Rose Bowl Thread

[Mikey]

Really looking forward to this game.

The 100th Rose Bowl, being played by two old school PAC and B1G teams, as it should be, both playing old school type of ball.
Both won their conferences outright and didn't get there because of another team playing for the MNC or being on probation.
Stanford played in the first, and now in the hundredth, hopefully with a better result.
Either of these teams is good enough to be in the MNC game, but for an early season four point loss by Sparty; and a coaching brain fart against Utah and a last minute field goal by USC for Stanford.

This is the most intriguing matchup of any of the major bowls, IMH but admittedly not unbiased O.

Hail to the Spartans, and their trip to the Rose Bowl

Things were getting a little cheesy in Pasadena after three consecutive trips by Wisconsin, so it's nice that Michigan State will have its day in the sun.

What a thrill it is to welcome any other Big Ten school to this year's Rose Bowl.

Thank you, Michigan State Spartans, for not being Wisconsin.

Thanks for your childlike exuberance in advance of the historic 100th game.

"They'll get to see some movie stars and things like that," Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio said of his players in anticipation of their trip. "That's part of it. We'll try to make life moments."

Thank you, Sparty, for your spiffy No. 4 Bowl Championship Series ranking and defeating Ohio State to save the BCS from one last fiasco.

Thank you for winning a school-record 12 games, and being only four points from undefeated, and having the nation's No.1 defense and not being the Big Ten representative only because Ohio State was on NCAA probation.

Thank you for wanting to go to Disneyland and eat prime rib.

Thank your fans for making this one tough-to-get ticket.

Thank you, especially, for Magic Johnson.

After three straight years of aging cheddar cheese, man, did we need a school that hasn't been here since 1988.

Wisconsin had the holiday spirit on its first visit and helped put on a fabulous show in a mini-classic, 21-19 loss to Texas Christian.

The second visit was OK, like a relative stopping by without calling, but that ended in a 45-38 loss to Oregon.

Last season, though, was a low point in visiting-team history as Wisconsin seemingly punched the clock in advance of its 20-14 loss to Stanford.

The players were the opposite of awestruck.

Could you blame them?

USC players acted the same way after three straight trips in 2007, '08 and '09.

The Rose Bowl, really, again?

The difference was the Trojans won all three games.

Wisconsin backed into last season's game with an 8-5 record and a coach, Bret Bielema, who decided he'd rather be the coach at Arkansas.

Athletic Director Barry Alvarez did his best to salvage a messy situation and agreed to a one-game coaching comeback.

"I never thought it would happen because it never has happened," Alvarez said of Bielema's defection. "No one has ever won the right to go to the Rose Bowl and not coached in it."

Few have appreciated the Jan. 1 experience more than Alvarez, a three-time winner as Wisconsin coach and member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

"There's nothing like taking the field in the Rose Bowl," he said.

Wisconsin, to Alvarez's credit, played solidly and soundly in a hard-fought defeat.

It was definitely time for something new, though, and Michigan State arrives with the fresh scent of fabric softener.

The Spartans are making their first major bowl appearance in the 16-year BCS era, and this is just the school's second Rose Bowl appearance since 1966.

The last time, in 1988, Michigan State took advantage of five USC turnovers and left with a 20-17 victory.

Michigan State's only Rose Bowl defeat was the 1966 classic against Gary Beban's UCLA Bruins.

Dantonio said he is looking for the program consistency of Stanford, which is playing in its fourth straight BCS bowl.

"That has to become our standard," Dantonio said. "We've climbed a ladder. There is no question we've climbed a ladder and we've scratched to get there. That's what makes this a bit of a unique story, I think."

The Rose Bowl needs more unique stories, and we hope Michigan State's breakthrough leads to a drought outbreak.

Maybe, some day, in this millennium, Arizona can get here. The Wildcats, who joined the old Pac-8 in 1978, are the only team from the present Big Ten/Pac-12 lineup that has not made a Rose Bowl appearance.

