The Big Ten carefully and cautiously dealt with “rivalry” situations last summer when they created divisions and schedules. And perhaps the tire fire of a matchup they created between Michigan State and Penn State when the Lions joined the Big Ten was the cause of their concern. From the hideous Land Grant Trophy that the two teams begrudgingly traded (the loser should have been stuck with it, not vice versa) to the abundance of zero-consequence games on finale weekend, the rivalry never took off. In fact, a polite golf clap could be heard from both fan bases when the two teams rotated away from each other with the new conference scheduling.
In the irony of ironies, I’m picking the Spartans and Penn State to play for TWO trophies on the final weekend of this regular season—the Land Grant Trophy again (audible groan) and the Big Ten title hardware (boisterous shouts).
Michigan State
Michigan State is the new Alabama Lite of the Big Ten. (Yes, I’m aware of the irony since the Capital One Bowl last January 1.) They don’t play flashy football. Solid run game, competent passing attack, stout defense, and consistent special teams. D’Antonio isn’t a very compelling man, but his business-like approach is building a strong team. In a good-not-great conference, the Spartans are good enough.
MSU’s schedule is tougher in 2011 than it was during their excellent 2010 campaign, with away games against Notre Dame (loss) and Ohio State (win) in the first five weeks. They get a bye before Michigan (maybe their last win before “big brother” reloads), which will give them a huge advantage in this home game. I don’t think they get past Wisconsin though. A win in Lincoln (at the point when Nebraska truly realizes that the Big Ten is tougher than the Big 12) will be followed by three more wins to seal the Legends division title before even playing in Evanston against Northwestern in the season finale. Perhaps they’re too busy reminiscing about the Land Grant Trophy to take NW seriously because I think they’ll lose this one. The first Big Ten championship game will lose some luster since Michigan State will barely be in the top 20 rather than sitting around #10 at 10-2 (if they had beaten the Wildcats). To answer the question that no one was asking, the Spartans will lose in Indianapolis to Paterno’s boys but have a better showing in the Outback Bowl against Mississippi State than they did last season in the Capital One, a 23-21 win to give Michigan State their first back-to-back double-digit win seasons in school history. 2011 Results: 10-4 overall, 6-2 in Big Ten (4-1 in Legends).
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