Would you like to see MSU go undefeated, then watch BSU v TCU in the MNC game?

Submitted by Edward Khil on

I would.

Most college football fans are extremely dissatisfied with the BCS in its current state.  (Derp.)  Many of us thought that if a seemingly worthy undefeated team were to be robbed of a chance to play for the MNC, the uproar and the outrage and the umbrage would be sufficient to force some sort of change to the system.

Well, it's happened, a few times, most recently (IMO) to the Boise State Boyzies, who went on to throttle the Sooners in 2007, in spite of the unfairness of it all.

I, for one, have been rooting for a TCU/BSU matchup in the MNC since about week 3 (assuming Michigan would fall just short).  It never occurred to me to actually want to see the Spartans go undefeated.  Until about a week ago.

And with a USC victory over Oregon next week, a loss for Alabama at LSU next week, and a loss for Auburn either at 'Bama or in the SEC Championship game, the door is opening wide for the Spartans to run out on the field on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, AZ.

Except that the Boyz and the Texas Christians will already be occupying that field.

How sweet would it be for MSU to be the team that gets so royally screwed by the BCS, a screwing so dramatic that changes finally occur as a result?

Even better, an Iowa loss to MSU (about the only game the Spartans are at all doubtful to win) makes it more possible that Michigan finishes #2 in the conference.

So, what say you?  Am I the only Michigan fan so sick and twisted as to take enormous pleasure--nay, glee--in the prospect of watching undefeated Michigan State watch the National Championship game from the comfort of their couches?

lilpenny1316

October 24th, 2010 at 4:07 AM ^

My second wish would be us finishing close enough to them in the standings to get picked for a better bowl game than them.  In a way, that would make me happier than them finishing 8-4.

There_Is_No_Eye

October 24th, 2010 at 4:13 AM ^

If they go undefeated they will be playing Oregon.

As much as I hate Sparty...neither TCU or Boise St. should be the NC game over any undefeated Big Ten team.

It'll be our turn next year when Coach R takes us the Big Dance!

Muttley

October 24th, 2010 at 11:37 AM ^

One of the assumptions embedded in the case against Boise & TCU/Utah is a lower SOS.  But Sparty played a very weak OOC and they don't have tOSU on the schedule to make up for it.  Sagarin presently lists the three SOS as TCU 62, MSU 65, Boise 69. If the computers don't show a significant SOS advantage to MSU, then that will be discussed, and that issue might prevent the human poll voters from voting to jump MSU over BSU or TCU.

Respective Sagarin ratings of remaining opponents:
MSU
 17 Sat, Oct 30 @#15 Iowa
128 Sat, Nov 6 vs Minnesota
 82 Sat, Nov 20 vs Purdue
 54 Sat, Nov 27 @Penn State

Boise
 81 Tue, Oct 26 vs Louisiana Tech
 30 Sat, Nov 6 vs Hawaii
 79 Fri, Nov 12 @Idaho
 63 Fri, Nov 19 vs Fresno State
 25 Fri, Nov 26 @Nevada
107 Sat, Dec 4 vs Utah State

TCU
143nbsp; Sat, Oct 30 @UNLV
14  Sat, Nov 6 @#9 Utah
42  Sat, Nov 13 vs San Diego State
197 Sat, Nov 27 @New Mexico

cbieszard

October 24th, 2010 at 11:42 AM ^

if a undefeated big ten team got beat out by Boise or TCU it would only make the conference look bad...I mean MSU beat Wisconsin Beat Us and if they beat Iowa they deserve to be in there. Im so sick of the Boise bullshit there QB would get murdered in the big ten....think of this Boise plays Michigan who wares out there D then plays Iowa who crushes there QB many times then week 3 they play Wisconsin who smashes them even more than the previous 2 weeks...THEY WOULD NOT LAST!!!! Bottom line.

winterblue75

October 24th, 2010 at 7:44 AM ^

Leave the fucking MSU talk for RCMB, oh  that's right they are still only posting about UM's 2 losses...then leave the fucking MSU talk for 97.1, oh that's right they still daily talk about RR's hot seat, the 3-3-5 defense, and all the recruits who have left UM...then I don't know who is talking about MSU, but it shouldn't be here.

Spar-Dan

October 24th, 2010 at 2:51 PM ^

I was just at RCMB, and the only thread about UM was about your Quidditch team.  Congrats--UM has an awesome Quidditch team (thumbsup!)

Many on here have been very complimentary.  I know I'm not all that welcome here, but good-luck the rest of your season.  And, please crush OSU.

NateVolk

October 24th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^

If they win at Iowa next week, they'll have earned whatever treasure they can grab. They have had one hell of a season.

