The Alamo Bowl this year between Michigan State and Texas Tech had so many sub-plots and themes to it that it would have made a Dr. Langdon and Dan Brown mystery look pale. There was the Mike Leach - Adam James issue (nuf has been said ...make that speculated ... in the media that we will refrain here from talking about it), issue of the likely new head coach at Lubbock, the suspension of 14 Sparty players for a on-campus brawl (festive spirit ... what else do you expect huh)... and the ejection of 2 players from the Michigan State football program.
The Bowl committee did a great job of picking Michigan State with one of the worst secondaries in the Big 10 to play Texas Tech with arguably one of the best passing games in the Big 12. The resulting Alamo Bowl had as much incendiary themes and offenses as did the Battle of Alamo in 1836.
I wont go into the excruciating details of each play but suffice it to say that the game produced close to 1000 yards of offense combined. 579 for Texas Tech and 396 for Michigan State.
It was never in Michigan State's interest to make this an offensive slugfest but they had little option as the Red Raiders came out slinging their guns and took an early 10-0 lead. The lead would change hands many times during the game as MState responded in kind very well. But with the Red Raiders leading 34-31 and close to 4 min to go, State QB Kirk Cousins threw an INT which sealed the game for the Red Raiders.
Unless you were a MState fan, it was interesting to see the Texas Tech offensive philosophy. The 2 feet wide splits between their offensive linemen, the wide swing passes executed perfectly, WR screens.... they execute very well on offense.
MState by contrast earned their points through breakout runs and by hitting the deep ball well with Kirk Cousins their excellent QB. His Achilles heel was throwing into coverage off the back foot under pressure. Yeah - that will get your team into trouble.
There are no moral victories or consolation prizes but I do tip my hat to the MState team. They were expected to be routed in San Antonio with the absence of many of their key starters but they stepped up well. Coach Mark Dantonio strolled along the sideline with his customary constipated look on the face....just kiddin... Buckeyes love you coach Dantonio ...except when you are playing us. You coached our defense to a national title in 2002 and now we share a common enemy in TTUN. But with coach Dantonio's background, it was shocking to see just how weak MState's secondary was. The Red Raiders had no fear in 3rd and 12, 4th and 5 situations passing the ball. Take this - after the INT from Cousins late in the 4th quarter, Tech's drive stalled leading to a 3rd and 5. Backup QB Sheffield threw a slant right at the first down marker and his WR was wide open bu dropped it. Why was the DB giving him so much cushion on a critical play. But State had a chance for redemption as Tech instead of hitting a FG decided to go for it on 4th and 5. And guess what ... coming out of a timeout, Tech ran that exact same play again, this time the WR caught the ball ...1st down Texas Tech. Coach Dantonio has his work cut out in sealing off those gaping holes in the secondary.
So that leaves the Big 10 3-3 in the postseason with all eyes on Iowa in their big Orange Bowl matchup against Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
