ND: Statement Game

My Saturday morning ritual.

This is the second time this morning I’m typing this, the first time I typed it was on the WordPress app for the iPhone while walking my dog dressed in Notre Dame garb. I lost that version when I tried to upload a photo, so let’s try again. This time at the computer drinking my morning coffee from “My Play like a Champion Today” mug.

I would not want to be any team going into Notre Dame Stadium this afternoon, because Notre Dame is going to make a statement today that they should be regarded as serious contenders for the BCS. It doesn’t matter who this afternoons opponent, the Irish are going to came at them with such a relentless and aggressive attack that Michigan State will not know what hit them.

Brian Kelly will not let up on the throttle this afternoon as the Irish will unleash two weeks of frustration upon the Spartans this afternoon in South Bend. Picture the Michigan without the turnovers run in a huddle spread offense from the start of the game; that’s what I expect to see.

I know the last three meetings have been decided by three points or less and two of those games went into overtime, who cares? The Irish will be out to destroy Michigan State today.

Prediciton: ND 44 – MSU 17

Spartans join the shitty uniform craze

Michigan State's "very special" uniforms for the Oct. 15 home game against Michigan.

Michigan State is yet another of the latest schools to let their equipment company convince them to make themselves look like a ridiculous On Any Given Sunday fake football team, unleashing this horrendous creation on the world today.

Not to be outdone by Under Armor (Maryland) or Adidas (Michigan, Notre Dame), Nike persuaded State to join their other schools including Oregon, Ohio State, Army, Navy, Georgia LSU and Stanford in the latest round of their Pro Combat Series. Their attempt to redefine the look of college football really only succeeds in creating a social media frenzy for a few weeks (damn I’m falling for it!) and sells some novelty jerseys no one would be caught dead in in a few years.  Maybe it’ll generate some buzz about each of the programs involved, but it’s hard to believe a one-off uniform will help recruiting in the longrun, as I’m sure Nike has promised school administrators.

But when it comes down to it, who really cares about a uniform the team is only going to wear for one day?  The Michigan and Notre Dame unis didn’t spoil the taste of my beer on Saturday night and they actually grew on me after awhile.  I just wish the Spartan version actually looked like a Michigan State uniform. The bronze, while historically accurate, comes out of left field from the proud Green & White and resembles the uniforms of mediocre football traditions of UAB or Baylor.  I think silver would’ve been a better choice—check it out (thank you PhotoShop):

The Theismann's Earhole version of MSU's new unis. You're welcome.

Spartan path paved to the National Championship?

Michigan State find themselves 7-0 for the first time in 44 years and dreaming of previously unreachable heights after manhandling Illinois 26-6 at Spartan Stadium Saturday. With Ohio State’s collapse in Madison that same night the #7 Spartans are not only in the driver’s seat to a Big Ten Championship, they actually have a legitimate shot at the BCS Championship Game. Here’s what would need to happen:

1. Take care of their own business. Obviously, the Spartans must win all 5 of their remaining games. State comes to Evanston this weekend to take on a scrappy Northwestern squad, but they should be able to handle the Wildcats with relative ease.  The real test comes the week after as they travel to Iowa City to battle the #13 Hawkeyes.  If they can get past Iowa (admittedly, not an easy task) their road to an undefeated season is paved with extremely winnable home games versus Minnesota and Purdue and a finale at very mediocre Penn State.

2. Sit back and wait for the computers to screw over the little guys. While perennial Cinderellas Boise State and TCU are currently ahead of State in the BCS rankings, their strength of schedules simply won’t compare with Spartan victories over Top 25 teams Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.  Maybe that’s unfair, but that’s just the way it is until the powers that be relent and adopt a long-awaited playoff system (but that’s the subject of another post).

3. Let parity (and anarchy) reign! Seeing the #1 team in the nation lose in each of the last two weeks is more than enough evidence in support of the Spartans hopes. No one is a clear, dominating presence on the college football landscape a this point and every team in front of State in the rankings has much more difficult hurdles to get over than the Green & White. We know one contender will be eliminated next week as LSU faces Auburn. Even if LSU wins on the road, they still have to face Alabama, Arkansas and have the SEC Championship game to deal with. Sorry LSU—not gonna happen. Auburn should beat LSU at home but they would still have to go to Alabama and then face the conference championship game—no way that’s going to work for the War Eagle. The very overrated Oklahoma goes to very underrated #11 Missouri this weekend and still has to travel to in-state rival #14 Oklahoma State. Oregon still has to travel to face an overlooked USC team, then home vs. #18 Arizona and finish the season with their Civil War game versus Oregon State in the Beaver Dam. Even if one of these teams runs through their daunting gauntlets, there’s still another spot in the title game waiting for State.

With a relatively easy path to an undefeated season when compared to the other contenders, the BSC system working against the two non-BCS schools in the mix, and only needing to slide into one of two slots in the BSC Championship Game — you read if here first — the Michigan State Spartans will vie for the national title on January 10th in Glendale, Arizona.

Earhole Top 10: Week 6

Big shakeup at the top as Prick Sabin’s Crimson Tide fall to South Carolina (hmm… Prick vs. Cocks—that’s a battle nobody wins).  Preseason rankings have given the Buckeyes an unfair advantage pushing them to #1 in most national polls, but they really aren’t close to the caliber of Oregon in my mind.  Michigan State breaks into the Top 10 after dismantling the Wolverines and Heisman hopeful, Denard Robinson in front of 113,000 in the Big House.  Impressive win for the Spartans and Badass Coach of the Year candidate, Mark Dantonio.

1. Oregon (6-0)
2. Ohio State (6-0)
3. Nebraska (5-0)
4. Oklahoma (5-0)
5. Boise State (5-0)
6. TCU (6-0)
7. Auburn (6-0)
8. Michigan State (6-0)
9. Alabama (5-1)
10. LSU (5-0)