Badger Beatdown

Ok, so it wasn't much of a beatdown, but I'll take it. MSU is 8-2 with two games remaining and may find itself playing for a share of the Big Ten title in three weeks.

I was very impressed with the resolve of this team today. Despite coming out flat and pretty getting dominated statistically, this team never threw in the towel. They kept chipping away and gave themselves a chance. Kudos to the coaches for keeping the players heads up. - despite the drops and physical mistakes. We kept it together mentally and didn't kill ourselves with penalties and turnovers.

Celebrate this one for the next day and then it's Boiler Up for Purdue. MSU is having a truly special season and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Sidenote: I went to the Green and White hoops game after football interviews and we are in store for another great season.  Chris Allen had his jumper going (32 points), Lucas was great as usual (21 points) and even Travis Walton was showing some offensive game (21 points). The game was definitely a little sloppy, but you expect that in a fans scrimmage like this. Izzo will have the boys sharp by Dec. 3 when North Carolina comes to Ford Field.

Again, it feels damn good to be a Spartan. Go Green! Go White! Go State!

Comments

[Marc]

The receivers simply have to eliminate the drops. Cunningham drops a pass every game. And it's hard to imagine a receiver having a worse game than Rucker did today. They simply must put receivers out there that can catch. I don't how "athletic" you are, if you can't catch you have little value as a receiver.
I also think that Ringer is hurt worse than the team is letting on. He seemed a step slower than usual today, and the line didn't help him much. They will need a better effort out of both lines and the wide outs next week.

[Chicago Sparty]

What is up with Fred Smith. It seems like he has been in th ecoaches doghouse all year after showing up overweight this fall.

Is he going to be a factor this year?

Great win. Go State!

[dmbtierney]

Ringer wasn't hurt. He was coming off a bout of the flu and was still weak. On the other hand, it's tough to gain yards when eight defenders are waiting to blast you. I agree that if our young receivers hadn't dropped so many passes, this game would not have had to go down to the wire.

[(N)SOS]

Mark,

It looked like alot of guys got dinged up. Can you give us a status on Chris L Rucker & the rest of the walking wounded.

[spartan fan]

BJ Cunningham: moves to back-up DB on the scout team.

Rucker: moves to back up DB on the scout team.

MD must find some receivers that can hold onto the ball. This was not Hoyer's fault, even though he did have some over throws.

This was one of those close games that good teams find a way to win. In the past MSU would have collapsed after the last Wisconsin score. Not this year! They found a way to get back down field for the attempt. And yes, the wisconsin coaches helped with the penalty and the timeout call. DUMB!! The type of boneheaded call usually reserved for an MSU staff...ala John L. Smith!

Not this time.

Whew!!

Ringer needs some help. The O line stunk today...manhandled by the Wisconsin front. I am hopeful that this team does not celebrate this win too much. They were lucky...very lucky!

9-3 is within reach. With any more luck, 10-2 after Happy Valley. But the chances of that are about as much as getting attacked by a Great White shark on Hagadorn Rd.

[Lycurgus]

Mark: could you please clarify on why there was no Mark Dell today? Was he hurt? Being disciplined for something? Or none of the above?

[LouisvilleSpartan]

In terms of individual plays, the defense lost the battle (allowing Wisconsin RBs to run wild) and the offense lost the battle as well (too many drops and OL being pushed around by Wisconsin DL).
But as a TEAM, MSU won the war with their mental toughness (they never gave up), with the little help of Wisconsin head coach's inept decision at the end.

One thing for sure, this was a game BW or JLS's team never could've won or never should've won.
I am not even sure if Saban's 1999 team could've come back the way they did today.
However, this team with MD on the top kept fighting and found the way to win.

If there will be anyone that will ever speak of SOS and imply it to this team, that person deserves to get punched in the mouth!!!

Same Ol' Spartan? That is HISTORY now! Say hello to the New Spartans because they are HERE!!!

