T1B

1. thankfully a couple years ago IU decided that wearing Oklahoma's unis was pathetic.

2. Pam Ward "doing" the game, she's totally awesome. almost as awesome as her Carol Brady hair.

3. this looks like a WAC game from the 80's with all the D.

Pitt/Syracuse is a study in tissue-paper defenses as well.

MSU having some trouble with the hurry up offense. The IU OC is making some solid in-game adjustments and giving MSU different looks. I expect MSU to pull away in the second half.

PSUFAN wrote:Pitt/Syracuse is a study in tissue-paper defenses as well.

color me surprised.

State needs to diversify it's offense. They won't be successful in conference play by handing it off to Ringer 35-40 times per game.

A lot of big plays in this game. That Thigpen dude is a burner.

Magoo, what hell is going on ?

97 yard TD called back or you guys would be in serious trouble.

WolverineSteve wrote:State needs to diversify it's offense. They won't be successful in conference play by handing it off to Ringer 35-40 times per game.

That's what they're doing today. Hoyer is going to the air, and looking pretty accurate. Problem is MSU has dropped some easy balls. That last 3rd and 2 pass play was unnecessary though. They ran play action on the last 3rd and 2 and picked it up, but you gotta get the ball to Ringer.

Yeah, Thigpen is impressive.

.m2 wrote:Magoo, what hell is going on ?

97 yard TD called back or you guys would be in serious trouble.

Dude, the MSU secondary is the achilles heel. This is not a big surprise.

However, I could argue that had the IU o-lineman not held, MSU would've gotten pressure thus eliminating that easy bomb. You never know.

The cream rose in this one. One good thing about pounding the rock is the cumilative wear down effect on the defense. If I were Statefan I'd like to see JR's carries at 25 an under....it's a looong season at 35+.

WolverineSteve wrote:The cream rose in this one. One good thing about pounding the rock is the cumilative wear down effect on the defense. If I were Statefan I'd like to see JR's carries at 25 an under....it's a looong season at 35+.

You'll find MSU fans are split down the middle as far as Ringer's carries goes. Personally, I want to see him get the ball as much as possible. He's a senior, doesn't seem to fatigue, and keeps the defense honest with play action -- you gotta keep him in the game as long as possible.

Ringer moves the chains, keeps opposing defense honest because they still have to worry about the pass and he wears teams down late in game when they're ahead. He's the perfect Big Ten back.

I agree that you want to give it to your horse. I remember backs like Perry, Thomas, and of course Hart getting a ton of carries. But it seems I've seen Ringer in for quite a few carries after the games were sealed up. At least a half dozen carries of the variety today. Hope for Statefans he stays strong.

WolverineSteve wrote:I agree that you want to give it to your horse. I remember backs like Perry, Thomas, and of course Hart getting a ton of carries. But it seems I've seen Ringer in for quite a few carries after the games were sealed up. At least a half dozen carries of the variety today. Hope for Statefans he stays strong.

I see what you mean, I just think Dantonio is playing it safe by keeping it in the hands of his proven guy and running out clock while moving the chains. This is MSU we're talking here, so a 10 point lead in the 4th is NEVER safe. Don't want to risk putting the ball in the hands of a frosh or sophomore running back. They have talent at the rest of the RB positions, but little experience.

Just to reiterate how much IU is NOT a football school....

I was at the game Saturday. When the 97 yard TD was called back due to holding and the safety awarded, damn near every fan around me was screaming at the top of their lungs that there should not be a safety because the QB was not sacked in the end zone. I could not believe what I was hearing. I mean...holding penalty in end zone=safety. This is basic, folks.

Anyhow, very entertaining game. IU should have won, but they stepped on their own dick too many times. The drive at the end of the 4th where IU completed a pass and would have been 2nd and 3, but the OL takes a cheap shot after the play resulting in a 15 yd penalty was the dagger. IU just could not avoid the stupid penalties.

Every time I flipped over to the MSU game to check it out, I heard a woman doing play-by-play. Sacrilege. I could never listen for more than about 30 seconds.

IndyFrisco wrote:IU should have won, but they stepped on their own dick too many times.

Ya think? I know there was a brief period early in the 1st quarter where IU held a 7-3 lead, but beyond that, I never felt MSU was in real jeopardy of losing the game. The defense was shakey, but the IU D had no real chance of making stops against the MSU rushing attack, especially as the game went on and they kept pounding Ringer and wearing down IU. I will say though IU played tough and physical up front, and posed a bigger challenge than I expected.

That logic can always go both ways though. I can remember a few key mistakes that had MSU not made, they would've won by a larger margin.

MGO,

I thought MSU owned the first half even though IU came back at the end of the half. I felt IU had the momentum in the second half, but penalty after penalty kept ending their drives. It was their own fault, but yes, I still think IU could have won that game had they not killed themselves with the yellow flags. And I am not saying they were bad calls. Just a lot of them. Hard to win when you consistently fuck up like that. IU had 90 yards of penalties...all deserved and to me that was the difference in the game.

I saw some pics from the game on the Spartan board, and the place looked pathetically empty. I know this is IU we're talking here, but damn, it's the Big Ten opener. What gets me is they're adding on like 13,000 seats and they can't come close to filling what they have now. They couldn't even sell out against their rival last year, in a game that had bowl implications.

Yeah, I laughed at the expansion. The running joke is that IU will have 30k empty seats now instead of 17k. IU (football) fanbase is pathetic. The thing is, if they put a basketball game on the football field, they would sell out every game. Wierd...

Goober McTuber wrote:Every time I flipped over to the MSU game to check it out, I heard a woman doing play-by-play. Sacrilege. I could never listen for more than about 30 seconds.

Ward is...female? Coulda fooled me...

MSU ESPN games at 12 eastern and Pam Ward seem to go hand-in-hand...I've gotten used to it by now. Believe it or not, there are worse tandems out there.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:MSU ESPN games at 12 eastern and Pam Ward seem to go hand-in-hand...I've gotten used to it by now. Believe it or not, there are worse tandems out there.

Richard Simmons and Rosie O'Donnel call CFB together?