I get the close games and the fortunate occurrences, but the way college football is these days with everyone bunched up so tightly talent wise, there will normally be a few games that are tight fits in any season.  A great season can turn on going into the outhouse and returning with a three piece suit.

What they have going isn't really relevant to what Michigan has going anyways.  Look at the styles. That catatonic sleep state they put me in yesterday reinforced that they are a boring watch unless you are a Sparty fan and emotionally vested.

Give them all a pass for their goofy behavior and bravado and let them enjoy the moment. 

It is great for this league and the new division. Plus like the starter pointed out, it stands to help make a mockery out of the nonsense BCS and move us closer to a legit playoff.  

Minority opinion: good for Sparty, good for the world.

lilpenny1316

October 24th, 2010 at 9:52 AM ^

If the BCS screwed over an undefeated SEC team in Auburn a few years ago, you think the powers that be and the media would give a flip about a Big Ten team, especially MSU, being left out?  You'll hear all the stuff about us sucking in bowl games, the fact they missed OSU, blah, blah, Gary Danielson spread is dead, blah.  Pinning the hopes on MSU going undefeated and being left out won't matter.  Utah, Va Tech, and Oregon St are comparable to anyone MSU will have played in the media's eyes.  And don't forget that ND just got stomped by Navy.

And considering that MSU bypassed Michigan in hoops with rugged, hard nosed hoops, not necessarily flashy up and down the court hoops, I would not disregard their boring brand of football.  Kids don't look at all the history as much as we do.  If they did, ND would still be great and we would still be great. 

I'm not really interested in the league, the league, the league.  I only care about the team, the team, the team!

Omega

October 24th, 2010 at 8:53 AM ^

Strength of schedule would get MSU into the MNC match if all three are undefeated.  Look at their top opponents:

MSU: Wisconson, Iowa, Michigan

BSU: Oregon State, Virginia Tech, Nevada

TCU: Oregon State, Utah, Air Force

TCU would be the one getting left out if all three go unbeaten, especially with their loss to BSU in last year's Fiesta Bowl.

More likely is a reverse-2004 (IIRC) Auburnizing, where unbeaten Auburn plays unbeaten Oregon or BSU and unbeaten MSU is left to cry about it.

lilpenny1316

October 24th, 2010 at 9:39 AM ^

If MSU beats Iowa, then Iowa would drop in the polls.  Plus is OSU beats Iowa, then that will probably drop them out of the rankings.  Michigan likely will not get ranked again unless they beat Ohio St.

BSU is pretty much a given if they run the table now that Va Tech is Va Tech again. 

For TCU, if they beat Utah, a LOT of people will see that as a more impressive win that anything MSU did.

Omega

October 24th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^

I agree that Utah should be a more impressive win for TCU than any of MSU's wins have been.  I also think that MSU would lose in a match against any of the current unbeatens.  However, I also think a lot of people will say that Utah's success is a product of their schedule (best win is...Pitt in OT?).  Now, on the flip side, if Utah beats TCU, they should also go ahead of MSU.

The big thing with all of that, though, is that the voters have to do what's right instead of sticking with the ol' boys' club mentality.  Wisconson was ranked behind OSU going into this past weekend despite having the head-to-head win and an identical record (plus a win over OSU with a loss to MSU is probably a better resume than a win over Miami with a loss to Wisconson).  Popular perception is that a Big 10 schedule + Notre Dame is a tougher than a MWC schedule + Oregon State or Pitt (for Utah), which in turn is probably about equal (again, in the popular perception) to a WAC schedule + Oregon State and Virginia Tech.

Gah, hopefully Iowa steps up and puts a fork in all this.  Go Hawkeyes! *laughs*

bronxblue

October 24th, 2010 at 10:59 AM ^

I could care less how MSU does, though if they go undefeated they definitely should be in the discussion for an MNC spot, even with the weak-ish schedule.  That said, let's see how they play with a target on their back for the first time in years.  They nealy blew it against NW this week, and Iowa will be very hungry this week after the loss to Wiscy. 

markusr2007

October 24th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^

I agree with the previous responses.  Do you think Adrian Clayborn is going to be controlled by MSU's Oline on Halloween weekend? Jesus Christ, I don't.

Iowa also has a very talented secondary: allowing only 7 TDs YTD and hauling in 10 INTs. They also have the no. 1 rushing defense in the conference.

I could be wrong (and I was wrong this weekend about NW game), but MSU is probably toast next weekend IMO.

It will be a great game, but far better than MSU Schadenfreude happens where I live - USC Schadenfreude once the Oregon ducks steamroll the Toejams in the L.A. Coliseum.   Fight on or no fight!

