SpartanAvenue: Know Thy Enemy – Minnesota

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About the only positive thing that a Minnesota fan could take away from that is he called us a "slightly above average" basketball school.
 

Well written, well researched and 100% accurate.

I can see he's getting his money's worth from his education at MSU.
 

Unregistered User said:
Well written, well researched and 100% accurate.

I can see he's getting his money's worth from his education at MSU.
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:clap:

Our secondary was a pleasant surprise last year given how well Theret and Royston manned the defensive backfield all last season.
 

On the Positive Side

mattw1067 said:
About the only positive thing that a Minnesota fan could take away from that is he called us a "slightly above average" basketball school.
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On the plus side, contrary to the article, Royston will be returning. The author also seem to believe that Royston started and played last year. In addition the author also seems to believe that all Michigan State needs to do is to show up to get a victory. Let's hope that he is as accurate with this statement as he is with his statement about Royston.
 


Did Max Shortell really not have any other offers? (as the article claims)

I know he committed early--- but as a 3* QB, I would have figured at least a couple schools had interest.
 

Shortell

wels0081 said:
Did Max Shortell really not have any other offers? (as the article claims)

I know he committed early--- but as a 3* QB, I would have figured at least a couple schools had interest.
Click to expand...

After Brady Hoke was appointed the new football coach at Michigan he tried to persuade Shortell to come to Michigan. Shortell didn’t bite.
 

Unregistered User said:
Well written, well researched and 100% accurate.

I can see he's getting his money's worth from his education at MSU.
Click to expand...

I especially enjoyed the part where he pointed out the reality of Goldy Gopher being a redundant nickname, since clearly Sparty Spartan is original and clever.
 

First, they barely escaped with a victory over Middle Tennessee 24-17 to reach 1-0, their highest winning percentage of the season.
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Isn't that gonna be the case for every school who wins their first game no matter what they do the rest of the year? :)

That was an iffy article, but I'm not expecting another school's blogger to know a ton about our program, especially in the condition it's in. You want respect, you gotta go out and earn it.
 



Jerry Kill not being able to recruit three star players and we should be concerned? This is a different level and I would bet my life savings Jerry Kill recruits three and four star players. Anybody here disagree?
 

4four4 said:
Jerry Kill not being able to recruit three star players and we should be concerned? This is a different level and I would bet my life savings Jerry Kill recruits three and four star players. Anybody here disagree?
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Using Rivals ranking system, Kill did recruit 8 three star players for his 2010 class. For the 2011 class Northern Illinois recruited 6 three star players. I believe they would have had more, but I recall that Jerry brought a few three star Northern Illinois verbals to Minnesota after he was appointed Minnesota's head coach.
 

wels0081 said:
Did Max Shortell really not have any other offers? (as the article claims)

I know he committed early--- but as a 3* QB, I would have figured at least a couple schools had interest.
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Guys like Max Shortell, Quinn Bauducco and Tommy Olson (can't believe that dink didn't mention him in recruiting) didn't get many or any other offers BECAUSE they committed very very early to the Gophers, before ever getting another offer. (Though as stated, Brady Joke went after Shortell pretty solidly)


This guy at MSU reporting about the 2011 Gopher football team must be a Spartan Gymnast..... being able to bend forward that far on himself :rolleyes:
 

Definitely biased toward MS. Don't buy the comments concerning recruiting after seeing how Kill and company addressed it after their hire. He seems to totally disrespect Kills resume. MS should not consider the MN game an automatic win. By the end of the season I suspect the U is going to be operating pretty respectably.
 



Kuato Lives! said:
:clap:

Our secondary was a pleasant surprise last year given how well Theret and Royston manned the defensive backfield all last season.
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Personally I was disappointed in Kim's play last season. He managed to play the entire season without making a single tackle. :mad:
 

Killjoy said:
After Brady Hoke was appointed the new football coach at Michigan he tried to persuade Shortell to come to Michigan. Shortell didn’t bite.
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Allegedly.

Now I don't really like the article because my 3rd grade cousin could write it's equal, but hoke never offering shortelle while at San Diego state or Michigan makes me hesitant to call MS anything other than a 1 offer player.
 

