Auburn's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton remains eligible and keeps his award because the NCAA determined his father, Cecil Newton, acted alone in shopping his son to a number of schools before ultimately choosing Auburn.

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo is suspended one game for employing someone at a camp who at some point had direct contact with a recruit - but not at the camp.

Now-Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari is free to go from school to school with no consequences even though each school he leaves always ends up facing sanctions.

Five Ohio State football players, including three starters, must sit out the team's first five games next season after it was discovered they sold awards, gifts and university apparel and received improper benefits in 2009. A sixth football student-athlete must sit out the first game in 2011 for receiving discounted services in violation of NCAA rules. If the suspension is upheld, Pryor's first game will be Oct. 8 against Nebraska.

NCAA makes rules as it goes
The NCAA says the players - Mike Adams, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Terrelle Pryor, Solomon Thomas and Jordan Whiting can still play Jan. 4 in the Sugar Bowl because of "inadequate rules education." Ohio State's first five games next year are against Akron, Toledo, at Miami (Fl.), Colorado and Michigan State.

The violations fall under the NCAA’s preferential treatment bylaws. They should fall under the NCAA's "We throw the hammer down when we want" bylaws.

The hypocrisy of the NCAA is astounding. How can that group even have a shred of credibility after it basically makes up rules as the situation allows?

The OSU players said the money earned from selling the items - Big Ten championship rings, jerseys, etc. - went to help their families. That's debatable, of course. What isn't debatable, though, is the lack of consistency in the NCAA rules.

In the case of Newton, all he needed to do was play dumb to maintain his eligibility. How stupid must Reggie Bush feel after he "voluntarily" returned his 2005 award? And why don't all these Buckeye players just say "My parents sold those things without my knowledge" so they, too, can maintain their eligibility?

The NCAA is displaying hypocrisy of the highest order.

"You can prostitute out your son to a bunch of schools. We'll let that go. You can be a certified dirtbag. We'll let that go. But don't do what all other celebrities do and use your name to get free stuff. We'll kill you for that."

If Ohio State is smart, it will look into similar occurrences and fight the ruling.

In 2002, a group of Georgia players sold SEC championship rings and was initially disciplined. But the NCAA didn't uphold suspensions because a rule on selling memorabilia wasn't clear.

Athletes are exploited
Money will always be an issue for college athletes. In the two biggest revenue-generating sports (basketball, football), most of the players come from nothing. That isn't to say they can use their families economic situation to break rules. But I sometimes understand why they do it.

Imagine walking around on a beautiful campus seeing people wearing a jersey featuring the number you wear as big as day on the front. Imagine playing in a stadium 7-8 times a fall in front of 112,000 people who came to see you. Then imagine not having money to take a girl out to dinner. Or not having enough cash to go in on a pizza with some of your boys.

At some point, you would think, "This school is making a mint off me. And I can't even take my girl out?"

The NCAA and these institutions can get rich off these kids and the kids get nothing. I hate the argument about the "student-athletes" getting a scholarship. The scholarship is great. I would have given anything to have had all my schooling paid for. But it'd also be great if all the athletes did something with those degree, like graduate. The whole concept of the student-athlete is a joke, but that's another issue.

Schools give out scholarships to science majors, too. And those science majors are allowed to work and take whatever they want from whoever they want. Both the athlete and the academic have to keep a certain grade-point average. And the academic has to keep a substantially higher GPA, I know. But the school isn't making millions off the academic. And 112,000 people aren't paying $50 a ticket to see the science major do a chemistry experiment.

Think about this: Ohio State annually brings in $20 million on tickets sales alone. But Pryor can't sell a ring given to him to, allegedly, help his mother out? How is that fair? How is it right some OSU players, allegedly, swapped autographs for tattoos that probably cost no more than $150, but those same players can take $500 worth of schwag from the sponsor of whatever bowl game they're in?

