Rank order of prospective victory goodness 2014 against MSU, ND, OSU.

1.) Ohio State

2.) Michigan State

3.) Notre Dame

I'd even put Penn State ahead of Notre Dame if we were going that route. We have to beat Ohio State. Hoke cannot afford to go 0-3 vs Urban, not that he can really afford to go 1-3 vs Dantonio.

This thread has too much pain and is depressing.

This can never be forgiven or forgotten.

The day he commented to Mike Hart sealed it.

/

Why did Bo kick to Ismail a 2nd time or at all?

#1 - MSU.

We need to control our own state first. The Sparty crowd is bad enough, when they are winning it is unbearable. We need success in this game. I want this one the most.

Thrill of Victory (1-10, with 10 being greatest thrill):

OSU: 10

MSU:  9

ND:  6

Beating ND doesn't really mean a whole lot, at least not in comparison to the other two.  Just don't expect to beat the other two, with OSU seeming like a tremendous uphill climb and having huge B1G championship ramifications for at least one of the teams.

Agony of Defeat (1-10, with 10 being great burning agony):

ND: 8

MSU:  7

OSU:  5

Losing the last game against ND kinda sucks.  ND and Michigan are pursuing a lot of the same guys in recruiting, especially Crawford with his "winner" comment, so that would be nice.  Also, ND seems to be like the only game on the schedule that would make a difference between mediocre and excellent.  Lose to all three and its another crap season.

I get more thrill out of a victory over OSU, but more agony over a loss to MSU. Gun to my head, I guess I'd rather see the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl than Sparty if it came to it. It was an easier decision when Tressell was the coach - while slimy, he was never near as loathsome as Dantonio. Meyer has caught up to Mark in that department though.

I have always agreed with what has been said above numerous times: beating Ohio State is ten times more exhilarating than beating Michigan State, but losing to Sparty is ten times as awful as losing to OSU. My memories of really watching Michigan football begin with the 1988 season, so I've experienced plenty of dominance over both, and, lately, plenty of heartbreak against both. The differences in how they handle it are telling: Michigan beats OSU, they're crushed. They beat Michigan, it's the happiest day of the year. Michigan beats Michigan State, they act like they don't give a shit while somehow simultaneously peddling conspiracy theories. They win, and holy fuck, it's more than the happiest day of the year: history has actually been undone.

In terms of pure football, I'd rather beat Ohio State. In terms of fans, I'd rather beat Michigan State. I have lived in Columbus and I currently live near Lansing, and there's simply no comparing the obnoxiousness. Oh, sure, Ohio State fans act like drunken asshats and can be downright violent, no question about it. But Michigan State fans have this...other thing, I don't know, I can't describe it. They paint themselves as the "everymen," the cool, likeable alternative to the alleged WASP-ish, "Arrogant Asses" of Ann Arbor, and then at the same time engage in the incredibly elitist and classist practice of labeling non-alumni Michigan fans as "Walmart Wolverines" and lampooning them as rednecks. It's that hypocrisy (which is compounded by the fact that their own non-alumni fans engage in it) that makes them and their current dominance simply insufferable.  

On the other hand, 2-6 against Dantonio? Ugh. 0-3 against Urban? Double ugh. 

Fuck Notre Dame. Not only has Michigan gone 6 of 8, they've made sure it's absolutely heartbreaking every time. If they get Michigan back on the way out the door after making sure they got the last home game, oh well. Enjoy the ACC. Losers. 

Edit: Also, I have a cousin who, prior to moving to Denver and jumping on the Broncos bandwagon, didn't give a shit about any sport, period. So first he becomes an NFL fan, then when he decides it's time to learn about college football too, he allows his wife to make him a Sparty. If it isn't annoying enough that he's been a fan of football since 2011 and a fan of MSU since 2012 and acts like a complete lifelong fanatic, he of course also "don't know shit" about Michigan's prior dominance of Michigan State, but can tell you in a heartbeat that MSU has currently won 5 of 6. Seriously, I love him, but fuck that guy. 

