Oct 28, 2010

(EDITOR'S NOTE: 'THE HANGOVER' EDITION OF TCFA WILL BE POSTED BY NOON ON MONDAY.)

It says quite a bit about Michigan State football that the program’s greatest achievement is a tie.

On Nov. 19, 1966, the No. 2-ranked Spartans welcomed top-ranked Notre Dame to East Lansing for a game that figured to be, well, decisive. The high-flying Irish were coached by the great Ara Parseghian and boasted the talents of Heisman-contending quarterback Terry Hanratty. The Spartans, for their part, were led by Duffy Dougherty, the greatest coach they would ever have, and featured a vicious defensive front that included a guy by the name of Bubba Smith.

This game was among the first showdowns to carry that dreaded “Game of the Century” label, but unlike most other "Games of the Century," this one actually lived up to its billing.

Right up until the end, that is.

Because after four quarters of Vicious And Old-Timey Midwestern Beatdown Football, with time running out and a national title on the line, Parseghian … played for the tie. Not for the win. [Editor's Note: weak]

Parseghian got what he wanted. The game finished deadlocked at 10-10.

The Irish would go on to claim a national title that season, and the Spartans would, too. It was a relatively empty national title for the Spartans, however, seeing as the very highlight of the year was that completely disappointing result against the Irish, and while Spartan Nation surely and deservedly celebrated that championship, you have to figure that in the back of their minds they were also thinking, “The next one will feel better.”

***

Of course, there hasn’t been a “next one. “

Which is no surprise, of course, because as anyone who has an even middling interest in college football knows, Michigan State football post-Duffy Dougherty has been—how to put this nicely?—a disaster.

Not a Duke-like disaster, of course.

Not a Temple-like disaster.

But a disaster nonetheless—and a disaster, it should be noted, unlike any other disaster on the college football landscape.

Let me explain. See, Michigan State has not been bad post-Duffy Dougherty. For the most part, in fact, they’ve been fairly competitive. But they’ve also been maddening. Inconsistent. Schizophrenic.

So maddening, inconsistent and schizophrenic, in fact, that over the past half-century it is safe to say that Michigan State has tortured its fan base like no other program in the nation (save maybe Clemson) has tortured its fan base. It is now a cliché, and it is probably a gross overgeneralization, but I’m going to go ahead and say this anyway: For the entirety of my college football life, the basic overarching story up in East Lansing has never really changed.

It basically goes like this: The Spartans look good on paper. The Spartans start out strong. The Spartans score a huge win—over Michigan, or Notre Dame, or Iowa. The Spartans convince their fans that “this year is different.”

And then the Spartans implode, often in spectacular fashion, leaving their fans to wonder: “Why did we get our hopes up?" Or maybe: "Why didn’t I go to Ohio State?”

Which is why the enduring image of modern-day Michigan State football is not an image of Lorenzo White bulldozing his way to the end-zone, or of Desmond Howard begging (without success) for a pass interference flag back in 1990, or of Plaxico Buresss making Big Ten cornerbacks look foolish in the late 1990s.

No, the enduring image of modern-day Michigan State football is, instead, John L. Smith slapping himself.

At the podium.

During an official University press conference.

After another humbling, horrible loss.

***

For context, you should understand that this is not the way things had to turn out for Michigan State. Not at all.

Fact is, from 1929 through 1972—that’s a healthy chunk of college football’s golden era right there, folks—the Spartans were good. Really, really good.

Starting with coach James Crowley (1929-32) and right on through Dougherty (1954-72), the Spartans were among the most successful teams in the nation. Crowley’s winning percentage was .712., Charlie Bachman followed him with a .658 mark and  Biggie Munn was a dominant .846. Then came Dougherty, who won two national titles and managed a mark of .609 during his run—"managed," I say, because it was quite clear by the end of his tenure that something was changing, and changing for the worse, up in East Lansing (insert played-out arguments regarding the flight of talent to the South due to Rust Belt economics here).

In the years after Dougherty departed, eight coaches held the top job at Michigan State. None of them approached Dougherty’s .609 winning percentage. Some of them did much, much worse. A guy by the name of Muddy Waters went 10-23 between 1980-82. He was replaced by George Perles, who did a fine job, and was much celebrated, but when you look at the numbers, it’s hard to figure out why. The reality is that Perles barely finished .500 in his Sparty career. His mark in East Lansing was 68-67.

Then came Nick Saban, who went 34-24, but really only had one decent season.

Bobby Williams went 15-17.

And then John L. Smith went 22-26. And slapped himself on the podium. During a press conference.

It just got worse and worse and worse, and a fan base that had over a period of about four decades grown awfully accustomed to winning endured a whole lot of losing.

But it wasn’t just that the Spartans lost. It was the way they lost—that they lost in the most heartbreakingly stupid ways possible. Turnovers. Horribly timed penalties. Coaching blunders. And, of course, epic collapses—the kinds of collapses that linger with you for years and years and years after the final whistle blows.

Collapses like the collapse against Notre Dame in 2006.

A quick recap: In that memorable showdown, the Spartans jumped out to a 17-0 lead over the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish. At home. They were still up by 16 points entering the fourth quarter.

