Teams trending up and down (UM up/MSU down)

Submitted by massblue on

ESPN has teams trending up and down and there are some surprises.  I think they are off, but here it is:

Trending up:
1. USC
2. UCLA
3. Auburn
4. OSU (?? They are going to win the superbowl?)
5. GTech
6. ARK
7. TAMU
8. TENN
9. Michigan
10. Louisville 
 
Michigan: Coach Jim Harbaugh is still in the crawl-before-you-walk segment of life at his alma mater, but already the program’s trajectory has shifted. Really, morale could not go any lower. Credit Michigan for getting its man and changing fortunes with will (and deep pockets).
 
Trending down:
1. Oklahoma
2. South Carolina
3. Mich State
4. WSU
5. Oklahoma State  (?? another poll has them in the semi)
 
MSU: The Spartans broke through two seasons ago to win a Rose Bowl, but did they do enough to take advantage of the tumultuous stretches Ohio State and Michigan recently went through? 
 
The Buckeyes obviously have snapped out of their spell, and Michigan -- with Jim Harbaugh now on the prowl as coach -- is likely not all that far behind. Coach James Franklin’s aggressiveness also makes Penn State noteworthy in college football’s most improved division. 
 
Coach Mark Dantonio promoted Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel from within to replace defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who is now Pitt’s new coach, but how much will Narduzzi’s influence and ability to develop players be missed? 
 
Michigan State’s window for high-end success appears to be closing -- and quickly.
 
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Jamezz23

February 10th, 2015 at 7:02 PM ^

I agree to that list to a point. There is no doubt that Michigan state had a pretty big drop off from their rose bowl team. The defense wasn't as dominate, susceptible to deep passes on the secondary and their defensive line and line backers couldn't pkay as aggressive, but they still were pretty damn aggressive considering. I think they will be a formidable foe for years to come, that being said I see the window closing. I expect this years game vs MSU to be a grind it out, tough football game. But by year 2 of harbaugh I fully expect us to throttle sparty. Go Blue

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UMxWolverines

February 10th, 2015 at 7:17 PM ^

How is a team that just had an 11 win season and best recruiting class in,terms of stars ever trending down? And when you say MSU's ceiling is Wisconsin, Wisconsin regularly gave us fits in the 2000s.

Joined: 03/01/2009

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erald01

February 10th, 2015 at 7:39 PM ^

Buckeyes snapped out of their spell?? Wtf they have had nothing but success since Tressel came in..they had one bad season and took off again even stronger...msu has had nothing but upward seasons, they didnt go to rose bowl but thet beat Baylor in cotton bowl. These people forgot who msu was? This article is plain dumb, and to say we have trended upward when we yet have to play a game under JH..

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Black Socks

February 10th, 2015 at 8:34 PM ^

MSU isn't going anywhere.  They hit the jackpot with UM making two poor coaching hires.  Plus PSU is down and OSU doesn't recruit the same players.  MSU's recruits are good.  Now they will never be elite, but very good.

Their basketball program on the other hand stinks.

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bronxblue

February 10th, 2015 at 10:19 PM ^

I don't see Michigan being as much on the rise this year based on record (8-9 wins seems like the ceiling unless they get immensely better QB play than seems possible with the players on the roster), but 2016 they could absolutely be a force in the conference.  MSU isn't going anywhere, but I'm also not buying them being able to keep up with OSU, PSU, and UM as those teams seem to be rounding into form.

Joined: 11/22/2008

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A State Fan

February 11th, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^

Oh man, I wish I could have seen this thread before now. Hopefully some rational people still exist on this board.

The idea that MSU is trending down is a click-bait fallacy. MSU has never been in a more stable place as a program or athletic department. We are reinvesting all our B1G Ten network money into new facilities, better coaching, and better #branding. You can see that in this past recruiting class, where we had serious interest from places like Florida, Georgia (where we've recruited well recently), Texas, and Arizona. 

The idea that Michigan and PSU are going to cause the downfall of MSU is a stretch too. Penn State has was appears to be Brady Hoke 2.0 (great recruiter, terrible O-line, laughable clock management). I'll hold off on being scared of them until I see something other than complete fluke wins. Michigan finally has a coach that can take them back to the top. And I expect them to get there in the near future (probably not 2015). But Michigan being good won't make MSU bad. It will just make Michigan good. Michigan, OSU, and MSU (then maybe PSU) could all be great prorams and it would just make the B1G East a murders row.

If all three are ranked in the top 15 every single year, does that mean that MSU is failing? NO! I'll take a consistent top 15 team pushing for B1G champions every couple years in a heartbeat. I remember John L and Bobby WIlliams. I know what it can be like at the bottom, and a competitive top 15 team is more than okay by me.

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PeterKlima

February 11th, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^

The premise of your post is that State built itself up and it had nothing to do with the state of Michigan or the Big Ten.

That may be true, but it seems more likely other factors were involved.  Michigan State has definitely built up some very strong teams, but no amazing teams.  That was achieved by getting kids to believe in themselves and the program. (Dantonio will tell you that.) Do you think beating Michigan didn't help build that confidence. 

 

Dantonio is very obessesed with beating UM (for better or worse) and his players are those that were often passed over by Michigan and mostly in-state or midwestern kids.  There is a reason he wins the game AFTER the Michigan game most of the time. 

 

Momemntum and confidence building for the program was done, in large part, on being able to beat a premiere program down the street.

Would they have gotten better anyway? Yes.  Would they have achieved the same success having to face a typically strong Michigan team year in and year out?  Probably not because the more good teams you face, the better the chances you will lose.

So, combine that factor (weighting is subjective) and look at MSU having to play a stronger team in the future AND losing the person who APPEARS to have been a key to their success (based on perception, pay from MSU and stats) in Narduzzi and its easy to see them trending (potentially) in the other direction.

 

This by no means indicates that it will happen, but those factors may look that way to one person.  That can coincide with MSU remaining a solid program.  I think the MSU is trending down is more about the circumstances over-inflating their past success, not because the program is getting worse.

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