio State-Minnesota is not listed due to Cupito's questionable status.

MSU Alcohol Policy Leads to EL Community Problems

(10/20/05)--It wouldn't be scientific to infer that one thing causes another unless you specifically ask the question, but there seems to be little disputing that the ban on open-alcohol on the MSU campus over the past year has led to a whopping increase in alcohol-related arrests in the city of East Lansing. In effect, yet again MSU administrators and trustees did NOT work with East Lansing community members when issuing their new rules, and now it is up to the City to clean up the mess. In effect, MSU's ever changing alcohol policy has always had one thing in common -- reactionary and focused on penalization. MSU is in effect saying "we need to work together on alcohol problems... but we'll change our policy first and ask questions and deal with the consequences later."

The latest controversy comes from a Lansing State Journal report published today that shows a 61% increase in underage drinking citations over a year ago, a 69% increase in disorderly conduct citations, a 119% increase in underage drinking arrests, and a 45% increase in disorderly conduct arrests. With numbers that high, it is difficult to NOT see the connection.

As the ES has said since columns in the Lansing State Journal in the earlly-1990s, MSU seems to take reactionary steps to perceived alcohol problems instead of focusing on the problem at hand -- alcohol-related decision making by young, growing adults in a college environment. Instead of working with students and the community, MSU administrators lay down the law with their "we know best approach" that is more focused on penalties than problem-solving.... and after 11+ years of tackling the problem, there is no noticeable difference... it can be argued that it is worse.

MSU #24 in BCS Poll

(10/22/05)

link here for pdf of BCS computer stats

1. Southern California 0.9923
2. Texas 0.9591
3. Virginia Tech 0.9067
4. Georgia 0.8933
5. Alabama 0.8220
6. LSU 0.7078
7. Texas Tech 0.7034
8. Miami (Fla.) 0.6928
9. UCLA 0.6675
10. Penn State 0.5860
11. Florida State 0.5682
12. Boston College 0.5113
13. Oregon 0.4772
14. Wisconsin 0.4648
15. Ohio State 0.4259
16. Notre Dame 0.3985
17. West Virginia 0.3562
18. Auburn 0.3210
19. Tennessee 0.2905
20. Florida 0.2799
21. TCU 0.1972
22. Minnesota 0.1371
23. Nebraska 0.1296
24. Michigan State 0.0971
25. California 0.0821

The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percent totals of the Harris Interactive and USA Today
Polls, and Computer rankings. The highest BCS Average receives the #1 ranking, the second highest
receives #2, and so forth.

Scott gets 3.66 GPA vs Ohio State; coaches fail with a 0.62 GPA

(10/21/05)--Most interesting is how the team GPA took a nose dive to 2.30 vs Ohio State -- that seems a bit low after a competitive effort in Columbus. Nevertheless, WR JerramyScott gets the Gridder GPA award with a 3.66, and Drew Stanton had a 3.62. DL Michael Bazemore's solid effort earned him a 3.42 from the fans. The coaching staff earned a 0.62 GPA, PK John Goss had a 1.17 GPA and DB Jaren Hayes continues his struggles with a pathetic 0.34 GPA. Yes, you can largely blame the defensive secondary and the caohces for skewing these numbers. Look at all the individual player GPAs by linking here.

ES GameDay: MSU 58, Nwestern 48

(10/19/05)--The ES is done fuming at the Spartan coaches and figures... can they screw it up three weeks in a row? If not, MSU should muster enough offense to win in a shootout in cold, rainy Spartan stadium on Saturday. Stats, history, two deeps, injury, scouting, predictions at Game Day.

Spartan Update

(10/17/05)--It looks as if OT Stephon Wheeler will be probable for Saturday's stint vs Northwestern with sore ribs. If not, expect Niebylski to move over to tackle from his guard spot and for Roland Martin to move up to guard. Wheeler's replacements of Kaczmarczyk and Clifford were AWFUL against Ohio State.

