Thoughts ?
So, I hate to be right.
I previously posted that MSU will eek it out against PSU (once I get to a computer I can copy screen shot of my comment as proof or just search my post history). And lo and behold they beat PSU .
Next I pretty much said M will dominate and win against Wisconsin in Sheth's FFFF piece where he made Wisconsin in Alabama. Heck I even went on with stephenjrking - noted poster here - you guys are welcome to double check that.
For my mental BPONE though , I just want some justification re:MSU. Specifically
1. While OSU is explainable - superior talent- how the F does MSU beat top teams ? Are we discounting their talent (based on just recruiting rankings ?)
2. Lewerke is good. He's no Heisman candidate but he is clutch. Agianst how the F does MSU find these guys or develop them stretching back to hoyer days ?
3. Is their Oline really bad or is it perception ? And if bad how did it magically rocked agaisnt PSU? (Any game summary of that game as to why PSU that the bed would help, I ddint see it and refuse to see it as I hate dantonio alot)
4. Why do teams shit the bed against quarters D and if it's that great why isn't M running it?
Tl;Dr version: MSU good or lucky? If good then how do they do it ? I hate thier institution but I want to have similar guts (looks like M is getting there thoguh !)
October 14th, 2018 at 4:23 PM ^
And prayers?
October 14th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
Thots and prayers .
October 14th, 2018 at 9:39 PM ^
Not to be "that guy" but your comment reminded me of my favorite themed party from college.... a hurricane had just hit, and we threw a "Thots and Prayers" party - come dressed scantily clad or dressed as a religious figure. There was plenty of both, but the most common was girls dressed as rabbis, and guys dressed as strippers. it was 10/10
October 14th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
1. They play Tresselball because they lack talent. They try to keep all games close - this sometimes delivers them to upsets, but it also causes them to lose to teams they shouldn't have.
2. No. Lewerke is not good.
3. It's bad. They lack strength. They get bullied.
4. Quarters generally requires QBs to be very accurate - many college QBs aren't, especially under pressure.
TL;DR: Lucky (and also sometimes unlucky, because that's the life they chose). The stats show this.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:28 PM ^
Exactly.
You don't want to be nearly tied with MSU in the forth. They will pull out some crazy stuff. We need to keep building a lead as the game progresses.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
Be ahead by 2 scores with 10 minutes left or you're going to have a bad time.
October 14th, 2018 at 7:33 PM ^
PSU's secondary dropped the ball in that game, literally. I can remember about 6 catchable balls being dropped with one of them on the final msu drive which would have clinched the win for psu. Also that felton davis catch where the ball was caught between his knees off a deflection. Did MSU use up all of their luck to beat penn state?
October 14th, 2018 at 7:51 PM ^
Did MSU use up all of their luck to beat penn state?
I was literally thinking this watching the end. The takes have been "oh no, MSU got their shit together!" but that's obviously not true. They just used their supercharged luck weapon a week early. We will beat their ass, and then they'll start a losing skid to Purdue and OSU and miss a bowl game.
October 14th, 2018 at 7:50 PM ^
U can go back and look, i called it theyd win after rhe PSU int the returner got sloppy and was tripped by the LT. that was it... PSU laid down after that pock... Mork has them playing g you final whistle, every time.
October 14th, 2018 at 7:52 PM ^
Put down the ayahuasca and go to bed.
October 15th, 2018 at 3:02 AM ^
Sloppy indeed
October 14th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
Exactly. When you slow games down and make them close, luck will be on your side occasionally. Likely 50% of the time, in fact. I'm not saying it's easy to do that regularly. But that is basically the secret to Dantonio's success. Give him credit. It has worked. But he's also been curb stomped many times by teams with superior talent.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:31 PM ^
Appreciate all 3 commentators above. But if showing down is their strategy why aren't other colleges doing it? It's a heck of a strategy and wins you upsets ! I don't know. I just hate how they win big games with inferior talent
October 14th, 2018 at 4:36 PM ^
His style of football doesn't sell a lot of tickets and isn't very fun or exciting.
October 14th, 2018 at 9:00 PM ^
You always have to expect a trick play when playing against dontanio.
October 14th, 2018 at 5:27 PM ^
absolutely the worst thread title ever. just shit
October 14th, 2018 at 6:35 PM ^
Furthermore, I came here for the thread title bashing and have only found this. Kinda shows that this MGoCommunity is thinking about football instead of being in lash out mode. I LIKE IT!
October 14th, 2018 at 6:52 PM ^
Nah, we're just in a happy and generous mood after Saturday night.
October 14th, 2018 at 7:46 PM ^
This should have been the first post in the thread.
And every other post in the thread, too. People too stupid to figure out what they want to talk about and put it in the title don't deserve to receive any response except scorn.
