A little tidbit for you

Michigan State's last road win against a Pac-10 team? Try 1957 at Cal.

    Not a lot of chances for MSU since then (nine straight losses, the last at Oregon in 1998), but it's still a pretty good stat for this week, eh?
    Some of you may be wondering about the weekly Monday press conference. It didn't happen today because it has been changed to Tuesdays. Mark Dantonio also will address the media briefly on Sundays (I call it the "divorce rule") to look back at the previous day's game. Notre Dame has a similar set-up, a look back Sunday and a look forward Tuesday.
    So the information will start pouring out Tuesday, including the MSU depth chart for the game. Always a surprise or two with the first depth chart.
    Reminder: Our MSU preview section is out Friday, and it's packed.
    Notice: We're starting a new contest in which you pick 20 college games each week, for a chance to win a prize if you outperform me. Shouldn't be too difficult.

    EDIT NOTE: I originally wrote first Pac-10 "game" since 1957 but changed it to "win." Thank you, John Lewandowski, for the catch. Please be gentle, I have a cold.

Comments

[stone]

i hope staudt plays. based on his history of predictions, taking his exact opposites might be a best bet ;)

[optimistic realist]

So we're due for a win. Msu 28 Cal 21.

[Darrell Hensley - Atlanta]

It is going to be difficult not to put too much weight on this game. It is the first game and usually that means several things that need to be tightened up may be exposed. The problem is that this is exactly where we all have noticed the impact of MD on the program; MSU is tight, looks good on the line, executes, limits penalties, etc. Regardless of the outcome I will be happy if I see a continued improvement in how we execute on both sides of the ball. Specifically coverage and tackling, (Northwestern loss) and Hoyer's reads, (BC Bowl game). I am so stoked because I cannot stop thinking that we are all going to be shocked and surprised about the progress of the MSU program. GO GREEN!

[xwing]

i can't wait for the game. i think the matchup of the game will be greg jones vs jahvid best. i was at the cal game in 2002 at spartan stadium when msu got destroyed. i hope that doesn't happen again. final score was cal 46 - msu 22
msu was 2-0 heading into that game with high hopes and after that game they went on to finish the season 4-8.

[Curt Peterson]

Is the radio show stil on Thursday nights? Can't wait for the game and think we have what it takes to go out and win an HUGE early test. Make it 27-20 MSU!

[dmbtierney]

Hey, Joe! I can actually remember watching that game in 1957 as it was the Game of the Week on TV. The announcers (I think Red Grange was one of them) kept talking about the spectators watching the game from the side of mountain near the stadium--Tightwad Hill, or something like that. By the way, there was no PAC10 in 1957--only eight teams in the league back then.

[Joe Rexrode]

Impressive, dmb. And yeah, I knew it was the Pac-less-than-10 then, but it's kind of like when people talk about the Big Ten in the early 20th Century, even though it was called the Western Conference at the time.

[SpartyOn]

::the following is to be read in a sarcastic tone::

I just love stats like that. I'm sure all the current Spartans are very impressed by the dominance of the pac-10 over the previous three generations of Spartans. It definately resonates with the current team. Cal probably has the headline from that 1957 loss on their billboard for inspiration. Coach D has long stressed the importance of winning non-conference pac-10 road games in restoring respect to the program.

no offense joe, i understand we're all just killing time until actual football is played; but this reminds me of a stat john madden would blabber on and on about, leaving me praying for audio difficulties.

[TDP]

Eat some soup Joe!!

[dan carlisle]

what about the last time we played USC.....in a bowl. We won.

[T Bone]

I say Brian Hoyer gets the monkey off his back with an impressive 80 yard drive with 2 minutes to go. It is topped off by a ridiculous catch in the endzone by BJ Cunningham.
Alright if this happens, I should win this weeks contest by default. What do you think Joe?

[Jerry]

The USC Rose Bowl win was technicaliy played at a neutral site even though in reality it was not (eg. MSU playing at Ford Field, the Silverdome, the Palace of Auburn Hills, etc.).

[MSULordyoda]

Jerry don't forget that we also played USC in the 1990 Sun Bowl in El Paso and won that one too.

[bfsparty]

Cal is not that great. MD's charges will NOT be intimidated. If we pounce out to an early lead and stop Best quickly, Cal may come unglued. What know one talks about is that Cal became a very divided team last year once they started losing. That come from Tedford. MD ran that bs out of town, but has Tedford? Look for our guys to win big, stopping Best with Jones as spy, and blitzing Riley into oblivion.

[Chad]

Last year, I was happy to see MSU become that Physical team that we have missed since probably when Saban was here. And I think this year we will see an even more physical team. I think by the end of the game, Cal will wilt from the physicality of MSU. Make it 31-21 MSU!

[Rexrode (evil twin)]

i think what Joe really meant was a road opening win on the road against a pac-10...uh..right?

[Steve]

Yes, the PAC 10 is very tough early in the season. I can remember many games where Michigan and OSU went out to the West Coast early in the season and lost the game to some PAC 10 team. This will be an extremely tough game for MSU. Our defense must really get some stops early in the game.

[Go Cal]

Cal is going to turn green and white into black and blue and give sparty a spanking.

[db]

Unfortunately, I was at the last MSU/Pac Ten road game in Oregon. Not my favorite MSU memory. Here's to a much better MSU performance this time around. MSU 31 Cal 28. Go Spartans!

[Spartan_Legacy]

Javon "The Freak" Ringer is going to bust out of the gates with 200 yards rushing. This is his year to shine.

Have any of you ever been to Berkeley? It is about the farthest thing from a college football town that you can possibly imagine. My bet is outside of the student body no one in that town will even know there is a game, let alone the name of their own team.

[dmbtierney]

Hey, Spartan_Legacy: your comments are probably correct. However, I've been to Berkeley a couple of times and found it to be a fantastic school, great campus and a stadium setting second to none. All of you going this week-end will end up agreeing with this.