Coming out of a dark and deflating Halloween night…

This week I’ve watched some of the football recaps and commentaries on BTN regarding a dark night in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. I get the feeling that the BTN crew is as mystified by MSU’s strange, volatile, and often flat-footed night in Minneapolis as our fans and the coaching staff were. Then there was that rather full moon overhead, with a thousand ghouls in the bleachers, and suddenly Spartans everywhere are wondering if next year we can possibly get stabilized at the top of the Big Ten.

However, the dark side of things is always a slippery slope, so I’m going to try to look up a bit toward Izzo and hoops, as well as the future of the Dantonio era. And, there’s some very good early-season success on the hockey rink too with a 6-2-0 record and respectable ranking, so I actually do find myself breathing easier again.

Getting back to the grid-iron front, I’ve looked back at our recent trend in recruiting and saw that the Spartan class of 2010 is looking balanced and could still collect as much talent as the 2009 class. This means, building on the change of culture over the past three years, the future really could be very bright. Nonetheless, it’s apparent that we need to pick up some receivers and will continue to look for a four-star running back. I’m really happy with the class and its balance at this point and am confident we’ll have another top-25 class by early 2010. Still, I’m not so pie-in-the-sky that I’d suggest we’re where we need to be on pass defense. "Ouch!" for the season. That’s got to get fixed and fast, just like our first-and-goal "offense."  Double ouch!

On the hoops side of things, of course, we’ve had some injuries and flu, but nothing to take any of our richly talented guys out for long. Naturally, I’m getting ready to flip my Spartans switch over to the Brez’ by Thanksgiving. As with last year, even in an increasingly talented Big Ten, this looks like a very promising season filled with tough, but beatable, competition. It should be a gas to watch.

Finally, on the recruiting front Izzo and staff have taken it to Calipari and Kentucky twice in a week and we’re off to the start of a great 2011 with Bandan Kearney committed to MSU. And, Adreian Payne’s commitment last week should put us in the top five nationally for 2010. So, I’m pulling out my Sparty cap for the gym again and thinking we’ll survive 10/31/09. I’m expecting the Spartans will look like they've come out of the stupor too on Saturday versus WMU and then get ready for a very, very volatile Purdue.

OK, after the darkness, is anyone else starting to catch a silver lining in the big picture here?

Comments

[Jeffrey Sweet]

You know. The Hockey isn't looking to bad. Why not spend a little time writing about them?

[JGJ]

I don't think it's time to start giving up on football...we still have a chance. I think that we NEED this win against Western, and if we beat Purdue away that could be enough of a moral booster to help us against Penn State. As for hoops, it looks great, let's just hope our guys can heal so we can get a good look at what this team can really do! GO GREEN! GO WHITE! GO STATE!!!

[SEB]

Beating the Spartans is easy....empty your back field and throw the ball all day. Our secondary is the worst I have ever seen it. They are a joke!!! Can anyone please tell me why coach D. keeps taking out Cousins and putting that joke of a Q.B. Nichols in.

[Ooga BooGa]

I am a Bi-Polar MSU Fan.

I think Dantonio needs to change his whole entire football philosophy instead of the run down the middle everyone knows what were doing on the next play.

On the other hand I think Dantonio just needs his players to make the plays. If they did then we would be a darn good team. I have hope for next year because this year we have a lot of young guns. Even Cousins is a youngster.

[tom f]

We are never going to be a big-time program until we get a big-time defensive co-ordinator for this football team!

[The Richman]

Last year the hockey team looked lifeless, but this year what a difference. They are much quicker to the puck. Also the marketing people are even on a roll with different promotions for the games.We took advantage of the Family Four Pack promos and the Six Pack Mini-Plan.(It's difficult and expensive to go to 20+ games each year.)It is exciting to see the Spartan Hockey program back on top of their game again!

[rexrode (evil twin)]

face it, we are a football school. we can say "when does basketball start" and try and convince ourselves that hockey success makes up for a poor football season, but we are kidding ourselves. few will admit it but i bet most people would trade the success of the basketball and hockey teams for gridiron glory. the anticipation for basketball only heats up when the football team struggles. and people begin craving football news and notes the second the NCAA tourney ends. i mean come on, after years of basketball dominance are you really that jazzed for basketball. would you be asking about hockey if the football team wasn't just trying to get 2 out of 3 to play in the pizza bowl? i for one couldn't care less that basketball is starting because there is still football to be played. i don't pay attention to round ball until at least mid december. and even then i am just using it as a means to pass the time until the bowl game. or if the boys cant put two wins together. i will wait for that small fix of football in the spring game. i am not saying i am not a fan of basketball, although really shouldn't call my self a hockey fan. i didn't even watch the wings until game seven of the stanley cup finals. i like basketball, but i love football. football is the ultimate display of athletic prowess. 65 schools a year put together a decent enough team to make the NCAA, and i know several schools make bowls which shouldn't even exist (pizza pizza) but only a select few make the BCS. and have an actual shot at a title . there is a reason that Joe's and bleeding green blog posts inevitably turn to talk of football no matter the original subject. because this time every year every fan develops tunnel vision and the light at the end of the tunnel isn't basketball or hockey. its a shot a Jan 1 bowl. or this years its maybe an outside shot at the Champs or Alamo bowl. but basketball is nowhere near my train of thought.

