BOOOM

Monty Madaris and Demetrius Cox have both committed to MSU.  More to come later.

I thought I would get a basketball post up tonight, but I do not think that will happen with these two commits.  I will mention a few things though.  See you later!

UPDATE TIME:

Drinking a Daisy Cutter, watching reruns of Parks and Recreation on Netflix, cooking flank steak, tweeting.  Typical Monday night.  MSU received 2 very good commitments within 24 hours.  The first was Monty Madaris the second was Demetrious Cox.  I will likely misspell Demetrious a lot.   From my last post:  

Demetrious Cox is someone I have though would go green for a long time.  Though I would not be surprised if he goes to Penn State.  Absolutely no way he goes to OSU.  J Monty Madaris is another 4 star WR and I have been saying that he would go green for about 7 months now.  The transfer of DeAnthony Arnett makes things more interesting.   I have heard that he Madaris would play safety and is open to that.  I am still going to say that he goes green but with Arnett and Burbridge in there, I would not be surprised if he goes to Cincy.  (at least he didn't go to Cincy!) Onto the numbers!

Monty (wtf is that short for Montgomery? or is he just Monty????)  All of the services we use here list Monty at 6-2 190.  So it has good size already.  Love getting a 6-2 receiver. ESPN and Scout list him at a **** while Rivals has him at a ***, which is 21st in the state in 54th for his position.  ESPN has him at 13th in the state and 36th at his position and an 80 overall which makes him our highest rated ESPN recruit.  While Scout has him at 26th for the WR position.  Monty had offers from some big names in the college football world, including BC, Nebraska, Illinois, Cincy, UConn, Florida State, and Michigan.  ESPN finds that he has strong hands, can get the ball in traffic, has great route running and can get yards after catch.  The yards after catch is what ESPN is highest about saying he is often used in the wildcat due to his ability to escape.  With that, this is a great addition to what has to be one of the better WR recruiting classes in the big for the last decade. (the Manningham class for UM was very good as well)    Which is interesting considering this tweet I received. 

"Steven"

@

@ztj521 @JimComparoni LOL he is a 3 star...generic WR"  WOW.  Let's be honest Steve, you would like this commit.

Demetrious Cox is generally listed at about 6-1 190.  He plays QB for his high school and projects as a safety or DB prospect.  ESPN rates him at 11th in the state and 28th at his position which is ATH - as well as a 79 overall.  Rivals has him at a 10th in the state and 13th at position - which is safety.  Scout has him as an 8th at position - safety - and a ****.  ESPN and Rivals also list Cox as a ****.  ESPN loves his speed and ability to hit the outside.  With that, they love his smoothness running with the ball and in general rate him as more of a WR.  Scout also loves Cox's ability to run sideline to sideline and vision on the field.  Overall, this seems to be a great commit with offers from schools such as: Arkansas, ND, Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt and Wisconsin.  I will add that anytime you can get a recruit holding offers from schools like PSU, ND and OSU it looks better for other commits. Especially when they kid is from (western) Pennsylvania.  

Here is video of Demetrious committing to MSU. 

MSU plays Illinois tomorrow in a B1G showdown.  I love this Illinois team.  I think that Meyers Leonard is an absolute beast and Payne/Nix combo will need to bring their A game to lock him down defensively.  Which is the key to this MSU victory.  MSU will need to shut down and inside out game for Illinois and guard against the hot shooter for Illinois.  I have actually watched a few of the Illini games this year, ones they have won, and they always seem to have a hot guard in all of their games.  Orange Crush will be rocking and I would not be surprised if MSU lost this game.  With Travis Trice liekly out, Kearny and Byrd will need to step up.  More importantly, Appling will need to play major minutes.  Keith cannot get tired at this end of this game, or Draymond needs to take over some PG duty.  I see another big game from Dawson as well as Byrd hitting a couple big shots.   Call it 75-67 MSU. 

Around the Way Post

First of all, pat with an updated background, after having the UM one up.  The way this one posts on the site, it is still almost all UM.  Pickelman and whoever the UM guy are look like they are hugging, so that's nice. 