Who could have dreamed TCU would get to Pasadena first?

Arizona came agonizingly close in 1998, the first year of the BCS, needing only for UCLA to make one tackle in a late-season makeup game at Miami.

A UCLA win would have put the Bruins in the BCS title game and bumped Arizona up to Pasadena.

When is poor California going to get back? The Bears finished 1-11 this year and haven't played in the Rose Bowl since a loss to Iowa in 1959.

Is it the curse of Joe Kapp, or Mack Brown?

In 2004, Cal fans lost a Rose Bowl bid to Texas because of a BCS rule that mandated the No. 4 team in the standings be taken. Texas, after some intense lobbying, swayed enough voters to win the spot by the margin of .8476 to .8347.

Ask a Cal fan sometime how that went over in Berkeley.

Indiana, the Rose Bowl turns its lonely irises to you.

The Hoosiers' only appearance was a 14-3 loss to O.J. Simpson and USC in the 1968 game.

Oregon State shocked Notre Dame in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl, 41-9, but hasn't played in a Rose Bowl since a 1965 loss to Michigan.

Minnesota, once a national college football powerhouse, defeated UCLA in the 1962 Rose Bowl and then went ice fishing.

The Gophers improved to 8-4 this year, so at least they're closer to booking passage than Purdue, which has been to Pasadena twice but not since 2001 (with Drew Brees).

USC has hoarded 34 Rose Bowl bids and Michigan has 20, but how is it that Nebraska, TCU, Oklahoma and Washington State have all been in the Rose Bowl since UCLA last appeared in 1999?

For now, let's sound trumpets for Michigan State's triumphant return.

To paraphrase that men's clothing ad, "You're going to like the way we look."

The daily Pasadena forecast starting Thursday calls for temperatures of 81, 81, 78, 80, 78, 72 and 71.

Thursday's forecast for East Lansing was 22 dipping to an expected 15 on Jan. 1.

It's time to celebrate Stanford vs. Michigan State in the 100th Rose Bowl even as some of us secretly pine, some day, for Cal vs. Indiana.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-122 ... z2obAUM6J3

Too bad Sparty will be without one of their best defensive players, though.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Too bad Sparty will be without one of their best defensive players, though.

This is about the worst loss they could suffer, on either side of the ball. Max Bullough is a senior middle linebacker, and basically a coach on the field. They call him "the computer" for his ability to watch tape, and recall everything, get guys in the correct positions, makes all the pre-snap reads and checks in and out of plays, etc. The QB of the defense.

Fuck.

Things were going so well...something just had to happen.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

You are one tedious tard. I wish I could crawl through the internet and shove those faggy little smilies you love so much straight up your ass.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

You can't still be raw-assed about that beatdown years ago.

You assume correctly. You're the one who incessantly brings it up, not me. My team won its conference and is playing in the Rose Bowl. I don't give two shits about some meaningless bowl game from three years ago.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

I see MSU is now getting 6 points, from 4.5.

And just to be clear...I'm not staging any excuses here. I still say the Spartans win, 23-20.

[Mikey]

Stanford 27-13.

[Shoalzie]

I can at least appreciate the genuine excitement and reverence Sparty has for being back in this game. It really is a cool game to be a part of. Dantonio likes to pull the gadget and trick plays some times but this is a meat and potatoes matchup...solid QB play, good ground games, strong in the trenches, excellent defense. I give State the edge because they are a true 3-phase team...love the secondary and their special teams is a weapon that helps their defense by having the offenses start in bad field position.

Sparty 24, The Tree 17

[Mikey]

their special teams is a weapon that helps their defense by having the offenses start in bad field position.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/artic ... d-stanford

BTW

punt return defense
Stanford 7.15 #53
Sparty 7.25 #55

kickoff return defense
Stanford 18.12 #11
Sparty 20.95 #60

kickoff returns
Stanford 27.79 #1
Sparty 19.17 #99

punt returns
Stanford 8.94 #52
Sparty 10.06 #41

[Mikey]

Definitely will be an interesting game.