Reggie Bush made USC millions. The school wants nothing to do with him. But his coach, who likely knew about everything going on, is free to take any job he likes.

Chris Webber did the same for the University of Michigan, but he can't go on campus or even donate money for a few more years. I still see "MICHIGAN 4" jerseys every now and then. So what if there's no name on back. Had Rob Pelinka been No. 4, how many of those jerseys would the NCAA and school have sold?

Stipends may be the answer
With the Newton ruling, the NCAA may have opened Pandora's Box. Language in the rules should be revisited ASAP, or you'll have every recruit in the country on the take. What makes the Ohio State case even worse is the NCAA wants to punish these students when it doesn't cost the NCAA a dime. I could've sworn we lived in a capitalist society. Or am I wrong.

That capitalism may only be set up to benefit a few, though, since all the OSU players will be on the field for the team's bowl game against Arkansas. That's all about money, too. No way the NCAA and ESPN were going to risk the loss of ad revenue by not having Pryor on the field. But who cares about some early September game against Akron on the Big Ten Network, right? Again, it's perfectly acceptable for the NCAA and TV networks to line their pockets. But curse the kids who tries to make a few dollars!!!

A much simpler way to attempt to fix the problem is paying college athletes. Most of the cases have the players taking small amounts, anyway. Why not just pay them (olympic sport athletes included) a stipend each semester of, say, $1,500-$3,000? All they want the money for is a pair of sneakers and maybe to take a girl to see a movie.

A university typically has about 500 athletes. Let's say OSU paid all 500 $2,000 each semester. That would only add up to the school spending about $2,000,000 each year (Remember, OSU makes $20 million a year in ticket sales alone). I know there would be some players who wouldn't think that amount would suffice. Throw the book at those guys. But I'm inclined to believe those greedy players would think a little harder about the decision they make if they know it can kill long-term prospects.

To take it a step further, athletes who are "the face of a team," such as Pryor, should get royalties from jersey sales. Why should people who already have money be allowed to get richer, while these players are held back. Sure, Pryor could make millions in the NFL, but there's no guarantee of that.

Realistically, the only way to put a stop to all this is if someone successfully sues the NCAA. But how long would that court case last? Years.

Hypocrisy of the higher order. That's what the NCAA exhibits time and time again.

I guess I'm no better. Here I am calling the group to the carpet, yet I'm infatuated with the product they put out.

If the NCAA can ride both sides of the fence, so can I.

The last time MSU played Ohio State, then-true freshman Terrell Pryor looked like a combination of Randall Cunningham and Doug Williams, as the Buckeyes had their way with the Spartans on their way to a 42-7 smashing.

After several prayers, somehow, Ohio State came off MSU's schedule for two years. That will prove to be crucial this season and is one of four reasons I see the Spartans playing in the 2011 Rose Bowl.

No Ohio State on the schedule is good for MSU

The Spartans for the second straight year avoid the Big Ten’s Team of the Decade: the Ohio State Buckeyes.

How this happened, I don’t know. But I’m as thankful for it as washed-up stars are for reality show checks. Had OSU been on MSU’s schedule last season instead of, say, Purdue, the Spartans go 5-7 and don’t get those extra practices leading up to the Alamo Bowl.

Not playing the Bucks this season is a Godsend for an entirely different reason — its the difference between finishing 9-3 and having a good season and going 10-2 and possibly having a special season.

Make no mistake: Ohio State will win its record sixth straight Big Ten title this season. But the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes will be playing for a much bigger prize than the Rose Bowl trophy. I see Ohio State going undefeated and winning the BCS National Title — partly because I think they’re that good and partly because I don’t think they’ face off with an SEC team in the title game. The Bucks return all their playmakers on offense and feature one of the best, most experienced offensive lines in the country. Add that to a defense littered with NFL prospects and you have the recipe for a national title win.

