#2 Michigan State Faces Gonzaga in an Early Season Test

[Editor's note: This post was submitted before the Spartans and Zags took the floor last night. I just didn't have a chance to edit and publish it. But as you can see, our man J-Dools had the game pretty well pegged, so I'm posted this anyway.]

Excitement is building in East Lansing as the Spartans prepare to face their first real challenge of the season against Gonzaga, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

The Spartans will showcase their talented line up that is gathering more and more comparisons to the 2000 championship team. Coach Tom Izzo is among those making such comparisons.

In an interview with ESPN.com Izzo was asked if he would ever coach someone like Mateen Cleaves again. Izzo answered saying that he may be doing that right now. The player Izzo is talking about is junior point guard Kalin Lucas.

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Michigan State Basketball Preview: Izzo Hopes to Take Spartans Back to Indianapolis

The last time Michigan State won a national championship was the 2000 season…in Indianapolis.

Nearly a decade later, the Final Four returns to Indianapolis and the Spartans are hoping for a case of dèjà vu.

Last season the Spartans almost fulfilled a dream season but fell just short of winning a national championship in Detroit. Unfortunately for MSU, the North Carolina team they faced was truly the better team.

Now the Spartans are a much different team from a year ago.

State comes into the season with a #2 national ranking and is favored to be Big-10 champions for the second year in a row. Center Goran Suton and point guard Travis Walton may have both graduated, but new players are ready to step into their roles.

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Tennessee’s 4-4 Record Reflects the Two Different Teams Kiffin Has Put on the Field This Season

Standing at 4-4 on the season, the Lane Kiffin Project has been somewhat successful.

The Volunteers have put two different teams on the field this year: one has been reminiscent of last season’s mediocre squad, with a sputtering offensive attack; the other has been a motivated SEC contender that can play with any team in the nation.

A week ago, the Vols had a chance to knock off one of the top teams in the country in Alabama. Tennessee dropped the game 12-10 after a last second blocked field goal by Alabama’s gargantuan defensive tackle Terrence Cody. Finishing games in the fourth quarter has been an Achilles heel for Kiffin’s squad.

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Lane Kiffin and the Vols Head Into A Bye-Week After Blowout Victory Over Georgia

Last week, Georgia was supposed to walk into Knoxville, smack Tennessee right in the mouth, and walk out with a victory.

Apparently Lane Kiffin and the Vols didn’t get the memo.

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Tennessee v Auburn: Underachievers and Overachievers

The Tennessee Volunteers come into their match-up against Auburn a little battered and bruised. The Vols will have to step up and play through the pain to shut down an undefeated Auburn team.

UT Running back Montario Hardesty suffered a knee injury last week against Ohio. Hardesty has been limited in practice but expects to play Saturday. This season has been a coming-out party for Hardesty and the Vols will need him to carry the football.

Nearly the entire Tennessee defense is dealing with minor injuries. Monte Kiffin will have to prepare this unit to face a high-octane Tigers offense. Auburn has scored over 35 points in each of their games so far.

However, everything isn’t as doom and gloom as it sounds for Tennessee.

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UT v UF: They’re Not Who We Thought They Were?

Both Tennessee and Florida learned a lot about themselves after the 23-13 Florida victory last Saturday. The Gators might not be the untouchable #1 team they seemed to be, and the Vols still have some fight in them.

Tim Tebow and company were supposed to wipe the floor with Tennessee and were favored by 30 points. But when Eric Berry knocked Tebow flat on his back, the Vols made a statement that they weren’t going down easy.

This game was an all-out war between two SEC teams and rankings didn’t matter. If a few key plays had gone differently, this game could have gone either way. But in the end, Florida was the better team and came out on top.

Though Tennessee lost the game, they now have some of their swagger back that they had lost after the UCLA game. The Vols head back to Knoxville this Saturday to face the Ohio Bobcats.

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Florida-Tennessee Preview: Tim Tebow Ready to Make Lane Kiffin Eat His Words

Lane Kiffin has said a lot of things, the guy loves to talk.