Like Shoalzie says, mostly a meat and potatoes matchup. Dantonio pulls out the trick play once in a while. Stanford has been known to got to the pistol and run a few sly sweeps. What most people don't realize is that Stanford, while mostly a running team, will go deep when the safeties start cheating close to the line. I don't know where to find this stat but I heard it on TV somewhere in the past couple of weeks that Hogan was at or near the top of the FBS in completion percentage on passes over 20 yards. Could have changed since I heard it but I wasn't that surprised. Watch out not just for Ty Montgomery but also Cajuste (21.9 avg on 27 catches) and Rector (32.3 avg on 12 catches). As a team, #12 in yards per completion at 14.6.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

BTW

punt return defense
Stanford 7.15 #53
Sparty 7.25 #55

kickoff return defense
Stanford 18.12 #11
Sparty 20.95 #60

kickoff returns
Stanford 27.79 #1
Sparty 19.17 #99

punt returns
Stanford 8.94 #52
Sparty 10.06 #41

If the discussion is starting field position a good special teams stat to reference would be Mike Sadler's 22 punts downed inside the 10 yard line, good for first in the nation.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

BTW, I'm not a big stats guy myself, but here's a good break down of special teams for both squads (taken from a Stanford message board):

http://thecardboard.org/board/index.php ... 307fc41cb1

Would seem pretty even to me across the board, with perhaps a slight lean to Stanford.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

What most people don't realize is that Stanford, while mostly a running team, will go deep when the safeties start cheating close to the line. I don't know where to find this stat but I heard it on TV somewhere in the past couple of weeks that Hogan was at or near the top of the FBS in completion percentage on passes over 20 yards. Could have changed since I heard it but I wasn't that surprised. Watch out not just for Ty Montgomery but also Cajuste (21.9 avg on 27 catches) and Rector (32.3 avg on 12 catches). As a team, #12 in yards per completion at 14.6.

Just know one thing. Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water...the other third is covered by Darqueze Dennard.

That's going to be a fun battle to watch, Montgomery vs Dennard.

[Mikey]

Nice summary of special teams. Both teams are excellent and obviously stress that it is an important part of the game.

Dennard may be able to cover one third of the earth but he can't cover three receivers at the same time. Montgomery is the go-to guy but has also had some games where he seems to have developed stone hands. On the other hand, the other two guys with higher ypc numbers are often covered by the #2 corner or a safety.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Dennard may be able to cover one third of the earth but he can't cover three receivers at the same time.

Well, it's not like the rest of the secondary is chopped liver. MSU is 2nd in the country in pass efficiency defense. Waynes, the other CB, has been excellent all year but gets overshadowed by Dennard, who gets all the press. Kurtis Drummond at FS is a first-team All Big Ten guy. Isaiah Lewis is a four-year starter and All Big Ten guy throughout his career.

I know Stanford's WRs are very talented. Should be a great battle of strength vs strength.

[Mikey]

Still no indication why Bullough was suspended. What do you think could be that serious? Drug violation, DUI, assault charge?

That really sucks, because you want to see both teams at full strength. Stanford lost their best defensive lineman a couple of weeks ago but that was to injury. This would be like Stanford losing Shane Skov.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

No idea, the coaches keep this stuff in-house. My guess would be something alcohol related. This is a kid who's a two-time academic all-american and one of the team captains, so he's not your average knucklehead. Just a weird situation.

[Dinsdale]

Maybe he wizzed off a balcony.

Wait, he's a good player... nevermind.

[Shoalzie]

If the discussion is starting field position a good special teams stat to reference would be Mike Sadler's 22 punts downed inside the 10 yard line, good for first in the nation.

Yeah...that's what I was getting at. Bad enough you have to move the ball on a tough defense like State but they make you go 80 or 90 yards off a punt.

Am I really going to bat for State in a big game? Ewww...