CB Irving Campbell is likely out for the season, although earlier reports said he may find a way back into the lineup. Speaking or corners, Jaren Hayes will continue to play #3 at corner despite his sloppy tackling and poor coverage. Said JLS, "there's not a lot we can do back there."

And, in yet another display of the poor coaching on Saturday, JLS stated he probably would have taken the safety at the end of the game instead of punting from the 1 yard line. Whatever, it's over with and we lost and the coaches sucked.

Bottom line is that the biggest concern for MSU is #1 coaching and #2 defensive secondary. The top priority is to have the coaches get their shit together to give the kids a chance to win.

#21 Spartans Favored by 11.5 over Nwestern

(10/16/05)--The now #21-ranked Spartans (#21 by Harris, MSU ranked #22 in AP and USA Today), fresh off their disaster at Ohio State, are unbelievably 11.5-pt home favorites over the 4-2/2-1 Northwestern Wildcats. What are they smoking at Stardust Casino in Vegas? JLS will find a way to screw it up. Iowa is a 2.5-pt home favorite over Michigan; Ohio State is a 15.5-pt favorite at Indiana; Wisky is a 7-pt home fave over Purdue; and, JoePa is a 17-pt favorite at Illinois.

JLS, Coaches FUCK IT UP, Lose to Ohio State. Smith owes Spartan Fans An APOLOGY

NOTE: People are reading too much into this. Never in this article does it say the ES wants JLS fired. Keep John L around. The ES isn't so naive to think we could get a better coach... But, I am not on his "bandwagon" until his staff gets their act together. JLS needs to win me back onto the bandwagon. Until then, the sparks will fly.

(10/15/05)--It's official. The ES is now officially OFF the JLS bandwagon. SOMEONE SHOULD BE FIRED FOR THE MOST IDIOTIC PLAY IN SPARTAN HISTORY. We can't afford to pay a man $1.6 million a year to make bonehead mistakes!!!!! JLS owes all Michigan State fans an apology.

Ben Sirmans, the new runnings back coach who yelled out "Field Goal" at the end of the first half, SHOULD RESIGN. Hell, even Drew Stanton was waving the spiking motion to spike the ball (on 3rd down). Yet, MSU trotted out there with 10 men in havoc with a 17-7 lead and had the FG blocked and returned for a TD as time ran out in the first half to give Ohio State the play that determined the game and lose to the Buckeyes, 35-24. And, holder Brandon Fields was a moron for seeing the missed assignment yet still calling for the play to continue (get a brain).

But, how can a team with over 300 yards passing, over 100 yards rushing, 41 minutes of clock possession, 4 turnovers to none, LOSE A FOOTBALL GAME BY 11 POINTS? Only the Michigan State Spartans can, and John L Smith proved in fine fashion how well he can tease us Green fans with hope when we know better about reality.

S.O.F.S. folks. SAME OLD FUCKING SPARTANS! John L Smith - I have paid thousands of hard earned dollars and millions of calories from broken hearts watching the spartans over the years AND YOU HAVE PROVEN YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT -- JUST MORE EXPENSIVE! I've had it with you and the rest of the Spartan coaches for screwing things up. We may be more competitive, but we are still the same old AVERAGE Spartans -- this one is on the coaches.

And, keeping Jaren Hayes in the game when he got REPEATEDLY BURNED and couldn't tackle anyone was PATHETIC (for 2 long TDs this week, not to mention the early TD last game vs Michigan). He should be PERMANENTLY BENCHED.

Finally, settling for Field Goals or punting once again cost the Spartans. JLS refused to go for the jugular on the short 4th down in the 3rd quarter and punted, missed the field goal in the 4th Quarter when up 24-21 (when even Gary Danielson stated that "you need to get a touchdown here)... once again handcuffing MSU.

For the coaches part, it was clear to the ES that when Stephon Wheeler left the game it would be a tough assignment for the incoming left tackle to block effectively -- that cost MSU when they needed to pass as the game wore on.

