m1jjb00

October 26th, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^

Not sure who "they" is in your reply.  Iowa has the better DL.  MSU has the better OL.  Iowa has given up fewer sacks/attempt, but MSU is better in Yds/carry, fewer tackles for loss given up, and better 4th down percentage.  Yeah, those statistics aren't direct measures, but I think they're indicative of relative strengths.

jmblue

October 26th, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^

I'm not a believer in the MSU OL.  They're near the bottom of the league in sacks surrendered and they seem to be regressing in run blocking.  They had major trouble getting any push up front against Illinois and Northwestern the past two weeks.

NateVolk

October 26th, 2010 at 6:47 PM ^

Yeah really what happened is MSU used their more athletic receivers on the perimeter to get back in the game.   It was the furthest thing from a dominating performance up front.  

They won't go into Iowa and run the ball well if they can't against Northwestern.  This game they don't want to stay too macho too long.  You get under water against Iowa, you'll drown. Ultimately, MSU will need a turnover or two and they'll need to do most of their damage through the air.

m1jjb00

October 26th, 2010 at 7:42 PM ^

Here are the statistics mentioned above for the Big 10, ordered by their average rank.  I was orignially motivated to test my feeling that OSU's line was overrated.  They don't seem to be the best.  To be sure, style of play and the talent of the skilled players matters for this comparison.  (Michigan benefits both by the number of screens and Denard.)  Still, MSU seems to come off well.  Now, if you're going to tell me they're falling back, OK, these stats aren't going to answer that.  (I'm more adept with an excel sheet than analyzing film.)  I also still maintain that Iowa's OL isn't good this year.

 

 

Yards / Carry

Sacks / Attmp.

Tackles 4  Loss / Gm.

4th Down Conver.

Michigan

6.48

1.5

3.6

80.0%

Wisconsin

5.21

3.2

3.5

66.7%

Michigan St.

5.32

6.8

4.6

80.0%

Penn St.

4.00

2.3

3.3

33.3%

Ohio St.

4.90

7.3

6.3

85.7%

Purdue

4.59

4.6

4.9

45.5%

Illinois

4.61

7.9

5.7

80.0%

Minnesota

3.71

3.3

5.0

47.4%

Iowa

4.27

5.9

5.4

40.0%

Indiana

3.29

2.3

6.1

44.4%

Northwestern

3.22

10.5

7.4

50.0%

Juicy

October 26th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^

If stanzi didn't blow it for them last week with that terrible timeout with the clock stopped I would think Iowa would be favored double digits.

 

Stanzi takes Iowa from a great team to a mediocre team nearly every week.

Juicy

October 26th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^

did you watch the game? Everyone was on the line ready to spike except stanzi.....

He threw his arms up like an idiot and STANZI was the one that called the time out.

Regardless of what the sideline was doing it was STANZI who was clueless about what was going on, all he needed to do was spike the ball yet he was running around  while 10 other guys were waiting on him.

 

Obviously coaches are going to fall on the sword for their kids but if you watched the game it was clear stanzi was at fault.

Juicy

October 26th, 2010 at 5:40 PM ^

stanzi was clearly the one that called the timeout and the only one that was not in formation

 

 

Ferentz said he wished he would have told quarterback Ricky Stanzi to spike the ball rather than take a timeout late in the fourth quarter. He also regrets not calling for safer coverage on a fake punt that helped Wisconsin keep its game-winning drive alive.

Stanzi converted a fourth down with a sneak at the Wisconsin 39-yard line with the Hawkeyes trailing 31-30. But Iowa burned its final timeout with 12 seconds left rather than have Stanzi spike it, which would have stopped the clock.

Stanzi then threw a shovel pass under heavy duress to Adam Robinson, who failed to get out of bounds before the clock ran out.

 

 

 

Juicy

October 26th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^

cool......

 

the argument was in rebuttle to the clown that said not only did stanzi not call the timeout but that he actually snapped the ball and spiked it. Neither of which happened.

feel free to add another -50 internet coolenss to this post.

Juicy

October 26th, 2010 at 5:52 PM ^

it doesn't thats why I am suggesting that stanzi sucks, to be a leader of a team you need to know whats going on in the game. Stanzi was the one who walked away from 10 men who were set to spike the ball and stanzi was the one that called the timeout.

All he had to do was spike it and they could have ran their extra special shovel pass and been able to call a TO after that,.

 but according to you, stanzi spiked the ball (which never happened) and a timeout on the sideline voided it.....

 

As has been stated if you watched the game it was clear that Stanzi was beyond confused, and he was the only one who was confused. The look on KF's face pretty much said it all.

jmblue

October 26th, 2010 at 11:24 PM ^

If Ferentz wasn't telling his QB to spike the ball, that's on him.  You can't count on a player to do everything right in a situation like that.  Ferentz has been in a lot more of those situations than Stanzi has.

Anyway, all this is secondary to the biggest mistake Ferentz made: not calling any of his three timeouts on defense.  30 seconds of game clock is more valuable than a timeout.  He could have saved 30 seconds, given his D a chance to catch its breath and still had two timeouts remaining. 