To answer the direct question -  MSU >>>OSU>>>ND

However, I'm having the subject conflict -

My head says: If we go 10-2 and lose on the road in non-abysmal (MSU last year abysmal, OSU last year not abysmal) fashion to OSU/MSU, and win a bowl game, that's a pretty darn good year, and in 2015 we whip 'em at home.

My heart says we need to beat these bums NOW, to redeem the honor of Meeechigan.

   Rob

Number 3 is easily Notre Dame. We've made Notre Dame our whipping boy for the past decade, no matter how mediocre both programs have been. How many times have they come into the game, supposedly the better team, and they get sent home with a loss? If we lose to them this year, it'll definitely sting, especially since its the last game in the series, but I can live with it. We've won 6 of the past 8 if I'm not mistaken.

MSU and OSU are pretty interchangeable for the top spot at this point in time, but I still have to give the slight edge to OSU, just because they are THE rival. If we lose to MSU and still beat OSU, then the MSU loss is just an afterthought to me. I really just say to myself "I'll let them have it, because I got what I really want."

If we beat MSU, then I'm a happy man. If we beat OSU, its pure euphoria. Multipled by 50. We haven't beaten a good, non Luke Fickell-coached OSU team in over a decade. Over. A. Decade. And I was jumping for joy when we beat them in 2011, when their team was a heaping pile of Bauser-bomb dog turd. I can't imagine what I would've done had we pulled out the W this past year. They were never good enough to play for a national title last year, but I was praying we'd be the ones that got to lay that fact out for them.

I'm going to do the whole schedule, just to put things in perspective:

1. OSU
2. MSU
3. Penn State
4. Tie between: Minnesota, Rutgers, Indiana, Northwestern, and Maryland.
5. App. State
6. Notre Dame
7. Utah
8. Miami

The ND game is basically worthless, as everyone has pointed out, since we've dominated the series (despite our very bad teams) and they chickened out.  Sure, I'll be foaming at the mouth during the game, but in the big picture, I don't much care.

Penn State has some momentum with the new hire and their unexpected success; we need to beat them.

The rest of the conference is more important than any non-conference game.  App. State would be higher if they had a realistic chance of winning.  Other than ND, only Utah should even put up a fight.

Win THE GAME.  Beat Sparty.  Then take care of the rest of the conference.  I'm much more concerned about getting to Indianapolis than I am about the Fig Things.

1: OSU. For as long as I have been alive "The Game" has mattered more than any other period. More than the Rose Bowl, more that the National Championship, and these days more than Indy. For me that will never change. TV10 / AD10 

2: ND. I hold that school in the deepest and most abiding contempt. A program that for decades could field 22 grandmothers in wheel chairs and be in the national sportscaster's preseason discussions for a national championship. This is likely the last time we'll face them for at least a decade. I want to take the dual joy of a final win and their final loss along with me for the next ten or so years. TV9/AD9

3: MSU. This school was never considered a rival by my generation. As a result I just can't get overly concerned about playing them. I remember beating them so regularly that when we occasionally lost they were the unexpected loss of that season. They are having a good run and, while I hate the unnecessary roughness philosophy of their head coach, they've earned the run. But I am only able to view it as a run. MSU may stumble. They may continue to play high quality football. It doesn't matter. Michigan will right the football program and will regularly beat MSU again. I view this as an inevitable outcome because of the inherent quality differences across the board between the two schools. TV8 (it's always great to win) AD 6.

Part of this is because I view 2014 much as I did 2013. A very talented young team learning a new offense is a reciepe for high variance on the field. This is especially true when the youth is concentrated on the offensive line. They could win it all (highly unlikely) or lose seven+ (moderately unlikely) or anything in between. 

1) Win over OSU

2) Win over MSU

(huge gap)

3) Win over ND

We have exactly one win over OSU in the past ten years. We desperately need to restore competitiveness to that rivalry. Beating MSU is arguably just as important since we're supposed to be the dominant party in that rivalry.

If we beat MSU and OSU, I can stomach a loss to ND because we've dominated them lately. Also, let's be honest: no one really gives a shit about beating ND.