I want to touch on a few things here,  first and foremost, MSU picked up two recruits.  Also, MSU plays Illinois on Tuesday - I will try to break that down as best as I can Monday night.  Lastly I want to touch on the new season ticket plan.  You can imagine I am not happy about a price increase. 

Mark Meyers, whom I will likely refer to mainly as Mike Meyers is a safety out of Toledo, OH. Listed at 6 foot 180 pounds Mike, errrr Mark, has good size already (with departing safety, Trenton Robinson being listed at 5-11 195.)  Rivals has him listed as a *** with no postional rankings.  Scout ranks him as a *** and 94th position ranking.  ESPN is certainly the highest on Mark.  ESPN lists Mark as a *** and 27th overall safety.  They also rank him as a 78 overall.  A note for those paying attention our higest rated prospect, Aaron Burbridge, is a 79 overall.  The opening line of his scouting report states that he is flying under the BCS radar.  I guess this is a good thing, and it makes sense considering the rest of his offers are from MAC schools.  ESPN states that Mark is strong in zone coverage and has high ball skills.  I would assume that with strong zone coverage it means you can close quickly and recognize where the ball is going once it is in the air.  Which is why ESPN states that, "he can cover the field and make plays while remaining assignment sound as the last defender." I hope that this analysis is correct, and we found another diamond in the rough.

MSU's other recent commit is David Fennell out of Portland, OR.  HELLO NATIONAL RECRUITING PROMINENCE.  As far as I can tell, there is little to know recruiting news on David other than what ESPN lists.  Scout is a ** Not Rated. While Rivals is basically a complete blank.  Again, ESPN comes through in the clutch.  ESPN has him at *** 75 overall along with 107th at position and 6th in state.  (I am surprised there isn't more football talent in Oregon.) Listed everywhere at basically the same size 6-3 275, David will need to add weight to play on the inside D Line where is the projected to play at. ESPN likes his descriptiveness and pursuit.  He is stated to have strong hands and ability to use them to rip past blockers and grab the ball carrier.  Again ESPN uses the sleeper to a BCS level college team when describing David.  It is hard to get a good grasp on him when no other service has anything listed.

Keeping with the recruiting theme here is a an article from the Detroit News about where some of the remaining top rated prospects will land.   What do I think about some of these you ask?  Well, let me tell you.  Demetrious Cox is someone I have though would go green for a long time.  Though I would not be surprised if he goes to Penn State.  Absolutely no way he goes to OSU.  Jordan Diamond, Pat has been saying will go blue for about 7 months now.  Kyle Dodson is interesting.  He is a soft verbal to Wisconsin, still taking visits, was recently at an MSU bball game where the Izzone chanted his name.  OSU seems logical, but MSU could sneak in, I think he goes away from Wisconsin.  Monty Madaris is another 4 star WR and I have been saying that he would go green for about 7 months now.  The transfer of DeAnthony Arnett makes things more interesting.   I have heard that he Madaris would play safety and is open to that.  I am still going to say that he goes green but with Arnett and Burbridge in there, I would not be surprised if he goes to Cincy.  Jamichael Winston is a DE prospect out of Alabama.  He was just on a visit to MSU (couldn't pick a better weekend?)  His two largest offers are from Arkansas and MSU.  Though he is a consensus *** this has the feeling of a big get.  Arkansas isn't a small time program. 

So.  MSU season ticket holders, were going to see a fee increase. Right here you will find a breakdown of the prices and which section this effects.  Thank god I only have $25 dollars per seat.  This is why you sit close to those rowdy students.  The same seats on the opposite end are $100 per seat.  Along with this fee "spartan fund donation" all seats will be at a base price of $308, which is fine.   I like the idea of a new scoreboard, but at the same time, the great thing about MSU games is the blue collar fan base.  I don't think that even Pat can say that UM has a real rowdy crowd at UM games outside of the student section -- a lot of gray hair and "SIT DOWN I CANT SEE".  This was what was nice about MSU.  we sucked and tickets were fairly affordable at a season ticket rate.  Basically what I find most offensive is that they are claiming sustained success with back to back double digit win seasons as the back argument.  Yea, that is fine but the year before we wen 6-7 (4-4)  and lost to Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl.  Yes, that was your 2009/2010 Spartan Football team.  TALK ABOUT SUCCESS.  Let me know when we make the Rose Bowl and when Mark Hollis removes the ivory Spartan spear from his ass.  No one is fooled.  And the sustained success aspect is insulting as a fan.  just say hey we need the money.  I think that would be easier.

