This week we have some more great top 25 action, the highlights of which are broken down here by Robert Crowe. We also encourage you to indulge your college football love with a fun weekly fantasy college football challenge at Daily Joust.

Settle down, relax, and get ready for another great weekend of college football.

As always, we begin with some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week and then the entire rundown of the college football TV schedule and point spreads for Week 11.

No.  17 Michigan State at Iowa

• Michigan State-Iowa Date: Saturday, November 12th
• Michigan State-Iowa Kickoff Time: 12pm
• Michigan State-Iowa TV: ESPN 2
• Michigan State-Iowa Spread: Michigan State -3

No. 10 Virginia Tech at No. 21 Georgia Tech

• Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech Date: Thursday, November 10th
• Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech Kickoff Time: 8pm
• Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech TV:ESPN
• Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech Spread: Virginia Tech -1

No. 24 Michigan at Illinois

• Michigan-Illinois Date: Saturday, November 12th
• Michigan-Illinois Kickoff Time: 3:30pm
• Michigan-Illinois TV: ESPN, ABC
• Michigan-Illinois Spread: Michigan -1

No. 7 Oregon and No. 4 Stanford

• Oregon-Stanford Date: Saturday, November 12th
• Oregon-Stanford Kickoff Time: 8pm
• Oregon-Stanford TV: ABC
• Oregon-Stanford Spread: Stanford -3.5

Complete College Football TV Schedule and Point Spreads

So settle down, relax, and get ready for another great weekend of college football.

As always, here are some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week and then the entire college football TV schedule and point spreads rundown for Week 9, plus another suggestion that you check out the weekly fantasy college football challenge offered by our friends at Daily Joust.

College Football TV Schedule and Point Spreads

Marquee Games for This Week – Saturday, October 29th

No. 11 Michigan State at No.14 Nebraska

• Michigan State-Nebraska Date: Saturday, October 29th
• Michigan State-Nebraska Kickoff Time:12pm
• Michigan State-Nebraska TV: ESPN
• Michigan State-Nebraska Spread: Nebraska -4.5

Illinois at No. 19 Penn State

• Illinois-Penn State Date: Saturday, October 29th
• Illinois-Penn State Kickoff Time: 3:30pm
• Illinois-Penn State TV: ABC
• Illinois-Penn State Spread: Penn State -4.5

No. 6 Stanford at USC

• Stanford-USC Date: Saturday, October 29th
• Illinois-Penn State Kickoff Time: 8pm
• Illinois-Penn State TV: ABC
• Illinois-Penn State Spread: Stanford -7

No. 13 South Carolina at Tennessee 

• South Carolina-Tennessee Date: Saturday, October 29th
• South Carolina-Tennessee  Kickoff Time: 7:15pm
• South Carolina-Tennessee Tv: ESPN 2
• South Carolina-Tennessee  Spread: South Carolina -4

No.8 Oklahoma State at No. 9 Kansas State

• Oklahoma State-Kansas State  Date: Saturday, October 29th
• Oklahoma State-Kansas State  Kickoff Time: 3:30pm
• Oklahoma State-Kansas State  TV: ESPN
• Oklahoma State-Kansas State  Spread: Oklahoma State -13.5

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College Football TV Schedule and Point Spreads

All Games for This Week – Saturday, October 29th

So settle down, relax, and get ready for another great weekend of college football. As always, here are some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week and then the entire college football TV schedule for Week 8, plus a link below to another fantasy college football freeroll tournament from our friends at Daily Joust.

No. 4 Oklahoma State at Missouri 

• Oklahoma State-Missouri Date: Saturday October, 22nd
• Oklahoma State-Missouri Kickoff Time: 12pm
• Oklahoma State-Missouri TV: FX
• Oklahoma State-Missouri Spread: Oklahoma State -7

#20 Auburn at #1 LSU

• Auburn-LSU Date: Saturday, October 22nd
• Auburn-LSU Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• Auburn-LSU TV: CBS
• Auburn-LSU Spread: LSU -22

So settle down, relax, and get ready for another great weekend of college football. As always, here are some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week and then the entire college football TV schedule for Week 7.

