So, they're talking about MSU football almost as much as Denard Robinson's shoelaces?
Obviously I don't listen to much Michigan sports radio, or much sports radio period, so I can only guess at the context. I suspect much of that context is bitter Wolverine fans trying to diminish the success the Spartans are having: "It doesn't really count if you don't play OSU." Well, I just looked up the "Method to Determine Big Ten Conference Automatic Representative to Bowl Championship Series" and there's nothing in there about playing OSU. The insinuation would also seem to be that the Spartans are ducking the Buckeyes, which is where "not their fault" comes in. MSU didn't cause Ohio State not to be on the schedule this year; they can only play the games they have to play.
That's not to say that skipping OSU is not a bonus for the Spartans because it surely is. It's also much more pronounced because Penn State, MSU's final opponent, isn't near as threatening as they often are. So I think the statement could easily be: "It's not MSU's fault Penn State sucks." But there's a lot of good teams that haven't been able to take advantage of a favorable schedule. So if MSU wins the title I don't think there will be much to whine about, but I also think MSU has to win every game to make that a reality. Are there any excuses for getting beat? No, just the fact that you got beat, but I don't think they'd be adding an asterisk to the record book if it was by Ohio State instead of someone else.
4 comments:
"MSU didn't cause Ohio State not to be on the schedule this year; they can only play the games they have to play."
Exactly. I think that's the problem for MSU. Because of that, they can't afford to lose to anyone. A loss to OSU would not harm their ranking/bowl status as much as a loss to Iowa, Penn State, etc. OSU is a respectable loss because OSU is supposed to beat everyone.
So you're right, MSU can't change their schedule. "It is what it is." But fair or unfair, if they finish undefeated, there will be a lot of "yeah, but, they didn't play..." And I think that will come from college football fan in general, not entirely (arrogant and jealous) Michigan fan.
OSU is supposed to beat everyone... except their opponent in a BCS game.
I understand a little better what you're saying now, but I think fans pay too much attention to what's "supposed" to happen. Right now, it looks like MSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and OSU are all on about the same level. I don't think a loss to Iowa would be any better/worse than a loss to Ohio State.
One final note of comparison between MSU and OSU: they'll play exactly the same Big Ten schedule. So even though they don't play we're going to have a pretty good measure of the two teams.
Scratch that, OSU plays Indiana while MSU plays Northwestern. I think that game goes in MSU's favor.
Yes, and MSU dominated Wisconsin. Wisconsin dominated OSU.
Post a Comment