OSU getting to the title game leaves the door open for the Rose Bowl to select a second Big Ten team, which I believe (Seriously, I do. Stop laughing!) will be the Spartans. That would send MSU to its first Rose Bowl game since 1988, where it beat USC, 20-17. How long ago was that? Michael Jackson bought the “Neverland” ranch that year; “Rain Man” was the top grossing film at the box office; Nintendo released “Super Mario Bros. 3,” which I still have yet to beat; and Milli Vanilli was formed.

One thing not in MSU’s, or any other Big Ten team’s favor, is a new BCS rule going into effect this season that states the Rose Bowl must take a non-BCS team this year (most likely, preseason No. 3 Boise State) if one is eligible and the Rose loses one of its conference anchors. For that to happen, one or both of the anchors (Pac-10/Big Ten) would have to play in the BCS championship game.

I don’t see that happening, though. I think Boise State will lose its marquee game Monday against Virginia Tech. That loss would likely knock the Broncos out of the top 10. With its schedule, it would be next to impossible for Boise to end up in the top two at the end of the season.

With that, I'm picking MSU and Oregon State to meet in Pasadena on New Year's Day.

It’s our turn. We're next in line.

Since State’s last Rose Bowl appearance, eight Big Ten teams have appeared in the “Granddaddy of them All” — Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

That says a lot more about how awful MSU has been over the last 20-plus seasons than it does about the depth of the Big Ten.

But it’s our time. It has to happen this year.

One of the reasons I’m so confident about this prediction is because of one of the most undervalued units in college football.

Part III coming tomorrow

My boys and I every summer have a night where we decide to set the win totals of our favorite teams.

The best part about the whole process is it usually takes place about the time a White Castle tastes like a filet, which makes for some interesting predictions and discussion.

Last year, everybody was saying Michigan State, our alma mater, would win nine or 10 games. Everybody called me crazy for saying we'd top out at seven wins. State finished 6-7.

This year, I've hopped over to the other side of the fence. And this year, people are saying I'm as crazy as Kourtney Kardashian's baby daddy.

That's because I think MSU is going to be playing in Pasadena on New Year's Day 2011. Yes, I have my reasons. and, no, I haven't been hanging out with Paris Hilton.

Please, if you're gonna laugh, wait until the end.

Schedule plays into MSU’s hands
As a Spartan alum, I know MSU football handles prosperity as well as Lindsay Lohan, but the Spartans would have to quit at various points in the season to not win at least nine games. That or run awry of some frat boys.

Of the 12 games on MSU’s slate, seven are at Spartan Stadium against perennial powers such as Western Michigan (Sept. 4), Northern Colorado (Sept. 25) and Minnesota — a team many have picked to finish dead last in the Big Ten this season (Nov. 6).

The rest of the “home” slate includes Florida Atlantic Sept. 11 (I don’t care if the game is at Ford Field and is supposed to be a home game for FAU. It’s a home game for MSU, even if the Owls will recoup the gate), Notre Dame (Sept. 19), Wisconsin (Oct. 2), Illinois for Homecoming (Oct. 16), and Purdue (Nov. 20).

The only real toughie in the Spartans first eight games should come when the Badgers, ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches polls, travel to East Lansing. It’ll be Wisconsin’s first test after games at UNLV, and home against San Jose State, Arizona State and Austin Peay. Seriously. Who makes these non-conference schedules? Duncan Hines?

While the Badgers will be a top-20 team all season, the first game in a hostile environment could have Wisconsin rattled, enabling MSU to eek out a win.

On top of that, the Spartans don’t even leave the state of Michigan until Oct. 23 when they travel to Northwestern, where MSU has won two straight and lead the all-time series, 34-16.

The remainder of the Spartans’ road slate consists of on Oct. 9 going to Ann Arbor to face a Michigan team that may have quit on John L. Rodriguez by then, No. 9/10 Iowa on Devil’s Night and at a play MSU never wins — Nov. 27 in Happy Valley against No. 19/14 Penn State.

