College Football - The Train Has Left the Station, and Michigan State Missed the Departure
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
When the train was ready to pull out of the station this
year at East Lansing, the Michigan State University
Spartans had a chance to enjoy every stop on their way to
an unbeaten season.
They could have run the table at the pool hall. They could
have had a scenic and exciting journey, rising right up to
become one of the elite teams in the country. In addition
to the usual stops on the journey, the Spartans had two of
their three biggest hurdles—Michigan and
Iowa—at home, and did not even have to face Ohio
State because of the Big Ten scheduling rotation.
So much for perfect journeys.
When the train pulled out of the station this year,
Michigan State missed the departure for the second stop.
After blowing away a Division 1-AA Montana State team 44-3
in their opener at home, there must have been a lot of
chest pounding because the Spartans laid an egg against
their next opponent at home—Central Michigan.
The 1-A Chippewas from the mid-level Mid American
Conference, apparently only slightly less accomplished than
teams from the mighty Big Ten, came to East Lansing to win.
The Spartans showed up, but did not convince anyone that
they were ready for the season they should have had. A lack
of focus, attitude and execution did them in, 29-27.
Starting the season at 1-1, they did little to straighten
themselves out as they lost away games at Notre Dame 33-30
and Wisconsin 38-30 to slip to 1-3.
After beating Michigan at home 26-20 in overtime, they took
care of Illinois 24-14 and Northwestern 24-14, bringing
their record to 4-3.
When the now 9-0 Iowa Hawkeyes came to town, the Spartans
could have won but lost 15-13, and they compounded their
problems by giving up 42 points to Minnesota on the road
and losing by 8, 42-34. So the Michigan State Spartans now
sit at a humble 4-5, probably wondering what hit them.
Next up is Western Michigan at home. The Broncos are
another powerhouse team from Michigan with a 4-5 mark.
The Broncos are most certainly to be feared since they have
beaten such illustrious teams as 151st-ranked, 1-AA
Hofstra, 145th-ranked Miami of Ohio, 125th-ranked Toledo,
and 110th-ranked Buffalo. The Broncos are ranked 112th
among 120 major college programs.
Despite the tremendous odds against themselves, the
Spartans just might be able to beat the Broncos and even
their record to 5-5. Should they do so, they just might
have a shot at becoming bowl eligible at Purdue, or at home
against an 8-1 Penn State team that plans on using them for
fodder.
So what really went wrong at Michigan State this year?
Well, one thing is that coach Mark Dantonio wanted two good
quarterbacks and got them in Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol,
who are both sophomores. Unfortunately, Dantonio could not
make up his mind who was better quarterback so he rotated
them—generally a bad mistake.
Dantonio did not put his total confidence in either player
and thus denied one of them the opportunity to become the
leader on offense. Think of Tim Tebow of the Florida
Gators, or Jake Locker of the Washington Huskies.
When a team rotates quarterbacks and the team wins every
game, it is still not the best situation, but it can work.
The minute a team starts losing, something Michigan State
has done a lot of this year, it does not work.
Name me one top team nationally that rotates quarterbacks.
Name me one national championship team, any one, that has
rotated quarterbacks.
The problem is the players, not actually meaning to, begin
to polarize their loyalty. They begin to point fingers and
lay blame. When a team loses, all players can be criticized
for their play, so they manufacture excuses for not
performing up to their potential.
Here is my message to Dantonio and Michigan State: Pick one
of the two, back him, put your confidence in him, play him
only until he succeeds or fails after several games. Do not
dump him too soon or neither quarterback will get the
experience they need to develop their leadership talent.
In the meantime, would it be such a bad thing if you
crushed Western Michigan and Purdue and became bowl
eligible? Maybe there is not a bowl game that would want
the Spartans this year, but let's find out.
(Disclaimer: Ed Bagley is a 1966 graduate of Michigan State
University who was there when the Spartans had their
back-to-back National Championship teams under Duffy
Daugherty in 1965 and 1966.)
----------------------------------------------------
Check out "Ed Bagley's Top 25 Poll" for Week 9 and find out
why the Oregon Ducks are getting the bum's rush in the
national ranking polls.