And don’t forget to leverage your college football passion and knowledge over at Daily Joust, where they host weekly fantasy college football contests for free or for cash money prizes. Click and check ‘em out.

No. 11 Michigan at No. 23 Michigan State

• Michigan-Michigan State Date: Saturday, October 15th
• Michigan-Michigan State Kickoff Time: 12pm
• Michigan-Michigan State TV: ESPN
• Michigan-Michigan State Spread: Michigan State -2

Week three is not without its share of what should be exciting and entertaining games, and here at MSF we want to make sure you get to see all of them.

Here are some of the marquee games to look at this week, then the entire college football TV schedule for week 3.

*All times are Eastern Standard Time

This Week’s College Football Marquee Matchups

No. 3 LSU at No. 25 Mississippi State

• LSU-Miss State Date: Thursday, September 15th
• LSU-Miss State Kickoff Time: 8pm
• LSU-Miss State TV: ESPN
• LSU-Miss State Point Spread: LSU -3.5

No. 21 Auburn at Clemson

• Auburn-Clemson Date: Saturday, September 17th
•  Auburn-Clemson Kickoff Time: 12pm
• Auburn-Clemson TV: ABC
• Auburn-Clemson Point Spread: Clemson -3

No. 15 Michigan State at Notre Dame

• Michigan State-Notre Dame Date: Saturday, September 17th
• Michigan State-Notre Dame Kickoff Time: 3:30pm
• Michigan State-Notre Dame TV: NBC
• Michigan State-Notre Dame Point Spread: Notre Dame -5

No. 22 Arizona State at Illinois

• Arizona State-Illinois Date: Saturday, September 17th
• Arizona State-Illinois Kickoff Time: 7pm
• Arizona State-Illinois TV: Big Ten Network
• Arizona State-Illinois Point Spread: Illinois -1

No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 5 Florida State

• Oklahoma-Florida State Date: Saturday, September 17th
• Oklahoma-Florida State Kickoff Time: ABC
• Oklahoma-Florida State TV: ABC
• Oklahoma-Florida State Point Spread: Oklahoma -3

This Week’s College Football TV Schedule and Point Spreads

Apparently Michigan State will be holding a press conference at 1:00 PM today to discuss a “health issue” football coach Mark Dantonio is facing. That issue is purported to be a heart attack that he suffered last night.

Here are the tweets from Hammond:

MSU holding 1pm news conf in E. Lansing today amid rumors that Head Coach Mark Dantonio is battling a health issue.

Reported Heart attack for MSU coach Mark Dantonio.

Reports out of E Lansing Mark Dantonio is OK after suffering a reported heart attack.

Fortunately, it sounds like Dantonio is okay. I’m about to head out for the afternoon so might not be able to update this post. For the latest on this story, follow @Hamr65 and @WorldOfIsaac.

Dantonio and the Spartans beat Notre Dame last night.

Whether on mainstream ESPN, or internet media outlets, or your local radio shows, the topic that is trending on Twitter - and is sadly overshadowing the NBA Finals – is Tom Izzo, LeBron, and the Cavs.

It was reported first by Brian Windhorst of the Plain Dealer that Izzo is the Cavs’ top choice, but even then things seemed like a long shot. As the weeks passed though, more insiders began shedding light, breaking some news, and getting the story.

Then, came the official announcement from Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and newly announced GM Chris Grant:

Tom izzo and the Cavs have been flirting quite a bit in the past week, especially since the firing of Brown and resigning of Ferry, but today could be the day that it becomes official:

Tom Izzo could be the new head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But there is always the IF factor…

[Editor's Note/Update: Our friends at Waiting For Next Year were the first ones to report that Tom Izzo had already informed his team that he intended to take the Cavs job. They, of course, took heat for this, but I thought Denny did a great job defending their decision to report this anonymously sourced story.]

It was first reported today in the early morning today by Windhorst, that Tom Izzo and the Cavaliers would have a meeting today to discuss everything Cavs.