Tayhsaun + Fielder =

Over 200 million to play in the D.

Cabrera can't play third, can he?
Do Boesch, Cabrera, Fielder, Young comprise the most potent middle of a lineup in all of baseball?
Other than Austin Jackson and Brandon Inge, is there another Tiger who is above average defensively?
If Cabrera plays third and the Tigers disregard defense entirely, will they be the worst defensive team in baseball history?
You're still enjoying the Spin Doctors, aren't you?  ADMIT IT!

Passing of a Giant.

This Joe Rexrode piece sums up how I feel. 

"It's an incredibly sad ending to a wonderful life. And if you're going to read one thing on Paterno today, please read this David Jones piece.

    There will never be a completely satisfactory explanation for the things that have come to light in the past couple months. But you'll never convince me that Paterno was anything but a good human being. Some people can't handle those two ideas together. It's called a tragedy."
Here is the link, with links to other stories.

An addendum from Pat:

Unfortunately for JoePa and all that defend him, one grievous mistake is more than enough to define a person's life.

I find it abhorrent that Paterno is made to be a hero.  The true victims in this case were pissed on by Paterno, overlooked, hidden and buried to protect interests that were undoubtedly shared by JoePa.  A direct correlation is easily made between Paterno's inaction and misjudgement (phrases which give JoePa the benefit of the doubt) and subsequent abuses.  Death should not allow his eulogy to overlook massive faults.

To me, I'll always remember Joe Paterno as a hypocrite, a man who attempted to make others better and held people to a moral standard he himself could not achieve.  These are the worst of them, the frauds and liars.

For all his many achievements, his failure was greater.

Who's in First?

It's only a moment in time but take a look at the B1G Standings and you'll notice the Wolverines currently stand alone in first place.

Standings

This is going to be a wild race to the league title.

Schooled in Class

Let's start with an excerpt from Tbone's pregame post:

Well, we lost twice last year.  That has to be point one.  But that is fine.  See, UM is our little brother. And like Izzo Says, "It irks me if we win a lot (against Michigan) and lose one and people say the tide is changing."

Make that three in a row. Tommy.  Remember that Michigan player years ago who made a little comment about brothers?  Of course you do, Spartans the world over incessantly speak on this every time anything occurs in this rivalry.  The fact that Sparties will not let it die and continue to bring up the little brother comment proves how close to home it strikes.  Your inferiority complex shows itself again and again.

It's been a long time since Michigan basketball has been this good or this relevant, yet John Beilein's program acts with class and dignity when it comes to Michigan State.  Contrast this with the way Mark Dantonio would react in a postgame press conference after a victory over Michigan.

"Michigan State, I’m telling you, is one heck of a team. They’re difficult to defend and they’re difficult to score on. Fantastic coach, coaching staff as well. Draymond Green is as good as anybody that there is in the country and we really feel fortunate to get a win, especially over a program like that.”

“It’s always been a great rivalry. You look at the last 10 or 12 years, it hasn’t been much of a rivalry. They’ve been beating us pretty well. Our thing is we’re trying to win a Big Ten Championship. Michigan State is so good, and I admire what they do so much. The whole university, everybody, it’s a great place. You’ve gotta beat places that you admire, you’ve gotta do that to win a Big Ten Championship.”(Quotes taken from UMHoops)

Pure class.  He could have rubbed salt in their wounds.  He could have brought up three in a row.  He could have discussed bragging rights in the streets of Michigan for years to come.  Instead he handled himself with class and dignity, with true Michigan ideals and in doing so proves once more why Michigan stands alone atop this rivalry.  Games will be won and lost by both sides but it will always be Great to Be A Michigan Wolverine.