Geaux_Blue

October 26th, 2010 at 5:55 PM ^

does he not have his team prepared to run off 10 seconds, call a time out and then put the fg unit in?

i'm not playing stanzi vs. ferentz... i'm wondering how in the hell that's not part of a player's education in 2 minute drills for 4 (?) years

jmblue

October 26th, 2010 at 6:23 PM ^

The shovel pass was a panicked attempt at making a play.  Iowa was not yet in FG range and needed to do something in those final seconds.  I don't really fault anyone there - but that whole situation could have been avoided if Iowa had made proper use of its timeouts earlier.  They should have had more time to run that final drive.

jmblue

October 26th, 2010 at 6:57 PM ^

There were 12 seconds left when the play started.  By the time he threw it, the clock was down a few seconds more.  I don't think they could have afforded an incompletion.  They were not in FG range.  They needed to gain at least 10 yards and still leave time to get off a FG.  I think he had to try to make a play there. 

gbdub

October 26th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^

Take it. If Sparty wins, you win money. Dirty, dirty money, but money nonetheless. If Iowa wins, praise jeebus, you don't have to worry about Sparty in the national championship game. That's worth a few bucks at least, and you can feel like you helped jinx them. Win win I think.

Juicy

October 26th, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^

but lets not forget he followed it up with a sick underhand pass to a guy nowhere near the sidelines or first down marker after using that TO.....

steelymax

October 26th, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^

There may be more Sparty trick plays named after movies from the 1990s. Keep an eye out for:

- "Mighty Ducks" (Dantonio takes advantage of the cold weather and with a hose literally "ices" Iowa's kicker)

- "Usual Suspects" (Sparty comes out in "prison orange" and plays Keyser Soze at slot... or is he?)

- The dreaded "Silence of the Lambs" (onside kick to hook & latteral while Rucker scares away tacklers in his Hannibal Lecter mask)

...surely there are more that fellow MGoBloggers can add.

Captain

October 26th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^

The "Revenge of the Nerds" (Sparty shifts the entire bench away from the cheerleaders and the band to cancel the mid-game PREWB.  The sudden change in gameplan catches the opponent unawares, and Baker runs it up the gut while the defense is stunned).

The "Mission Impossible"  (Sparty eliminates platooning to allow backups to read textbooks on the sidelines in an effort to become functioning members of society.  Once this fails, the starters are pulled and a backup MSU receiver mumbles a calculus term he just memorized, causing the opposing cornerback to mistakenly believe the game is part of an elaborate dream.  At this point, the opposing cornerback instinctively walks off the field in search of ice cream and strippers, leaving the MSU receiver in a position to run unabated to the endzone for an easy touchdown).

steelymax

October 26th, 2010 at 8:04 PM ^

"The Last Starfighter" (Cousins engages the "death blossom" formation, effectively killing everyone on the field, including fellow Spartoons, leaving only Cousins to run the ball into the end zone. Dantonio is praised for his willingness to sacrifice players for the win.)

boat86

October 26th, 2010 at 9:24 PM ^

"A Hard Day's Night"   5 lads have wacky adventures around Ann Arbor involving cakes,  cash and a media figure with big ears.   Alas,  this is no comedy,  but a tragedy as in the end,  all memory and history of the lads is erased.     Well,  i guess now that I think of it,  it is funny,  must be a comedy.

boat86

October 26th, 2010 at 9:26 PM ^

"A Hard Days Night"   5 lads have wacky adventures around Ann Arbor involving cakes,  cash and a media figure with big ears.   Alas,  this is no comedy,  but a tragedy as in the end,  all memory and history of the lads is erased.     Well,  i guess now that I think of it,  it is funny,  must be a comedy.

Gulo Gulo Luscus

October 26th, 2010 at 7:42 PM ^

I'll give credit where credit is due on "Little Giants."  That was a ballsy move and will remain on the 2010 CFB highlight reels.  However, NW wasn't fooled by the "mouse trap" D'Antonio pulled.  Fitzgerald brought his D out in PR safe formation before MSU took the delay of game, and kept the defense in position to protect against a fake after the 5 yards were marked off.  The trap was set, but no one was taking the cheese. 

Unfortunately, the NW DB inexplicably lost sight of his man and the ball when the punter tossed up a floater.  It worked out for Sparty, but I nearly barfed as the announcers praised the unpredictability and MSU staff smugly patted themselves on the back.

SpartanDan

October 26th, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^

Dantonio saw on film that the NW DB in question always turned away from the receiver, even in "punt safe", after about 10 yards.

That said, I'm astounded that it worked. Dantonio's shown a solid grasp of game theory going for it on 4th down as often as he has. How anyone would believe he'd kick it away down 10 in the 4th quarter at the opposing 36 yard line is beyond me.

Gulo Gulo Luscus

October 26th, 2010 at 11:19 PM ^

i didn't expect a well articulated response from a spartan, much less one with nearly 1000 mgopoints.  just curious- is that something d'antonio said specifically to the press?  i nearly qualified my original post with the admission that i didn't hear any post-game comments from either side.

d'antonio may be making great 4th down decisions this year, but you don't need game theory to know that is 4 down territory.  given what you said, it implies he had more confidence in the punter exploiting the DB than he did in his best play with cousins at the original line of scrimmage.  but it worked, so i'm not sure if it was a crazy awesome decision, or just crazy terrible.

locd32

October 27th, 2010 at 10:08 AM ^

Dantonio said it to the press, Bates the punter said it to the press. The CB on that play admitted that his job was to check the flier for 10 yards and then book it to the sideline to avoid being hit with the ball in his post game interview. It was a great play that started in the film room that week.

Gulo Gulo Luscus

October 27th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^

there are entire threads dedicated to mocking the intelligence of MSU fans, with far less taste than my light hearted jab.  spartan dan made a great point and i appreciate his input.  the negs he received certainly didn't come from me, and i'm sure he can respond for himself if i offended him.