Then more insight came in the early morning, as Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski reported that today’s meeting is indeed the deciding factor for Izzo, and that the topics to be discussed are the following:

A huge part of the deal is obviously and without question going to have to include the staying of LeBron, right?

Wrong! Sources close to Izzo, say that while LeBron is a savory part of the deal, it is not going to be the deciding factor for Izzo. Sources close say that Izzo has been looking more closesly at what the Cavaliers would do if the star never returned, and how they would revamp the roster for a plan B. While others say that Izzo, and the Cavs both strongly believe that LeBron would return to his Cleveland throne.

But another huge factor, is money.

Plain and simple amigos, money talks in this world, and when Dan Gilbert – whom has attempted to pry Tom Izzo from the MSU faithful since 05 – is offering Izzo a a 5-year, $30 million dollar deal, you’d have to imagine that Tom is strongly considering the deal this time around. There has been word of other perks, such as use to one of Gilbert’s private jets, and a couple others. Also note that Gilbert is a MSU alum, and – as I said – has been trying to pry Izzo from the Spartans since ’05!

So can today’s meeting be enough to bring Izzo to Ohio? It just might.

While as of late Dan Gilbert has been talking to the media, Izzo and his reps, and the others in the Cavs front office, there has been one person that he is primarily trying to get his word out to. Not you, not me, not even Tom Izzo, but…

…LeBron James.

Dan Gilbert has been playing his cards well, and now that he might be closer than ever to bringing in the MSU coach, he might, just might, giving The King one more reason to stay home.

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Tom Izzo photo courtesy: Sparty and Friends

Dan Gilbert photo courtesy: Cleveland.com

Despite being one of two teams to hand the mighty Kentucky Wildcats a loss this season, many people underestimated Bruce Pearl’s club headed into the tournament. I had them getting to the Sweet 16 and losing to Ohio State; Wayne Chism, J.P. Prince and Co. had other ideas and decided to send Evan Turner home early.

In the second Sweet 16 game in the Midwest, Michigan State came out on top after an entertaining, physical battle, setting up  a very interesting Elite 8 matchup.

Let’s take a look at this year’s Midwest Regional Final.

Midwest Regional Final: #6 Tennessee v #5 Michigan State

• Tennessee-Michigan State Date: Sunday, March 28
• Tennessee-Michigan State Tip Time: 2:20 ET
• Tennessee-Michigan State Location: Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO
• Tennessee-Michigan State Announcers: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
• Tennessee-Michigan State Spread: Tennessee -1
• StubHub: Tennessee-Michigan State Regional Final Tickets
• StubHub: Midwest Regional Final Tickets

Follow the link to view the complete Elite 8 TV schedule or to see our previews for the Butler-Kansas State, Kentucky-West Virginia game, or Baylor-Duke game.

Tennessee-Michigan State Preview

Next, let’s analyze this Elite 8 matchup.

[Note: If you followed our NCAA Tournament coverage here at MSF last year, you know that I published previews similar to this one for each game from the Sweet 16 on. Using statistical analysis from the ESPN Bracket Predictor, which is powered by TeamRankings.com, plus my own knowledge an intuition, I went 12-3 picking the 15 games that concluded the 2009 Tournament. The methodology is essentially the same this year; we'll see if the results are.]

Here is how the numbers break down between Tennessee and Michigan State:

Before I give you my MSU-UT prediction, what do you think?

Tennessee-Michigan State Analysis

If you have Tennessee and Michigan State meeting in the Elite 8 of a bracket that had the tournament’s best team (Kansas) and its best player (Evan Turner) then huge kudos from me. You are either extremely lucky or a prognosticating savant. Either way, you have benefitted from two tournament truths that Tennessee and Michigan State have perpetuated this year:

1. Tom Izzo is the most consistently outstanding tournament coach of the last 15 years in college basketball.
2. Experienced teams with athletic ability, length, and a willingness to defend cause matchup problems for any team. (Oh, and Bruce Pearl can safely be considered underrated for the consistent success he’s brought to a football school.)