Some thoughts on the game...

Burke vs Appling

Is true freshman Trey Burke the best player in the state of Michigan?  I'm probably reading way too much into one game but he was certainly the best player on the floor yesterday.

Burke's statline for the game:

8-11 for 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers.

What the statline doesn't show is how Burke made plays in key moments.  Key blocks, an NBA range three with Michigan trailing and the game winning assist.  I thought Appling played pretty well offensively and in transition but as Izzo said he just ran out of gas from doing everything and playing so many minutes.  Still, the story of this game has to be Burke.  This game will be remembered (by me at least) as the point in the season when Trey Burke went from phenomenal freshman to best player on Michigan's team.  With the recent history of Michigan basketball stars I'm now terrified of who's going to play PG next year after Trey declares for the NBA draft after this season. 

Draymond Green

I still think Izzo offered Green (a low 4/high 3 star type) late in the process just to keep him off Michigan's roster.  That has worked out quite well for MSU and for Green.  I love the way he plays and how he leads his team.  He's talented, works hard, scores, dishes and does all the little things.  He also guaranteed victory over Michigan in the Breslin in February. (ESPN Insider article) 


Zach Novak and Stu Douglass

Of course, in that 2008 recruiting class Michigan ended up with an unranked player and a 2 star, though you may have heard of Zach Novak and Stu Douglass.  This worked out pretty well for Michigan.  Stu got the start in last night's game and he and Novak both made big plays throughout the game.  Novak is the clear leader of Michigan's team and the team plays with his heart and grit and determination which make them so fun to watch.  Novak has won our Spartan loving friend Reese over as his favorite player in college basketball.  Depending on what happens the rest of the way this season it will be interesting to see how Novak is remembered in Michigan history.  In my own humble epinion, he's one of the all-time greats from the standpoint of what he's done for the school and basketball program.

And therefore, Mr Novak, you get the honor of the onrivalries background.  To The Victors! (Hail!) go the spoils.

I Don't Like Anything About Michigan

Hard to have a hate week in basketball.  Unless we played back to back games.   That would actually be pretty neat.  Get on that Hollis.  So here we are.  MSU v. UM tomorrow at Crisler Arena tipping off at around 6:00 p.m.  on ESPN.  This looks to be a good game with MSU ranked 9th and UM ranked 20th based on AP polling.  This of course is the game that both teams want to win more than any other.  Maybe Pat can speak more to this, but with OSU being your biggest rival, so UM fans say, does this game matter all that much?  Are UM fans excited to watch this or do they get all geeked when OSU comes into town?  Is this a football v. basketball school argument?  Sorry for having two successful programs.  However, I am not sorry for having the best football/basketball duo in the country. More proof needed?  I like to keep my trash talking at moderately high levels.  So what are some motivating factors in this game?  Well, we lost twice last year.  That has to be point one.  But that is fine.  See, UM is our little brother. And like Izzo Says, "It irks me if we win a lot (against Michigan) and lose one and people say the tide is changing."  Sure, MSU rode the struggle bus to start Izzo's career at MSU, but theres reasons for that, more from this article -----Izzo wants the tide to stay right where it has been, in most years, since 1997. The Spartans began dominating the series in the second meeting of the 1997-98 season, and went on to win 18 of 21 games against the Wolverines. The Spartans were blown out by Michigan in Izzo's first five games against the Wolverines as head coach. Michigan was stacked with talent in that era, thanks in part to recruiting and benefits packages that eventually led to severe NCAA penalties for the Wolverines.-----  Timeout!  Let's just stop there and move into to what it will take to win/what to look for.

I have been reading up on this since I think Pomeroy stats are for people that cannot play basketball.  Two prominant UM and MSU blogs use them to justify nearly everything and a lot gets missed.  Like the in game battles.  Which is point #1.