[Fred]

Couple of thoughts:

1) The Badgers committed to stopping Ringer, and it worked. They forced Brian Hoyer to beat them, and I guess he did, but even without all those drops, Hoyer can rarely hit the broadside of a barn. His accuracy is a joke, and truthfully, I think half the drops are a result of the fact the receivers are surprised the ball is actually on target for once;

2) Blair White is always open;

3) Having a great FG kicker in college football is a true luxury; there is no way the Spartans win this today with Swenson, obviously;

4) The first three FGs all could have been TDs if passes had been caught (1) or thrown accurately (2). You cannot leave points on the field like that against GOOD teams. Wisconsin is not a good team, and they proved it again today by giving that game away;

5) I am very thrilled that MSU is 8-2, and all's well that ends well, etc. But there is no way this team can play like this and expect to win a bowl game against Georgia or LSU, etc. on New Year's Day. The consistency or lack thereof is a joke.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and I like the way this team has really shown some mettle this season after last season's close ones. It's progress, and I cannot complain about that.

But there is still a long way to go, and assuming this team beats Purdue next week, they'll be playing for the Rose Bowl slot against Penn State on November 22.

I want to see this team show up on November 22 with the Rose Bowl in their sights, and I want to see them FIGHT for it like there is NO tomorrow. I want to see them leave everything they have on that field in Happy Valley.

That's all I want: a chance to go to the Rose Bowl and to see what this team wil do with that chance.

[Matthew]

Mark Dell has an injured knee. He is considered possible for this week against Purdue.

[Matthew]

Mark Dell has an injured knee. He is considered possible for this week against Purdue.

[bfsparty]

drop dead fred. Hoyer has a cannon for an arm, sure he misses, but rattle off the big10 teams that he would start for right now. Exactly. Maybe you should tell what you think about Hoyer to coach D?

[Hammer]

What could have been...with caught passes, a caught fake punt, a few less overthrows...a well executed passing game blows out Wisconsin's defensive backfield. They stuffed our running game no doubt and it looks as though defenses are committed to stop Ringer and the running game 1st. They key to our future games will be a successful passing game. Please get healthy and play catch. Great Win as we continue to find a way!!!

[Dr.J]

The full Drew Sharp quote:

"But don’t confuse resilience with excellence. They’re probably the worst 8-2 team in the country...They’re making just enough plays to rise to a slightly higher plane of mediocrity."

dsharp@freepress.com

[Ben Green]

MSU came out flat? I'm not sure. Wisconsin is THAT good in my opinion. Pre-season top 10. #8 after 3 games. Lost to Ohio State by 3. They're huge up front. 3rd best personel in Big 10.

But MSU hung in until they had the opportunity to win. That was VERY impressive!

The dropped passed would have changed the complexion of the game no doubt. Hoyer's completion percentage wasn't impressive because of that plus terrible no-calls on interference and a few overthrows. But credit Hoyer for this win.

Beatdown? No.
Impressive win? Absolutely!

[Spartan_Legacy]

Great win!

B.J. Cunningham needs to be benched for the season. Or perhaps convert him to a defensive back. He's been a liability on offense lately. I don't know why he was still in the game at the end. He needs to get a pair of hands or find some other way to use him that doesn't involve touching the ball.

[CSpartan]

I would have to agree with a lot of what has been said here about missed passes and how flat MSU came out. It's kinda cool to be on the other side of the fence now, however, and sense that our team are the guys that just feel and believe that they are going to win. Throughout a pretty horrible game, down the whole time, I felt they somehow knew that no matter what, there was going to be an opportunity to win. This is a new experience for me as an MSU football fan. I guess I got so used to the late season meltdowns that seeing this new amount of fight from the team...I gotta say I love this! Give credit to MD for turning a mental corner with this program and let's hope it keeps on moving in this direction.

Great job, TEAM...

GO STATE!!!

