Thoughts on B10 Championship Game: Eliteness Has Arrived!

Folks, why did I start blogging about MSU football a few years ago? Why do I blog even though I barely have enough time to clip my toenails these days? It's because of moments like this! I started this blog because I saw where this program was headed and I was upset that MSU did not have a network of football blogs as extensive as it deserved. Well, I decided to whatever I could to help, and today, I'm glad I stuck with it.

Folks, this is the biggest victory since the 1988 Rose Bowl win. This victory was the most impressive I've ever witnessed. MSU just beat what seemed like an unstoppable Ohio State team, with overwhelming talent. For about 2 quarters, I even started to feel like MSU just could not compete with that overwhelming talent. But then MSU's stars started to fight back and they asserted their dominance for most of the fourth quarter. Just an unbelievable performance.

Folks, we are blessed. We have an elite coaching staff, that recruits and develops amazing talent. Now, all we can hope is that the right steps are made to ensure that this program stays on top for many years to come. Of course, that will involve some luck. But more on that later. Here are some thoughts on the game itself.

Offense

Connor Cook had his best game of the season. He's going to be a Heisman candidate next year. The receivers and tight ends dropped a couple, but overall they were excellent, and made several big plays. The receivers and tight ends should be elite next year. Langford was bottled up most of the game, but I love how tough he ran in the second half and once again he broke a long one to seal the victory. The o-line had their struggles, but they seemed to take over in the fourth quarter.

Defense

I was actually a little afraid that the defense would get exposed by Ohio State's explosive offense, and for a while they did. But especially in the fourth quarter, this defense stuffed an overwhelmingly talented offense. What an astonishing achievement.

Special teams

They played an incredibly clean game. Geiger hit his field goal attempts, Sadler only had the one punt partially blocked, and Kings and Shelton made some nice returns.

Coaches

There were a few calls I disagreed with: the blitz at the end of the first half that contributed to a long pass that set up OSU's field goal, too many run plays that didn't take OSU's defensive speed into account (especially Shazier's). But folks, that's just nitpicking. This coaching staff is elite and they deserve credit for a remarkable achievement.

Upshot

It's safe to say that MSU is now an elite football program that really should be playing for a national title. The pass interference calls against Notre Dame really ruined the prediction I made a couple of years ago that Dantonio could win the national championship this year. Oh well, at least MSU could still end up ranked number 2 in the country, if they can beat Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

As for long term implications, I expect this victory to give MSU momentum on the recruiting trail. We should see MSU start to win more recruiting battles than ever before.