Biggest Fat Guy TD Ever in Baylor Bowl Game

((ht: espn.com))

We've not yet as of this writing seen the winner of the Baylor/Michigan State Cotton Bowl game, but after this highlight, we aren't sure it will really matter.

With 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter: 6-7, 390 pound LaQuan McGowan got the thrill of a lifetime. He lined up as an eligible receiver and caught a pass from Baylor QB Bryce Petty. McGowan got the ball around the 10 yard line and rambled in.

We aren't sure if the Michigan State guys didn't want to mess with someone that big or if they were too stunned to see a kid that large catch a TD pass.

Either way, the TD stretched the Baylor lead to 41-34...

Video proof from ESPN.com:

Morning Wrap: Ohio State Runs Away from Michigan State

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So goes the thought of the Michigan State playoff run.

The Ohio State Buckeyes behind 3 passing and 2 running TD's by rising star QB J.T Barrett took care of business Saturday night, pounding the Spartans 49-37.

The game may have been a Big 10 playoff game. The winner has smooth sailing to the Big 10 title game and a likely College Football playoff berth.

Barrett was without a doubt the best player on the field. He's gotten better each week. The 300-yards passing and 86 rushing yards were impressive, but the 35-points he accounted for were by far the most impressive stat.

The performance still doesn't explain how tOSU managed to lose to a crappy Virginia Tech team at home, but it all but erases the memory for most. There is still a game at scrappy Minnesota and the rivalry game with mediocre Michigan in Columbus, but the path has become a lot easier for Urban Meyer's team.

Let's see if they can avoid any hiccups.

Your highlights from ESPN.com:

Things You Can't Unsee: Tom Izzo in Full KISS Makeup

((ht: btn.com))

Okay, so it appears this year, College Basketball coaches around America are trying to one up each other.

Quite honestly, we didn't think anything could top Tubby Smith, dressed as Shaft, driving into the Texas Tech gym on a motorcycle and then wiping out could be topped.

But we may have been wrong.

Check out Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo.

Not only did he have KISS in the house to rock and roll all night, he actually dressed up with them and performed, albeit with an accordion...

Tom Izzo's best Midnight Madness performance yet? Watch the @MSU_Basketball coach make a KISS-inspired entrance! http://t.co/SxXAfw0DO4
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 25, 2014

When Was The Last Time You Saw This Penalty...???

((HT: BTN))

First, just watch the play in the Eastern Michigan- Michigan State game...


When had you seen that one before today...???

Yep... a long time ago...

Eastern Michigan center Dwayne Brown committed the infraction (so you can attach a name to a face) in the MSU-EMU game where the Spartans win 73-14

ICYMI: Penn State Baseball: Two Triple Plays in One Game

No really, this happened.

Not once...but twice. In the same game.

Check out the video from Friday's Penn State/Michigan State baseball game. It's not often you see a triple play in a baseball game. But in this game it happened twice.

In the 4th and in the 8th inning, a Michigan State hitter came to the plate with runners on and lined out. The baserunners, thinking the ball was going to go through, were on the move.

The rest is, well, video history. Though we should note, the pair of triple plays did not set, only tied an NCAA record

We should also add, despite the baserunning blunders, Michigan State still won the game, which was the 1st game of a doubleheader, 4-2. For whatever that's worth.

Ha!

Here's your highlights from GoPSUTV:

MSU Holds Vigil For "Princess Lacey"

((HT: WLNS-TV))

It started with an idea among students... going to paint the rock in memory of Lacey Holsworth on the Michigan State University campus. Her memorial service is set for the 17th in Lansing and she will be remembered for her impact in touching others while she fought cancer.

Surprising no one, really, Spartans head coach Tom Izzo and some players showed their support to the MSU student body by spending time at the impromptu ceremony.
WLNS TV 6 Lansing - Jackson | Your Local News Leader

Does Sparty Get Excited About National TV...??? YES! YES! YES!

Okay, the HQ will stipulate that occasionally we're a mark for good wrestling...

It comes today in more fits and spurts than it did in our impressionable years, but sometimes they can catch lightning in a bottle... and they seem to have done that with Daniel Bryan...

The little engine that could is near the top of the card and can have the crowd in the palm of his hand because of a simple three letter word these days...

Evidence below... although it is a bit stunted because it was a hometown crowd...
((HT: WWE))


So, last night at the Breslin Center on the Michigan State campus, the football team's center, Travis Jackson, allowed for the cheapest pop in that place in a long time during half time of the Ohio State game. The football Spartans were being honored for their Rose Bowl win...

What followed was gold...
((HT: ESPN))


How awesome is THAT...???!!!