Kiffin especially likes to talk trash about Florida and their head coach. During the offseason, Kiffin’s comments about Urban Meyer and Florida included accusing Meyer of being a cheater in regards to recruiting.

Kiffin also got people riled up immediately after he signed with UT when he said he couldn’t wait to sing Rocky Top all night long after beating Florida.

Someone get Lane some more Hater-ade.

[Editor's note: I am making a quick addendum to J-Dools' fine work and embedding Rocky Top -- the greatest fight song in all of college sports -- here in this post because, unfortunately, I don't think the Vols will be hearing it much on Saturday; they certainly won't be singing it, and nor will anyone else, on Saturday night. But we can at least enjoy it right now]

As a Vols fan I love the trash talk; I think it’s great.

The problem is that the Vols are reeling after a dissapointing loss to UCLA and now have to face the Gators in The Swamp.

This Saturday, Kiffin likely will be forced to eat his own words.

Tennessee at #1 Florida Preview

• Tennessee-Florida Date: Saturday, September 19th
• Tennessee-Florida State Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• Tennessee-Florida TV Channel: CBS
• Tennessee-Florida Point Spread: Florida -29.5

It’s no secret how much Florida hates Tennessee and especially Kiffin. They have been throwing darts at his picture all summer. It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a bounty out on Kiffin in the city of Gainesville.

Setting the media circus aside, there is still a football game to be played. That part also doesn’t look too good for Kiffin.

Florida returned nearly all of their starters from last year’s national championship squad, most importantly quarterback Tim Tebow. (a.k.a God, Jesus, Chuck Norris, etc.)

The ’09 Florida Gators look as good as ever, having not allowed a touchdown in either of their first two games. This team has the capability to run the table in the SEC and making it back to another national championship.

The ‘09 Vols looked a lot like the ‘08 version when they dropped a 19-15 decision to UCLA on Saturday. The offense was booed of the field and Jonathan Crompton would have been banished from Knoxville if the fans had the power. Things are definitely looking bad for Crompton when a fellow UT student invites me to a Facebook group titled “Jonathan Crompton Please Retire From Football.” (I joined the group.)

As much as I would love to see the Vols go into The Swamp and beat Tebow and the Gators, its just not going to happen. Florida is faster, stronger, and better than Tennessee. The Gators tore apart UT in the return game last season, and with a pair of track sprinters returning kicks it can happen again.

Urban Meyer wants nothing more than to run up the score on the Vols and to get back at Kiffin. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him going for two point conversions all game. Mr. Perfect (Tebow) and his offense will come out firing on Saturday.

But there is always a glimmer of hope. If Vols safety Eric Berry can have a big game and lead the defense, Tennessee could catch the Gators being overconfident. The best chance Tennessee has is to try to keep the score low.

I want to stress that I am a Volunteers fan, but I am also a realist. There is a reason Florida is favored by 30 points.

This rivalry game will be fun to watch because of the bad blood between the teams. In the end, I think Florida will punish Kiffin for being too much of a Gator Hater.

My prediction: Florida- 41 Tennessee-17 (It hurts me to say that)

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* – Lane Kiffin photo credit: USC photo via Majorly English

* – Tim Tebow photo credit: NFFootballReport

Mayweather v Marquez: The Flashy Undefeated Fighter versus The Mexican Warrior

For those who can tear their eyes away from college football on Saturday and are willing to shell out some cash for Pay Per View, something big is going down Saturday night. 

Floyd “Money” Mayweather will return from his short retirement to step into the ring with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather stepped away from boxing in 2008 and his return seems to be for the purpose of getting a shot at Manny Pacquiao. Plus, we all know Floyd loves the money.

The build up to this figh has been going on for months. For those of you lucky to have HBO, the series Mayweather Marquez 24/7 has been following the fighters as they train for this bout. The show is worth checking out and gives a real inside look at the lives of the two boxers.