"The Glory Years of the Green and White Michigan State
University Football Teams – Part 1"
"The Glory Years of the Green and White Michigan State
University Football Teams – Part 2"
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
When the train was ready to pull out of the station this
year at East Lansing, the Michigan State University
Spartans had a chance to enjoy every stop on their way to
an unbeaten season.
They could have run the table at the pool hall. They could
have had a scenic and exciting journey, rising right up to
become one of the elite teams in the country. In addition
to the usual stops on the journey, the Spartans had two of
their three biggest hurdles—Michigan and
Iowa—at home, and did not even have to face Ohio
State because of the Big Ten scheduling rotation.
So much for perfect journeys.
When the train pulled out of the station this year,
Michigan State missed the departure for the second stop.
After blowing away a Division 1-AA Montana State team 44-3
in their opener at home, there must have been a lot of
chest pounding because the Spartans laid an egg against
their next opponent at home—Central Michigan.
The 1-A Chippewas from the mid-level Mid American
Conference, apparently only slightly less accomplished than
teams from the mighty Big Ten, came to East Lansing to win.
The Spartans showed up, but did not convince anyone that
they were ready for the season they should have had. A lack
of focus, attitude and execution did them in, 29-27.
Starting the season at 1-1, they did little to straighten
themselves out as they lost away games at Notre Dame 33-30
and Wisconsin 38-30 to slip to 1-3.
After beating Michigan at home 26-20 in overtime, they took
care of Illinois 24-14 and Northwestern 24-14, bringing
their record to 4-3.
When the now 9-0 Iowa Hawkeyes came to town, the Spartans
could have won but lost 15-13, and they compounded their
problems by giving up 42 points to Minnesota on the road
and losing by 8, 42-34. So the Michigan State Spartans now
sit at a humble 4-5, probably wondering what hit them.
Next up is Western Michigan at home. The Broncos are
another powerhouse team from Michigan with a 4-5 mark.
The Broncos are most certainly to be feared since they have
beaten such illustrious teams as 151st-ranked, 1-AA
Hofstra, 145th-ranked Miami of Ohio, 125th-ranked Toledo,
and 110th-ranked Buffalo. The Broncos are ranked 112th
among 120 major college programs.
Despite the tremendous odds against themselves, the
Spartans just might be able to beat the Broncos and even
their record to 5-5. Should they do so, they just might
have a shot at becoming bowl eligible at Purdue, or at home
against an 8-1 Penn State team that plans on using them for
fodder.
So what really went wrong at Michigan State this year?
Well, one thing is that coach Mark Dantonio wanted two good
quarterbacks and got them in Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol,
who are both sophomores. Unfortunately, Dantonio could not
make up his mind who was better quarterback so he rotated
them—generally a bad mistake.
Dantonio did not put his total confidence in either player
and thus denied one of them the opportunity to become the
leader on offense. Think of Tim Tebow of the Florida
Gators, or Jake Locker of the Washington Huskies.
When a team rotates quarterbacks and the team wins every
game, it is still not the best situation, but it can work.
The minute a team starts losing, something Michigan State
has done a lot of this year, it does not work.
Name me one top team nationally that rotates quarterbacks.
Name me one national championship team, any one, that has
rotated quarterbacks.
The problem is the players, not actually meaning to, begin
to polarize their loyalty. They begin to point fingers and
lay blame. When a team loses, all players can be criticized
for their play, so they manufacture excuses for not
performing up to their potential.
Here is my message to Dantonio and Michigan State: Pick one
of the two, back him, put your confidence in him, play him
only until he succeeds or fails after several games. Do not
dump him too soon or neither quarterback will get the
experience they need to develop their leadership talent.
In the meantime, would it be such a bad thing if you
crushed Western Michigan and Purdue and became bowl
eligible? Maybe there is not a bowl game that would want
the Spartans this year, but let's find out.
(Disclaimer: Ed Bagley is a 1966 graduate of Michigan State
University who was there when the Spartans had their
back-to-back National Championship teams under Duffy
Daugherty in 1965 and 1966.)
----------------------------------------------------
Check out "Ed Bagley's Top 25 Poll" for Week 9 and find out
why the Oregon Ducks are getting the bum's rush in the
national ranking polls.
"The Glory Years of the Green and White Michigan State
University Football Teams – Part 1"
"The Glory Years of the Green and White Michigan State
University Football Teams – Part 2"
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html
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