Rivalry games against Notre Dame and at The Out House will naturally provide tests for the Spartans, but Notre Dame implementing a new scheme that includes a no-huddle offense and the loss of several players slated to make an impact this season for Michigan in its secondary should prove too much for those squads to overcome. Both games will be shootouts, but I think the overall experience of MSU’s personnel will be the difference.

With a schedule as strong as Michelle Pfeiffer’s eggs in “Scarface,” MSU has a realistic shot at starting 8-0 going into November. Cold-weather home wins against the Gophers and Boilermakers should be a given at that point in the season — if the Spartans are for real. So going 1-2 against Wisconsin, the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions would put MSU at 10-2, 6-2 in the Big Ten. It's not out of the realm of possibility that MSU could win two of those three games, since Wisconsin is at home and I don't think Penn State will be any good this season. And I say that knowing we win in Happy Valley as often as Charles Barkley refuses a second Krispy Kreme.

That 10-2 finish would give the Spartans their best record since they finished 10-2 following the 1999 season. It could also likely put them in some sort of tie with Iowa and/or Wisconsin for second place in the conference.

Winning that tiebreaker would be crucial for any of those three teams because that second-place finish would send them to Pasadena and the 2011 Rose Bowl (I’ll get to who’ll win the Big Ten later).

I think MSU has the best shot to win that tiebreaker for one huge reason other than its creampuff schedule.

Part II coming tomorrow

I have a friend who lives in Chicago and works part time for the Big Ten Network.

On a number of occasions, I've told her the station is useless from mid-April to mid-August and that to draw viewers in those months, BTN execs should take advantage of the conference's video library and just run "Greatest Games" on an endless loop for the four-plus months nothing's going on - and by nothing, I mean no football or basketball, since watching any other college sport is about as interesting as watching Dexter Manley try to read "The Cat in the Hat."

My opinion on that hasn't changed all that much, but yesterday's Michigan/Northwestern baseball game did a lot to alter my stance.

I never watch college baseball. But yesterday, in between taking care of some things around the house, I flipped on to BTN to see the Wolverines being trounced by the Wildcats, 14-0, going into the bottom half of the third inning. Even though I admittedly don't care about Big Ten baseball, being a Spartans, I got a kick out of what was going on.

"Man, they suck at EVERYTHING now," I said to myself, with a huge grin on my face. From what I heard, a win would keep Michigan in the race for the Big Ten title. But from the looks of it, a Wolverine comeback seemed as likely as Jessica Simpson gaining membership to Mensa.

But comeback they did. Michigan scored in all but two innings the remainder of the game, while its pitching staff held the Wildcats scoreless past the second.

Michigan senior catcher Chris Berset capped the comeback with a game-tying two-run shot in the ninth before Mike Dufek delivered a walk-off solo home run in the bottom half of the 10th in a 15-14 Wolverines win in Ann Arbor.

The win keeps the Wolverines (31-19, 12-9 Big Ten) in the Big Ten title hunt, one game behind first-place Minnesota. Michigan ends the season next weekend at Penn State. Odds look to be in the Wolverines favor, as the Nittany Lions sit in the basement in the conference standings.

So kudos to Michigan for not folding when they got down two touchdowns. Now if they only fought that hard on the football field...

The Big 12 was once the Big Eight.

Florida State, and a slew of other football programs, were independents.

Joe Paterno, up until a few years ago, could hold his bowels on the sideline.

Things change. It's time for the Big Ten to change and join the 21st century and add a 12th team, which would bring some much-needed interest to a conference that has been treated like Elin Nordegren the last few years. Reports have surfaced that this is now a real possibility and it's something that should happen soon.

No matter what team it is (it's been rumored to be Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse or Iowa State), the Big Ten would be able to establish a conference championship game, which would mean an additional $5-$7 million for the conference. That conference game would be played in early December - uncharted territory for the Big Ten. That would keep the conference's top teams at the top of the minds of pollsters and give them a chance to impress the computers, as well.

