Michigan 21, MSU 7

[Jeff Buchanan]

Michigan has an identity - a Hybrid Power offense that feeds off the RO and is as good at running the ball since, I don't know when, maybe in A-Trains time. Michigan State? They run man-ball not anywhere as creative as Harbaugh but Dantonio has a knack for fucking with an opponent at exactly the right time.

Lewerke is not as good as Cousins was but he plays in the same system with the same style and he's got a security blanket in Felton Davis. I'm not sure LJ Scott is the complement to Lewerke that Higdon is to Patterson. On second thought ..... no he's not. Lewerke can run the ball though but it's more out of a draw scheme rather than a RO (Fruit - have I got this right?).

I get the BPONE, Rocky. It's hard to erase M's struggles with MSU in EL or on the road in general. But, M has demonstrated some real mental and physical toughness this season that is starkly different from last and including the ND game. I thought the NW game, as shitty as M played until the go ahead drive, gave M some confidence, the Maryland game elevated it and the Wisconsin game took a couple of notches higher. We all know there is shit-ton of emotion involved in the college game - you saw it on display with Maryland by the mid-3rd and with Wisconsin by the start of the 4th - both teams decided they didn't really want to be in AA anymore.

Both MSU and M have some talent. M has more but this contest will come down to who wants to win it more. Who will overcome the physical pain and mental strain that is the toll football takes on players during the game and the season. Seems to me that has been the case in most of these games between M and MSU. Right now, I like M's confidence and physicality. It seems the coaches have the players mentally and physically ready to play on a consistent basis. One more chance this coming Saturday to prove M is up to the task, on the road, in a rivalry game probably against a top 25 team. It's a big deal ...... like it always is.

[iam416]

M is going to grind them to dust. They'll pick up 3rd downs whenever they need to with a short passing game that Sparty can't stop. And they can't score more than 14. Early take is M wins this one 34-13. I think it's close for a little while, but the inertial beatdown takes full effect halfway through the 3rd.

[Tom W]

This game really is the bigger deal for M this year. With sparty pulling out the unexpected win in Happy Valley, they aren't in a position of being down on their luck with nothing to lose. They actually have to play this game without the reckless abandonment that have routinely used to create a chaotic situation for which Michigan all too often doesn't have the answers.

Sparty no longer has the edge in players that abused the RR and Hoke teams. Dantonio also does seem to have his edge in coaching anymore.Motivation has to be on Michigan's side this year.

I was skeptical of this Michigan team until last night. Sparty looks a lot like Wisconsin. I liked the way in which Michigan played disciplined and made adjustments to improve within the game. I also think that the Milton play was a warning shot to Dantonio.

Michigan just has to win this game.

[drok]

Dont write off Sparty. No matter how obvious a win seems against these fucks, they have a knack for either winning or making it close. It's taken me nearly a decade to come to the point where I no longer come in with any confidence in this game. I will be happy with any win, no matter how ugly.

[Tom W]

Oh, there's no write offs. Sparty still has play in that "Little Brother" nonsense that Fox is running in their commercials. It will be an intense battle. But, it's nice to know that if it comes to a crunch, Patterson.. or McCaffrey.. is going to be called on than O'Korn or Peters.

[Tslisher]

Oh, there's no write offs. Sparty still has play in that "Little Brother" nonsense that Fox is running in their commercials. It will be an intense battle. But, it's nice to know that if it comes to a crunch, Patterson.. or McCaffrey.. is going to be called on than O'Korn or Peters.

[WingsFan]

You have Mike Valenti and this Jackass -

[Jeff Buchanan]

M is going to grind them to dust. .........

Are you on the M hype-train? Pffffft. You shouldn't be.

Certainly, M is exceeding my expectations as well as others ....... in one game. The rest have been up and down or about as expected. Lost to ND, mauled WMU and SMU, struggled on the road with NfW, mauled Maryland, surprise, mauled Wisconsin.

While they're nits, there are still flaws, as in, nobody is perfect ....... except Alabama and maybe Clemson or they both cover up well with talent.

M's run game isn't dominating. Good enough given how Higdon and Patterson seem to complement each other in the RO? Yes. But that's on tape and MSU has a very good rush D. Probably a good deal better than Wisconsin's. I don't know about their speed on the edges. If they have it, another plus for them.

M didn't have it's usual problems with slants and screens covered by the Ss but Wisconsin could not exploit that because Hornibrook sucks under pressure and Wisconsin's WRs are bad. Felton Davis and probably someone else who I haven't studied yet will try to abuse this weakness in M's D.

Nordin ..... not as steady as you'd like him to be going into a rivalry game like this. M's RZ scoring record is terrible.

Road games.

If MSU is able to shut down Higdon, and there is a good chance of that, and contain Patterson better than Wisconsin did, and that shouldn't be hard, if Harbaugh doesn't adjust in game to an inefficient run game or poor RZ scoring and, instead, switch up on the fly to exploit MSU's marginal pass D, this game will be a lot closer than it appears to be right now on paper ...... and for folks on the M hype-train.

[Rocky Bleier]

Jeff, you'll have to refresh my memory on BPONE. I know it's a Brian Cook creation, but that's all I remember.

[Jeff Buchanan]

BPONE ..... The Black Pit of Negative Expectations. It's something M fans have developed over the last decade of Michigan football suck.

[Tslisher]

Jeff, you'll have to refresh my memory on BPONE. I know it's a Brian Cook creation, but that's all I remember.

[Detroit Dan]

Some negative black pit.

MSU defense was the big surprise against PSU. PSU had been very explosive all year, and no one had been able to stop McSorely and company. How did Sparty do that?

[froot loops]

The line stayed in their lanes and Basche was spying McSorley.

[WingsFan]

Tripping over his own feet didn't hurt

[Jeff Buchanan]

I think Sparty spanking PSU exposed PSU a bit and opened some eyes about MSU's D. I'd have to go back but I don't think PSU played anyone with objectively great defenses. Even osu isn't that good w/o bosa. MSU is objectively good. I've only seen clips and short parts of games so my eyeball isn't good calibration of how good MSU's D might be.

I've already said this but it's worth repeating. M is not as good on the road as they appear to be at home. This is a sort of baked in circumstance since Harbaugh's tenure as HC. There's no reasonable explanation that illuminates why this is so or that it's not going to continue. I do think M is playing with more confidence in 2018 than I have seen a Michigan football team play in a very long time ...... probably going back to some of Bo's or Lloyd's best seasons.

For whatever reasons, M has had trouble with Sparty losing 8 of the last 10 games. You can't escape that reality. Some of the reasons are identifiable, the clock in the MSU locker room ticking down to the M game, Dantonio's stated goals about what beating M means to MSU's football culture. The Little Brother thing from Mike Hart that has been a rallying cry for MSU since it was uttered. The weird shit that happens every time MSU and M play. For MSU and Mike Dantonio, this is their Super Bowl.

For these reasons, this is going to be a very competitive ball game. While I don't watch MSU carefully in other games, I've never seen them quit like I saw Nebraska, Maryland and Wisconsin quit during those games this season. That's a tribute to Mork and I expect it will be a factor next Saturday.