FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[ThunderHead]

Anyone predicting any upsets on Saturday?

I think half the teams that play will be upset, and the other half will be happy.   

My thoughts are that Adrian will win at Kzoo, Albion wins at home vs Olivet, and Hope loses at Trine in a close one.

Pretty much agree here.

I'd love to stop by the tailgater, but with College Gameday in EL - I just can't pass up hanging out their all day. Safe travels to all.

[TUAngola]

Uncle Rico...might be able to swing by the "bus" before the game.  I like watching the TU band so usually stay in the stands at half.  I am friends with some of the music profs and I know a few kids in the band so like to show my support there too.

Hope the weather is nice tomorrow...man alive when was the last time we saw the sun shine around Angola? 

[Uncle Rico]

Uncle Rico...might be able to swing by the "bus" before the game.  I like watching the TU band so usually stay in the stands at half.  I am friends with some of the music profs and I know a few kids in the band so like to show my support there too.

Hope the weather is nice tomorrow...man alive when was the last time we saw the sun shine around Angola? 

Look forward to meeting you!  Let It Rain will be there also.  I think the weather is supposed to be pretty nice for this time of year.  Go Thunder!

[aueagle]

Solid win for Hope...way to go formerd3db

[TUAngola]

Sorry Uncle Rico...didn't get around quick enough today to make it to the bus before the game started.  You sure had a great day to tailgate!

The good:  Congrats to Hope College, big win for your team.  Final 28-23.  I thought the player of the game was your fullback, #30 (don't know his name).  He is the best blocking fullback I've seen in quite a while.  He is excellent at locking onto our LB's on those stretch runs and preventing them from making plays.  Plus he had a big 1st down catch in 4th Qtr that kept your clock eating final drive alive.

The bad:  Is it me or is the Trine crowd lethargic?  I think they've got used to winning the last 3-4 years that they don't know how to yell and help the team out.  I was the only one in my section standing up yelling and urging on the D to come up with a stop.  It just doesn't seem like we have a home field advantage like we should. 

The ugly:  Undisciplined play by our guys.  How many personal fouls did we have?  Too many to count that's for sure.  That's on the coaching staff, perhaps?  I haven't caught the final stats but I bet the penalty yardage was over 100 compared to just a handful of yards for Hope. 

Bottom line:  We had no fire today both from the team and fans, as has been the case all year.  I just haven't seen any game to game improvement from the Thunder.  Dropped TD catch on first drive in the first Qtr left points off the board.  Just went downhill from there.  Ugh 

[sac]

Today's final scores:
Adrian 52, Kalamazoo 21
Albion 52, Olivet 7
Hope 28, Trine 23

[Raider 68]

Formerd3db, and Hope supporters.

Your team did it today and away from home! They are having a very good season thus far!

[Uncle Rico]

Sorry Uncle Rico...didn't get around quick enough today to make it to the bus before the game started.  You sure had a great day to tailgate!

Bottom line:  We had no fire today both from the team and fans, as has been the case all year.  I just haven't seen any game to game improvement from the Thunder.  Dropped TD catch on first drive in the first Qtr left points off the board.  Just went downhill from there.  Ugh 

Sorry I missed you.  Was nice to meet FormerD3DB.  He was gracious enough not to rub in the Hope victory.   

I too was a little disappointed by the fans energy.  I was right there in the stands trying to lead a couple D-Fence cheers but I do not know if it were apathy or fear that kept the home crowd somewhat quiet during the game.  Why wasn't the crowd noisier I do not understand.  Even a lot of the players on the sidelines were fairly quiet.  I thought this was a huge game in order to keep up in the conference race, and it just did not happen.  Even with the score tied at the half I felt Trine could control and win the game, but we just could not stop them on a few key third downs.  A couple missed opportunites in the red zone as well.  Hopefully the pride factor will come in to play and Trine can finish up this season on some positive notes.

[ThunderHead]

It's only appropriate that this is post 300  . (Spartans - what is your profession...) I just got back from East Lansing and what an AWESOME freaking game, loved every second. According to BTN this is the first team in Big Ten Conference history to ever beat two teams coming in at 6-0 in consecutive weeks.

Cousins is now MSU's all time leader in wins. Hard to believe he was the lowly 3 star QB in that recruiting class. Cousins was on top of it finishing 22 of 31, 290 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. After an almost deadly fumble, he comes back and converts at critical times.

Despite missing the phenom that is Gholston, MSU's defense showed up just in time, and for a bunch of "street thugs" MSU did a pretty darn good job with zero (0) penalties tonight I'd say. 