Both Mayweather and Marquez come into this fight as arguably top-5 pound-for-pound boxers. This matchup is the most hyped boxing event since the Pacquiao vs. Hatton fight. Here are the particulars:

• Mayweather-Marquez Date: Saturday, September 19th
• Mayweather-Marquez Time: 10:15 ET
• Mayweather-Marquez Location: MGM Grand in Las Vegas
• Mayweather-Marquez TV: HBO Pay-Per-Piew

Comparing the fighters:

Floyd “Money” Mayweather

• 39-0-0 25 KO’s
• Age: 32
• Height: 5’8”
• Reach: 72”
• Champion in 5 weight classes

Juan Manuel Marquez

• 50-4-1 37 KO’s
• Age: 36
• Height: 5’7”
• Reach: 67”
• Champion in 3 weight classes

This is a matchup of two counter-punchers, meaning this fight will not likely end in the early rounds. It will be interesting to see which fighter will be the aggressor and try to set the tempo.

Keys to the Fight

Mayweather:

• Is still undefeated. A zero in the loss column is pretty good by boxing standards I would think.
• Bigger, faster, and stronger than Marquez.
• Gets his knockouts by landing punches in large numbers and using combinations.
• To win the fight: Mayweather needs to wear down Marquez by racking up the punch stats and working for a late round knockout.

Marquez:

• More experienced than Mayweather.
• Adapts to opponents styles very well.
• Fighting with a purpose, as the Mexican Independence Day is September 16.
• To win the fight: Must frustrate Mayweather with defense and look to outbox him with counter punches to work for a win by decision.

This fight can go either way because these are two of the best boxers of our generation. But I am going with “Money” to win this fight because he has the speed and strength advantage as well as the fact he is still undefeated. (The fact Mayweather is from Grand Rapids, MI might have something to do with it as well.)

My prediction: Mayweather wins by KO in Round 8.

My quote of the month: “I feel like can’t nobody f#@% with me. I feel like I’m the best there is.” — Floyd Mayweather on Mayweather Marquez 24/7

LOTD: Layla Kiffin – The Reason Why Lane Will Be Okay Regardless of Saturday’s Score in The Swamp

Today’s Link of the Day comes courtesy of the fine folks over at 3rd Saturday in Blogtober (via Deadspin), who were sent a nice little trio of pics taken recently outside Neyland Stadium (I think). They performed what I am sure was a difficult task of viewing and posting the pictures.

We thank them.

No, the pics are not of future top-10 pick Eric Berry, nor do they feature stud freshman Bryce Brown. Rather, they feature everyone’s favorite Volunteer fan: Lane Kiffin’s wife Layla Kiffin.

She is also the reason why Lane Kiffin was so willing to stir the pot and talk about singing Rocky Top “all night long” after the Vols beat Florida in Gainesville this weekend. Surely he knows, as does everyone else, that Tennessee will do well to keep the game within the 29.5 point spread. But at the end of the day, regardless of the score, he’ll have Layla there to pick up the pieces of his broken Saturday.

Why I thought I needed to come up with any kind of intro for this post, I’m not sure. Here is your link to 3SIB plus a preview of what awaits when you click through. (FYI…I did not put the best of the three pictures here.)

Holy shinkeys: Layla! — (3rd Saturday in Blogtober)

And now, some other less exciting but more informative afternoon links.

Sports:

• Patriots’ Bob Kraft rated NFL’s best owner — (MoonDog)
• Picking up the pieces: Milwaukee Bucks — (Give Me The Rock)
• Chocking Hazard: Jay or the Toy? — (Jay Cutler Superstar)
• More MJ (I don’t care if you’re sick of him edition) — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• Wrigley Field scoreboard to go electric? — (i94 Sports)
• 3 pieces and biscuit NFL Weekly Review — (Black Sports Online)
• Suzy Kolber literally chases down Tom Brady for an interview — (Busted Coverage)
• NFL Power Rankings: Week 2 — (My Sports Rumors)
• Indians’ 2010 schedule a little more fan-friendly — (Waiting For Next Year)
• Hall of Famer or not? — (Sparty and Friends)
• Kentucky to release report on basketball violation — (Straight Pinkie)
• How to get fired: by Dick Jauron — (Major League Jerk)
• MLB All-Decade Team and Statistical Category Leaders — (Tom Verducci, SI)

