Rooting Interest in this Weekend's Meteor Game: Staee vs Ohio
Who are you rooting for when Ohio visits Lil' Bro in East Lansing this Saturday (3:30pm, ABC)? As much as it pains me to (I guess it would either way) I'm cheering for Ohio. They're ineligible for the post-season, so they might as well give State a conference L and make our path to Indy potentially a little easier. Plus after last year's games against us and the NCAA sanctions on Ohio, State needs to be taken down a notch more than Ohio. Here's to an ugly game with the Buckeyes squeaking one out, hopefully on a deliciously heartbreaking Sparty NO!!!!
September 27th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
Easy answer, rooting for a State loss as they are in division (notice how I didnt say rooting for OSU to win).
September 27th, 2012 at 4:36 PM ^
Rooting for a msu loss and it is a no brainer. No argument to root for msu on saturday can be considered logical.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:47 PM ^
We must root for OSU to win. We will feel dirty doing it. My advice is drinking heavily during the game following by a long hot shower after Sparty goes down.
September 27th, 2012 at 9:28 PM ^
Rooting isn't going to accomplish anything, so I don't see why we have to root for anyone. You're mostly right that Michigan is advantaged by an MSU loss, but the general rule of always wanting teams in your division to lose isn't 100% accurate. There is the distinct possibility that you'll want a team in your division to win in order to create a 3-way tie that you have the tie-breaker for, whereas if they lose, you're in a 2-way tie that you lose.
September 27th, 2012 at 10:19 PM ^
We did this last year in a certain basketball game with huge implications, and it worked out. So, we have that going for us.
September 27th, 2012 at 11:45 PM ^
Just in case anyone's forgotten:
September 27th, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^
rooting for injuries!
September 27th, 2012 at 7:34 PM ^
Yeah! Or disease!
September 28th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
AND DECAPITATIONS!!!1!
September 27th, 2012 at 6:53 PM ^
Is it just me or do they have a sweet game in Lansing every week?
September 27th, 2012 at 7:12 PM ^
It's just you.
September 27th, 2012 at 7:56 PM ^
Yeah that EMU game last week was such a high profile matchup!
September 27th, 2012 at 8:03 PM ^
Boise State
Eastern Michigan
Ohio
Iowa
Nebraska
Northwestern
About 3/6 should be blowouts (Boise, EMU and Iowa), one is Northwestern and the other two (Nebraska and Ohio) are legit good games. Sparty decided to make Boise and Eastern good games, but they aren't good teams.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:31 PM ^
i hope they both lose
September 27th, 2012 at 4:31 PM ^
i hope they both lose
September 27th, 2012 at 4:31 PM ^
I'm rooting for another twenty threads about this game not to be posted. Unless you are a degenerate who roots against things more than for Michigan you are rooting for an MSU loss....
September 27th, 2012 at 5:54 PM ^
after a loss. At least it's not another aargh... Brandon/Borges/Denard has to change his ways...
September 27th, 2012 at 4:31 PM ^
My usual strategy in such events is to root for the away team so we get lots of schadenfreudey shots of the home crowd and everyone goes home pissed. Obviously, an Ohio win is also good for us, so there's that.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^
them to beat State, too. Even though their fans be nasty, I have never really DISLIKED OSU. I never really THOUGHT ABOUT State much, either--come to think of it--until Dantonio came along. The Tweets have a little to do with my antagonism toward State this year, I must admit. When Bama beat you worse? When ND JUST whipped you? Dudes!
September 27th, 2012 at 7:29 PM ^
You never disliked Ohio? What the hell?
September 27th, 2012 at 4:39 PM ^
There is absolutely no discussion as to who we want to lose. State losing directly helps our chances to get to the BTCG. I don't understand how some of you guys will still root for Ohio to lose.
September 27th, 2012 at 6:57 PM ^
you don't live in Ohio.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:37 PM ^
September 27th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
Both teams have mediocre offenses, Ohio State has a less than stellar defense, Michigan State has a pretty good defense. Advantage Sparty. Also, I won't be rooting for either team.
| OFFENSE | DEFENSE | |
| OHIO STATE | 52 | 71 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 65 | 6 |
September 27th, 2012 at 4:43 PM ^
And Sparty has had a much tougher schedule than OSU, thus far. Should be a good game to watch.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:45 PM ^
Braxton Miller is also the wild card in the equation, so it should make for an interesting game.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:54 PM ^
Yeah, that was my thought too. You pretty much know what you're going to get out of Andrew Maxwell and Leveon Bell, but Ohio's offense is evolving, and they seem to have a knack for putting up points late in big chunks. It'd be interesting to see how State plays their defense, it might be a glimpse into what they'll try to do against Denard.