Credit Coach Dantonio and Company (26-6 at Home; 12-game home winning streak, second only to the '50-'53 teams, with 19). The right man for the right job at the right time. There will be no shortage of talent arriving in EL to continue the building process. MSU is now front and center after tonight's game, not just for winning, but also for the exciting way the game ended. Though it could have gone either way - ESPN's headline said it best "Hail Sparty".

I know most all of you though MSU didn't stand much of a chance tonight after beating an over rated (in the polls) Michigan team, but tonight they were every bit a program on the way up. As despite giving up leads, they overcame. UR, Mr. Ypsi, and my other wonderful non-Spartan friends. I was thinking of you guys often tonight, especially at the end.  I thought Wisky showed a lot of character coming back from 14 down in the 4th. I wouldn't mind seeing them again in December. I also wouldn't mind NOT seeing them. Go PSU!

ps - knew I shoulda gone with Hope over Trine in the pickem (I actually selected Hope and then "modified" the post... ), Oh well, I just wasn't sure the Hope offense would show up. Guess it did, congrats to Hope.

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[formerd3db]

Solid win for Hope...way to go formerd3db

Thanks aueagle.  Yes, it was a great win for our team and program at this time.  It also makes last week's loss against Albion even more "stinging".  However, it will take a monumental effort like yesterday (and perhaps a little Adrian implosion ) to beat a tough Adrian team in two weeks.  It will depend on "which Hope team" shows up as many have already said in recent posts regarding our last 3-4 weeks of games! 

Sorry about your Ohio Wesleyan.  They've had a tough past 4-5 weeks.  However, in looking at their remaining 3 games, I think there is a real possibility of running the table on those if they are dedicated.  That would be a very nice way to end the season and certainly pump some much needed emotional boost to your/their program.  We've all been there before (including Mount before their dynasty began in the early-mid 1990's ).  So "Keep the Faith", my friend.

[Raider 68]

It's only appropriate that this is post 300  . (Spartans - what is your profession...) I just got back from East Lansing and what an AWESOME freaking game, loved every second. According to BTN this is the first team in Big Ten Conference history to ever beat two teams coming in at 6-0 in consecutive weeks.

Cousins is now MSU's all time leader in wins. Hard to believe he was the lowly 3 star QB in that recruiting class. Cousins was on top of it finishing 22 of 31, 290 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. After an almost deadly fumble, he comes back and converts at critical times.

Despite missing the phenom that is Gholston, MSU's defense showed up just in time, and for a bunch of "street thugs" MSU did a pretty darn good job with zero (0) penalties tonight I'd say. 

Credit Coach Dantonio and Company (26-6 at Home; 12-game home winning streak, second only to the '50-'53 teams, with 19). The right man for the right job at the right time. There will be no shortage of talent arriving in EL to continue the building process. MSU is now front and center after tonight's game, not just for winning, but also for the exciting way the game ended. Though it could have gone either way - ESPN's headline said it best "Hail Sparty".

I know most all of you though MSU didn't stand much of a chance tonight after beating an over rated (in the polls) Michigan team, but tonight they were every bit a program on the way up. As despite giving up leads, they overcame. UR, Mr. Ypsi, and my other wonderful non-Spartan friends. I was thinking of you guys often tonight, especially at the end.  I thought Wisky showed a lot of character coming back from 14 down in the 4th. I wouldn't mind seeing them again in December. I also wouldn't mind NOT seeing them. Go PSU!

ps - knew I shoulda gone with Hope over Trine in the pickem (I actually selected Hope and then "modified" the post... ), Oh well, I just wasn't sure the Hope offense would show up. Guess it did, congrats to Hope.

Thunderhead,

I also enjoyed the MSU game and I was pulling for them. Good school, good Coach and QB! +k on your post!

[formerd3db]

Uncle Rico:
Great to meet you, your wife and son (a former Trine player) yesterday.  Thanks for taking the time after the game to visit.  I am sorry I didn't arrive in enough time before the game to visit more and sample one of your "tailgate hotdogs".  You and others have summed up the game nicely.  I think that most of us Hope people would agree that our players put forth one of their best efforts ever and that game just might perhaps rank among one of Hope's all-time great efforts in that regard, even thought it wasn't for a championship i.e. that type/level of a game.  As has been mentioned, it was going to hinge on "which Hope team" decided to show up.  In addition to our players, I have to give great credit to Head Coach Dean Kreps and his coaching staff.  This is one of the first times (almost ever) I can remember them deciding on throwing in a few of the "trick" or razzle dazzle plays (half-back pass, etc.).  Coach Kreps doesn't usually like to rely on those type of offensive plays  (and he has legit reasons IMO), although I also think that sometimes when things are not going well, one has to take a chance and resort to "all the tricks in one's bag".  He and the team certainly took advantage of that yesterday and it paid off for us.  As far as Trine, obviously, they are not the team they were last year or before, however, they still are a very good team.  They just did not take advantage of situations when they could and as TU Angola has mentioned, those personal foul penalties killed them.  Not good.  I was impressed, however, by Trine's punter - wow and in that regard, our own punter did a fantastic job as well.