A downside of scheduling a conference title game is the gate. Most stadiums (Beaver Stadium, The Horseshoe, The Big House) are much larger than where the conference title game would be played. If the game is played in either Soldier Field, Lucas Oil Stadium or Ford Field, some teams would lose 30,000 seats. But tickets for the conference title game would be at a premium and cost more than a regular-season game in Ann Arbor or Columbus.

Adding an additional squad would also call for a schedule shake-up.

Oftentimes (not always), Michigan and Ohio State will be at the top of the conference and would meet in the league's championship game. No one outside of Columbus or Ann Arbor would want to see the teams play two straight weeks, meaning the annual rivalry game could be moved around on the schedule, a la Texas/Oklahoma, Notre Dame/USC. Playing that game, let's say, six weeks before the conference championship game would allow the fanbases to stew and give Big Ten fans something to hope for come early December.

Adding a twelfth team would call for divisions to be formed in the conference. Some have said there should be an East (Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and the new squad) and West (Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Purdue). The East would be stacked, as it has all the power teams, meaning there would be basically no intrigue leading into a conference title game, unless the team out of the West has a special year.

I would opt for a North/South split, with the conference shaking out like this:

North
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Wisconsin

South
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Ohio State
Penn State
(Pittsburgh/Rutgers/Syracuse/Iowa State)

I know it doesn't make a lot of sense geographically, but you keep the eight-game conference schedule, with the teams in each division playing every season, and rotating three teams in and out from the outside division. In order to keep rivalries in tact (I'll use Ohio State as an example), The Buckeyes would play their five division games - including a rivalry game with Penn State each season that would (most likely) have championship implications each year - Ohio State would still play Michigan every year (presumably in mid-October), while rotating two other teams from the North off their schedule every couple of years.

With the rotating games, teams that play for rivalry trophies would still be able to do so. Wisconsin would still have its game each year against Iowa, as the Badgers would have two teams in the South that would rotate off their schedule every couple of years, while the Hawkeyes would be a staple on Wisconsin's slate. Same goes for Northwestern (Illinois every season), Purdue (Indiana), Minnesota (Iowa), Penn State (Michigan), Michigan State (Penn State). Sure, some rivalry games would take place every couple of years (Penn State/Minnesota, MSU/Indiana), but the big ones would remain an annual happening.

A North/South split would balance out power in the conference. You have Michigan in the North, along with teams like (Wisconsin, Purdue and, sadly, not my alma mater in Green) that are capable of special seasons and winning a conference title. In the West, you have traditional powers in OSU and Penn State, along with Iowa, which has made runs recently, and the new squad. Putting the new squads in the same division with OSU and PSU, and having them play every season, would give the new squads a chance to legitimize themselves.

This move would be much more of a football one than basketball. There seem to be many more positives than negatives. The only major negative I see is if the new team flops and doesn't add anything to the Big Ten. So, if this does come to fruition, Commissioner Jim Delany and whomever else has a say better be careful which team they choose.

I only have one request, though: make it a squad State can beat. Please?

I'm friends with a lot of Michigan fans.

Most of the time, they're not that bad (I'm being nice), but some of them have been unbearable the last couple days.

They talk about how State fans are hanging their hats on beating Michigan in OT last weekend and how that win "makes State's season."

Although I know they're just responding in the way a jilted lover would, that statement isn't entirely false.

We needed that win Saturday. Starting 1-4, 0-2 in the Big Ten, would have been catastrophic. An already reeling fan base would have jumped off the ledge. But that win could have come against anyone and it still would have been a big deal.

I don't care if it had come against the Monroe School for Paraplegics, State (2-3, 1-1) had to have that win. Sure, in the process we beat Michigan in back-to-back years for the first time since before "Good Times" was on the air, but that was minor - to me, at least. Hopefully it breathed some life back into the roster. And with the way the schedule's set up, MSU should be able to build on the win.

