MSU loses to Wisconsin 38-0. Maybe Wisconsin is good.
Instead of focusing on the most painful 17 point win ever and before more context is added to our Iowa win after tonight’s game I’d rather look at the MSU mess that just finished against Wisconsin. To gain some context on whether the Wisconsin game was more us being bad or Wisconsin being that good see if you can guess which stat line each game came from. Choices are:
Michigan @ Wisconsin
MSU @ OSU
MSU @ Wisconsin
Michigan/MSU Offense
A. 149 yds, 7 first downs, 2 TOs
B. 285 yds, 18 first downs, 3 TOs
C. 299 yds, 15 first downs, 4 TOS
Opponent Offense
X. 402 yds, 22 first downs, 0 TOs
Y. 487 yds, 25 first downs, 0 TOS
Z. 529 yds, 22 first downs, 2 TOs
Michigan @ Wisconsin (CY)
So 35-14 and we had a -230 yd. gap and a -4 TO differential
MSU @ Wisconsin (AX)
So 38-0 and they had a -253 yd. gap and -2 TO differential
MSU @ OSU (BZ)
34-10 and they had a -244 yd. gap and -1 TO differential
So MSU has a worse offense than us. We should be able to beat them in AA. Wisconsin may actually be comparable to OSU so since that game is in AA too maybe we only lose by 2 scores.
October 12th, 2019 at 7:51 PM ^
Well no shit, anyone with a functioning brain should have been able to tell that after they didn't give up a single point their first two games even though "they didn't play anyone". That doesn't excuse us looking completely overmatched from the get go. Our measuring stick shouldn't be MSU but we're pretty much equal depending on the week.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:15 PM ^
MSU actually had a better offense than us going into this week per SP+. That may change this week but not by much as I believe the preseason stuff will be gone this week or next from those rankings and that is definitely propping us up.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:28 PM ^
If Mason doesn’t fumble it’s a different game
October 12th, 2019 at 9:41 PM ^
If ifs and buts were fruits and nuts everyday would be Christmas
October 13th, 2019 at 9:19 AM ^
I always thought it was candy and nuts, but yeah.
October 13th, 2019 at 8:34 AM ^
No it's not.
October 12th, 2019 at 7:54 PM ^
Ah, the transitive property of football scores, always a reliable indicator of the outcome.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:03 PM ^
I threw the OSU game in there as a control. Now it’s a double blind study.
science.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:50 PM ^
Why do people complain about the transitive property with scores, yet think comparing Michigan this year to Penn State from 2016 is OK?
I mean at least the transitive property accomplishes two things: 1) it compares scores, teams from the current year; 2) it allows for message board guys to whip out their really big dictionary brains so they can sound smart.
October 12th, 2019 at 11:22 PM ^
you said big dic
tionary.
October 12th, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
In summary - Wisconsin is very, very good and Sparty sucks ass.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:03 PM ^
I’m more concerned about Michigan being very good.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:06 PM ^
Can you make this easier to understand?
Started drinking heavily around 11am PDT.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:07 PM ^
But... they don't have a modern offense.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
But they were 8-4 last year...
October 12th, 2019 at 8:09 PM ^
But do they have 18 fumbles?
October 12th, 2019 at 9:04 PM ^
Do they have any fumbles? Why would they? They just hand the ball off and run for touchdowns.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:15 PM ^
Lord, please let dantoni stay. Please please please.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:06 PM ^
In his post game press conference he was actually pretty calm and quiet. But one reporter asked a question about whether he should hVe fired offensive coaches in the off season instead of reshuffling his buddies around. He called it a "dumb ass question" and that made me laugh.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:18 PM ^
This is dumb
October 12th, 2019 at 8:19 PM ^
Wisconsin isn't just good. They are a playoff caliber team. They came in to the season expecting good offensive play but their defense has shut out 4 of 6 teams. It's damn hard to shut out teams. Even the bad teams get a lucky bounce to get in FG range. To shut out 4 of 6 is domination. Add that to their brick wall offensive line and a running back with 5000(!!!!!) yards in 2 and a half seasons. Add to that their QB is playing like a 5 star and you have a team that can beat Oklahoma, Ohio State and other top tier teams.
