As a Spartun alumnus, I’m a bit bummed by this … As I understand the Big Ten tiebreak rules, next weekend will determine the conference representative in the Rose Bowl as follows:
Penn State beats MSU: Penn State
MSU beats Penn State and Ohio State beats Michigan: Ohio State
MSU beats PSU and Michigan beats OSU: Michigan State.
Am I getting this right? And if so, does that mean I have to (and it pains me to even type these words) cheer for the Wolverines next Saturday? (Their game against the Buckeyes is at noon, while the Spartans and the Nittany Lions play later in the afternoon, so I won’t know if that game really matters until it’s too late.)
Or is it so unlikely that MSU and Michigan would both win that I can reasonably abandon all hope and cheerfully watch the maize & blue finish their worst season ever with another vicious pounding? Because, setting aside the effect on the championship, I can’t deny it would bring a smile to my face to see OSU win 77-6 and the Wolverines finish at 3-9. Which is probably what’s going to happen anyway, so why can’t I be allowed to enjoy it?
You can enjoy it, you just can’t enjoy it AND a Spartan trip to the Rose Bowl. That would be too much happiness for you to bear. It is for your own good that MSU winds up in Orlando playing in the Capital One Bowl.
I suppose you’re right. I mean, MSU has been to the Rose Bowl and will go to the Rose Bowl again someday. But it’s hard to imagine that Michigan will ever have another season quite like this one. I should enjoy it while I can.
I am sure that was the Michigan Wolverine strategy all year long - to make it impossible for MSU fans to enjoy the OSU vs. Michigan game while simultaneously taking away their Rose Bowl bid. That is the only explanation I can come up with for this season anyway.
You might be right but the announcers during the OSU game were saying the OSU controls it’s own destiny and with a win over Michigan clinches the Rose Bowl berth. I take it with a grain of salt, since these are TV announcers after all, but MSU might already be eliminated.
Sorry to admit that I’m too lazy to dig into the tie break rules tonight to confirm myself.
This goes to show how one-sided the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry is. I’m married to a Spartan and root for the Spartans as my #2 team. They are, of course, NEVER allowed to beat Michigan. Other than that, I like to see them succeed.
As for the tiebreakers, one of the earliest is head-to-head matchups. So assuming MSU beats PSU:
OSU beats Michigan - Both the Spartans and Buckeyes have 1 Big(11)Ten loss, but OSU owns the head-to-head with MSU and goes to the Rose Bowl.
Michigan beats OSU - MSU is the lone remaining team with 1 Big(11)Ten loss and goes to the Rose Bowl.
If PSU wins, they own the head-to-head with OSU so they would go to the Roe Bowl.
As for rivalries, I’m happy if Ohio State never wins another game or competition in any sport ever.
Yes, it looks like that’s right. I don’t know about last week’s OSU game’s TV team, but this week’s is quite clear that the Buckeye’s need MSU to win. That’s all they really have to talk about, now that the game they’re covering is (unsurprisingly) completely out of hand. (Hey, what’s the record for score differential in the traditional season-ending Michigan/Ohio State game? )
(Their game against the Buckeyes is at noon, while the Spartans and the Nittany Lions play later in the afternoon, so I won’t know if that game really matters until it’s too late.)