State travels to Champagne to take on Illinois this weekend. The Illini is 1-3, 0-2 in conference, and coming off two demoralizing losses to the class of the Big Ten (Ohio State and Penn State, respectively). It's gotten so bad that Illinois coach Ron Zook Monday announced he's benching senior quarterback Juice Williams (1 TD, 4 picks this season) in favor of junior Eddie McGee, who started in the team's lone win this season over Illinois State Sept. 12. If that doesn't scream PANIC, I don't know what does. In the team's three losses, Illinois has been outscored 102-26. State should win this game. Now watch McGee come out and go 26/34 for 417 yards and 4 TDs.

MSU welcomes Northwestern to East Lansing Oct. 17. Neither MSU or NW has done anything impressive this season,but I'll take MSU's one semi-big win over Michigan over all of the Wildcats' victories (vs. Towson and Eastern Michigan and at Purdue). MSU was able to go to Evanston last year, when Northwestern had a much better team, and beat the Wilcats, 37-20, despite being dominated statistically. Northwestern lost it's top three receivers from a year ago, its top running back and starting quarterback all to graduation.

State SHOULD in theory be able to come out on top here, as well, bringing MSU's mark on the season to 4-3, 3-1 in the Big Ten before undefeated Iowa (vs. Michigan Oct. 10, at Wisconsin Oct. 17) comes calling Oct. 24 for a night game. However, the last two times the Wildcats have come to East Lansing, Northwestern is 2-0 and has scored 97 points to MSU's 55. That includes a 49-14, Joe Jackson-esque whooping at Homecoming in 2005. The only reason fans even stayed at that game past halftime was to see if they won the 50/50.

So, yea, winning the UM game might have made MSU's season. We won't know that for a couple months, though.

I had this thing in college with our athletic teams where before every big game, I would walk around telling everybody, "We're gonna lose. I have a bad feeling about this."

My friends caught on quickly, recognizing it was a form of reverse psychology or a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" approach.

That was easy with MSU's hoops team. The basketball team has been like Halle Berry: consistently good with a couple of hiccups (Catwoman/The 2006 season). The football squad on the other hand has been like Fergie. You think there's something there sometimes, but more often than not, you have a "meh" reaction.

Maybe that's the approach I was taking about a month ago when I predicted MSU to finish 7-5 and play in the Insight Bowl. Everyone and their mother had picked State to finish 9-3 or 10-2 and challenge for the Big Ten crown. I knew better.

I'll admit: I was wrong about the quarterback play. I thought Kirk Cousins OR Keith Nichol would struggle with being "The Man." Cousins (60.6 completion percentage, 7 TDs, 2 picks) has played well this season. Nichol has not. Nichol has 5 TD tosses and 2 interceptions. Two of those scores came in mop-up duty after last week's debacle in Wisconsin had already been decided.

I was right about the possibility of a lack of a running game. Through a quarter of the season, as a team, MSU is averaging 117.8 yards/game. That's good for 10th in the Big Ten. The team's longest run of the season, a whopping 25-yard scamper, belongs to Nichol. To top things off, we have three rushing touchdowns. That'd make sense if we were Texas Tech, but this is the Big Ten. You can't win if you can't run the ball.

I had no idea the defense would be this bad, though. Outside of Greg Jones (second in the FBS with 52 tackles, 4.5 TFL) no one on the defensive side of the ball has played well. Take away State's lone win vs. Montana State and the defense is giving up about 33 points/game. State's opponents are 12-12 in the Red Zone and converting nearly half their third-down plays. The team can't come up with a set 11, shuffling defensive backs and lineman in and out of the lineup.

That's what worries me most about the Michigan game. UM leads the Big Ten in scoring (37.5 ppg) and rush offense (240.3 yards/game, good for 8th in the country). Why does that scare me? State can't tackle. The guys on defense probably whiff on the dummies in practice. When a team has as many guys who are capable of making big plays with their feet as Michigan does, that doesn't bode well, especially if you CAN'T TACKLE.