But, the rest of the game -- BLAME IT ON THE COACHING STAFF. The Spartans played great, yet again the coaches fucked it up. I am SO GODDAM PISSED OFF. The ES is more pissed off at this game than the Michigan game BECAUSE THE SPARTANS CLEARLY OUTPLAYED OHIO STATE yet blew it, per typical Spartan fashion.

Funny thing is that the ES called the game perfectly: I guessed a 31-24 Ohio State victory, and said that JLS would have to prove his worth. Sure enough, he fucked it up.

JOHN L SMITH ISN'T WORTH SHIT UNTIL HE PROVES IT. HE HAS WON ONLY ONE BIG GAME - VS NOTRE DAME THIS YEAR.

Get with it or ship out. I'm sick of it. You are very disappointing, John L Smith, very very disappointing to many Spartan alumni. It's too bad, because you are a very expensive mistake.

As Gary Danielson said: "The Spartans yet again find a new way to lose, snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory." Wow how this one hurts. Real bad.

John L Smith - you owe the Spartan nation AN APOLOGY FOR YOUR STAFF BEING IDIOTS!!!

Here is the AP report:

Ohio State came away with a much-needed win -- with some help from Michigan State.

Troy Smith threw three long touchdown passes and Ashton Youboty returned a blocked field-goal attempt 72 yards for a score on the final play of the first half as the 15th-ranked Buckeyes came back to beat the 16th-ranked Spartans 35-24 Saturday.

``This was a huge victory,'' Smith said. ``I hope this win turns around our season.''

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The Buckeyes (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) were in dire need of a victory following a loss to No. 8 Penn State last week.

The game changed right before halftime on an ill-advised field goal try by the Spartans.

Michigan State (4-2, 1-2) led 17-7 with 24 seconds remaining in the half. Faced with a second-and-12 at Ohio State's 17 with no timeouts, Spartans quarterback Drew Stanton was tackled for no gain by lineman Quinn Pitcock.

Rather than having Stanton spike the ball to stop the clock on third down, Michigan State's coaches hustled the field goal unit onto the field. In the chaos, offensive players were scrambling to the sideline while the kick unit was rushing to set up for a 35-yard attempt. The Spartans snapped the ball with only 10 players on the field -- and with no one blocking on the left side because they thought Stanton was going to spike the ball.

Ohio State's Nate Salley broke through that side to block the kick, which was picked up by Youboty and returned as time expired to cut the lead to 17-14.

``It was a mess -- a total mess,'' Michigan State coach John L. Smith said. ``That's a coaching blunder.''

The play allowed the Buckeyes to stay close in a game in which they were extremely ineffective on offense. They didn't even run a play in Michigan State territory until just over 5 minutes remained.

``This loss today goes to the coaches,'' John L. Smith said. ``It should say Ohio State won the game but the loss goes to the coaches.''

Ohio State's first play in Michigan State territory was Smith's 46-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good with 4:56 left. Holmes caught the short pass, then shed a tackle by cornerback Jaren Hayes before racing down the left sideline and diving into the end zone.

``Troy did a great job of getting the ball out there where it's supposed to be,'' said Holmes, who finished with five catches for 150 yards to make up for three fumbles on returns. ``I ran a good route and worked for the ball. Yards after the catch were big for us.''

Ohio State's defense set a school record by sacking Stanton 12 times for 58 yards in losses. Bobby Carpenter led the way with four sacks and 27 yards in losses, with David Patterson adding three sacks. All-American linebacker A.J. Hawk finished with 19 tackles.

``Our defense just kept coming after them,'' coach Jim Tressel said.

Ohio State's Smith, booed several times by a crowd of 105,122 because of the offense's struggles, also hit Holmes on a 51-yard scoring pass and Ted Ginn Jr. on a 57-yard TD pass. Smith, who was 10-of-15 for 249 yards, secured the win with a 1-yard TD run with 1:39 left.