Non-Sports:

• Kanye West sorry, and still a douche — (Thunder Treats)
• Casino Capitalism: Administration gaming the system for Wall Street Titans — (Huffington Post)
• To all universities: stop bitching — (Spewf)
• Star Wars bloopers: a new hope — (Gunaxin)

Michigan v Notre Dame In the Big House: Preview and Prediction

Michigan and Notre Dame meet in Ann Arbor on Saturday and this year it will actually be a game worth watching. It will also be a game played in one of the only stadiums — The Big House — that is large enough to hold both schools’ massive  football egos.

The last two meetings between these teams were sloppy blowout games and neither team ended up having a good season. But this year both squads look to be back on track and the rivalry is being revived.

Last week, Michigan coasted to an easy 31-7 victory over Western Michigan, scoring all of their points in the first half. Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier solidified himself as the starter for the Wolverines while fellow freshman Denard Robinson flashed the speed and big play ability that quarterbacks in Rich Rodriguez’s system are known for having.

Rich Rodriguez’s spread option offense was effective against the Broncos, as Michigan racked up 242 rushing yards from 8 different ball carriers. The problem for the Wolverines is they are currently without a go-to running back. Backup quarterback Denard Robinson was the leading rusher with 74 yards.

In Notre Dame’s season opener, the Irish shut out Nevada 35-0 with Jimmy Clausen throwing for 4 TD’s. Claussen showed poise in the pocket, completing 15 of his 18 attempts.

Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish look ready to make it back to another bowl game this year, and possibly even compete for a BCS bid. The offense that was in complete disarray two seasons ago is now finally coming together.

Saturday’s matchup between these two bitter rivals is an intriguing one. Both teams have shown vast improvement from last year, but this will obviously be the first real test for each squad with Rodriguez and Weis both seated firmly on the hot seat to bring their teams back to the elite level of college football.

Before we get into an analysis of the matchup, let’s take a quick look at the particulars:

#18 Notre Dame (1-0) at Michigan (1-0)

• Notre Dame-Michigan Date: Saturday, September 12th
• Notre Dame-Michigan Time: 3:30 ET
• Notre Dame-Michigan TV: ABC
• Notre Dame-Michigan Location: The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Notre Dame-Michigan Point Spread: Notre Dame -4.5
• StubHub: Michigan-Notre Dame tickets for as low as $95
• StubHub: Michigan football tickets
• StubHub: Notre Dame football tickets
• StubHub: all College Football tickets

Notre Dame-Michigan Preview and Analysis

Notre Dame comes into the game a slight favorite and rightfully so. Clausen is starting to fill in the void that was left when Brady Quinn left for the NFL draft. (Side note to Notre Dame fans: please don’t treat Claussen like the “golden boy” as you did with Quinn. Thank you.)

To win the game, the Irish must provide strong pass protection for Clausen and allow him to spread the ball around. Michigan, on the other hand, needs to pressure Clausen and limit his ability to locate WRs Golden Tate and Michael Floyd down the field. If Michigan tries to get in a shootout with Notre Dame, the Wolverines won’t be able to keep up with the Irish’s high-octane offense.

If Claussen can put up 300-plus yards passing Michigan won’t have a chance. Tate, a speedy and talented young receiver, could be the X-factor with his big play potential.

Michigan needs to control the pace and the clock by running the football over and over. Forcier looked good passing the ball last week, although he only put the ball in the air 20 times. He completed 13 of those passes for 175 yards and tallied 3 TDs. You might look at those stats and think the Wolverines should throw more.

On the contrary, Forcier’s efficient passing was set up by 50 rushing attempts at 4.8 yards per pop. Michigan would do well to follow attain a similar run:pass ratio. Forcier will have to be smart with the ball again when passing plays are called. An improving Irish defense picked off two passes last week and will be licking their chops going up against a freshman making only his second start.