 

legacyblue

October 24th, 2010 at 1:12 PM ^

MSU will jump BSU and TCU if they win out.  Human polls will elevate them as their body of work is far superior than either BSU or TCU in the human translation of their seasons.

EZMIKEP

October 24th, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^

Will cause me a decade worth of misery from having to listen to them. PLEASE PLEASE(I need bigger caps) football gods correct this injustice. 

BlueFab5

October 24th, 2010 at 2:39 PM ^

If there really is a football god Boise and TCU will play for the BCS title game with one or two BCS conference teams getting snubbed.

I doubt that would happen but it would be awesome.  Of course the BCS still wins because as long as we are talking bout it the BCS gets free advertising and is a popular subject.

 

aalguire

October 24th, 2010 at 4:34 PM ^

I guess I don't have the imagination for that sort of scenario, the way MSU is playing they will not finish undefeated, and if they do, well I just don't know about football anymore. The way things have been going MSU has been handed their ticket to their top by Wisconsin, first the Badgers drop one at Spartan stadium (MSU's only reason they are in the top 5) and then the Badgers steamroll the rest of the competition in the Big 10 clearing Sparty's path. To me that is more big brotherlike than anything.

dlevs01

October 24th, 2010 at 4:56 PM ^

That would just reinforce the BCS supporters' claims that the BCS is great because everyone has the chance to make it. If they wanted to change they would have already changed.

Edward Khil

October 24th, 2010 at 9:55 PM ^

I'm in Big Twelve (sic) country now.  So I don't have to hear Sparties gloating, and wouldn't have to hear them grousing if this deliciously twisted scenario were to play out.

I'm still convinced that MSU's SOS is somewhere in the neighborhood of TCU's and BSU's, because they're missing OSU.  This could happen.  And it would be a(nother) black eye on the BCS.  If the BCS conferences themselves are shut out of the MNC game, that might be enough to finally get things changed.

It's obvious most mgobloggers immediately dismiss the idea of rooting for undefeated MSU.  I got to wondering why I even thought this would be a good idea.  And I think it goes back to an office holiday gift exchange 20+ years ago, where a new employee gave me a Michigan State hoodie.  Everyone else gasped, knowing full well where I'd gone to school.  I said, "Dude."  But I was too polite to throw it back at him.  I took that hoodie home.

And when the Central Michigan Chippewas throttled (yes, throttled) the #19-ranked Spartans 20-3 several years later in 1991, I actually dug out that MSU hoodie, and put it on.   Amazingly, I found several more opportunities to wear it, moments in history when the Spartans completely embarrassed themselves.  (For example, I know I wore it after a few couch-burning riots.)

It really was just a hoot.  Wearing that hoodie, the few times I did, was just a great way to poke fun at little brother.  I eventually threw it out, without much thought.  A pocket ripped; and I knew damned well I wasn't going to donate it to Goodwill so that some true MSU fan could enjoy it.  It's in a dumpster right now, somewhere, where it belongs.

But it's the mindset of relishing Sparty's failures and shortcomings that allowed me to conceive of this MNC scenario.  Always, my first and foremost concern is Michigan.  But this was always a fun diversion.  I admit it's not been so much fun lately.

But this is why a part of me is so small and so petty that I would take tremendous glee in seeing undefeated Michigan State shut out of the MNC, watching two non-BCS schools, especially since this miscarriage and travesty would hopefully open things up for a 4- or 6-team playoff.  If I'm rooting for MSU, it's only to see them suffer even more in the end.

(FTR, I'm one of those Wolverines that wants MSU undefeated when they get to us, and will grudgingly root for OSU against all non-conference foes, but would never root for the Bucks in a MNC game.  I just don't believe that rooting for teams (other than Michigan) in certain circumstances dilutes my ability to root for UM.  [By the same token, go Huskers, this year only.])

tl;dr

Bosch

October 25th, 2010 at 8:36 AM ^

is the biggest obstacle in the way of a post season tournament. 

I can not bring myself to pull for MSU, but I am intrigued by the prospect of an undefeated MSU, the undisputed Big Ten champ, getting left out of the MNC in favor of a Boise or TCU.  This might just be enough for Delaney to change his position.

Therefore, there is an argument that you can shine this turd.

DEEEEENARD4LYFE

October 24th, 2010 at 6:21 PM ^

If you want to believe that MSU is just another school on the schedule, than you have to just let them play out and not care if they win or lose regardless of where they end up.

formula 1

October 24th, 2010 at 6:26 PM ^

a terrible idea. Now Oregon vs. BSU i'd be up for. We could potentially see a 50 points + being scored for both sides. THAT would be exciting to watch.