The defense helped set up that score when Stanton was sacked twice deep in Michigan State territory and the Spartans (4-2, 1-2) were forced to punt. Holmes returned the punt 22 yards to the MSU 19. Three plays later Smith added the clinching score.

The Buckeyes won despite losing four of their six fumbles -- three in their own territory. But Michigan State was able to turn those turnovers into only seven points.

Then there was the final play before halftime.

``There were guys running on, guys running off and then guys realizing they weren't supposed to be out there,'' Michigan State defensive back Eric Smith said. ``It was chaos.''

Youboty said he could see that the Spartans were in disarray.

``I don't think they had the right personnel in the game,'' he said. ``We good advantage of it. It's about time I made a big play.''

Ohio State's defense, although giving up yardage in bunches to Stanton, continually came up with big plays. With Michigan State ahead 24-21 and just under 9 minutes left, Troy Smith was hit by MSU's Michael Bazemore and fumbled the ball away at his own 22, Clifton Ryan recovering for the Spartans.

But Michigan State, which had 456 total yards, gained just three yards on three plays before John Goss' 37-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Youboty.

Stanton, leading the nation in pass efficiency, completed 26-of-36 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown.

``It's difficult,'' he said. ``These important games come down to one or two huge plays.''

The Buckeyes defense came up big when needed. The Spartans finished with 27 first downs and 456 total yards, but mustered just four first downs and 70 yards in the fourth quarter.

``Any loss is disappointing, but when you're playing for a conference championship ... well, it's over now,'' Michigan State linebacker David Herron said.

His coach added, ``We had the opportunities. It's a shame we gave it back.''

WJR To Carry Spartan Football, Basketball

(10/14/05)--After 30 years broadcasting that piss-ant school down south of us, WJR has finally come to its senses and will return to brodcasting Michigan State Spartan championship football and basketball. It would be hilarious if Frank Beckman were to have to earn his paycheck broadcasting Spartan football... wait, no it wouldn't. Let's hope WJR can work out an arrangement with George Blaha to continue with Spartan football. The deal is a five-year deal beginning next year, and financial aspects were not disclosed.

Student Blows Himself Up at Oklahoma Game

(10/14/05)--So there was the ES, reading his Chronicle of Higher Education, when an interesting article popped up about a student who committed suicide less than 100 yards outside the football stadium just before halftime of the Oklahoma-Kansas State game on Oct. 1. The student, Joel Henry Hinrichs III, was a 21-year old national merit scholar in engineering. The bomb contained acetone peroxide, or TATP. The highly unstable chemical can be made from household items, but it is very sensitive to heat and shock. Oklahoma may be having a bad year, but you don't need to kill yourself over it... link here.

Sugar Bowl Relocates To Atlanta for 2006; New Orleans Bowl Moves, Too

(10/09/05)--The Sugar Bowl has relocated for 2006 to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta due to the descruction of the Superdome from Hurricane Katrina. And, the Dec 20 New Orleans Bowl has moved from the Superdome to La-Lafayette. It will host the Sun Bowl champion vs a Conf USA team.

ES Game Day:
OSU 31, MSU 24

(10/12/05)--The ES asks John L Smith to prove him wrong and bring home a Spartan victory. Scouting report, injuries, two deep, stats... Full game day here

Big10 Outlaws Flag Planting

(10/12/05)--In ancticipation of the Spartan's expected victory in Columbus on Saturday and the Spartans planting their flag in the middle of that big ole "O", Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney has issued a ruling which outlaws planting flags on opposing turf. However, the ES hasn't been able to find the penalties for such action. The ES recommends instead John L Smith go to Hammond Farms and pick up a big bag of Spartan Grass Seed and let the kids improve the opponents field by planting Spartan seed into the ground of opposing stadiums.

According to the USA Today, planting a school flag in an opponent's football field to celebrate a road victory has raised a red flag with the Big Ten. In a memo sent Monday to league athletics directors and coaches, Commissioner Jim Delany said this postgame taunting must stop.