Based on the fact that MSU got what 10? wins with an average team last year, he probably does think they just need to show up. But as Alabama and Iowa showed, they were not that good. I have a lot of respect for Mark D, he gets more wins from the skill levels he has than anyone in the conference for the last three years, but I don't think any of his teams would have matched up well with very good national teams.
 

Yeah.. Can't blame the guy for having some of the mistakes he had in this blog.. He certainly knows more about us than I know about the Spartans (whom I've always had a soft spot for). That said, the mistake of Royston playing last year was kinda unforgivable if you ask me. He broke his leg IN SPRING BALL!! He didn't even play a game. So how this blogger thought he played is beyond me.

I, too, found it pretty funny that he made the comment that Goldy Gopher is a redundant nickname.

As far as his prediction goes.. On paper I say MSU beats us. But he must have forgotten how much trouble 'The U' has given State on the gridiron. All we have to do is point to the Halloween game of '09.
 

Oh good, Pantherhawk has found the link and decided to entertain everyone with his useless ramblings.
 


Unregistered User said:
Well written, well researched and 100% accurate.

I can see he's getting his money's worth from his education at MSU.
Click to expand...

Luckily I just wrapped up my MSU preview for my upcoming blog and I'll give you guys the first crack at seeing it.

Michigan State.

Bio:
Location: Boise, Idaho.
Established: 1993
Student Population: 413
Nickname: Fighting Trotans
Mascot: Tommy the Greek (completely redundant IMO)
School Colors: Black and black
Fight Song: Drive (by the Cars)
Fun Fact: The smokestack by Roman Stadium (home of the Trotans) was once used to direct smoke out of some building. Also, a kid who graduated from there got a job in Detroit, or Chicago or some other city I'm pretty sure. Lastly, would someone please confirm that they call themselves "State"?

Getting to Know the Trotans:

Head Coach: Mike D'Antoni
Conference: Big Pac East Conference
2011 Record: 0-1 (lost to Auburn or Austin)
Key Losses from 2010: Jeff Smoker- QB, Percy Snow- LB, Bobby Williams- HC, George Perles- HC
2011 Recruiting Class: Carmelo Anthony is the star of this class, but D'Antoni had to do a lot to get him, and I mean A LOT! He has some great tatoos that should distract the other team from hitting his knuckleball. Reminds me of a mix of Tim Wakefield and Roger Bannister. Also, they picked up a guy for the offensive line from Petosky, MI not sure if he can play, but his old man runs a marina and rumor is he can fill a yacht's gas tank quick. We all know that means quick hands. At the end of the day though, D'Antoni hasn't proven to be a great recruiter. He has NEVER even landed a 6 star, even when he had Steve Nash. Ultimately, I think they would have done better to lure Red Wings coach Mike Babcock. If I were a Trotan fan, I'd be worried.

Football Fun Fact: The Trotans once tied a game. Had some guys go pro too!

2011 Season Review: Lost to Auburn in the Sun Bowl, or maybe Austin. They got beat pretty good too. Didn't see that game, but if you lose to Austin in the Humanitarian Bowl or Kickoff Classic, well, you know its not real good.

Lets Start by looking at the Offense: MSU has a very experienced backfield with Lorenzo White and Bobby McAllister. These guys had tremendous years last year behind Tony Mandarich. Most people think Mandarich is a NFL type guy (I disagree and hope the Packers draft him!). They piled up a lot of yards in the Single Wing and looked real good in spring ball.

Not Sure of last years stats but they were no worse than 11th in the league.

The defensive side of the ball is equally not comparable. I think Bubba Smith is a fine player, but without Dmetrius Underwood, things looked rough last year. Underwood was awesome in 2009 though!

Not Sure of last years stats but they finished amongst the league there too.

The matchup:

Not real worried. I think the winner will score more points. If our defense can pressure McAllister and keep the guy who married "Left Eye" in check, we should shut them down. I think Beal will handle Lorenzo White handily. I expect our offense to score lots of points. I know Gray hasn't played, but I think he's got a burst of speed that will leave Bubba Smith astonished. At the end of the day, I think D'Antoni and boys have a hard time getting the puck past Adam Hauser and the Gophers roll.

Score: Gophers 96, Trotans 3 (on a 3 pointer as time expires)

:D
 


Great post!

Luckily I just wrapped up my MSU preview for my upcoming blog and I'll give you guys the first crack at seeing it.

:clap:
 


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