Ohio vs. Michigan State

Submitted by StephenRKass on

During our bye week/wife week, Ohio is playing against Michigan State. These are our two most important opponents and rivals. I still feel numb after the tire fire in South Bend, and haven't posted in days. What can you say?

However, life goes on, so here are three simple questions:

  1. Who do you want to win:  Ohio or Michigan State?
  2. Who do you think will actually win:  Ohio or Michigan State?
  3. Who winning benefits Michigan the most: Ohio or MSU?

It is harder for me to answer these questions than usual. I have a certain malaise such that I really don't care right now. More than that, there are many and varied reasons I dislike both of them, and don't care for either to win. The bye week is good for me personally, because I don't want to watch any college football this weekend.

The answer to the questions is the same for me:  I want Ohio to win, think they will win, and if they win, it benefits Michigan because Michigan State has a loss against them, affecting who wins our division. I don't think Maxwell will perform any better against Ohio's defense than he did against ND, and I think Braxton Miller may just be good enough to score against Michigan State's defense. I do believe the matchup between Michigan State's defense and Ohio's offense (especially Braxton) is the key to the game.

bluewave720

September 24th, 2012 at 7:15 PM ^

Remember how dumb we all thought Dantonio was when he refused to route for Michigan at the end of the '10 season?  We beat OSU that day and MSU goes to the Rose Bowl (with a win of their own).  

Pulling for MSU this Saturday is the same thing.  OSU is absolutely irrelevant this year when it comes to our bowl/Big Ten title aspirations.  If they go 11-0 or 4-7 going into their game with us, who cares.  We aren't getting an at-large BCS game this year, so we don't need to care about style points.  So, the Rose Bowl is the only thing that matters and we have to get to the Big Ten Title game to get there.  The biggest competition in our way is MSU.  Every loss they get from now on makes our road to Pasadena that much easier.

club2230

September 24th, 2012 at 7:28 PM ^

An objective analysis will lead to rooting for OSU, but being a fan is not about being objective.  If you really hate OSU the most then it is near impossible to root for them no matter the circumstance.  I happen to hate MSU the most, but I understand where you come from.

If we win out, it is all irrelevant anyway.

coastal blue

September 24th, 2012 at 6:24 PM ^

I want Ohio to win. 

The more MSU losses, the better our chances of making the B1G championship game. 

Hell, I wouldn't mind a trip to the mid-90s where we ruin an 11-0 Ohio's perfect season. 

kehnonymous

September 24th, 2012 at 6:26 PM ^

I live about a mile away from The Toilet Se... er, Horseshoe.  And I can honestly say that a tsunami, missile strike or earthquake at the OSU/MSU game last year would've been an acceptable outcame.

If I still lived in Michigan, I might change my tune but this week I say: Go Sparty.  No wait, I can't say that.  I'm rooting for Ohio State to score less points.  I think Ohio State probably wins because their defense is talented if not great, but the whole conference is so very mediocre this year (including us, to be sure) that they will manage to look very unstellar in doing so.

BlueManballGroup

September 24th, 2012 at 10:19 PM ^

In terms of yardage Ohio has the worst defense in the B1G, giving up 394.75 yards/game with 277.25 passing and 117.5 rushing.  They're 5th in scoring D giving up 17.3 points/game.  They've played four unranked teams with a combined record of 5-9 all at home.  Hard to say how this game will go though, seeing as Michigan State can't throw their way out of a wet paper bag.  Seems to be strength vs strength with Bell against Ohio's run defense.  I say edge Ohio.

Everyone Murders

September 24th, 2012 at 6:30 PM ^

I'm not so sure about your premise

 

These are our two most important opponents and rivals.

It's plain as day to me that OSU is our most important rival.  I don't think it's so clear that MSU is our number two rival - opinion on that point seems to be divided 50:50 as to whether that number two spot belongs to Notre Dame or MSU.   

As to your question, my suspicion is that OSU will beat MSU, although I'd prefer that OSU lose.

 

orobs

September 24th, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^

no.  it's definitely a question.  Many of us who grew up in Michigan and saw our high school friends goto state, and rub it in our faces for the last four years take the MSU rivalry far more personally than a non-conference game with a team more concerned about keeping an annual stanford and navy game going rather than playing us

hart20

September 24th, 2012 at 7:17 PM ^

up in South Bend, most of my friends go to Notre Dame or are Notre Dame fans. I hate Notre Dame and everything about their football team. Not to mention, every time we win and they lose, we increase our lead in the all time winning percentage column.

CleverMichigan…

September 24th, 2012 at 7:31 PM ^

I am reminded that paying out-of-state tuition is a much better deal once you factor in that half your high school friends won't be going to State. Growing up, I wasn't aware that MSU was near even Notre Dame in rivalry status. My grandparents view any game in the regular season besides OSU and ND to be just another one of the "little 10."