" It's happened twice already," Big Ten associate commissioner Mark Rudner said Tuesday. "Jim basically said enough was enough."
The latest incident was Saturday after Minnesota's 23-20 victory at Michigan. Gophers running back Laurence Maroney ran onto the field with a Minnesota flag and tried to plant it, according to Minnesota spokesman Shane Sandersfeld. It didn't go in the artificial turf, but the point was made.

Michigan State players planted the school flag on the field at Notre Dame after a 44-41 overtime win Sept. 17.
" We would never have encouraged our guys to do that," Michigan State coach John L. Smith told reporters. "The emotions displayed at the end of that game — that's college football. I only wish the players had channeled that energy in another way."

In a related movement, the Big Ten has also banned planting into turf the following items: mascots, t-shirts, statues, helmets, playbooks, or any other school related paraphernalia. Gimme a break.

Big Green Update

(10/11/05)--Entering Ohio State week, there looks to be no change at kicker -- John Goss still tops the depth chart. JLS has discussed much about Goss, that he "will get over it" and that kickers need "thick skin." Backup Kyle Mayer has a hamstring injury reaggravated vs Michigan, thus redshirt freshman Matt Haughey has been inserted at the #2 kicking slot. Rather, JLS dicussed that there has been a lot of time spent on special teams in the past week, and though they want to keep kickoffs inbounds, they have worked n kicking them very high to allow for better coverage. WR Aaron Alexander "is not there yet" as far as rehabbing to return to the team; there is no comment on a possible redshirt. The Oct 22 game vs Northwestern is scheduled for a noon kickoff. e

OSU a TD fave over Spartans

(10/10/05)--Stardust casinos in Las Vegas list the Ohio State Buckeyes as 7-pt early favorites over the Spartans for this Saturday's noon kickoff. Other listings include: Iowa favored by 16 at home over Indiana, Purdue favored by 7.5 home over Northwestern, Michigan favored by 3.5 at home over JoePa. The Minnesota-Wisconsin game is not listed due to questionable status of the Gophers' Mulroney and Cupito injured vs Michigan. And, of interest, Southern Cal is favored by 12 at Notre Dame.

Peko Wins scUM Gridder GPA with 3.84; team GPA a 2.63

(10/07/05)--The ES' Gridder GPAs for the Michigan Game are now available -- as graded by YOU the public. Most notable is the NOSE DIVE all the grades took, with the team GPA falling to an unimpressive 2.63 GPA. On the positive side, DL Domata Peko received an impressive 3.84 GPA with a good all around game and the long TD runback and SirDarean Adams again near the top with a 3.53. QB Drew Stanton received a 3.27 But, the lower overall grade is largely due to the Coaching Staff getting a 1.69, the non-existent TEs of Dwayne Holmes and Kellen Davis getting 1.42 and 1.25, that piece of shit kicker John Goss getting an 0.82, and the should-be-suspended-again Jaren Hayes with a 0.72. Link here to check out all the grades.

Spartan Safety Charged With Felonies from High School

(10/06/05)--Here's an odd one. According to the Lansing State Journal, MSU second-team safety Cole Corey has been charged with 13 felonies -- five of them aggravated sexual assault -- from an incident when he was in high school in Tecumseh THREE YEARS ago. He was 17 at the time, and is 20 now. Corey remains on the team -- as he should be; this incident occured before he even came to college, and the charges were just filed. We are innoncent until proven guilty in this country, and Corey pleaded no-contest. Corey hasn't played much this year for the Big Green -- mainly on special teams. The redshirt sophomore was released on bond and will have a preliminary hearing on Oct. 17.

Minny Wins Jug from scUM; JoePa On Top of Big10; Wisky Falls to NW.