I guess when you consider the two points above, the Vols and Spartans being in the Elite 8 isn’t that surprising…oh who am I kidding; it’s surprising. It should also be a hell of a game.

The win odds are close, with Michigan State holding a 3-2 advantage. Offensively the Spartans hold a 4-1 advantage, which includes their 6th ranked offensive rebounding percentage. Defensively the Volunteers hold a 3-2 advantage, including their sterling 19.8% defensive turnover percentage.

I am glossing over the numbers a bit more in this preview because I don’t really know how important they are. We know that Michigan State can rebound, we know that Tennessee can defend, and we know that both of these teams are capable but inconsistent on offense, with Michigan State’s season-long advantage in offensive numbers now seeming dubious with point guard Kalin Lucas out.

So rather than dwell on the stats, I think this is a game where you have to try as best you can to predict emotion, to predict the tangible and intangible influence that fiery guys like Tom Izzo and Bruce Pearl will have on their teams, to predict how a backup point guard will respond to some of the most imposing defense he’s seen all year, to predict…

As you can see, I think this is a hard game to predict.

Let’s talk about Korie Lucious for a minute, because he just may be the unsung hero of the NCAA Tournament so far this year. He gamely stepped in for Lucas against Maryland and hit the game-winning shot. Then he played 39 minutes against a very good Northern Iowa team and produce 10 points, 4 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. Oh, and he hit one of the biggest shots in the game.

Everyone knows how valuable Kalin Lucas is to Michigan State and there is no question the Spartans would be better equipped to handle Tennessee and any future opponents with him; but I think it’s time to realize that Lucious is more than capable of playing well – and winning – in Lucas’ place.

Of course, making Lucious’ job easier is the bevy of versatile size that Michigan State has at its disposal: Chris Allen, Durrell Summers, Draymond Green, Raymar Morgan, and Delvon Roe are 6’3 or taller with tremendous athletic ability and a wide range of skills.

Come to think of it, this Michigan State team, in many ways, resembles the Volunteer team that they will be opposing. In J.P. Prince, Bobby Maze, Scotty Hopson, Wayne Chism, Brian Williams, et al, Tennessee has their own deep bench of big, explosive, skilled athletes.

The question is: whose athletes will come more ready to play and win?

Michigan State-Tennessee prediction: I made the mistake of doubting Tom Izzo and picking the inconsistent Spartans to lose to Maryland. I then compounded that mistake when given a second chance and picked Northern Iowa to beat Michigan State because of Kalin Lucas’ absence.

Now that the stakes are higher and the opponent is better, am I foolish enough to make that same mistake again? No. No I’m not.

Tennessee is going to harass the hell out of Michigan State’s ball handlers, and the Spartans better be prepared to protect the ball and prevent Tennessee from getting out in transition. We know Michigan State will limit run outs and second chance points because of their rebounding ability, but they have to do better than turning the ball over on 17.2% of their possessions.

If Tennessee wins, it will be because their strength – forcing turnovers on defense – overwhelmed Michigan State’s weakness of turning the ball over.

Last night, without Kalin Lucas, the Spartans turned the ball over just 10 times. Granted, they weren’t facing the athletes Tennessee has, but it was a strong sign that Michigan State is experienced enough and good enough to compensate for Lucas’ absence and to do so without losing ball security.

I ultimately think that this is pick ‘em type game, and the gamblers pretty much agree as evidenced by Tennessee being just a 1-point favorite. The only problem I have with that is I think the oddsmakers gave the extra point to the wrong team.

Games between teams that are virtually equal often come down to coaching. Bruce Pearl has announced himself as one of the nation’s best, most underrated coaches this season and over the last few. Unfortunately for Pearl and the Vols, the coach on the opposing bench may just be the greatest tournament coach of his generation.

