spartyfan1718

Yeah, any coach who will invigorate that futile offense the Illini have is going to help the program.

Even if we were in top 10 Scott I still don't see us getting selected over Michigan for a spot in the Sugar. Regardless, I'm disappointed we didn't win and only really cared about getting the Rose Bowl anyways and winning the BIG. Thanks for the well wishes and will be cheering for Nebraska as well. Your right Woody hopefully we can just take care of business against a very good Georgia team and show people how good of a team we have.

Scott, the only reason the winner of the Michigan and Nebraska game had the inside track to the BCS game is unfortunately because of money! It is no secret that both teams travel well and are cash cows for whatever bowl game selects them so whether the team is worthy of being selected or not it was almost a certainity that the winner because of money would be selected to a BCS game (this is how we end up with the worst Sugar Bowl in history). I certainly agree that we had our shot at getting in the best BCS game outside the national title and because of mental errors fell short, but don't kid yourself even if we beat Notre Dame or you guys and finished 11-2 we still would have been picked over for Michigan. You need to start realizing that the way teams are selected has absolutely nothing to do with how good the team is or where they finished in the conference because if it did Michigan State would not be playing in the Outback and Nebraska wouldn't have played in the Holiday Bowl last season. I do certainly agree with you though that K-State and Boise State got hosed as well and if those teams would have gotten in before Michigan State I would not have been upset because those would have been two ball clubs that actually deserved a spot in. Nevertheless, we blew our chance and will play in what is probably one of the better matchups all bowl season compared to some of the trash games the BCS offers.

No doubt RG3 should be the winner, he is an electric player and without him Baylor is not even close to a 9 win team. My gut tells me though that Luck will win it.

I don't feel bad about being left out of the BCS, we had a chance to be able to play in the only BCS game that counts to me when your in the BIG and that is the Rose Bowl (along with the BCS title game the only two BCS games that mean anything). Michigan and Virginia Tech benefit from a business decision, not the merit of the season that they actually had. If it was based on that you would obviously have two different teams playing for the Sugar Bowl, I believe anyways that the Outback and Capital One are far more appealing bowls to watch this year so I have no problem with Michigan or Virginia Tech going to the Sugar. Michigan State will never travel as well as these programs along with other schools who will constantly be passed over by the system because of money, thus we need to make the most of our chances. I wouldn't trade places with any team right now, it was a quite a ride this season and something I will always look back to.

Horrible fire by Fresno, hell the guy even took a paycut because of the state budget issues and this is how you reward him for his loyalty. Shame on you Fresno St. you are going back to the days of praying for 6-6 records. It shouldn't take Pat long to find another job..

Back from Indy men still with a little sour feeling in my stomach after being so close to the Rose for the first time in 24 years. First thing, congrats to Wisconsin it was a real pleasure conversing with a number of Badger fans and enjoying the experience of the first BIG Championship. Secondly, what a game played by both sides, I'm glad that my Spartans played with heart and showed that they truly are one of the best teams in the country (albeit the constant mental errors). Finally, in regards to the bowl game hopefully this is the glaring stain that finally gets the BCS changed, you have teams like Kansas State, Michigan State, and Boise State sitting at home when they accomplished so much this season. While Michigan and Virginia Tech receive bids simply because they can raise a few extra bucks, as a college football fan it is sickening to me and bowl games at the very least (including the BCS) should be required to take a team as they are ranked in the conference. Anyways, once again congrats to Wisconsin and all of us on what was a special first season for the new BIG conference.

I think it's already clear that the Legends from top to bottom is a much tougher division. After Wisconsin and Ohio St the competition severely drops, and that includes Penn St who I said was a big phony before this scandal even hit.

I really don't understand the love for Kirk either. The guy has made it to two Orange Bowls in his entire tenure at Iowa while the remainder of the teams he has had are slightly above average give or take a little bit depending on the season. Not saying that I would fire the man if I were Iowa but he certainly to me does not seem like the cream of the crop in the college coaching landscape.

What matters to the bowls is how many fans a team will bring and what their TV numbers will be on gameday. If you (generic) don't think that matters when they make an offer, you're fooling yourself... Completely agree with you there Lonnie, I mentioned that earlier that it all comes down to $$$$

Not sure who you are a fan of, but as far as I'm concerned this is just a stupid comment and probably does not deserve a response. I'm not exactly sure how a team that goes 7-1 in conference and 10-2 overall is considered overrated. That's all I'm going to say on this issue with you. Let's see how Spaty does vs Wisc this time and how they do in their bowl. Win your bowl for once and maybe I will buy in. I hear a lot of let's see how they do here and lets see what happens then, as far as I'm concerned selection is based on the actual body of work. We beat Wisconsin once already this season and finished the season with a 10-2 mark. As far as I'm concerned there's nothing left to prove when it comes to qualifying for a decent bowl game, we had a very strong season and finished with the best record in the BIG. Although we haven't performed well in the bowls of late it should have no bearing on where we are placed, if it did there would be plenty of other teams getting docked then as well.