Bosch

September 24th, 2012 at 8:01 PM ^

Your mind is convincing you that MSU is a primary rival because you hate having Michigan lose to MSU.  However, this is not because you think it's some great accomplishment that michigan beat them, but rather because you don't want to get grief from MSU fans. 

That is not any different from any other second rate Big 10 team that we play every year.

Beating Notre Dame is satisfying.  Beating MSU is relieving.

justingoblue

September 24th, 2012 at 7:28 PM ^

On top of that, State affects our Rose Bowl hopes and it is a big game across a lot of sports. The hate flows from football to basketball to hockey to everything else (moreso than Ohio does, a lot of people would say) pretty easily.

Michigan/ND hockey has been a decent series lately, but does a basketball game "move the needle" more than any other Big East team? How about M/ND in anything else? Seeing State every year in every sport is a big deal, IMO.

StephenRKass

September 24th, 2012 at 6:37 PM ^

I just got back from South Bend, a campus I've always enjoyed (other than the times we have lost.) Historically, I think you can make the argument that ND is more important as a rival than MSU.

However, Michigan has lost to MSU the last four years, which increases the importance of MSU relative to ND. Also, with ND moving to the ACC, I really am wondering if that will be the end of our long-standing series with them. I think that ND will continue to play USC, Stanford, and Navy. Right now, they only have to play 5 games in the ACC. However, it seems quite possible that the football team will eventually also join the conference. If that happens, it is hard to see how the current games will continue. I'd much rather see Michigan play ND over Michigan playing MSU. I'm pessimistic over whether this actually happens.

club2230

September 24th, 2012 at 7:34 PM ^

Michigan leads the series against MSU 67-32-5.  For you math majors we have played 104 games.

Michigan leads the series against ND 23-16-1.  Again for the math majors it is 40 games.

I know there is a lot more that goes into a rivalry than just quantity of games played, but I don't think it is so clear who our number two rival is.  

M Fanfare

September 24th, 2012 at 6:31 PM ^

The preferred outcome is the aforementioned natural disaster/man-made disaster that obliterates Spartan Stadium and a wide perimeter around it.

Failing that, it is better for Michigan if MSU loses. Since I refuse to root for Ohio to win, I will therefore root for MSU to lose.

firrman

September 24th, 2012 at 6:32 PM ^

I would want ohio to win for one ohio has no chance of going to the Big Championship and it would give Michigan State a loss in the conference.

   I'm not cheering for niether team....just want to see one as in Michigan State lose more then ohio.

  If it benifits Michigan in any given way I am all for it.

 

 

 GO BLUE

Wendyk5

September 24th, 2012 at 6:33 PM ^

Right now, I dislike MSU more, so I hope they lose. I think the game comes down to Braxton Miller vs. LeVeon Bell, and I think Braxton wins this one.

Marvin

September 24th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^

Next weekend: I'm looking forward to some killer sales at Filene's Basement and TJ Max's, and then maybe just browsing a bit at Macy's, where you can always find good buys on shoes. Not really. :(

EGD

September 24th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^

I hope MSU loses by a score of 2-0, with the only points involving an MSU player running backwards 50+ yards (Kent State style) into his own end zone and being tackled for the game-winning safety. 

 

 

orobs

September 24th, 2012 at 6:47 PM ^

1) MSU is our main competition towards a big ten championship game.  We want them to lose any conference game.

 

2) Ohio State is ineligble for a bowl game.  All they are playing for is a decent season and a chance to beat us.  So this game is pretty unimportant for them, and even less important for us.

South Bend Wolverine

September 24th, 2012 at 7:16 PM ^

"I love Michigan more than I hate Ohio."

Yep, it really is as simple as this.  Every time someone in our division loses to OSU, that moves us one step closer to getting to the B10 title game ourselves.  Consequently, every true Michigan fan should be hoping that MSU loses this one.

For those who may have trouble with this, check out the video of our b-ball team going nuts watching OSU beat Sparty last year to hand us a share of the B10 title.

MikeCohodes

September 24th, 2012 at 7:17 PM ^

I'd like to see the baseball style score of 3-2 with Ohio beating Sparty that way.  For Michigan's rose bowl hopes this year I want Sparty to lose as often as possible in their next 8 games, and since OSU can't go to the title game, they can go 11-1 for all I care as long as that 1 is to us.

justingoblue

September 24th, 2012 at 7:18 PM ^

In Leaders v. Legends, barring some weird circumstances, we always want Leaders teams to win. Ohio over MSU, NU, UNL, Minnesota and Iowa every single year.

That said, I do think Ohio takes this game fairly easily. Their defense has looked bad, but not as bad as State's offense.