Michigan State 72 | Tennessee 71

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* – Bruce Pearl photo credit: John Clay’s Sidelines

* – Tom Izzo photo credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images via ESPN.com

* – Korie Lucious photo credit: Elsa/Getty Images via ESPN.com

This post and all of our March Madness coverage this year is sponsored by Armorex Exterior Coating, the company that helps keep you inside watching sports went you want to be…not outside re-painting your house. Do it right the first time, for a lifetime.

Update 3/13/10: This post was originally published on February 28th, 2010. The table below has been updated with all results leading up to Sunday’s title game between #1 Ohio State and #6 Minnesota.

Click here so you never waste a weekend re-painting your house, when you could have done it right the first time, for a lifetime!

Prior to the season, the Big Ten was expected to be a Michigan State-Purdue battle for the top, and aside from Ohio State’s stellar play, it has been.

On Feb. 9, the Boilers demolished the Spartans in East Lansing, making the top of the conference a veritable log jam (pardon the cliché). But Feb. 28, while most of the naton focused on a classic gold medal hockey game, Purdue laid (perhaps an expected) egg in a disheartening, sloppy payback loss to “Sparty.”

Earlier in 2010, the Spartans were rolling along undefeated, with a huge conference lead through January, but an injury to a star player (Kalin Lucas) and three early February losses in a row opened the door for defending tourney champ Purdue, as well as the red-hot Buckeyes, Wisconsin, and the erstwhile surprising Illini of Illinois — to join them among the conference’s upper echelon.

Update: Now the question is how will the injury to Robbie Hummel affect the end of the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament?

The Big Ten’s top five teams may be good as any group in the nation, setting up what should be a thrilling 2010 Big Ten Tournament.

Here is the TV schedule and matchups for this year’s Big Ten Tournament, along with links for great deals on Big Ten Tournament tickets.

Big Ten Tournament Tickets and TV Schedule

• StubHub: Big Ten Tournament Tickets – All Session Pass
• StubHub: Individual Big Ten Tournament Tickets
• TicketMaster: Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets – All Session Pass
• TicketMaster: Individual Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Tickets

2010 Big Ten Mens Basketball Tournament Bracket and TV Schedule

Of course Purdue, the defending Big Ten Tournament champion, is now without star forward Robbie Hummel. But don’t forget, the Boilers can still play with anyone. They were undefeated and impressive non-conference, ranked as highly as fourth nationally then, before losing three of their first five Big Ten games.

Prior to Sunday’s setback inside Mackey Arena, the Boilers had rebounded quite nicely over six weeks, winning at Champaign, Bloomington, Columbus, and beating the Badgers in West Lafayette. They capped their run off with the aforementioned win at East Lansing. After beating Penn State Saturday afternoon in State College, Purdue finished tied with MSU and OSU for a share of the regular season conference crown.

The Boilermakers, winners of 10 straight between mid-January and February’s final evening, will happily play in front of partisan crowds with the conference tourney at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, 65 miles from their campus. They would love to return a few weeks later for the Final Four across town at Lucas Oil Stadium.

We’ll find out next month whether or not Purdue can overcome adversity and add their name to the following table one more time. Here is the complete (though brief) history of the Big Ten Tournament: champions, runners-up, and Most Outstanding Players.

Big Ten Tournament History: Past Champions, Runners-Up, MOPs, and Sites

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* – Matt Painter photo credit: Darron Cummings / Associated Press via CourierPress.com

Midwest Sports Fans (MSF) Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that MSF makes a small percentage of anything purchased upon a click-through. That said, MSF only writes about stories that we believe will interest our readers, and we only link to and endorse sites and services that we would use or have used ourselves. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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.

As Lucas continues to emerge as a premier point guard, his similarities with Cleaves become more apparent. Lucas, like Cleaves, is a Michigan native and Lucas is now in the leadership role Cleaves once held. Lucas came out of the gates quick this season, scoring 21 points and one highlight reel layup against Florida Gulf Coast.

Tonight Michigan State takes on Gonzaga, for the first time since the “Goran Suton triple overtime missed layup fiasco.” (The image of Adam Morrison’s mustache is still burned in my mind from that game.)