The Spartans were rolling.

They looked unstoppable.

Visions of big-time bowl glory were dancing through their heads.

And then?

Well, then they put together the most spectacular choke-job in recent college football history.

The final? Notre Dame 40, Michigan State 37.

The loss effectively sealed Smith’s fate. It also could have killed the program. Because it quite clearly almost killed some of their fans.

Then Mark Dantonio arrived.

***

Dantonio’s record with Sparty currently sits at an impressive 24-10. His 2010 Spartans are … 8-0 (let that sink in for a moment). It is still early, yes, but the fact is, this guy is the program’s most successful coach since (yep) Dougherty.

Methodically and with laser-focus, Dantonio has put out the fires left smoldering by the John L. Smith era. And slowly but surely, he’s also gone about the business of rebuilding Michigan State football into what it was—what it was, to be exact, Before The Fall. Before John L. Smith. Before Notre Dame ’06.

You get the sense that Dantonio is fully confident his program can get there—that the Spartans can reclaim their Dougherty-era dominance. You get the sense that Dantonio a true believer.

And you know what? A true believer—somebody completely unencumbered by the recent failures—is pretty much exactly what this program needed.

After four decades of suffering and misery and defeat and disappointment, you can be certain that just about everyone inside the Michigan State program—fans, players, alumni, administrators, media—had come to accept that Michigan State would always be the Michigan State of the modern era—the bumbling, stumbling joke of a program that could be counted on to entertain us all with their ridiculous and all-too-predictable failures.

But Dantonio? He brought a fresh perspective.

An outsider’s perspective.

A winner’s perspective.

It’s a perspective that’s paying off, in historic ways, for the Michigan State football family.

Can Dantonio keep this up? Honestly, I don’t know. Will he lead the Spartans to a national title this season? No, probably not. Will he be able to keep the Spartans in the heat of the Big Ten race, year after year, even after Nebraska joins next season? Well, I have my doubts.

But focusing on the here-and-now, there is no denying the enormity of what Dantonio has accomplished so far.

Because the reality is that this guy has literally changed the course of football history in the state of Michigan. He’s saved a program that had been headed for (or, depending on your perspective, stranded on) the rocks. He’s erased forty years of misery.

Simply, he’s made Michigan State into Michigan State again.

Not the Michigan State you thought you knew.

But rather, the Michigan State that was—and could be again.

out and about: news and notes you may have missed

• The Evan Royster Saga is getting depressing. Royster, who entered the 2010 season needing just 481 yards to become Penn State’s all–time leading rusher, has endured what can only be described as A Horrifically Awful Senior Year. After rushing for 1,236 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2008, then following that up with 1,169 yards and six touchdowns in 2009, Royster has managed just 450 yards and two touchdowns through seven games here in 2010. This was a guy who, by some accounts, could have been a second- or third-round draft pick in last year’s NFL (snore) Draft (snore). This was a guy whose name was being bandied about among the 2010 Suzuki Heisman candidates. This was a guy who was expected to carry this 2010 Nits squad to "at least" eitght or nine wins. Well, here's an update on how that's all turned out: Royster will now more than likely go undrafted. He has fallen completely off the Suzuki Heisman radar And he has done almost nothing to help this Generally Boring Bunch Of Lions accomplish anything of note this season. Fans have soured on Royster (most would like to see him benched in favor of freshman Silas Redd) and it appears that Saint Joe Paterno has, too (asked this week what Royster has meant to the program, Paterno responded with exactly one sentence: "I think he's done a good job."). Oh, and that rushing record? He still doesn’t have it (Curt Warner does). And Royster is getting tired of talking about it. As he said this week: “I just want to stop hearing about it and have it behind me and kind of move on." We all want the exact same thing, Evan.

• Without question, one of the most entertaining stories of the 2010 college football season has been the fall of the Florida Gators: Their inability to move the ball; their inability to beat Mississippi State (at home); their inability to recruit and/or develop a legitimate tailback; and, of course, the inability of their fans to admit the one thing that is so glaringly obvious to everyone else in College Football Nation. That one thing being this: That the Gators are 4-4 not because of bad “schemes” or because of the ineptness of offensive coordinator Steve Addazio or because “the SEC is so tough," but rather that the Gators are 4-4 because (wait for it) ... they don’t have enough good players to be 5-3. Or 6-2. Or 7-1. Facts are facts, and the facts from here in The Beautiful Wissahickon Valley appear to be as follows: Florida is not good this year because Florida lacks talent. It’s the same reason that Texas isn’t good. It’s the same reason Notre Dame isn’t good. It’s the same reason Penn State isn’t good. See, folks, the way it works is like this: If you have good players, you win. If you don’t, you don’t. Of course, nobody likes to live in The Boring Old World Or Reality, and so the Gators must come up with some alternative reason for their struggles (nobody likes to admit that they lack talent). They found that reason this week. And it is (wait for it) ... “a lack of execution.” Of course! Explained Gators center Mike Pouncey: “You practice like you play. It’s something that we’ve been trying to key on this last week—executing a lot better … and finishing.” Dear Mike Pouncey: Even if you execute perfectly, you will not win many games, because you and your teammates lack talent.

