Swifster
Forum Member
In 3 or 4 years (if RichRod lasts that long 
), I think the Big 11 will have lots on competition at the top of the conference. I can see OSU, PSU, MSU and maybe UM fighting for first place every year. The recruiting of these schools is really going well. Two big questions that come into play are when will JoePa hang them up (83?) and will all of those small guys Michigan is recruiting hold up to the pounding.
I'm not trying to slam UM here. Most teams that have tried the spread in the Big 11 have had spotty success. This includes MSU, Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern. While I definitely think the caliber of recruits are far better, this isn't the Big East and their toughest games won't be againt Boston College and Cincinnati. I respect the ratings his players have gotten and only time will tell.
MSU has continued to improve their recruiting year after year since Dantonio became coach. Before, if they lost a recruit, it was either to UM or another Big 11 team, or the ones they got were considering Toledo, CMU, etc. The bright side is that they are expanding their recruiting out of state. While they may not be getting big names from out of state, they have been on players radar. They lost two players to SEC teams (LSU and UGA), but they were listed as serious players in the process. It's been 45 years since this was the case.
You can't truely rate a class until at least the third year. This will be MD's first junior class (and redshirt freshmen). While I'm sure MSU will have a good year and another good bowl game, it will be interesting to see a team made up of mostly his players and not J.L. Smith's.
While a give UM a lot of crap, you can't tell what RichRod really has until next year. They have a tough schedule, especially on the road, so I don't see them winning more than 5 games this year. But it will be really interesting to see what they have in 2010 & 2011.
A rivalry is best when both teams are good. MSU doesn't play OSU (or Indiana) until 2011 when Pryor will be a senior. I guarantee the OSU-MSU game won't be 45-7! Both teams should be showing what they are about by then. One month until camp starts.
), I think the Big 11 will have lots on competition at the top of the conference. I can see OSU, PSU, MSU and maybe UM fighting for first place every year. The recruiting of these schools is really going well. Two big questions that come into play are when will JoePa hang them up (83?) and will all of those small guys Michigan is recruiting hold up to the pounding. I'm not trying to slam UM here. Most teams that have tried the spread in the Big 11 have had spotty success. This includes MSU, Purdue, Indiana and Northwestern. While I definitely think the caliber of recruits are far better, this isn't the Big East and their toughest games won't be againt Boston College and Cincinnati. I respect the ratings his players have gotten and only time will tell.
MSU has continued to improve their recruiting year after year since Dantonio became coach. Before, if they lost a recruit, it was either to UM or another Big 11 team, or the ones they got were considering Toledo, CMU, etc. The bright side is that they are expanding their recruiting out of state. While they may not be getting big names from out of state, they have been on players radar. They lost two players to SEC teams (LSU and UGA), but they were listed as serious players in the process. It's been 45 years since this was the case.
You can't truely rate a class until at least the third year. This will be MD's first junior class (and redshirt freshmen). While I'm sure MSU will have a good year and another good bowl game, it will be interesting to see a team made up of mostly his players and not J.L. Smith's.
While a give UM a lot of crap, you can't tell what RichRod really has until next year. They have a tough schedule, especially on the road, so I don't see them winning more than 5 games this year. But it will be really interesting to see what they have in 2010 & 2011.
A rivalry is best when both teams are good. MSU doesn't play OSU (or Indiana) until 2011 when Pryor will be a senior. I guarantee the OSU-MSU game won't be 45-7! Both teams should be showing what they are about by then. One month until camp starts.