Notre Dame-Michigan Prediction

This game can go either way and will likely be decided by one or two key plays. Notre Dame comes in ranked #18, but when playing in the Big House all rankings go out the window. [Editor's note: as do Division 1-A and 1-AA classifications...right App State?]

Rich Rodriguez will have the Wolverines amped up to start the game and the Irish will have to take the fans out of the game early. Luckily for Notre Dame fans and the embattled Weis, the Irish have an experienced quarterback to rely on in Jimmy Clausen, who is no stranger to pressure, expectation, and hostile environments.  

In this high profile matchup between two of the all-time giants of college football, Clausen’s experience will most likely be the difference.

My prediction for this game: Notre Dame- 31 Michigan- 24

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* – Notre Dame / Michigan helmets image credit: The Onion

* – Charlie Weis photo credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio via WSBT-2

* – Denard Robinson / Tate Forcier photo credit: Said Alsalah/Daily via Michigan Daily

* – Jimmy Clausen in high school photo credit: Pre Pro Sports

Tennessee-UCLA Preview: Lane Kiffin’s Vols Look for Revenge Over Bruins in Knoxville

Jonathon Crompton threw 5 TD passes in a game.

No, that wasn’t a typo.

Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton really threw 5 TD’s in a single game. (A short pause for you to google this if you still can’t believe it.)

Crompton and the Vols steamrolled right over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 63-7 on Saturday, racking up 657 yards of total offense. Crompton had a career day with 233 yards passing to go along with his 5 TD’s. He showed maturity and, unlike last season, appears comfortable in Lane Kiffin’s pro-style offense.

However, the Volunteers’ running back corps refused to be shown up by their senior quarterback. As a team Tennessee rushed for 380 yards and 4 TD’s, averaging over 8 yards per carry. Senior running back Montario Hardesty had 160 yards on 18 carries, with a huge 43-yard TD run.

Tennessee’s offensive “Freshman Four” also played well, having a coming out party against Western Kentucky.

Running back Bryce Brown scored UT’s first TD of the season and finished with 104 yards on 11 carries. His fellow frosh back David Oku had 42 yards and 2 TD’s on 8 carries. Marsalis Teague was the leading receiver for the Vols. Teague caught 6 passes for 86 yards and a TD. Nu’Keese Richardson made an impact all around, catching passes, returning kicks, and even running the wildcat formation.

Lane Kiffin’s focus, however, is not on the blowout victory of last week.

The Vols are preparing for a rematch against UCLA after losing a heartbreaker in Pasadena last season. As a former USC coach, Kiffin is no stranger to the Bruins either. Thus, there are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s game in Knoxville.

Before we break down the matchup, here are the particulars:

UCLA Bruins at Tennessee Volunteers

• UCLA-Tennessee Date: Saturday, September 12th
• UCLA-Tennessee Location: Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee
• UCLA-Tennessee Kickoff Time: 4:00 ET
• UCLA-Tennessee TV: ESPN
• UCLA-Tennessee Point Spread: Tennessee -7.5
• StubHub: Tennessee-UCLA tickets
• StubHub: Tennessee football tickets
• StubHub: UCLA football tickets
• StubHub: All college football tickets

The matchup between Tennessee and UCLA is completely different than last season. In ’08 the Vols were a team searching for an offensive identity and UCLA was lucky to scrape out a win.

This season the Vols appear rejuvenated on offense with their explosive young talent and offensive mastermind Lane Kiffin at the helm. And though the offense has improved vastly, the strength of this Vols team is still the defense, led by its all-world safety Eric Berry.

In Monte Kiffin’s first game as UT defensive coordinator, the Vols held Western Kentucky to 83 yards of total offense. The Hilltoppers only managed 34 yards rushing, averaging a laughable 1-yard per carry. The scary part of UT’s defensive performance is that Berry didn’t play all that well and the defense still held strong.