[GibsonDog]

Last year's performance by the hockey team was easy to forgive because the Spartan icers won the NCAA title in 2007. Patience is being rewarded this season.

Basketball continues to grow and evolve; Izzo finds new ways to make it better each year. Last year's run to the NCAA title game was not as surprising as the "experts" thought.

So let's take some inventory. That's an NCAA ice hockey title in 2007, an NCAA runner-up finish in 2009 for the men's basketball team. MSU has even had a recent Final Four run in women's basketball and a deep run in the tourney last year. To start this season, the Lady Spartans are ranked in the Top 10.

So when does anyone think the football program will play in the BCS championship game? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

OK, let's lower our standards. The Rose Bowl? How soon? Anyone, anyone ...

[Spartan 81]

We have to prepare ourselves for an ugly 10 point win Saturday and a repeat
Of last Saturday night at Purdue. This would leave us at 5-7 and as the Seventh
Team in the big 10 power ratings, we are 6 right now per ESPN
5-7 is not a train wreck there are plenty of 3-9 programs out there who aspire to consistently finish
sixth or seventh in their conference and win 5 games. Illinois is the most disappointing program in the Midwest. We can point to them and be proud of seventh place. We are a basketball school, but we should hang on to the lower
Fringe of mediocrity in football/ There are teams in the bottom tier 9-11 Indiana and Illinois that aspire to our position. I believe that Dantonio unlike JL Smith
and Muddy Waters will always out coach and beat the bottom three teams in
The conference. There are things worse than Mediocrity out there; I do not want to go 3-9 or worse. Let’s hold on to our Mediocrity.

[SOS]

THROW THE BALL INTO THE ENDZONE INSIDE THE FIVE YARD LINE!!! A BOOTLEG MAYBE OR A SIMPLE ROLL OUT...SOMETHING. I HAVE MORE CREATIVITY IN MY LITTLE FINGER ON OFFENSE THEN THIS COACHING STAFF DOES.

[palefan]

If we're recruiting, I hope we're recruiting the heck out of some linemen! OL, DL, and some cover corners? Skill players are covered well enough. We'll be improving next year, because it can't POSSIBLY be this horrible again next year. If you look at last year we could have very well been 6-5 if a few plays (Wisonsin, Iowa) go against us. A little sharper play calling inside the 5, a new secondary coach (defensive coordinator?). My biggest concern is linebackers, because our core will be noticeably weaker next year.

Beat the Broncos like a red headed stepchild and find one more big ten win, just so we can get the extra month of practice and win a meaningless bowl game.

Then root like crazy for Izzo's squad.

[MsuChiCity Alum]

Rexrode's evil twin or whatever your name is, you are in total denial if you think we are a football school. I don't know if you have been paying attention the last ten years or so, but we have become an elite basketball program with maybe the top collegiate coach in the country. Almost every year we compete for big ten and national titles. The football program, however, has been mired in mediocrity for decades. I love football like yourself, but on the national respect scale football is no near where basketball is today. If you don't watch basketball until December 31st then thats your problem, because you are missing some of the best basketball games MSU will be playing all year long (UNC, Texas, Florida, etc). True MSU fans watch the entire season basketball, because we are a top 10 program, year in and year out. Football can get there one day under the leadership and direction of Dantonio, but we aren't there yet and its going to take time. Until our football program consistently competes for big ten championships and bcs bowl berths, we will always be a basketball school. Thats the harsh reality, and the way our basketball program is running these days its not so bad to be an MSU fan. I love college football as much as yourself, but we are 4-5 and underachieving this year. Basketball season is almost underway, and we are ranked 2nd in the country. You tell me what type of school we are based on wins and losses lately?

[sdp000]

gosh, some very long posts...

[rbe]

Sparty is and has been consistently inconsistent. Coach D. need to get this team and future teams to be stable. Not predicable but able to show up and respectable.
Example, which fits Sparty...is Ohio State...Predicable which give their opponents a leg up on them.