However, both teams have changed greatly from their last meeting. Gonzaga is in a transitional year with only one returning starter, in Matt Bouldin. Michigan State is a potential Final Four team this year.

Forwards Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe saw limited time in the opener against Florida Gulf Coast due to lingering injuries. The two forwards should be ready for more minutes againsts Gonzaga, but still may be out of the starting five.

Freshman center Derrick Nix put up a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds in his debut. Nix and fellow freshman center Garrick Sherman will be utilized to take on some of Morgan and Roe’s minutes.

The trio of Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Chris Allen will be counted on as the primary scorers. Lucas and Summers combined for 38 points in the opener and have been the sparkplugs for the offense. Allen struggled with his shooting in the opener, but is still a viable outside threat.

Sophomores Korie Lucious and Draymond Green are the x-factors coming off of the bench. Against Florida Gulf Coast, Lucious looked very confident in his jumpshot and has been playing aggressive. Green helped score second-chance points by controlling the offensive boards.

Gonzaga will challenge Michigan State bu the Spartans should win this game. The key word being “should.” Gonzaga has a size advantage against State and the undersized Spartan forwards will have to play big. This game is not a complete lock but if the Spartans play as they did their first game they will come out with a win.

Prediction: Lucas and Summers are too much for the Zag’s backcourt to handle and Michigan State takes the win 86-78.

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.

The Spartans will likely start three guards with Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen, and Durrell Summers. Forwards Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe will likely complete the starting lineup.

• Lucas will be the team leader at the point guard position and is emerging as one of the top floor generals in the nation.
• Morgan is the only senior in this starting lineup and will be depended on heavily for points in the paint.
• Allen is the sharpshooter of this squad, providing a dangerous outside threat.
• Summers will use his explosiveness to drive at the basket and also can spot up and shoot from outside.
• Sophomore Delvon Roe will be given the oppurtunity to show why he was recruited so heavily as an extremely athletic forward.

Off of the bench, sophomore Korie Lucious will be a sparkplug with his lightning quickness and high energy play. Sophomore Draymond Green is continuing to get himself in better physical shape, making himself an even more dangerous player off of the bench.

Freshman centers Garrick Sherman and Derrick Nix will see a lot of playing time, to help prepare them for tournament time when MSU will need a post presence off of the bench.

The Spartans will get a rematch against North Carolina this season and will also face an always tough Gonzaga team early in the year.

Michigan State’s toughest non-conference matchup however, at least based on preseason projections, will be against #3 Texas. The Spartans have had the Longhorns’ number the last three seasons. Similarly, top ranked Kansas looks like they could go wire-to-wire this season, but the Spartans beat the Jayhawks twice last season.

My season prediction: Michigan State has a lean and athletic squad this year that will be one of the more exciting teams in the country. Size in the frontcourt is a weakness for the Spartans, but that didn’t stop them from reaching the Final Four last season. The Spartans will edge out Purdue for a Big-10 Chamionship and will be a Final Four team.

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* – Tom Izzo photo credit: AllBigTen.com

Michigan State again gave their opponent a second chance, only for it to bite them back in the butt.

Late in the 4th quarter, Michigan Sate was down 30-33. Michigan State’s WR, Larry Caper, beat all of the Irish’s defense. He was wide open. All he had to do was catch the ball. Instead the ball was too high, and while Caper got his hands on the ball, he wasn’t able to catch it.

It would have been a TD and given the Spartans the lead, and maybe even the game, but it only led to an Irish interception that would clinch the game for the Irish.

The hero tonight?

Kyle McCarthy is the big man on campus this weekend for Notre Dame. His interception at the 4 yard line, with 57 seconds left, sealed the win for the Irish. A win that they needed really badly. Last week, Notre Dame let Michigan come back and beat them. A loss that put even more doubt on the team, including head coach, Charlie Weis.

The Irish aren’t even close to showing that they are the real deal. They won the game, and while thats all that matters in the end, having another late night scare shows that this team doesn’t know how to finish a game. It was another scare for loyal Fighting Irish fans. A scar that not many fans want to endure 2 weeks in a row. A scare that kinda ticks you off.