[Dinsdale]

Nice summary of special teams. Both teams are excellent and obviously stress that it is an important part of the game.

Dennard may be able to cover one third of the earth but he can't cover three receivers at the same time. Montgomery is the go-to guy but has also had some games where he seems to have developed stone hands. On the other hand, the other two guys with higher ypc numbers are often covered by the #2 corner or a safety.

Stanford's passing game was abysmal against Oregon. But Oregon has an excellent secondary, and frankly, the way the running game played out, they didn't need a passing game.

Furd is at its best when Gaffney is ramming it down the opponent's throat... which they will. And when Sparty puts 9 or 10 in the box to stop it, Hogan may or may not burn them deep, depending on which Hogan shows up. He doesn't really commit himself to any particular skill level.

[Mikey]

He doesn't really commit himself to any particular skill level.

Yep. He can be on one week and horrible the next. Hopefully he had his off week this week so that "on" will be the rotation next week.

[Dinsdale]

Gaffney's a really impressive runner.

Yes, yes he is. Better than his predecessor (who plays on Sundays), not sure about his predecessor's predecessor (who plays on Sundays).

Damn, they've been almost as spoiled at RB as Oregon has in recent years.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Furd is at its best when Gaffney is ramming it down the opponent's throat... which they will. And when Sparty puts 9 or 10 in the box to stop it, Hogan may or may not burn them deep, depending on which Hogan shows up. He doesn't really commit himself to any particular skill level.

Cause and effect. If Hogan "doesn't show up" that could very well be because MSU's defense doesn't allow it. He isn't gonna have wide open receivers, so he'll have to drop pin-point dimes. If he does that, I'll tip my hat to him.

Re: Gaffney

I'm not overly concerned with this guy, I'm more concerned with Stanford's road graders. And will MSU's backup MLB be able to shed blocks. He's quite a bit smaller than Bullough. But Gaffney imo isn't a guy that will create a lot of yards on his own against MSU's front 7. Stanford is very good at what they do, but after facing Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde -- two elite runners you have to account for out of the backfield who like to spread you out -- I'm sure MSU's defense will relish getting back to playing inside a phone booth. That's the style they're tailor made to defend. Stanford probably feels the same way...which is what makes this a great match up.

[Dinsdale]

Fair enough, but your analysis has a big flaw -- Gaffney is one of the road-graders.

And Furd will spread it out when you least expect it.

[Mikey]

I don't have any stats for it but Gaffney is one of the very best I've seen at picking up yards after contact. Very strong, and instinctive smarts about which way to go once hit. You almost never see him go down on the first contact.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Projected fan turnout:

[Carson]

Swap the green for blue and that's probably what the MNC game will look like, too.

[Mikey]

Props to Sparty for getting over on dumb fuck gullible crackers.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

Sparty > Smarty

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow ... z2oukuZdYt

[Mikey]

I guess you're too dumb to know when you've been duped.

Funny how that graphic isn't available any more on sbnation where it originated.

[Mikey]

Forgive me if I don't have Stanford news coming up 24/7 here...

Don't have it here either. And I don't follow the message boards. :P

However, when I see a graphic or data that has an immediate bouquet of bullshit I usually try and figure out why. It's called "intellectual curiosity", something that obviously hasn't permeated yet anywhere south of the Mason Dixon Line. :wink:

It took me about three minutes to find that I couldn't find it on sbnation. And after that, even the discussion on the MSU board was that it was probably bogus. :doh:


LOL here's a more recent update from "rateyourseats":


I guess nobody's actually coming from MSU.
Where's the now??

BTW...won't matter anyway when Stanford beats Spurty like a red headed stepchild.

[Mikey]

This site works great!!
Note the huge self-reporting sample size.

I guess everybody's sitting in section 27 :doh:




http://www.rateyourseats.com/fantrack.p ... -bowl-2014

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

There should be more green than red, but it won't be as bad as that graphic indicates. The stadium will look nice and festive.