September 27th, 2012 at 10:55 PM ^
September 27th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
Yeah, you have to cheer for an Ohio victory here. I get that that's hard to do and all, but it's much better for us if that happens. Then cheer for Indiana to beat OSU or something to make up for it.
September 27th, 2012 at 5:28 PM ^
And the OSU-UM rivalry will be degraded as a result. Still a great rivalry, but it probably won't be the greatest in American sports anymore. I blame Dave Brandon for not protecting the sanctity of the rivalry. If UM-OSU had just been kept in the same division little would have been lost.
September 27th, 2012 at 6:14 PM ^
I disagree with this. I have always wanted the Buckeyes to win every games leading up to the clash in November. How sweet it is to taste their agony as we destroy their undefeated season? That being said I do love watching them drop games to the Illinis of the world.
September 27th, 2012 at 5:02 PM ^
Nothing else, therefore Sparty must lose....and if a meteor strikes Spartan Stadium immediately after the final gun, well, then win-win.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:44 PM ^
Even when Ohio is eligible we will be rooting for Ohio in this game forever. They are in our division. They need to lose games in the B1G. Don't be a stubborn dick.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:51 PM ^
I'm not rooting for either team. You can't make me.
September 27th, 2012 at 5:17 PM ^
Yes. This is another reason why having OSU in the opposite division sucks.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:44 PM ^
I'm hoping OSU provides a template for attacking MSU's overagressive D with a mobile QB.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:44 PM ^
I'm rooting for:
- At least one Tom Gholston punch
- Bell to continue to get 75 touches per game
- Dion Sims to steal computers from the press box during halftime
- OSU D to continue to tackle like they have no arms
- a quintuple overtime 6-3 victory by OSU
September 27th, 2012 at 4:45 PM ^
Isn't division record the first tie breaker as to which teams goes to the Big Ten title game? MSU and Ohio isn't a divisional game, so how will MSU losing help Michigan in any way? If M beats Sparty, everything will fall into place for us.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:52 PM ^
You are correct -- but if MSU loses then we have an even better chance because after the first week of play they'll already have 1 B1G loss.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:52 PM ^
Sure, but conference record is what's important before you get to the tie breaker. So if we lose one game, and they lose two, we go and you don't care about tie-breakers.
MSU can be 5-0 in our division, but if they have more total Big Ten losses than us, we finish above them.
September 27th, 2012 at 11:18 PM ^
This is a much easier choice for me. A State loss only helps us in the division. Now when State played ND I had a much harder time who I wanted to win. This choice is made with the head only.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:55 PM ^
Hot off the Big 10 Conference website
The following procedure will determine the representative from each division in the event of a tie:
- If two teams are tied, the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative
-
If three or more teams are tied, steps 1 through 7 will be followed until a determination is made. If only two teams remain tied after any step, the winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative.
- The records of the three tied teams will be compared against each other
- The records of the three tied teams will be compared within their division
- The records of the three teams will be compared against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (4, 5, and 6)
- The records of the three teams will be compared against all common conference opponents;
- The highest ranked team in the first Bowl Championship Series Poll following the completion of Big Ten regular season conference play shall be the representative in the Big Ten Championship Game, unless the two highest ranked tied teams are ranked within one spot of each other in the BCS poll. In this case, the head-to-head results of the top two ranked tied teams shall determine the representative in the Big Ten Championship
- The team with the best overall winning percentage [excluding exempted games] shall be the representative
- The representative will be chosen by random draw.
September 27th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
I hate the way that's worded. I'm interpreting that (for example #2) as "the records of each team against teams in their division are compared?"
September 27th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
We gain a .5 game on MSU in the Standings if they lose, we lose .5 game if they win. We don't need to compete with OSU in the Big Ten standings since they are in the other division. You can go ahead and say "If we win every big ten game it won't matter" but that likely won't happen.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:48 PM ^
As long as Michigan is good (crosses fingers) I always root for State to lose and OSU to win, until they play us. I want two highly ranked teams playing in THE GAME year in and year out.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:58 PM ^
And thus likely setting-up the unpleasant scenario of a rematch in the Championship Game the very next week. I really hate the way the freaking divisions were split.
September 27th, 2012 at 5:31 PM ^
But Brandon threw out the red herring of an October game and no one seemed to care about anything but the calender. Shrewd move, if you don't mind compromising the best rivalry in sports.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:49 PM ^
If we are rooting for our self-interest, we have to hope OSU beats Sparty.
September 27th, 2012 at 4:53 PM ^
What would you prefer:
A. Root for Ohio
B. Root for State or
C. a Root canal operation?