I like no one giving us a chance, just like last time when they were supposed to walk away with an easy victory in East Lansing.

Indiana is a huge sleeper as far as I'm concerned this year in the conference. No, I'm not saying they will come close to winning the conference this year but I do believe a 9 or 10 wins in the conference will in no way be surprising to me. Should be another fun year of BIG basketball.

Not sure who you are a fan of, but as far as I'm concerned this is just a stupid comment and probably does not deserve a response. I'm not exactly sure how a team that goes 7-1 in conference and 10-2 overall is considered overrated. That's all I'm going to say on this issue with you.

The BIG should take it rather easily tonight fellas, we are favored in 5 of the 6 games going tonight. No reason we shouldn't take this thing for another year.

Nice information Badgerfan look forward to meeting you again this Saturday!! Go Green!!

Our allotment of tickets did not even make it to the publc, the donors gobbled all ~15000 tickets that we were given instantly. I think the issue is that when you have a game like this and offer a large amount of tickets to the public and Colts season ticket holders you are looking at a situation where everyone is just out to make a quick buck and looking to dump their tickets for a small profit. If the BIG wants to avoid issues like this in the future offer far less tickets to the public to begin with, and then when the game participants have been determined then start selling them in huge amounts. I guarantee you that if you did this you would have far more people attending the game that actually care.

Obviously, if Michigan State was 4-4 in the Big Ten and winners of multiple tiebreakers to get into the CCG then no they should not get a premium bowl just because they made it to the CCG. In instances though where the team that qualifies for the CCG has the best record or tied for best record in the conference then I do in fact believe that said team should be guaranteed that conferences #1 non-BCS bowl. In regards to some of the arguments that it gets old travelling to the same state for games year after year, I agree with this argument to a point but when you are severely dropping a team 2 or 3 spots just because you are tired of them visiting your state then something is seriously wrong. I'm all about the prestige of the game and going to the Capital One or Outback bowl means much more to me then going to the Insight or Gator, and in no way does having to travel to sunny Orlando or Tampa year after year deter me from going to the bowl game. Just my two cents

I completely agree with the point that bowl games don't like to take the same team two years in a row. I guess where I am getting really irritated is the fact that if MSU falls below the Ouback which I have seen several sites project then to say it would greatly bother me would be an understatement.

In response to atbone Yes, I surely do feel like I have a legitimate beef here. Yes, Nebraska won the head to head matchup but you also failed to beat three teams that we in fact did not to mention the fact we have the outright best record in the Big Ten. I'm not trying to stir things up here guys just venting about an obviously flawed system that gets us all from time to time. Let's not forget last year when we finished 11-1 and once again were left as the bottom man on the totem pole for one reason $$$$. In response to Luke Completely agree with you Luke, the CCG loser should always be guaranteed the best non-BCS bowl available. As far as these games go as I mentioned earlier it all comes down to dollar signs and the fact that MIchigan, Nebraska, Ohio State all will bring in more ultimately leaves MSU crippled to begin with, so unless MSU is sizably better than any of these teams they will be passed over time and time again given the system that we have in place right now. Sorry guys just a grumpy MSU venting about years past where we've been given the shaft time and time again, hopefully we just take care of business Saturday.

Not to sound sore about things here guys but Michigan State has the best regular season record out of any Big Ten team, and yet there are talks of MSU dropping to the Outback or even possibly the insight or gator with a loss to Wisconsin. Obviously, I hope we just take care of business again against Wisconsin but for a team that goes 7-1 in the conference to be rewarded for a great season with a trip to the insight bowl simply does not seem right to me, and I would make this argument for any team in the BIG that has a similar season.

I'd find it hard to believe if NU falls any lower than the Outback given how big of a draw your fanbase is as long as you don't lose to Iowa which I don't see happening. What's frustrating to me is although espn has the big ten championship loser going to capital one many other websites have the loser going to the outback, which as far as I'm concerned is a joke. Not sure how you have a 10 win team drop from 1 win away from the rose to the outback. Hate the new system that has been implemented where Big Ten No. 2 means simply that the capital one has the no. 2 pick of teams from the big ten, so if they were so inclined they could take illinois or nw. Obviously, this wouldn't happen but the best teams won't be rewarded like they should. Just my two cents on the bowls.

I feel this game is completely dependent on the pass rush NU is able to generate and the ability of the secondary to keep the Iowa passing game in check. If NU controls the passing game like they did against MSU then they win going away. Time will tell but my prediction is NU 24 Iowa 13

Shocking. When I sat in the student section at Spartan Stadium in 2007 I watched two MSU fans urinate into cups and proceed to throw it on UM fans. That would never, NEVER happen in A2. There's a shocker, Michigan fan saying things that once again are arrogant and untrue. You must be delusional because I to have seen some of the poorest treatment I've ever come across when visitng Ann Arbor. Come on down from your dream world and realize that all schools have some bad apples that completely ruin the experience for visitors.

Big Ten officiating is consistently inconsistent, some days the calls go you way and some days they don't. I