One thing that will make fans happy is Jimmy Clausen continues to play extremely well. He threw for 300 yards with 2 TD passes and no interceptions. He is looking like a great leader for a team that needs one. He has played very well this year, and is a reason why the Irish should be hopeful this and next year.

A huge blow to the Irish is the loss of WR Michael Floyd. Floyd suffered a broken collarbone when he landed in the endzone. He leads the nation in receiving yards per game (160), and in yards per catch (29.1). Luckily, Golden Tate and Clausen were able to pick up the slack, something they might have to be doing for some weeks. It’s not yet known how long Floyd will be out.

Overall a win is a win. However I am beginning to doubt this defense that, in the first week, looked very strong. They have given up two straight 30+ point games. A team can’t expect to win when their defense gives up that many points in a game. Defense should be the main thing for the Irish to work on this week in practice.

The Irish’s season depends how the defense plays. Look for the defense to step it up next week.

Let me just say one thing looking back at last weekend and then we can get into the preview: Notre Dame lost the Michigan game because of terrible, crazy, offensive play calling.

What were they thinking when they called two pass plays with the lead late in the 4th quarter!? Run the ball and make Michigan use their timeouts! It was just dumb play calling at its “finest”.

Now back to the ND-MSU preview. Before we delve into the analysis, here are the particulars for Saturday’s matchup:

Michigan State at Notre Dame

• Michigan State-Notre Dame Date: Saturday, September 19th
• Michigan State-Notre Dame State Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• Michigan State-Notre Dame TV Channel: NBC
• Michigan State-Notre Dame Point Spread: Notre Dame -10.5

Notre Dame has to win this game, and on paper Notre Dame is the stronger team; but this is sports, and if you haven’t found out yet that anything can happened in sports, well you’re not a very astute fan.

So while Notre Dame should win this game, don’t count out Michigan State too easily.

Despite the 30+ points given up against Michigan, Notre Dame’s defense has improved dramatically. While the Irish offense is explosive, I believe it is their defense that will be the key to this game. Defense wins football games, as the old adage goes, and Notre Dame has the defense to do beat Michigan State, along with the offense to back it up.

Michigan State needs to stay to the basics of football. That is playing smart football, not giving up many turnovers, and converting on chances. Michigan State is running against the wind in this game, but playing smart football can make all the difference.

This game will go to the team with the better choices, play calling, and whoever converts on the others mistakes. Those are fairly common things you have to do to win a football game, but not many teams can do that in a game, and they end up paying the price for not sticking to the basics.

Overall I see Notre Dame winning this game comfortably. if not, then maybe Notre Dame isn’t as good as they were hyped to be.

This post was written a few weeks ago, and included the wishful thinking of an Ohio State fan who wanted the Buckeyes to make it to the Rose Bowl. Follow the link to view the 2008 college football schedule, which will be filled in with all the matchups once they are set.  You can also view the updated BCS Bowl projections, with Ohio State likely going to the Fiesta Bowl.

We are down to the final two weeks of Big Ten football play and I am pretty sure every fan believes their team underachieved this year. This probably doesn’t include Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota but all three got destroyed by Ohio State (30 plus point losses). All three teams probably lost a lot of their fan base before this year. Speaking of losing a fan base, I look at Indiana and Purdue in last place and Notre Dame barely bowl eligible and Ball State is the only exciting team in Indiana.

Anyway, moving on to the top of the Big Ten we virtually have a three way tie for first. Michigan State sits atop at 6-1 and they have a bye this week to prepare to go to Happy Valley for the Penn State rivalry game November 22nd.

Penn State is playing at home against IU this weekend and it could get ugly since they are coming off the last second FG loss at Iowa. The sports media world took a collective sigh of relief because they were not ready to cover a national championship game where a Big Ten champ gets their asses handed to them for a third straight year. Plus one model should be the motto for the future of the Big Ten conference so they can have a championship game.