1: Point guard play.  Trey Burke and Keith Appling.  This matchup looms large in  my head.  Burke's ability to distribute the ball to the post or to the slashing wings seems to be a predictor of UM success.  How can Keith bottle him up?  The dude is good.  But then again so is Appling. Keith has been averaging nearly 18 points per game over his last six games.  But  more importantly.  Keith has been dishing the ball, hitting the 7+ assist mark five times this year - including wins over  Indiana and Gonzaga.  If appling has a game that looks like 17-4-7-3-1 we should win the game handily.  That is a gaudy stat line. In my mind, the winning teams point guard will have a line some thing like that. 

How about Draymond?

2:  Draymond has been mostly terrible in games against UM.  Averaging 6 points and under 4 boards. We need more out of him for this game.  But do we need more scoring of him?  My gut reaction is no with Payne/Nix, Wood and Appling more than apt at scoring.  What we do need?  Some rebounds.  A 10 rebound night could lock this game up, and a 3 rebound night could lose it for us.  Along with that, Green needs to play some good D on Smotrycz.  We can't let him get hot from outside or get any looks inside.  Depending on the lineup, Green could also be checking Morgan.  I am not sure what to make of that matchup, heads could explode.  I like it for each team, offensively.

I almost forget, we just lost.

3:  MSU just lost a game to Northwestern in which no defense was played.  This was the first loss for MSU since mid November.   Normally, UM runs a similar defense to Northwestern, the 1-3-1.  Though that has been happening less this year - more man.  I don't think UM will play much in this game. MSU was able to score on Northwestern and UM has legit big men this year.  So how will MSU handle the loss? I think they got over the loss quickly, NU is no slouch, and winning on the road in the B1G is tough.  MSU wants this game.  Draymond wants this game.  Gotta get it back for the two  losses last year.

So what's the score?  I cant really tell if a high scoring game is better or worse for MSU with the ability of the UM shooters, remember Novak's 6 triples last year???? I DO.  But I do think MSU has the better team and I am not gonna pick against them even if UM was better.  We'll call this one 75-66 MSU.  

"But I don't like anything about Michigan and they don't like anything about us. That's just the way it is and the way it should be."


"If you are asking me do I respect John Beilein? Tremendously," Izzo added. "Do I respect Michigan? Tremendously. Do I like them? Not one bit."

Thanks for the free article www.spartanmag.com, all stuff is a tremendous read on this site.

You Can Get With This or You Can Get With That

So where to begin?  First of all, the MSU bball team is getting some major praise.  SI seems to think we will make the final 4.  I am not too sure about that at this point.  I would like to see more scoring and better interior defense.  However, we seem to have pieces in place that other F4 MSU teams had.  This includes strong rebounding, the ability to run the floor, and someone that can just plain make jump shots when needed.  The biggest thing I think that works in our favor is our ability to get out and score in transition is back.  This is something that seemed to be missing from last years team and something I love seeing more and more of.  Anytime a team wants to run with us, we can match it.  That seems to be a hallmark of Izzo teams, more so than tough rebounding. The ability to run the floor. 

The next game for MSU is at NW.  This is a fun game to go to. I live in Chicago and will not be able to attend however.  Like the football games, there is a strong MSU fan presence.  NW is not team to sleep on however.  Shurna can get hot from anywhere on the floor and rain it.  Last year, MSU was able to shut down Shurna with the bigger Roe guarding him.  This year, that task will be up to Draymond.  Shurna is the B1Gs leading scorer at over 18 ppg.  Shurna has two inches at Green, however, Green has a bit more girth.  I do not expect Shurna to try to back Green down in the post, instead rely on his deceptive quickness off of screens to pop shots off.  MSU will have to very active on screen switches and make sure to guard against back cuts to limit the Wildcat offense.  I see MSU winning this game, but would not be surprised at a let down either. Offensively MSU has advantages in the post and will use them at times when buckets are needed.  Based off of watching previous games against NW, MSU will look to fast break it after NW buckets to try to get some back. The guard play will be key in their ability to distribute the basketball, slow the tempo when needed and also pick the spots to both attack the rim and shoot the ball.  With that, distribution will be key.  The post players for NW cannot match up with our 4's and 5's.  I see Dawson straight abusing people at times.  We will go with 67-57 final score.  Player of the game?  Dawson.  He is due for a "break out game" and his athleticism should be a mismatch for whoever guards him from Northwestern. 