(10/09/05)--The ES gives the game ball on Saturday to freshman Jason Giannini of Minnesota for doing what the Spartans couldn't do... splitting the uprights and KICKING MICHIGAN'S ASS!!! Wow, a big thank you to Minnesota for becoming the ES' new favorite team after MSU with a 23-20 victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor. scUM now will officially fall from EVERYONE'S polls with their third loss in the first six games. Michigan may have defeated MSU -- but that was more of MSU beating itself, as is becoming more and more apparent. Michigan is just a "has been" and "also ran" for 2005. Wahooo!

Great football yesterday as well, with JoePa defeating Ohio State, Northwestern showing who the real Wisconsin team is, and Iowa thumping Purdue. It should make for an interesting contest next week in Columbus, as MSU and Ohio State will both be trying to keep with Joe Paterno on top of the Big Ten.

MSU rose to #16 in the AP Poll, and JoePa is back in the Top 10 at #8. Ohio State falls to #15, Minnesota is back in at #22 and Wisconsin falls to #23. Michigan is OUT! AP and USA Today coaches polls here.

Updated Big Ten standings here.

Baldwin Defends Playcalling - Kicking Tryouts by JLS

(10/04/05)--MSU Offensive Coordinator Dave Baldwin is under fire for the poor playcalling in Saturday's loss to Michigan, and he defended his decisions on Monday. Baldwin stated that the option pass by Jeremy Scott was poorly executed -- he did not throw the ball at the right time -- that the pair of runs by Ringer in the fourth quarter that resulted in losses were again poorly executed -- missed blocks -- and an unexpected scUM defense; and that the hook and lateral was a missed block.

OK - admit it coach. You should have kept the ball in the hands of your best athlete, Drew Stanton, on all those plays. If Stanton throws that ball instead of a WR, it's a TD. The unexpected scUM defense is exactly that -- YOU WERE OUTCOACHED on those plays, and did not put the ball in the hands of Stanton who you should entrust when the game is on the line. The hook and lateral was just a bad decision: why risk going backward when you need to go forward with such little time left?

Bottom line -- all the plays were very risky at best and were called at bizarre and poor times during the game, and took the ball out of the hands of Stanton, MSU's best player.

KICKING/INJURY UPDATE

JLS was seething with anger at his kicking game, and said he would have open tryouts this week. Goss has "lost his confidence. Give me a guy that gets in my face and wants to be on the field to split the uprights," said JLS. LB David Herron Jr is still recovering from the Illinois game concussion, but should be ready by Ohio St. First we've heard of this, but LB Kaleb Thornhill has "chronic knees," but will play vs OSU. Expect Aaron Alexander and Irving Campbell back by OSU or Nwestern.

Wanted: Kicking Team, Coaching Philosophy

(10/03/05)--CLASSIFIED AD: Up and coming football program seeks a kicking game and a new coaching philosophy to bring it to the elite level. Michigan State University, an NCAA Division 1-A institution, is looking for: a Field Goal kicker who can hit on at least 50% of field goals under 35 yards AND have half of kickoffs enter the end zone; a Punter who can hit a spiral and average at least 45 yards a kick, especially when deep in one's own terrirory; and, a coaching philosophy that isn't bungled in competitive games -- to wit, MSU seeks a defensive coordinator not afraid to blitz on third downs and an offensive coordinator who will be consistent in his playcalling on any one drive and NOT interject bizarre playcalling deep in enemy territory. Successful experience IS required.

OK, now that we have that out of our system -- you all saw the game, it was disappointing to see the kicking game misfire late in the OT loss to Michigan. However, the blame more squarely needs to be laid at the feet of offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin, who seemed to have a brain drain for the first time all year . The disinterest in using your best weapon -- the running ability of Drew Stanton -- to pressure the Michigan defense was truly unfortunate, and remarkably dumb. The bizarre option pass by Jeremy Scott that led to an INT when MSU was moving the ball consistently, the terrible play calling at the end of the 90-yard drive in the fourth quarter by not allowing Stanton to make a play (why not let your best player make a play????), and, the very odd hook-and-lateral at the end of regulation when time was still on the clock... all were crazy calls that made no sense.