Not taking about trick plays,Just not predicable....different offenses....Wing-T,Veer,option etc.

Duffy,Did this against UoM..and it worked! It would only take a few plays to set a defense on its heels.Use several plays using the Wing-T in one game and next the Veer , then back to pro-I....your next opponent would have to spend time and effort on teaching new defensive reads.
Pipe dream perhaps,worth a try...you bet!

[West Coast Steve]

GibsonDog, you make a great point about hockey: Winning it all in 2007 actually bought Coach Comley a year to rebuild without a horde of sky-is-falling goons squeeling like schoolyard children.

The complainers queue up year after year. But, they don't go out and organize inspiring alumni associations and community efforts in a smart and appealing way to turn recruits' heads and win over local communities at the level we could and should if we're serious about being a leader in Big Ten football. There's always that herding-cats challenge in East Lansing, but I'll save my view on why it's so entrenched. Let's just say it's not so distant from Detroit's torturous inability to rebound from pushing slop products in the 70s and 80s.

Think about something as simple as the "white out," which I understand was invented at MSU. But, who has taken it to an art form in their stadium? Penn State. We can't even operate a card section and TV is where we are sold to the nation, but I know E.L. is not a easy place to get people to connect these dots in lieu of a whining contest. Luckily, we're better at these things at the Brez.

Bottom line: If we want it we have to go and get it. Intensifying and rapidly spreading that quality of energy is essential to turning the tide in our direction from OSU, PSU, IA and WI, but I guess that's just not where schoolyard children like to put their energies.

[Dennispapoi]

The Spartans may just be the best 5-5 team in the country. Have to admit they got "best" at Wis. and Minn. but could have won the other three and been 8-2 right now! Yeah, the object is to win the close ones, but at least they were close! Hate to say it, but next year does look better! An experienced QB, some solid and experienced running backs, and overall a better team. Coach D is truly building a program and unlike UM, the program was not stocked with talent....Go Green...

[Chris]

sorry but there are more interesting things to look forward to rather than football. how about next week the Zags at State? now that's something to look forward to.

[Stormtrooper]

Wait 'til next year?

No, thanks.

We want the world, and we want it now.

[give it a rest]

Spartan 81,
Give it a rest. That is at least the fifth time you have posted the same drivel on different blogs the last week or so. Your comments are as predictable and infuriating as the five straight dive plays at the goal line that you are decrying. Your posts have attained the mediocrity you aspire to for the team. Time for something new.

[JustaBum]

Thank you, give it a rest! I wonder if '81 the same dude that cried about spending money on travel to games and is now trying to get his pound of flesh?

Looking forward to Purdue, this begs the question of who will win the turnover game? Purdue has coughed it up the most in the league and we can't write home about our takeaway margin.

Let's hope our young RB's and special team returners gains some confidence and learned to protect the ball better. A repear performance of the WMU game would be fine.

Purdue's pass defense and pass rush is pretty good, but their run D' is suspect to the run.

GO STATE!

[Spartan 81]

Formula for 8-4

What if we drop Notre Dame from the schedule and load up on lower division teams from the MAC. Would ensure a 4-0 non conferance that way if we go 4-4 in conferance we reach our goal of 8-4 and worst case scenario we lose every close game which is 3-5 in Big Ten bottom line is we still finish 7-5 with a decent Bowl

Example replace Central Michigan with Eastern Michigan and Notre Dame with Akron. We are now 7-3 with the Alamo bid assured and if we beat Purdue 8-4. Lets get to 8-4 any way we can . What good does it do to play a tough schedule and finish 6-6 every year. 8-4 will get you in the Outback bowl every other year. We could play on New Years day 5 years out of ten instead of once a decade.

[bostonspartan]

This blog has five posters listed but there is not all that much activity here. So many of us are logging in daily to check out Joe's blog and it is disappointing that there are not more frequent posts here at Bleeding Green.
Would love to see more!

[MayoSpartan]

I agree Beantown. This weekends game is more important then the supposed "program games" against OSU & PSU in '08 and Iowa earlier this season.

If the Spartans don't play their best game of the year, the streak of bowl games ends. The coaches and players have to pull out all the stops to beat Purdue, and have momentum going in against PSU.

Pic Elliott, protect Cousins and hold on to the ball and victory for MSU!

GO GREEN!

[griff325]

I agree this is a two week old blog post, come on get with the picture! Maybe joe should just take this one over and have two to himself, at least he can update is frequently so we don't always come on here asking ourselves why we bother to check this blog because it always is out of date!

[wonderbread]

You Bleeding Green contributors can talk about basketball too if you'd prefer.