October 14th, 2018 at 8:31 PM ^
I came here expecting some Jack Handy deep thoughts based on that title, and boy am I disappointed. So to try and save everyone else the trouble, this is one of my favorites:
I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they’d never expect it.
October 15th, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^
It's sad that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of wild dogs.
October 14th, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
Many teams do it when up against superior talent - it's an equalizer. Problem is once the weaker team gets behind they have no Plan B to try and adjust to. I expect this game with Sparty to be close for a half or so. But once they start to crack a little floodgates could blow open. Expect JH to take no prisoners.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:27 PM ^
Also expect chippy play. Think Lewan v Gholston...
October 14th, 2018 at 5:53 PM ^
Luck can go in stretches. No doubt luck has been on Dantonios side since he arrived in some of these big games. Luck has been against MSU in a little of lesser games as well Its just how things go when you play close games. He has no magic or voodoo Lewerke threw the ball right to Penn St several times in the 4th qtr. The odds of not getting a game sealing pick have to be under 1%.
Who knows what the rest of the season will bring.
October 14th, 2018 at 9:13 PM ^
I said it before and I will say it again. if we lost to ASU and Northwestern but beat PSU this fanbase would be ready to burn Harbaughs house down. Yea, MSU got a little lucky but PSU is also not that good.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:37 PM ^
Yep, learned it from Tressel. Knew he could make some noise with it at a school that's harder to get talent to. That's how you beat the best team Meyer's ever had in Columbus and lose to a 5-7 Nebraska team and get pistol whipped by Bama in the same season.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Stop. Lewerke is good. He’s not an all-American, but he’s certainly isnt bad. People on here have a real hard time giving Sparty credit. It’s a good team who will pose a real threat on Saturday.
Should Michigan win? Absolutely. But quit downplaying their talent.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:59 PM ^
Not good =/= bad. He's never had a passer rating over 130. He's not good. Call him whatever you want other than "bad", but he's objectively not good.
October 14th, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^
Your dead wrong. Lewerke is a VERY good QB. He has a shit run game and a shit offensive line, and basically every win is because of him.
He can scramble. He buys time. He has above average accuracy and a pretty good arm. Saying Lewerke is bad - well sorry you are not being objective and are a fairly bad analyst/scout.
That offense is complete shit around him. He makes it serviceable alone.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:08 PM ^
I just want to point out that the guy went out of his way to explain that he wasn't saying lewerke was bad and you came and argued claiming he was saying lewerke was bad.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:09 PM ^
I didn't say he was bad - in fact I explicitly said that I wasn't saying he was bad. I appreciate your assessment of my football eye.
October 14th, 2018 at 8:34 PM ^
You believing in luck isn't much of a credibility builder.
October 15th, 2018 at 1:38 AM ^
Call it "sample variance" and it sounds smart. "Luck" is just the shorthand version.
And no one will argue that "there is no sample variance (and therefore, mathematically, every action is the mean action.)" Because that is dumb.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:31 PM ^
That's always been my feeling about a team like MSU. They win a bunch of 1-score games because they are ALWAYS in a ton of close games. It's a style, not a skill. And sometimes it works, but more times than not it's you relying on PSU to gack away a game.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:44 PM ^
Yeah, and it's cheap, but honestly it's a smart play if you're at a school that doesn't regularly pull Top 15 recruiting classes. You're gambling on a bunch of teenagers, the vast majority of whom are not future NFLers, to make mistakes in close games more often than not. That's a really safe bet! Unfortunately, your team also has unprofessional teenagers, and you'll get burned by it too.
October 14th, 2018 at 9:08 PM ^
TL;DR: I told ya so, and I can prove it. I told ya so, again...
October 14th, 2018 at 4:25 PM ^
Don't pat yourself on the back too hard, you might get a bruise.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
"Guys, I'm awesome! Also, 40 minutes ago I didn't know what Quarters coverage was, and this post is riddled with spelling errors."
October 14th, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
I'm still reading #3 trying to figure it out.
October 14th, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
Some kind of word scramble game.
October 14th, 2018 at 5:48 PM ^
I just read it out loud to my wife. I asked her to decode it-she thinks im still drunk from Browns game.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:45 PM ^
Did they win?
October 14th, 2018 at 5:33 PM ^
Sorry. Typing on the phone
October 14th, 2018 at 4:50 PM ^
Michigan84 or whatever the hell his name was is back.
October 14th, 2018 at 4:27 PM ^
You probably make a lot of "bold" picks all the time. And one time you actually get lucky. Great job, you're amazing!!
October 14th, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
Go camping
October 14th, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
Lol. Wish I could! Did go ND weekend. Possiby by week or PSU weekend next.
October 14th, 2018 at 5:52 PM ^
Just got back from camping. Great weekend.
October 14th, 2018 at 6:10 PM ^
Jealous ! Had some logistical issues ...anyways gonna be doing it soon!