Tomorrow's game is tailor-made for a UM blowout. The forecast is calling for 52 and rainy. Tate Forcier, AKA The Father, Son AND Holy Ghost, who's nursing an injured shoulder, may not have to make more than 10 throws for Michigan to win. Handing the ball off to Carlos Brown or Brandon Minor 35-40 times could do the trick. Remember that stat I threw out about MSU's long rush for the season? It wasn't even for a score. None of State's long rushes have been for scores. Michigan has three runs of more than 30 yards (31, 43 and 90 yards) that have directly resulted in six points.

State's strength is it's passing game (320.8 yards/game so far. UM's weakness has been its secondary (Michigan has given up 243.8 passing yards/game so far this season). Big plays through the air could help in canceling out UM's big plays on the ground. But it's a little tough to throw in a downpour (think State's 17-3 win over Florida Atlantic last season or The Game That Shall Not Be Named from 2006 where Jehuu Caulcrick had 111 yards on 7 carries partway through the third quarter and touched the pill once the rest of the way).

State should be fired up this week. Any chance of a special season has gone down the drain, but 2-3, 1-1 looks a lot better next to your name than 1-4, 0-2. But MSU should have been fired up last week after the way it let the Notre Dame game literally slip through its hands. Instead, the team came out flat and played Tila Tequila to Wisconsin's Shawne Merriman.

With all those variables in mind, I can't pick State to win tomorrow. I'll get up at 5:45 tomorrow morning, load up my car, and head up to East Lansing to have fun with friends. But I'll probably sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut during the game. If MSU comes out thinking its season is on the line - it is - then the team should go hard for 60 minutes and come up with a win.

I just don't see it happening, though.

UM-34
MSU-20

I will now pour hot wax into my eye sockets.

27-20, MSU, late in the fourth.

"If I were Butch Jones, I'd go for two if I scored here."

Those were the exact words that came out of my mouth before Central Michigan scored to make it 27-26 REALLY late in the fourth quarter of today's game between Central Michigan and Michigan State in East Lansing.

"I was thinking the exact same thing. Please don't let 'em get it," my boy Ro said.

CMU didn't cash in on the two-point conversion, but everything else went the way of the squad from Mount Pleasant.

I love my school, but losses like this one make life as a State fan difficult because it does nothing but give other local fanbases (you know who you are) ammunition.

I wouldn't have minded it if I knew Central was the better team. Hell, I wouldn't have minded it had they recovered that picture perfect onside kick and didn't move the ball. THAT would have been AWESOME.

Didn't happen.

I understand that CMU quarterback Dan LeFevour picked our secondary apart, particularly our supposed "shutdown" corner, C.L. Rucker, who got picked on like that fat kid in "Bad Santa" today, but why would MSU head coach Mark Dantonio call for such soft coverage to be played on Central's last drive?

Nine-yard completion after nine-yard completion helped CMU get in position to win the game; and that's what happened.

I don't wanna hear any of that"Same Old Spartans" jazz, because I odn't believe that's what this is. I honestly think the Spartans may have been looking ahead to next week's showdown at Notre Dame.

But that's no excuse for losing AT HOME to a MAC TEAM. Now Central's win will be featured in the "A Block" of SportsCenter tonight, probably remixed with highlights from Toledo and Appalachian State winning at Michigan the last two years. Sure, CMU has been picked by many to finish atop the MAC this fall, but that doesn't do anything to soften the blow.

State better regroup, or the season for this year's Big Ten Title darkhorse could quickly spiral out of control. Road games at the Irish and Wisconsin are on the horizon; and now starting 1-3 is a very strong possibility.

And if that happens, the Oct. 3 matchup against You Know Who could make or break State's season.

Now if you'll excuse, I've got a few expletives to hurl and a cell phone to shut off.