[CSpartan]

ps. Drew Sharp is just a spoiled brat lashing out because baby can't have what he wants. I am sure he cried himself to sleep last night because mighty Michigan is 2-7 and the wolverines are stinkin up the Big 10 at the bottom of the league...

[sdp00]

“SAME OLD WOLVERINES”

UM Football just cannot handle success. Playing Michigan State takes too much out of the Wolverines each year. Their fragile little psyches then always crack late in the season.

2005: UM 34 MSU 31 1OT October 1, 2005

Michigan then loses to a crummy Minnesota team at home the next week. Michigan goes on to lose to both OSU and Nebraska. The mighty Wolverines can’t finish the 2005 season.

2006: Michigan loses the final two games to Ohio State and Southern Cal. The mighty Wolverines can’t finish the 2006 season.

2007: UM 28 MSU 24 November 3, 2007

Michigan then loses to Wisconsin by 16 points the next week, as they are exhausted from playing the Spartans. Michigan goes on to lose to OSU by 14 - 3. The mighty Wolverines can’t finish the 2007 season.

2008: UM 21 MSU 35 October 25, 2008

Michigan then loses to Purdue by 6 points, as they are exhausted from playing the Spartans.

[Hammer]

sdp00....very well done!!! We can transfer the "same old story" on to the community college in Ann Arbor. UMCC. I said it in a post a number of weeks ago...the Spartan Nation will build as "the place to be" for top athlete's in any sport. Keep winning and recruiting MD!!! one leads to the other.

[Fred's brother called Fedup]

I can't agree mo with my Brotha FRED..It's a pointless win which INDICATE us winning BY LUCK.NOT sure if that's wat u called HOME GROUND ADVANTAGE..Nevertheless, the crowd played a big part winning today and not 100% by the players and coaches. OF course, the WISCONSIN BURGERS did commit some dumb fouls. However, judging by the way they played yesterday, I would take CAL LOSE rather than getting a heartattack for seeing BOTH offense and defense CRASHED.I'm not taking things for granted simply because we won. Just that tHe spirit on CAL's game were tripling the effort yesterday( even with the (-), they fought for every damn INCH offensive and defensely). HOWEVER, the ONlY thing that i'm really proud of this team is the SPECIAL teams. THe Special team probably have save MSU 60-70% of the games played!So LOng MY compatriot.. should hear some bangings from u soon!

[Pete]

I thought Hoyer had a better than average game. Sure there were overthrows, but I will take an overthrow over an interception anytime. He gave us a chance to win and we took it. Great win over a high quality team, despite of there record.

[Man of Few Words]

Fred's brother,

There is a definite resemblance between you and your brother.

MOFW

(Has anyone ever suggested drug alchohol therapy?)

[Fred's brother called Fedup]

Man of Few words

At the end of the day, my brother Fred and i came from the same factory. Damn right about the resemblence! BTW, we are just honest and moreso ACCEPTING the BRUTAL TRUTH and not lying to One OwnSELF! OPsss By the way, cup is always full with ur saliva. Stop naming yourself man of few words!

[spartan fan]

Like I've said before and is abundantly obvious: the Detroit papers are sooooo decidedly one-sided in favor of UofM it is sickening. So much for an unbiased press. We see the same thing (bias) in the elections this year. Remember, the first step toward overthrowing a country and a people is the take over the press; step two involves disarming the populace.

Step number one has been slowly taking place for the past 35 years and is almost complete. Step two is not far away. Lambs to the slaughter, all of us, if we don't take action now.

But, I digress............

B-Ball season is close and the beat-downs will commence over UofM and Boo Who Ryan.

[shelly waxman]

We stopped them when they went up the middle but when they did slants off tackle that's when they did their damage. To me it meant that our linebacker were out of place. Perhaps to much stress on the up the middle game. An adjustment should have been made there. But Great Win. I almost left early. Glad I didn't suppose there were a lot of hangovers this morning. Me included.