THE Ohio State University Buckeyes go to Illinois for a noon game (ESPN) and they have revenge on their minds after last year’s 28-21 loss in Columbus. The Illibuck Trophy is up for grabs in Champaign which will be playing in freezing temperatures, maybe some flurries, before they get the Wolverines at home in The Game November 22nd. Now on to Bowl projections:

ROSE BOWL (Jan 1st) – Ohio State v. USC - The Buckeyes have a not so outside shot at a rematch against USC with a Michigan State win at Penn State. If the Spartans do win, Ohio State couldn’t be happier going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997 when they beat Jake “The Snake” Plummer’s Arizona State team 20-17. If Penn State wins out look for the Buckeyes to be in the BCS at-large game (Fiesta or Sugar) against maybe Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Utah, or even Ball State.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL (Jan 1st) – Michigan State v. Georgia - The Spartan faithful would enjoy a trip to the Capital One Bowl with a win at Happy Valley. Javon Ringer would go pro after this game if can run wild on the recently porous Georgia defense. The last four #2 Big Ten v. #2 SEC match ups have gone to the Big Ten squad in this January 1st Bowl game. Michigan, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, and Iowa over Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, and LSU respectively.

OUTBACK BOWL (Jan 1st) – Penn State v. South Carolina – Joe Pa versus the Ol’ Ball Coach. Sounds ironic considering Spurrier is about 30 years younger right? Anyway, who knows who will show up in this 11am New Years Day bowl. Then again it is premature to discuss this potential game two weeks before the season is over and since I am probably underestimating Penn State who could get their starting QB back for the MSU game.

ALAMO BOWL (Dec 29th) – Iowa v. Missouri - Most would look at the QB match up here and would check the spread for Chase Daniel’s Tigers, bet their savings, and laugh all the way home. But Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeyes always stay competitive (or win) in these Bowl games that they are supposed to be over matched. They almost beat Texas last year, came close to Florida before that, and beat LSU and Florida respectively the previous years before the close losses.

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL (Dec 29th) – Northwestern v. Miami (FL) - Two private schools, North versus South (or Thugs vs. Dorks whichever you prefer). Both programs are young and on the rise so if they meet here, the winner could build off the momentum and be pretty tough next year. The loser could as well.

INSIGHT BOWL (Dec 31st) – Illinois v. Nebraska - This is a coin flip between Minnesota and Illinois but I think Illinois will get the nod based off of fan base. It is unbelievable to me that the Fighting Zooks even have a chance to make a bowl after tanking it against WESTERN Michigan last weekend. Illinois has to beat Ohio State or Northwestern to even become eligible.

MOTOR CITY BOWL (Dec 27th) – Minnesota v. Ball State - The Gophers had a pretty good year but a lot of their Bowl eligibility has to do with a horrible non-conference schedule. Ball State is probably better than their non-conference and half of their Big Ten schedule. If Ball State runs the table while Utah and Texas Tech lose, then you would see Ball U in a BCS game and Central Michigan here against Minnesota.

Purdue was picked to finish first and the recently punched-in-the-balls by Kelvin Sampson IU program was selected to finish dead last in the Big Ten.

Here are the results (first place votes are in parenthesis):

1. Purdue (10)

2. Michigan State (5)

3. Wisconsin

4. Ohio State

5. Minnesota

6. Illinois

7. Penn State

8. Michigan

T9. Iowa

T9. Northwestern

11. Indiana

The Pre-season all Big Ten team is:

Robbie Hummel (Purdue)

E’ Twaun Moore (Purdue)

Marcus Landry (Wisconsin)

Manny Harris (Michigan State)

Raymar Morgan (Michigan State)

Hummel was also selected as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. He is the first Purdue player to be selected since Chad Austin in 1997. Purdue was also selected to win the women’s Big Ten title as well if you are interested in Jump Balls, falling down and traveling violations.

I think this is pretty fair considering that it is a Preseason poll and it is pretty much based on last years results. Obviously Indiana was hurt by the mass exodus that occured last spring summer from their much maligned basketball program. I still think Tom Crean is a good enough coach to get them out of the basement of the Big Ten this year.