Whats that? you like tattoos?  How about this one? 

To all you recruits out there, which I am sure there are none of you reading this blog, You can get with this, or you can get with that.  That song reference will reach just about zero recruits, but I do not care.  I just hope Nick Hill was able to pay for this with his own money.  I guess if you post it for everyone to see, your comfortable with the payment source. 

O yea, MSU and UM play in basketball in 4 days.  If MSU wins, this will looks to be a match up of two top ten teams.  nice. 

Blog Rolodex

Here is a list of MSU Blogs (theres only like 2 good ones, serisously)

1: http://noise.typepad.com/hey_joe/
2: www.theonlycolors.com

Here is a B1G blog.

1: www.offtackleempire.com

ED NOTE: Pat, add some UM blogs please.

Round Up

So I have been lacking lately.  Let me catch up and follow up.  Firstly, huge win for the program. As MSU beat an SEC team in the South.  Georgia is a very good team - a team that is built similarly to MSU.  With the victory, MSU could end up with a post season top 10.  That would be pretty amazing.  We have come a long way in 5 years.  The first half of the game saw MSU sputter on offense.  Georgia came prepared for our speed on the edge, and the first play from scrimmage resulted in a safety.  It is a good thing we have Pat Narduzzi (more on that later) because our defense came to play.  The first half resulted in a 16-0 deficit and things looked bad for MSU.  The second half, offensively, all the bubble screens MSU attempted in the first half worked in our favor as MSU used the more fakes off the screen.  The MSU offense got rolling a little bit, the defense stood up and from there. MSU got the 3OT victory.  

The basketball team beat Wisconsin for the first time at Wisconsin in a decade.  That was pretty impressive.  The game was a grinder.  Both teams bricked shots.  Both teams played good defense.  Dawson had some impressive cuts to the basket, showing his athleticism.  Payne and Nix played well and Green collected the quietest double double in history.  As The final buzzer sounded and the game ended in "controversy" MSU won and earned a hard fought victory. This team continues to impress me.  After 14? straight wins, I wonder when well slip up.  Gotta lose again sometime.

Back in the football world.  Jerel Worthy went pro.  This wasn't a huge surprise.  I thought he played really well against Georgia.  Showed a lot of jump off the ball and finished out his All American season with a bowl victory.  What is pretty surprising is that Edwin Baker has stated he is going pro.  Though he hasn't hired an agent as I write this.  He has stated going pro is his next move.  Edwin had a great sophomore season and appeared to take a step back, or, not get the same opportunities as a season ago.  The start of the season featured an offensive line that wasn't fully clicking and as the season wore on. If Baker was in the game, teams pretty much knew we were gonna run so they were able to stack the box.  I think that Baker can make a solid pro.  He has a lot of speed and is strong.  I don't know if this is right move, that all depends on where he is drafted.  There have been rumors of Johnny Adams wanting to turn pro.  Though he has the talent.  A good senior season would almost assure him of a first round draft.  Adams turning pro would be a big mistake in my mind. 

After the bowl win and after the win in Wisconsin.  It was said that Narduzzi was looking at taking the DC position at Texas A&M.  A&M is a new SEC team and a sqaud that seems to always under perform.  The real next step for Narduzzi is a head coaching spot (not another DC position) and I am not sure if a rebuilding team in a league like the SEC would have been a good move.  Though the money that was reportedly offered was certainly worth Narduzzi taking a tour of the facilities.  Thankfully, Coach Dantonio was able to ear mark extra money for all of his assistants effective this February.  This future pay increase coupled with a feeling of unfinished business (think Rose Bowl)  lead to Narduzzi staying on at MSU.  Losing Pat would have been a huge loss.  He has been with Dantonio for 9 years.  His scheme is solid given the right talent (remember when we couldn't stop a 5 yard pass?) but more than that he has a great personality for recruiting and firing up the team.  The loss of Narduzzi would have been a lot greater than when Treadwell left last year.  Hopefully we can keep Narduzzi for a long long time.  Or at least until we get the perfect replacement.

