What a Weekend

Well, Spartan Fans (all....1 or 2 of us on this blog) are thrilled. State's 28-17 win over Bowling Green makes us all feel pretty good about our prospects of going into the Big 10 part of the season with 3 wins under our belts.

Of course, a good Sparty is nervous about the Pitt game next week and remembers what last year's season looked like when we went into the Big 10 season with 3 wins under our belt. That's about all we got.

For the most part, Hoyer was shaky. He blew lots of passes and I think 2 interceptions. He didn't find his mark much. Ringer and Caulcrick, though, each had excellent games, and the Receivers tried hard to make difficult catches. State's defense, primarily their secondary, looked way off in the first half. Bowling Green ran some very basic routes with their recievers and stuck the Spartan defense almost every time with a 1st down. It wasn't until the second half that the Spartan defense figured it out.

A side note: I loved the movie "300." Had a lot of fun watching it. But every time Bowling Green was at a third down...every damn time, they played that brief clip where King Leonidas screams "SPARTANS!!! WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION!!!" followed by a gutteral war chant. Cool in the movie. Very motiovating. Drove home a point. But 900 times in one game at Spartan stadium? Tedious. Done to death. Find a new clip or move on. Like when they start the game, and the team runs onto the field, they should show that clip where King Leonidas screams (notice a pattern) "TONIGHT!! WE DINE IN HELL!!!!" See? Once. At the beginning of the game, when they take the field. I'd be motivated. I digress...

So, a few bugs to work out, especially in the secondary, and the Spartans could actually stare a winning season in the face.

But I am a Spartan fan, so my expectations are lowered.

Speaking of lowered expectations, will one of the Wolverines in the house explain to me what happened? Is it frustration? Injury? I mean, Henne hurt and Hart kinda hurt has to lower the chances for success, but is Oregon better than expected or is U of M just frustrated and over-playing?

Did I conceal my joy well enough?

And finally, the Lions. What?? 36-21! They won! I am thrilled! And now I am in that same place that Lions fans get into every year: this is our year to be good. To have a winning season. To make the playoffs. And that little voice in the back of your head is screaming at you to settle down and wait for the next game.

It started great...a 17-point lead. Then, typically, they blew it to a 1-point deficit. Great. I thought, here it goes again. But then....they got it back! The offense, the new, much-vaunted offense, looked the way it was supposed to look! All these great new picks we got...worked!

Let's not forget that Kitna boasted we'd get 10 wins this year. We'll see. The Lions' D looked like the Sparty D; a little shaky and forcing the offense to score to stay ahead rather than being good enough to just...stay ahead with what you've already got. That worked against an opponent like the Raiders. But will it keep working?

Just like State: the screw-ups are easily overcome by smaller, weaker teams. But come the Big 10, will it stand up?