East Lansing -- Michigan State beat Wisconsin, which beat Ohio State, which didn't play Michigan State.
"If we were playing tic-tac-toe, we'd be going (to the Rose Bowl)," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said with a grin.
Dantonio has seen all the projections -- Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl, Ohio State to the Sugar Bowl and Michigan State left without a BCS bid and going to the Capital One Bowl -- and he's frustrated by all the assumptions.
"Why not us?" Dantonio asked. "There are three co-champions. I'm not trying to diss any of the other programs. I'm just looking for a little respect. Let's just talk about it as opposed to saying it's a done deal.
"That's the only thing I want to do, raise awareness. I'm just trying to do the best I can for our football team. I think that's warranted in this situation."
Since the regular season ended last week with Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State having identical records -- 11-1 overall, 7-1 in the conference -- Dantonio and his athletic director, Mark Hollis, have been trying to spread the word about their Spartans.
And they have a compelling case. Hollis breaks it into three categories:
Performance
A 34-24 victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten opener on Oct. 2 stands out. The Spartans controlled the ball for nearly 14 more minutes and finished with 152 more yards in total offense. A minus-3 turnover margin was the only reason the score wasn't more lopsided.
"We're the only football team that's beaten Wisconsin and, I might add, did it convincingly," Dantonio said. "I'll say it twice. We did it convincingly."
Two weeks later, Wisconsin beat Ohio State convincingly, 31-18.
If A is greater than B and B is greater than C, isn't A greater than both?
Michigan State, meanwhile, had a 7-1 record against bowl-eligible teams while Ohio State was 6-1 and Wisconsin 4-1.
"When you look at that stat alone, it starts to open your eyes a little bit," Dantonio said.
Michigan State also played a tougher schedule than Ohio State and Wisconsin, according to the Sagarin computer rankings.
Fan support
"All Big Ten teams are going to travel a lot of people to a bowl game," Hollis said. "When you can enter a bowl where you've exceeded expectations, there's always a higher level of enthusiasm. We're sort of in the lead in something like that. We've come from a seventh-place predicted finish to a Big Ten champion."
TV ratings
"We've led the Big Ten Conference in television ratings (this season) on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, all the way across," Hollis said.
Add it all up and the Spartans think they at least deserve consideration.
"You take those three things, I think it makes a very strong case for Michigan State," Hollis said.
Dantonio believes the Spartans are being punished for losing later in the season. MSU's only loss was an ugly one, 37-6, on Oct. 30 at Iowa.
Wisconsin lost four weeks earlier than that, and Ohio State two weeks before. Both had more time to climb back into the voters' favor.
"Sometimes when teams lose at the end of the season, they're bumped down," Dantonio said. "It would be interesting to know if we would have lost to Iowa in the fifth week and beaten Wisconsin in the ninth week what it would look like right now."
Unlike Ohio State and Wisconsin, Michigan State wasn't ranked in the preseason poll, which can continue to play a factor with voters even late into the season.
Another of MSU's obstacles is trying to overcome the superior recent bowl traditions of Wisconsin and Ohio State. Michigan State is trying to reestablish a brand name for its football program.
"We're the new guys on the block," Dantonio siad. "We've come the farthest way of anybody. We've got a great story to tell. We are a great story."
The bottom line is, Dantonio wants a debate over the rankings and the BCS bids, rather than just conveniently dismissing the Spartans.
He thinks they've earned that much.
"The margin there is so small (between the three teams), you could skin it probably with a razor," Dantonio said. "So why not entertain the thought a little bit more?"
He's on a campaign to try to change public opinion, not to mention sway a few voters and some bowl officials. If the facts are closely examined and not ignored, Dantonio believes his argument unquestionably has merit.
Why not Michigan State?
Dec. 1, 2010