This is easily the best team Wisconsin has had in forever.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:25 PM ^
They will win Big Ten imho,
October 12th, 2019 at 8:50 PM ^
I would much prefer them to win over OSU, but I don't see it happening unfortunately
October 12th, 2019 at 9:37 PM ^
I’ll take that bet. Unfortunately the only team that looks better than OSU is Alabama
October 12th, 2019 at 8:28 PM ^
They’re very good. Although I’d like to see how they would play on the road against a decent team.
i think OSU will beat them.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:39 PM ^
Maybe once
October 12th, 2019 at 8:28 PM ^
Could be true, which is amazing seeing as they had Russell Wilson and Montee Ball on the same team. IiRC that team somehow lost three games.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:58 PM ^
And Travis Frederick and Kevin Zeitler, at one point the highest-paid center and guard in the NFL respectively. To be honest I think those guys mattered a lot more than Ball.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:47 PM ^
Wisconsin would win one game in ten against Ohio State in Columbus. Mabye it will happen, 10% isn't all that unlikely.
OSU is such a horrible opponent for them. Wisconsin must be able to effectively run the ball; OSU has a top 3 run defense, and they're 8-deep on the DL with players that will be drafted when they're done playing. On the other side of the ball, Wisconsin lacks the speed and athleticism to cover elite WRs consistently, and a missed tackle is frequently going to be a touchdown.
Against a team that doesn't have a dominant DL and that doesn't have a high-powered passing game, Wisconsin can stand toe-to-toe with any of them. Heck, they'd probably be favored against any of them. But OSU is Wisconsin's kryptonite, and it wouldn't be a total shock if we saw something reminiscent of the last time they played and Wisconsin had a Hesisman-caliber RB and a top 3 ranked defense: the Buckeyes won that one 59-0 with their 3rd-string QB making his first career start.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:53 PM ^
Why can't our 5 star play like a 5 star. Outplayed by a 2 start today.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:07 PM ^
As much as you'd like that to be true, it is not on this day. Our supposed 5 star played like a 3.5 star in a dysfunfunctional offense while the 2 star played like a 3 star.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:43 PM ^
This reminded me of Steve Martin's soliloquy in The Jerk when he's lying in bed talking about how long it's felt like he's been with his girlfriend.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:07 PM ^
Probably comparable to the Russell Wilson led team or one of seasons with Melvin Gordon.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:21 PM ^
Transitive property does not apply to football. Wisconsin whooping other teams is promising though; I hope they continue to do well. Unless we sneak into the Big Ten championship game, I'll probably be rooting for them in every game they play this year.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:01 PM ^
Any thoughts about the QB situation?
October 12th, 2019 at 8:25 PM ^
Well, fuck MSU. It doesn’t take away the pain from our awful Wisconsin game and our never ending desire to lose fumbles. But still...fuck MSU.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:28 PM ^
Of course Wisconsin is good. Maybe a top 5 team. But we were down 35-0, so all we know is that we are far below that tier.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:39 PM ^
Wisconsin is good. It will be interesting to see how they fare vs. OSU.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:41 PM ^
I always like it when MSU loses, and I like the style of ball Wisconsin plays. But that team is dirty as hell.
So fuck Wisconsin.
October 12th, 2019 at 10:52 PM ^
Please elaborate? MSU is a hell of a lot dirtier than Wisconsin
October 12th, 2019 at 8:42 PM ^
Wisconsin looks good until they get smoked by OSU
October 12th, 2019 at 9:05 PM ^
Looks like they'll probably get two shots at them though with the 2nd one being the most important
October 12th, 2019 at 8:54 PM ^
Oh it’s okay that we got killed by Wisconsin because they are good. All is forgiven. Michigan isn’t trying to be good or anything.
October 12th, 2019 at 9:03 PM ^
No one is saying that what he is saying Michigan might not be as awful as some people were saying after that loss.
I think they're solid seven to nine points worse than they were last year but many thought they were two touchdowns worse or more after the Wisconsin game. They've actually played at a consistently Iowa, Michigan State type levels basically since that Wisconsin game.
October 12th, 2019 at 8:59 PM ^
I go back and grade all the games play by play and then adjust for strength of schedule and both Ohio State and Wisconsin this year are the two best teams I can recall in the decade that I've been doing this in the Big Ten this far into a season.
I think Wisconsin could beat Ohio State if this was an Ohio State team from the past 5 years but right now it looks like it's a notch better than that even. Urban Meyer never had any of his teams playing at this level the first five or six games of a season
October 12th, 2019 at 9:07 PM ^
Best OSU defense since Tressel was there. The offense has so many more wrinkles. Urban was stubborn, Day/Wilson can confound a D. Fields is getting better every week and that OL is mauling people
Kevin Wilson is an offensive genius. His Oklahoma teams were phenomenal and we can all remember how frustrating his IU offenses were to defend. Day gets a lot of credit but Wilson is a maestro
If the Wisconsin/OSU game was at Camp Randall I’d say that really negates some of OSU’s advantage. It’s in Columbus and speed kills.