Michigan State Snowflakes: General Observations

Submitted by LSAClassOf2000 on

This will be the repository for your hot takes which defy neat categorization for our game versus Michigan State.

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WolverineHistorian

October 29th, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^

You have to wonder how different the 4th quarter would have been had the refs not gifted MSU that catch off the ground which would have given them a 4th &15 inside their own 25. That started the snowball effect.

The team has a ton of work to do this week in practice. We'll probably drop a spot or two but all I care about right now is the win.



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Jinxed

October 29th, 2016 at 4:25 PM ^

These refs missed a lot. Many of you are complaining about the defense but look at the replays specially at the line of scrimmage. MSU could've stayed in the game even vs Bama with these refs. What's up with B1G refs this season? They cost Wisconsin their game vs OSU and could've easily cost us this game. They just don't call the obvious holds. We should get jerseys that rip easily to shame them into calling it.

Joined: 09/15/2009

MGoPoints: 1993

The FannMan

October 29th, 2016 at 4:07 PM ^

We beat State on the road.  Can we be a little happy?  Just a bit.

I know everyone read the Fancy Stats and expected 39 to 0.  Dantonio is not going to get done like that by us  He coaches against us all year.  He emptied the playbook and the bench.  He still lost and got a hillarious safety in his face when he tried to go for two.  

We also got screwed by the refs down the stretch.  Higdon had a first down on the second down carry that should have ended the game.  The fact that the guy even tried to call targetting on Wormley tells you all you need to know.  We were just good enough to beat the refs too.

We beat Sparty.  We're 8 and 0.  Life is good.

Joined: 11/25/2008

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Mitch Cumstein

October 29th, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^

Sure, winning 100-0 would have been fun. Nonetheless, this game is a perfect demonstration of how this rivalry should be and will be in the future. Michigan State fans claiming a moral victory after being down 20 in the 4th quarter and staging a fake comeback. Michigan fans being disappointed that we didn't win by more and let them have some hope. Good times. Congrats to Sparty on only losing by a little, that should make them feel good while watching the bowl games from home.

Joined: 10/02/2009

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Durham Blue

October 29th, 2016 at 4:12 PM ^

I wouldn't call that a fake comeback.  I agree that we played not to lose through the final ~24 minutes but MSU took full advantage of our passive gameplan.  I know my heart was racing very late in the game.  Pretty sure Harbaugh didn't want to be in that situation.

Joined: 10/09/2008

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Durham Blue

October 29th, 2016 at 5:39 PM ^

What the hell happened last season against MSU?  History proclaims that shit does happen.  This game was not over until Peppers ran back the bad QB pitch on the 2 point convo.  This is the reason you need to bury shitty teams early and then if they score a TD, you score two TDs.

 

BTW, he went for two to be down only 5 so that if they ran back the onside kick they would win by a point.  Dantonio was thinking about winning at that point in the game.  MSU came back and had a shot, albeit not a good one, of winning that ball game.  Which is *absolutely ridiculous* considering how well our defense had been to this point in the season and the fact we were up 27-10 at the half.

Joined: 10/09/2008

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CompleteLunacy

October 29th, 2016 at 6:05 PM ^

"BTW, he went for two to be down only 5 so that if they ran back the onside kick they would win by a point."

Uhhhh....what?

The percentages there make NO sense. If you kick the XP it's a 6 point game...in the miraculous event that the onside kick is returned for a TD you only need to kick an XP to win the game. My point still stands...Dantonio wasn't even thinking the comeback was possible at the point he went for two. 

And I'm not saying that shit doesn't happen. I'm not a moron. But if your "comeback" includes scoring a TD to pull within 7 with 1 whole second on a clock...that's not much of a comeback, in my opinion. You can disagree with me if you want...but I'm trying not to let the once-in-a-lifetime play from last year jade my view of the odds in a given situation. And annoying as it was, the odds were still around 99.9% at the point MSU scored a TD with 1 on the clock. 

 

Joined: 11/13/2010

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Skunkbearcat

October 29th, 2016 at 6:16 PM ^

(1) U of M would have to recover the onside kick and then fumble it. If Michigan State had successfully recovered the onside kick, the ball would have been dead and the game would have been over the moment they possessed the ball, with no chance to run it back.

(2) If MSU kicked the extra point, and somehow, Michigan had recovered the onside kick and then fumbled it, and Michigan State had run it back for a touchdown, Michigan State would still win provided that they could kick the extra point. Unless your kicker is awful, making two extra points in a row isn't nearly as difficult as a two-point conversion.

(3) There are two possibilities: either Mark Dantonio either dumb enough that addition and subtraction escape him, or he didn't have any hope of winning and simply wanted to be able to say that the lost by less than a touchdown. Either possibility is awesome.

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Durham Blue

October 29th, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^

Second half was awful.  Thankfully we had enough of a cushion in the first half to sustain the awfulness of the second.  Seems like the whole team lost its edge and played not to lose after Speight's INT.

I certainly expected the dominant Michigan team to show up today.  A little disappointed that it didn't.  BUT, yes, I'll take the win and enjoy pushing Sparty closer to the cliff of no bowl game.

Joined: 10/09/2008

MGoPoints: 30026

MikeInA2

October 29th, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^

BUT, we lose to O#@ if we play the same exact game.  I still like our chance of running the table.  Night game at Iowa might be a dog fight as well.  Go Blue (final 4 bound!)!

Joined: 06/04/2016

MGoPoints: 1288

RockinLoud

October 29th, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^

Hands down the shittiest officiating I've seen this season in the 4th. Our DL was getting dragged to ground, DB's getting tackled right in front of the play...no call. Yet JD gets flagged for iffy at best PI? What a shit show.

Joined: 10/12/2008

MGoPoints: 24455

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

October 29th, 2016 at 4:12 PM ^

performance.  Speight was very good and that was probably the difference.  

The D was mediocre, slow and tackled poorly.  Shocked at the lack of rush by the DL. One of the worst offenses in FBS just put up 400 yards on the supposed #1 D. Brown didn't have answers and his "mad blitzing" apparently was left in A2.

All that aside, there were a lot of MSU running plays that simply occurred because of egregious holding.  The officials apparently wanted to keep it close by not putting MSU far behind the chains.

JH had a chance for a statement game and it didn't happen. A lot to clean up.  At least it's a win. Onward.

 

Joined: 11/01/2012

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Perkis-Size Me

October 29th, 2016 at 4:22 PM ^

I know that they put up a lot of yards, but remember that this is a rivalry game. Remember when we had one of the worst offenses in America in 2013 and we then proceeded to put up over 500 yards of offense against a #3 OSU team?

Shit happens in rivalry games. Wasn't a perfect performance by any stretch. But we won. Time to move on and focus on Maryland.



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