Sparty Upsets The BCS Plan In Defeating Ohio State 34-24, Wins Big 10 Title

All you Ohio State haters got the result you wanted Saturday in the Big 10 Championship Game.

Michigan State pulled it off with a 34-24 win over the Buckeyes and thus ending the nations longest winning streak at 24 games.

Are they rolling the trees at Toomers Corner in Auburn celebrating Michigan State's win over Ohio State?  That win may have put Auburn in the BCS Championship Game.

It took a nine yard touchdown pass from Conner Cook to Josiah Price to put Michigan State up for good.

Thanks Big Ten Network/Fox Sports


Late in the game the Spartans Jeremy Langford's 26 yard touchdown run was the icing on the cake.

Thanks Big Ten Network/Fox Sports



 "Our players, I'm so happy for them."  Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said.  "They made a lifetime moment tonight for all of us - all of us had that moment, our fans, our players. It will be a moment that we'll never forget."



Michigan State is headed to Pasadena, California to play in the Rose Bowl.

A win over Michigan State and Ohio State would be playing Florida State in Pasadena in the BCS Championship Game.  Now the Buckeyes are in limbo.

"You know it's going to haunt all of us, I imagine, for a little while," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. "But that's part of the game."

“I’m just at a loss for words." Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier said. "I haven’t lost in a while and it kind of hurts. We worked so hard and it just slipped out of our hands. We’ve just got to keep working and try to get ready for the next game.”

Michigan State is now 12-1, it's first 12 win season in school history.  

Ohio State falls to 12-1 and might have nothing to show for it.

Tom Izzo In a Cannon? Or Is He?

((ht: michigan state))

Okay, this was pretty good. And the deception may have worked had Michigan State coach Tom Izzo not given it away at the end.

Check out the kickoff to Michigan State's "Midnight Madness", 1st "official" basketball practice of the upcoming season.

The video shows the legendary MSU coach beginning his day of preparations before building up to the beginning of Friday night/Saturday mornings event.

That's when Izzo appears to crawl into a cannon before being shot and launched into a net set up on the court. The "person" dressed as Izzo then does a neat front flip off the net before being surrounded by the cheerleaders....then Izzo emerges.

He thanks everyone for coming and then introduces the raucous crowd and proceeds to give away the gag. It happens at about the 4 minute mark.

Bravo for the creativity, though we wish they stayed with the joke at least until the next day.

Kill Suffers Another Seizure At Halftime Of MSU Game

((HT: BTN))

Minnesota Gophers coach Jerry Kill suffered a seizure at halftime of the Gophers' 26-10 loss to Michigan State but was not taken to the hospital. This is the second time he has suffered a seizure this season in a game situation- the first back in October in the game against Northwestern.

Kill was attended to by the team's medical staff and, according to Dawn Mitchell at MyFoxTwinCities and her Twitter, the coach's vital signs are good and he will be resting at home this evening.

He has suffered from seizures for the better part of the past two decades as a by-product of his fighting cancer.

Kill has never missed an entire game because of his seizures or their treatment, but he has had them on game days dating back over a decade to his time at Northern Illinois.

Here's Leveon Bell running for a touchdown in the 26-10 win over Minnesota


Bell finished with 266 yards on the ground as both teams finished 6-6

A Night Of Screwjobs: Violence Out Of The Question

First was the thought that Wisconsin sent their game with Michigan State into double overtime, but they didn't...

Upon review... here's David Kmiecik...
((HT: NBC15 Madison))


But violence is out of the question for Ryan...
((HT: shipjumper99))


And Virginia Tech had a lot of confidence pools messed up with their overtime reversal... thanks, New Orleans...
((HT: ESPN on ABC/mgovideo))


With the appropriate amount of Beamer postgame...
((HT: mgodisney))


What say you...???

Monday late Bowl games: Kickers gag and Kickers win

Because we know that you want to know what happened in the rest of Monday's bowl games.

They were decided by kickers.

Well, actually the Rose Bowl wasn't...

First: Georgia gags, Spartans win...in 3 overtimes.

The Georgia Bulldogs raced out to a 16-point lead in the first half before Michigan State knew what hit them. Brandon Boykin single handedly running away from the Spartans, causing a safety on Michigan State's 1st play, returning a punt 92-yards for a TD and later, in the 4th quarter, catching a TD pass.

They must have figured it out at halftime because they came back, scored late bringing the 2012 Outback Bowl to overtime tied...at 27.

The first overtime could have done it. Georgia's Baccari Rambo intercepted a Kirk Cousins pass, the Bulldogs ran 1 play before setting up for a potential game-winner from kicker Blair Walsh.