Alas, the season is not over. We have two weeks to prep for Ohio State and we'll see if the coaching staff can straighten itself out. Unfortunately, they had to blow it vs a Michigan team that had its best game of the year. Hats off to the Wolverines who earned and deserved the victory for playing a better game... but, its too bad the MSU staff had to be idiotic at crucial times.

AP Writeup:

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Mike Hart's return and Garrett Rivas' redemption gave Michigan a win it desperately needed.

Hart ran for 218 yards and a touchdown in his first game back from an injury, and Rivas made up for missing a field goal in the final minute of regulation by kicking a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Wolverines a 34-31 win over No. 11 Michigan State on Saturday.

``All I wanted was another chance,'' Rivas said. ``Luckily, overtime went our way and we were able to get another shot.''

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John Goss narrowly missed a 37-yard field goal in overtime and didn't connect on a 23-yard attempt early in the fourth quarter that would have given the Spartans their only lead.

``I have no excuses for how I did,'' Goss said with watery eyes. ``I feel bad for letting my teammates down.''

Hart's return from a hamstring injury after missing two-plus games allowed the Wolverines (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) to avoid their worst start since 1967.

``I'll never forget this day,'' Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.

Coach John L. Smith hopes the Spartans don't either.

``It hurts real bad, and it should hurt,'' Smith said. ``I hope the players feel it and I hope they don't forget the feeling.''

Drew Stanton was 20-of-30 for 282 yards with a TD pass and an interception for the Spartans (4-1, 1-1), who lost their fourth straight game in the rivalry.

``They just outplayed us,'' Stanton said. ``They made fewer mistakes.''

The Wolverines were ranked as high as third but losses to Notre Dame and Wisconsin dropped them out of the poll for the first time since 1998, snapping the nation's longest streak of 114-straight poll appearances.

The Spartans were in the Top 25 and Michigan was not -- and Michigan State was the favorite -- in the annual matchup for the first time since 1968, the year before Bo Schembechler began coaching the Wolverines.

``When Michigan State is ranked ahead of you and you're Michigan, it's not good. That's pressure in itself,'' Hart said. ``We were 2-2. That's pressure within itself.

``We don't ever lose three games a year. If we lost three, what would that make us look like? We knew it was a must-win.''

Last year, Michigan State had a 27-10 lead against Michigan with 8:43 left before losing in triple overtime.

The Wolverines led by 14 twice in the first half on Saturday and were ahead 24-21 at halftime after both teams combined for 610 yards of offense.

After a flawless first half in which Michigan's Chad Henne threw three TD passes without a turnover, his interception led to a game-tying field goal early in the third quarter and his fumble midway through the fourth was returned 74 yards by defensive tackle Domata Peko for a TD, knotting the game at 31. Henne's fumble stood after a replay.

Rivas missed a 27-yard field goal to the right with 48 seconds left, but with no timeouts left, the Spartans couldn't get past midfield.

Henne was 26-of-35 for 256 yards. Jason Avant caught 10 passes for 96 yards and a TD.

Facing a crossroads, the Wolverines started and finished well.

``It was a great win,'' Hart said. ``Everyone was doubting us.''

Michigan went ahead 14-0 after its first two possessions on Avant's leaping, 2-yard catch in the corner of the end zone and Mario Manningham's 43-yard reception.

After two stalled drives and with momentum firmly on the Wolverines' side, Michigan State converted two third downs and made it 14-7 on Stanton's 4-yard run.

The Spartans were driving deep when a halfback pass by Jerramy Scott was intercepted at Michigan's 4 by Willis Barringer, whose fumble was recovered by the Wolverines on a play that stood after a replay.

Michigan State was called for roughing the kicker on the ensuing possession. The Wolverines decided to take the points off the scoreboard, and the move paid off when Henne threw a 5-yard pass to Brian Thompson for a 21-7 lead.

Jehuu C