quick hits: straight and to the point

• TCFA extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of Notre Dame football student manager Declan Sullivan, who died in a tragic accident on Wednesday night. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

• One quick note about the sure disaster that will be the Penn State-Michigan game on Saturday night: Nits freshman quarterback Young Robert will most likely not play this week because of lingering post-concussion symptoms. What does this mean? Well, mostly, this: Penn State has no earthly chance at winning this game. The Nits offense is average with Bolden in the lineup. Without him? It’s downright inept. I almost wish we could surrender before this one starts. Almost. [Holding out extremely faint hope; at the same time knowing, deep down, that things remain hopeless …]

• Moving on to A Team Of Relevance ...: Missouri (yes, Missouri!) is now 7-0 for just the third time in school history. The last time the Tigers were 7-0 was 1960. The time before that? It was 1899. That 1899 squad didn’t get to 8-0, however, as it lost to something called “Drake,” 11-0. Less-than-daring prediction: The 2010 Tigers won’t get to 8-0, either. Nebraska awaits. In Lincoln.

• Want another interesting stat about Missouri? Well, here goes: The Tigers are 10-3 on the road since 2007. Impressive! But not really. Because those ten wins came against unranked teams. The three losses? Yep. Ranked teams. Nebraska is ranked. Just sayin’.

• Oregon has scored at least 42 points in every one of its games this season. Against UCLA, the same team that overpowered Texas (reason: Texas lacks talent), Oregon scored 60. And while I certainly do admit that the Ducks probably have the best offense college football has seen since, well, the 1994 Penn State Nittany Lions, I also couldn’t help notice, while watching that Ducks-Bruins game, that Oregon looks … small. Fast? Yes. Talented? Yes. Disciplined? Yes. But … small. Remember that come January, folks.

• The Zooker, who has not taken his Illinois Fighting Illini to a bowl game since 2007, seems to be in striking distance of a bowl bid this season. The Illini are 4-3 and have games coming up against average-at-best Purdue and downright awful Minnesota. But the Zooker insists he’s not thinking about bowl games. Not one bit. Says The Zooker: “The only thing that can help us right now is thinking about one thing, and that's Purdue.” Prediction: Illinois collapses down the stretch, finishes 6-6-, and get passed over for a bowl. But the Zooker keeps his job anyway. Because let's face it: It's Illinois.

• I got a kick out of this headline, from a story this week about Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase in the St. Louis Post Dispatch: ‘Illini's Scheelhaase excels without flashy stats.’ It would have been more accurate to say: 'Illini's Scheelhaase really not excelling at anything.’ Because, dear editors of the Dispatch, the reality is as follows: Scheelhaasse ranks 10th in the Big Ten in passing yards per game. And 11th in passing efficiency.

• So here’s an interesting dilemma for the NCAA … and USC. According to the sanctions handed down by the NCAA earlier this year against the Trojans, USC is not allowed to play more than 12 games during the 2012 season. Which, it would seem, would mean that USC could not play in the 2012 Pac-12 championship game. But apparently, there is some confusion on this issue, and even Trojans athletic director Pat Haden doesn’t know whether or not his Trojans would be able to play in that game. Said Haden: "We're going to wait until we get through the appeal process to address it. Technically, we may not (be eligible) but we are optimistic we will be able to play." I know I speak for the entire college football world when I say I hope the Trojans are not able to play. It's just better for all involved. Because nobody likes USC. Not even people in Los Angeles (snore).

• Your Editor’s Choice As The Nation’s Top Team, Boise State, did not play well against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday night. But they still won by 23 points. It would have been 30 points if not for a Tech garbage-time touchdown. Give this team a chance, voters and haters (lookin' at you, Todd McShay). I assure you, the Broncos can play with anybody. 

• It's an alarming time for Fighting Irish fans. Even the usually unflappable Brian Kelly seems a bit unnerved. In an unusually tense and refreshingly frank press conference this week, Kelly insisted that the Irish must make a bowl game. Toward that end, he announced that freshman defensive end Kona Schwenke (great name!), who had been slated to take a redshirt this season, will play this week against Tulsa (question: since when does Notre Dame play Tulsa?). Explained Kelly: “This is still about winning, and we are in that mode where we have got to win some more games, obviously. Getting to a bowl game is very important, so this isn't one of those, ‘Let's ride out the streak here.' We need help." In other words: "Dear Kona, sorry for wasting three-quarters of your freshman year. Now go out there and make a play."

• Weekly Cliff Lee update: Hey Phillies fans, think that The World’s Greatest Pitcher (except for Wednesday night, when he appeared to be ... mortal) is going to maybe/possibly consider signing with Your Beloved Phils? Think again. Asked this week who he was rooting for in the Phillies-Giants NLCS, Lee explained: “I was in between. I didn't want to have to face them or want to have to face the Giants. I let that series play out, and I pulled for those guys individually, but I didn't mind seeing them get beat, either, just because they got rid of me. That is what it is."

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