Walsh missed.

After overtime 2 gave us back-to-back field goals, Michigan State led off OT-3 with a 28-yard Dan Conroy kick. Georgia got the ball back, lost 4 yards in 2 plays and trotted Walsh out to try a 47-yarder, well within his range.

It was blocked.

Game over, Michigan State wins 33-30.

All we were able to find...that we could embed were some Michigan State end of the game highlights.

So dig it:



And then there was the Grandaddy of them all...or the game that ESPN has bought every aspect of. The Rose Bowl featured Oregon and Wisconsin and had the clock not run out, we are pretty sure they'd still be scoring.

Oregon won 45-38, they had 621 total yards, but didn't seal the deal until late in the 4th quarter, when Wisconsin WR Jared Abbrederis fumbled the ball after making a catch near the sidelines.

Well, actually they didn't seal it until Wisconsin tried spiking the ball after time expired...but you get what we are saying...don't you?

KVAL-TV in Eugene, Oregon gives us the team coverage..and eventually the highlights:



And lastly, the BCS consolation game, the Fiesta Bowl, featuring Stanford and Oklahoma State.

And again, it was a shootout. Andrew Luck of Stanford vs. Brandon Weeden of Okie State. The advantage went to the Cowboys, but it was close.

We also want to mention this stat: Okie State averaged 97.4 seconds on each of it's TD drives (thanks Andy Staples of SI for pointing this out).

The Cowboys get the win after Stanford kicker Jordan Williamson missed a chip-shot field goal at the end of the game and again in the 1st overtime. Oklahoma State kicker Quinn Sharp, he didn't miss his chance as the Cowboys win 41-38 in OT.

There were tons of arguments Oklahoma State should have been facing LSU instead of Alabama. We don't dispute them. Though we will say as much as we'd like to have seen that, we question if Oklahoma State could stop anyone.

But that is a debate for another day.

News9 in Oklahoma gives us the recap:

Tar Heels And Spartans To Play On An Aircraft Carrier, USS Carl Vinson

Its a first for college basketball. North Carolina and Michigan State play Friday on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

Here's North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, sophomore forward Harrison Barnes and junior forward Jon Henson on the game. (Thanks Fox Sports South)



Here's Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo on the game. (Thanks MSUSpartanAthletics)



Michigan State gets a tour of the USS Carl Vison. (Thanks MSUSpartanAthletics)

The Dirty Dozen and Bottom of the Barrel: I want you to want me

So....we had a couple of upsets last week. You know, if you go back and look at last weeks column, you'll see that a certain someone predicted the Michigan State win...though not the way they won it.

The beauty of college football is that things have a way of equaling out...at least for now. Teams that start undefeated early don't usually finish that way. And you know, despite all of the "Galactic Realignment" stuff, the better teams tend to separate from the field over the course of late October and early November.

In today's clip, our heroes are working hard at their secluded training facility. Much like LSU and Alabama who are playing for the Championship of the Known Universe next week:



Last week: 13-3..who knew Memphis and UAB would win. Overall: 75-15. Not bad, but we don't pick the spread, we don't agree with doing that.

Let's have Casey take us to the countdown:



The Dirty Dozen:


1) LSU 8-0. They flat out annihilated Auburn last week. The hype for the Alabama game has already started. LSU stays in the #1 slot, because they've still played a better schedule. And though the Mad Hatter says the Honey Badger and others weren't "Suspended", it doesn't matter, they'll be back. This Week: BYE

2) Alabama 8-0. We are pretty sure the College Football world will take pause while the game with LSU is played. In fact, we dare say the entire sporting world may pause for this one. Bama struggled..a bit with Tennessee and raised a few questions for the "Game of the Millenium". This Week: BYE


3) Stanford 7-0. The BCS computers are a pathetic joke. This may be the most underrated team in the country. Nobody in the "Semi-Pac 12" has been able to compete with them. And they won't, though this week will be a test. This Week: at USC. Our Pick: Stanford 31, Southern Cal 23


4) Boise St. 7-0. They just keep rollin, rollin, rollin. Air Force put up a good fight, but were still out of their league. We still see no reason this team should lose, they just have to watch everyone in front of them do it. This Week: BYE


5) Clemson 8-0. The fact they haven't choked yet is impressive. And they've scored 56 and 59 points in successive weeks..in conference games. The biggest hurdle of the season comes this week on the road, we will see if they are up to the task. Still feeling like they'll blow a game though. Just our 2-cents. This Week: at Georgia Tech. Our Pick: Clemson 48, Ga. Tech 41


6) Oklahoma State 7-0. We may be the only ones who don't believe in the Fighting Gundy's. The BCS computers love them. But, they still give up too many points. And if they lose Justin Blackmon, they will struggle against a good team. This Week: vs. Baylor. Our Pick: Okie St. 43, Baylor 38. 


