Michigan State

[Eric]

Do they win this week? I'm starting to have a really bad feeling. It seems like everybody thinks we're back to old Sparty now, but I'm a little hesitant now. A typical Michigan State team blows this game and it's "here we go again"

[Spence]

They aren't back to "old Sparty", but yes they win this week. I think they really want the bowl game and are going to do everything possible to get there. They have the talent to be good, it comes down to heart. We will find out about that the next few games.

[Spence]

I think they could lose to Penn State in Happy Valley at the end of the season, but they may be able win enough games to go bowling.

[Eric]

They have 4 wins now and have left on the schedule a terrible Indiana team, a terrible Minnesota team, a bad Purdue team, and a mediocre Penn State team. All they need are 2 of those, but if they can't get that Indiana game, they come crashing down and lose the rest of their games. If they beat Indiana, it's possible that they win out. I'm afraid the first scenario is going to happen.

The team needs to win this game so they can come back down to Earth without having their confidence shot. I think there will be such a hangover from the biggest comeback ever, but they pull it out at the end and get back on track. I still feel it's too early to say the old team is "back" yet. Let's see what they do vs. Indiana.

[BYUfan1]

Michigan State needed somthing positive to happen to them and you can not get more positive than the greatest comeback ever. I think they will start playing again like they did when the season started. I just mad at myself for not watching the game when it was on live and then forgetting ESPN Classic was showing it again. Oh well.

[BYUfan1]

I give up. They built up my confidence in them last week, now they are losing to Indiana 30-7, early in the third quarter. Not happy. Not happy at all. At least BYU is up early.

[Eric]

Okay, now I beg the question, does MSU come out on fire against a terrible Purdue defense and win one for the coach?

It's either going to be a feel-good story or a "holy cow, we are bad" effort. Not sure which to expect

[colorado_loves_football]

They have 4 wins now and have left on the schedule a terrible Indiana team, a terrible Minnesota team, a bad Purdue team, and a mediocre Penn State team. All they need are 2 of those, but if they can't get that Indiana game, they come crashing down and lose the rest of their games. If they beat Indiana, it's possible that they win out. I'm afraid the first scenario is going to happen.

Since, they lost to Inidana, I have to 'revise' my prediction to fit the reality of the situation:

09/02/06 vs. Idaho East Lansing, Mich. W, 27-17
09/09/06 vs. Eastern Michigan East Lansing, Mich. W, 52-20
09/16/06 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pa. W, 38-23
09/23/06 vs. Notre Dame East Lansing, Mich. L, 40-37
09/30/06 vs. Illinois (Homecoming) East Lansing, Mich. L, 23-20
10/07/06 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. L, 31-13
10/14/06 vs. Ohio State East Lansing, Mich. L, 38-7
10/21/06 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. W, 41-38
10/28/06 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. L, 46-21

That's 4 wins, 5 losses, so far with these games remaining:
11/04/06 vs. Purdue East Lansing, Mich. 3:30 p.m. ET
11/11/06 vs. Minnesota East Lansing, Mich. 12:00 p.m. ET
11/18/06 at Penn State State College, Pa. TBA
Two home games, one road game, 2/3 gets them to 6-6 on the year.

The team needs to win this game so they can come back down to Earth without having their confidence shot. I think there will be such a hangover from the biggest comeback ever, but they pull it out at the end and get back on track. I still feel it's too early to say the old team is "back" yet. Let's see what they do vs. Indiana.

Since they already played Indiana (and lost) I guess I can't 'validate' my argument there. But, Indiana is an 'improving' football team, you can't really blame John L. Smith for that. Secondly, I think Michigan St, when prepared, has played good football, despite the 2nd half 'letdown' they probably should have beaten N.Dame, who has only lost one game.
He's gone, so it's not important now, but I hope they go 'bowling'.

[Eric]

Michigan St. has been 'up & down' all season long. I'ts hard to say where they'll finish up.
Losing their head coach, has to affect morale, in some fashion, but I am inclined to believe the team will 'rally' behind him. I think his firing was 'premature', what was it based on? A loss to Illinois (who nearly beat Wisconsin?). I think John L. Smith deserves a 2nd chance, myself.

No, you ever heard of the Illinois team that has defeated Eastern Illinois and, you guessed it, Michigan State? That's the one I'm talking about.

Illinois is improving, but there you are trying to pass a terrible team off as a "good" one. No offense, I don't intend for that to sound mean, but you do that a lot.

[BYUfan1]

I think his firing was 'premature', what was it based on? A loss to Illinois (who nearly beat Wisconsin?). I think John L. Smith deserves a 2nd chance, myself.

I am not into saying that a coach should be fired for not winning enough games because I think there are more important things than that. I would love to know how the Michigan State football players are doing in the classroom and are they behaving themselves away from the football field.

However, based on the collapse of last season, this season could be considered "a second chance." I still cannot believe they lost to Notre Dame. For the second year in a row, John L. Smith allowed his team to fall apart after a hard loss. Then the team played badly again after the great win versus Northwestern. What has been happening on the field the last two years has to be frustrating for alot of people. It was a tough decision, I just hope it works out for both sides. How would Steve Kragthorpe look in green?

[Eric]

Just to clear things up, I didn't say that

I'm thinking John L should be fired. Michigan State is a university with a lot of potential, but Bobby Williams totally messed things up, Smith went to a bowl game with Williams' recruits, then when the MSU program should take off, they're losing to teams like Indiana and Illinois? Of course he should be fired. College athletics is about a lot of things, but to universitites and fans, winning means a lot too.