Thoughts on MSU's 42-41 loss to Illinois

(Box score here and BTN highlights here, if you dare)

I never thought I'd see MSU play as poorly offensively as they did in a 43-36 loss to at Iowa in 2008. That was brutal.

Tuesday's 42-41 loss to Illinois came darn close.

Man, was it ugly. MSU shot 14-for-58 from the field. That's 24 percent. By comparison, they shot 31 percent in that 2008 loss. Some shots only got air. Some only got backboard. The result was Illinois' fewest points in a win since 1947. The Spartans are now 1-4 in their last five games at Illinois when ranked in the top 10 of the Coaches Poll.

When Draymond Green plays 16 minutes and Appling has his worst game of the season, 42 points doesn't come as a complete shock. But when you see the amount of layups MSU missed (I lost count at 45) you know the Spartans could have won this game.

Narduzzi: Meyer starting recruiting war

A very interesting story in the Canton (Ohio) Repository today.

MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi was a guest speaker at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club in Canton yesterday, and he didn't exactly have kind words for new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

Since taking over the Buckeyes (and not having to prepare the current team for a bowl), Meyer has been on the recruiting warpath and has the No. 3 class in the country, according to Rivals.com. Quite of few of those recruits had previously committed to Big Ten schools, including defensive end Se'Von Pittman, who decommitted from MSU to join the Buckeyes. 

"Jim Tressel and Mark Dantonio would never call or talk to each other’s commitments," Narduzzi told the paper. "People coach Dantonio knows well don’t come in and take players away. When you do, you lose friendships over that."

Can Draymond Green reach the steals record?

Last week, I looked at the hypothetical question of would Delvon Roe had broken the MSU blocks record had he played this season?

Draymond Green is closing in on the rebounds record, but he's also in reach of Mateen Cleaves' steals record.

Here is my MLive post breaking down what Green needs to do to get there (with an appreciation for just how good Magic Johnson was).

Thoughts on Spartans' performance in Senior Bowl

On Saturday, the North won the Senior Bowl, or as I like to call it, the Bowl of Southeastern Conference Aggression (a little Civil War joke for ya).

The score was 23-13, but that's not what matters. In fact, the game isn't even as important as the practices in the week leading up to the game. Still, plenty of NFL coaches and scouts attend the game, evaluating prospects.

(For practice recaps: Here are Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.)

All three Spartans in Mobile, Ala., for the game — Kirk Cousins, Brian Linthicum and Trenton Robinson improved their stock in practice. In the game, scouts look for decision-making, along with the physical tools they saw in practice.

Garrett Celek to play new all-star game

Another Spartan will participate in a college all-star game.

Former MSU tight end Garrett Celek will be in the Players All-Star Classic this Saturday in Little Rock, Ark. Celek had three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown this past season. He finished his career with 14 catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns.

If you haven't heard of this game before, it's because the game is new. According to the game's website:

"The Players All-Star Classic (TM) a new college football all-star game will be played at War Memorial Stadium at 4pm eastern, 3pm central on February 4th, 2012.  The roster will spilt in a North-South format and be made up of a collection of talented players from all levels of college football who are rated as prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft.  Prospects from the roster of a similar game played last year currently boasts over 60 NFL players; the game has agreed to a multi-year deal with War Memorial Stadium. "

Polled: Derrick Nix voted most surprising player

After the loss to Michigan, I put up a poll on who had been the most surprising player on MSU, which has had a surprising season. The results were as follows:

Derrick Nix won quite handily. Big Ten Network's "The Journey" agreed, featuring Nix on the show last night. If you missed it, don't worry. It will air plenty of times during the week.

But let's look at Nix. In his first two seasons, he averaged 2.3 and 2.7 points, respectively. That's up to 8.1 points this season. 

Icers swept at Ferris State, tournament hopes take hit

Going on the road for the first time in 2012, the MSU hockey team suffered a sweep for the second time in four weekends thanks to two one-goal losses to Ferris State.

Things got off to a good start Friday when Matt Berry scored MSU's first powerplay goal in the last 29 chances. But another issue — closing out periods — continued as Ferris tied the game with 17 seconds left in the second period. The Bulldogs scored with 6:30 left in the third and held on for the 2-1 win. Will Yanakeff made 28 saves for MSU.

(Friday video highlights from MSU here)

Saturday also got off to a good start for MSU, as Mike Merrifield put MSU up 1-0 four minutes into the game. But the Spartans were undisciplined. Not long after MSU's goal, Ferris scored a powerplay goal to tie the game. The Bulldogs had eight powerplay opportunities on the night. The late-period struggles also continued, as Ferris took a 2-1 lead with 35 seconds left in the first period.

Some reactions to Spartans in Senior Bowl

I'm not home this weekend, so I don't get NFL Network, meaning I didn't see the Senior Bowl.

However, I still have access to the internet, so I know what happened. I DVRd the game, so I'll watch it next week and give my thoughts on how Kirk Cousins, Brian Linthicum and Trenton Robinson did. The North won, 23-13.

As I've said before, don't look too much into the stats from this game. It's more about if guys make a play or not. The Monday-Wednesday practices are much more important to scouts, and all three Spartans performed well. (For practice recaps from earlier in the week, click here)

Cousins finished 5-for-11 passing for 114 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Report: Board approves Spartan Stadium upgrades

As expected, MSU's Board of Trustees approved the video board and sound system upgrades to Spartan Stadium today, according to The State News.

Per The State News, the project will cost $8 million. Construction will begin in March and be substantially completed by the start of football season in August. However, it won't be completely finished until July 2013. It is unclear how much is considered "substantially complete."

If you haven't seen the planned renovations, click here.

A few final thoughts on Senior Bowl practice

After Wednesday, the interest in Senior Bowl practice wears off, both from media and scouts, as players mostly go through walk-throughs. So there hasn't been as much news the last two days. 

Sports Illustrated got an inside look at Senior Bowl week from a former Chicago Bears staff member. Normally the the players are the stories all week, but this piece looks at the week from the other side. I recommend you read it for some background info 

As for the three Spartans in Mobile, Ala., all appear to have increased their draft stock.