Ed Note: Pat can you link up that video of Narduzzi breaking down his run stop?  

Here you are sir:
http://search.espn.go.com/pat-narduzzi/video/6
Sorry, no embed. 

Now that there is less stuff going on all at once, I should have some more bball coverage especially as a looming MSU UM showdown gets closer.   In the meantime. Go Lions, Go Red Wings!

Glad You Came

Posting that song was the first time I've actually ever seen the video (so this is like a boy band? I didn't even realize there were multiple different people who sing in this song) but that song was the theme song of the trip down to NOLA.  We ran around singing it and dancing like buffoons in the streets, only all the other people were buffoons just like us so our buffoonery was inconsequential.  What a glorious place that New Orleans...

As a Bourbon Street virgin I cannot say enough about New Orleans.  The food was awesome.  You can order a drink in a bar and take it right with you and head out to the streets and cruise around.  The architecture is beautiful by any standards.  There is a place called "Huge Ass Beers".  We had some grenades, some hurricanes and it all added up to an awesome trip.

Oh yeah, and there was football.  Michigan fans invaded New Orleans for the game.  My best estimate would be a 2 to 1 advantage of Michigan fans against VT fans.  Bourbon Street literally looked like Hoover on game day with Michigan jerseys and t-shirts everywhere.

Speaking of Virgina Tech fans, of those I met they all seemed pretty cool.  They do have some weird "traditions" like coming out of the tunnel to Enter Sandman by Metallica.  They get really pumped about that.  They also get fired up about being called VaTech.  They want to just be called "Tech" which I'm sure works if you live in Virginia but seems to disregard the fact there are a lot of other technical universities.  If you must clarify, they prefer that you use the entire Virginia instead of Va.

Did I mentioned there was a football game played?  When a guy is wearing a popcorn bucket as a helmet, his observations about football are probably less than expert but I'm sure you all (here's looking at you, our one reader Kenny) are waiting eagerly to here what I have to say.

Michigan got outplayed.   Denard was throwing passes like Jerry on recess.  On more than one occasion during the game I just yelled "how are we winning?!?" The replay official may or may not have determined the outcome of the game.  His call may or may not have been correct. 

To all the above, you do not matter. 

Things that matter:

Victory. 
11-2. 
Sugar Bowl Champions. 
Ecstatic celebration. 
Slapping hands with nearly every player.
Brendan Gibbons making game winning field goals while visions of "brunette girls" dance in his head.
Talking to David Molk, Ryan Van Bergen and JT Floyd on Bourbon St after the game. 
Oysters, grilled or raw, beyond delicious in either preparation.
Daiquiris.
Beignets.
The perfect trip. 

I'm glad you came.

Bowl

Quick and dirty style.  I have to work all day today so I will be missing the game, well, I will be watching it on DVR. 

1.  Edge speed.   This is where MSU can overwhelm just about every team in the county utilizing both Martin and Cunningham on the edge and deep on the sidelines with their speed. 

2: Defensive line.  The defensive line will need to get good push if MSU has any chance in this game. Think your a first round pick, Worthy?  Here is the chance to show it.  The Georgia offensive line will be the largest line weve played all year. 

3:  Controlling the ball.  I dont think we will win a shootout.  MSU needs to control the ball eat the clock and bleed Georgia dry.  I think we can win this game, but our running game will help assure that.  If we rack up 150 yards on the ground, we should win handily.  I am not sure who I see having a bigger game, Bell or Baker, more of a combo attack.  Caper could get in the mix as well with some screen passes and break a few loose. 

This is a tough game to call because I have only watch Georgia play one game and that was the SEC championship.  I dont think their second half was as good as they are.  I think they are more like that first half team.  MSU needs to get a jump early and see if things unravel quickly for the Bulldogs.  Cousins has been on a tear his last 6 games, keep that up and we win.  Turn the ball over early in possessions and give Georgia good field position we lose.  I am not happy about having to work since this matchup seems to be of two equal team.  Lets all it 31-24 MSU.  Close game throughout, one touchdown in the last few minutes gets us the lead and then our defense gets a huge stop to seal the game.