Fantastic weather for the game.  You also have a fantastic stadium - in fact, our Hope President (Coach) Bultman, former Head Coach and AD Coach Ray Smith and the City of Holland's mayor made the trip down together to view/tour the stadium facilities.  Is that a good omen for us??   We're all hoping so and we'll see what happens.

We'll see what happens now in the remaining 3 weeks of the season.  We have our "bye" next week so that will give us two weeks to prepare for the showdown with Adrian.     

[formerd3db]

Raider68:

Thanks for the congrats on the Hope win.  Yes, it was exciting for us (obviously not for Trine ).  You've seen my post above regarding the game, so I won't reiterate any of that here.

We'll see what goes for the remainder of the season and that includes for your Mount Union team!

P.S.  I can't share your (and ThunderHead's) enthusiasm for Michigan State , but...they played well (except for the last few minutes) and certainly deserved the win.

[formerd3db]

ThunderHead:

Yes, great win for Michigan State last evening and they deserved the win without question.  However, I still do not believe they are a top 15 team and they will have to prove it by winning the next few games against Nebraska, Iowa and even Penn State before I change my mind!   While they dominated most of the game last evening, they showed they are still vulnerable and have some breakdowns (including in the secondary ) as evidenced as to how they had to win the game.  Cousins was spot-on with his passing especially in having some great help from the Wisconsin secondary with MSU's receivers being wide open most of the night, although the receivers did make some tremendous catches.  Anyway, it was an electric atmosphere for Michigan State last evening and a wonderful win for them and their fans at Homecoming.  It is always nice to win at Homecoming .

Regarding the MIAA, I think most everyone (with the obvious exception of our Albion colleagues here) believes that Adrian will win the title, however, there is always that possibility that it could come down to some "surprising quirks".  We'll just have to see what plays out in the next 2 weeks.  Anyway, you missed a nice atmosphere at Trine yesterday (other than their loss), although you were able to  experience that nice atmosphere PLUS a win at Michigan State last evening!  It sure was a goregeous day and evening for college football. 

[ThunderHead]

ThunderHead:

Yes, great win for Michigan State last evening and they deserved the win without question.  However, I still do not believe they are a top 15 team and they will have to prove it by winning the next few games against Nebraska, Iowa and even Penn State before I change my mind!   While they dominated most of the game last evening, they showed they are still vulnerable and have some breakdowns (including in the secondary ) as evidenced as to how they had to win the game.  Cousins was spot-on with his passing especially in having some great help from the Wisconsin secondary with MSU's receivers being wide open most of the night, although the receivers did make some tremendous catches.  Anyway, it was an electric atmosphere for Michigan State last evening and a wonderful win for them and their fans at Homecoming.  It is always nice to win at Homecoming .

Regarding the MIAA, I think most everyone (with the obvious exception of our Albion colleagues here) believes that Adrian will win the title, however, there is always that possibility that it could come down to some "surprising quirks".  We'll just have to see what plays out in the next 2 weeks.  Anyway, you missed a nice atmosphere at Trine yesterday (other than their loss), although you were able to  experience that nice atmosphere PLUS a win at Michigan State last evening!  It sure was a goregeous day and evening for college football. 

formerd3db,

Interesting as a Hope guy you thought the atmosphere in Angola was good, while many Trine people thought it wasn't. I suppose Hope had a little to do with that. LOL Congrats on the win, well deserved I'm sure.

As for the above highlighted, I think this a typical Michigan fan response, and not all that surprising, as I've heard it from a few Michigan people. Yet those same people said "they're (MSU) not any good and Wisconsin will prove that..." Well, I'm not sure MSU can do any better then they've done. Yes they almost let the game get away, but even OK or Bama isn't "un-beatable" yet MSU didn't let their mistakes kill them - overcame them, and - by the way, WON. Give Wisky some credit, that's a very very good football team. This wasn't Minnesota coming back on them in the 4th, this was the 6th best team in the country.

I fully believe MSU is a top 15 team, their isn't a doubt in my mind. Other then the ND game, they've played well and again, Wisconsin is a darn good team with a darn good (leading the Heisman race coming in...) QB. I would be surprised if they lose another regular season game.

Oh and by the way my friend, that secondary had two picks Saturday night, Mr. Wilson said post game he thought it might be the best secondary in the Big Ten...

As for MIAA stuff, I think Adrian wins the league, probably loses in the 1st or 2nd round. They're very good, and yet I don't think the MIAA does a great job of preparing anyone for the playoffs on a weekly basis. Hopefully that will change as programs continue to get better.