7) Oregon 6-1. To their credit, the injury bug hasn't slowed them down..much. And they have time to get healthy. We still don't see them as a threat to any of the teams ahead of them though. This Week: vs. Washington State. Our Pick: Oregon 43, Wash. St. 21


8) Arkansas 6-1. Not totally sold on the Petrino's here either. They really struggled last week with a plucky Ole Miss team. They've been good, not great, though they are better than anyone in the SEC East. This Week: at Vanderbilt. Our Pick: Arkansas 31, Vandy 23


9) Oklahoma 6-1. They must have entered an alternate universe last week. The fold against Texas Tech is inexplicable. No other words can describe it. The "D" is struggling with injuries, that might be the explanation. This Week: at Kansas State. Our Pick: Oklahoma 43, K-State 31


10) Kansas St. 7-0. Yes, another Big 12/10 team. The writers and experts think the 12 is "Awesome", we think there is no "D" in Big 12. Reality is about to set in for these guys, though with coach Bill Snyder, they are a good story. This Week: SEE ABOVE


11) Michigan State 6-1. Well...they got lucky. We figured they'd be up to the task vs. Wisconsin. Despite almost blowing it, they got a break. Good for them. It won't last. Traditionally they gag after a big win and we think this year will be no exception. This Week: at Nebraska. Our Pick: Nebraska 30, Mich. St. 23 UPSET


12) Houston 7-0. They get in by virtue of being undefeated. And Case Keenum setting all kinds of records last week. Sure, the play in C-USA, but they haven't lost. You have to respect that. This Week: vs. Rice. Our Pick: Houston 52, Rice 17


**BONUS PICK*** Florida vs. Georgia--Georgia is better, but they are often better and still lose. This year the Bulldogs are schizophrenic if nothing else and Florida is still looking for an identity. We don't feel totally confident in this pick, but we'll go with it. Our Pick: Georgia 24, Florida 21.


**AND YES, THE #1 Team in 1-AA is still my alma mater--Georgia Southern. We play App State this week, I hope we win, but won't pick it.


The Bottom of the Barrel: 


5) Indiana 1-7. Think about this. Between these guys and the Colts, they have 1 win combined. The Hoosiers beat South Carolina State. Big whoop. They are a prime reason why we hate the Big 10. Hope Kevin Wilson has his resume updated. This Week: vs. Northwestern. Our Pick: Northwestern 43, Indiana 20.


4) Akron 1-6. The home of LeBron James. We wonder if Northern Ohio is just the home of bad sports teams or there is a Lake Erie curse or some other explanation. Either way, the Zips aren't feeling very zippy this year. This Week: vs. Central Michigan. Our Pick: Central Michigan 33, Akron 21.


3) Minnesota 1-6. Somehow, Coach Jerry Kill got a 7-year contract extension this week. Granted he hasn't had much to work with, but this is some really bad football. Combined with Indiana, they add to the argument that the Big 10 sucks...badly. This Week: vs. Iowa. Our Pick: Iowa 112, Minnesota 17. 


2) Florida Atlantic 0-7. Arguably the worst team ever in College Football. Thank god they don't play New Mexico. And that is the only reason they aren't #1 in this part of the poll. Poor Howard Schnellenberger. He's retiring on this...geez. This Week: BYE. Our Pick: BYE 48, FAU 10. 


1) New Mexico 0-7. They were competitive opening day. They haven't even been close since. And no, we don't count they close loss to 1-AA Sam Houston State. This is just painfully bad football. There is hope without Mike Locksley around, but it is several years away. This Week: vs. Air Force. Our Pick: Air Force 43, New Mexico 10. NOTHING CAN STOP THE U.S AIR FORCE!!!

Michigan State says their "Hail Mary's"

What a play.

In the end, it will go down as one of the greatest "Hail Mary" plays in College Football history. The play, made as the clock struck zero, brought Michigan State a hard-fought win over 6th ranked Wisconsin.

It wasn't a "For-Sure" thing until the replay official overturned the call on the field. The call, on a 44-yard Kirk Cousins pass that bounced off of B.J Cunningham's facemask and into the waiting arms of Keith Nichol.

If you look at the video, Nichol, lunges over the goal line before being wrestled back. The official initially called him down at the 1-foot line. The play went to the replay official, who overturned it and set off the party in East Lansing.

For those saying, "Get to the video", we hear you. So take a look...and lets hope it doesn't get pulled.