Berry and the Tennessee defense could have a field day against UCLA’s freshman quarterback Kevin Prince, who threw two picks against San Diego State in the Bruins opener. Prince doesn’t seem experienced enough to go up against a top-level SEC defense and will likely turn the ball over multiple times.

The Vols will have to be careful of their own turnovers however. Jonathan Crompton will have to keep an eye out for UCLA safety Rahim Moore, who had three interceptions last week against SDSU.

Lane Kiffin, though, appears to be more than capable of putting together an effective offensive game plan. And if Tennessee’s offense can produce even half as well as they did last week, the Neyland faithful should once again be singing Rocky Top at the top of their lungs.

And the Vols, coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in school history, should be 2-0.

My prediction for Saturday’s game: Tennessee- 31 UCLA- 17

Lane Kiffin Hoping to Put “Rocky Top” Back on Top Sooner Rather Than Later

[Editor's Note: This is the first article from new MSF writer Mike Dooley (aka J-Dools), a student at the University of Tennessee, originally from Dearborn, MI, who will be covering the Vols and the Detroit Tigers. We're happy to have Mike aboard and hope you enjoy his first effort below, a preview and prediction for Lane Kiffin's first season at Tennessee.]

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As college football begins once again, fans can rejoice that ESPN will have more to cover than the Little League World Series. My apologies to Chula Vista, California.

For students at the University of Tennessee, such as myself, the start of the season means gratuitous amounts of orange and a sharp increase in whiskey sales.

Putting the Lane Kiffin offseason media circus behind us, it is now time to start playing football, and probably the start of the in-season Lane Kiffin media circus. The Vols kick off the season against Western Kentucky this Saturday and barring a repeat of last year’s debacle against Wyoming, UT will start off the season with a “W”.

[Editor's Note: Follow these links to StubHub for great deals on Tennessee football tickets, and all NCAA college football tickets. Plus, get ready for Saturday with the Week 1 college football TV schedule from MSF.]

The season will really start for UT in week two versus UCLA. The down-to-the-wire loss to the Bruins in Pasedena last year still lingers in the minds of the Vols. This year the Bruins travel to Knoxville and Kiffin will be under extreme pressure to win the rematch.

But will Kiffin be able to quickly turn this program around? That is the question everyone is asking about the Vols’ young new head coach.

Coming into this season Tennessee is unranked for the first time in 19 years. However, Kiffin seems poised to revive this program. Kiffin has brought in an elite coaching staff with NFL credentials and outstanding recruiting skills.

Lane’s father, Monte Kiffin, left the NFL and followed his son to Tennessee as the defensive coordinator. Coming to UT, Monte was effectively handed a top level defense and was told “Here you go, have fun.” Monte will help bring out the full potential of 3 time All-American safety Eric Berry. (A scary thought for all opponents.)

The offense is completely revamped with Kiffin’s pro style playbook and zone blocking system. This is a much needed change after the abysmal offensive performance last season. The Vols have the electric Gerald Jones returning at receiver, who will be a year older and should be a major offensive weapon. Jones is currently injured, but should be able to return in time for the rematch against UCLA.

The added youth to this team will have an immediate impact as Kiffin assembled a great recruiting class. Top-ranked running back Bryce Brown will play a major role in the offense, likely splitting carries with senior Montario Hardesty. His fellow freshman back David Oku will also see time, likely as a third down back.

Speedy freshman receivers Nu’Keese Richardson and Marsalis Teague will provide big play potential to the passing game. Also, freshman cornerback Janzen Jackson may battle his way into a starting role on the defense.

The most important factor in the ’09 Volunteers season, of course, will likely be the play of senior quarterback Jonathon Crompton. Last year Crompton threw for a meager 889 yards, with only five touchdowns and four interceptions. The Vols need Crompton to emerge as a solid starter in Kiffin’s offensive system.

My prediction for the 2009 Tennessee Volunteers season: 8-4 (4-4)

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* – Eric Berry photo credit: TNJN/Hall, Adrian via Tennessee Journalist