MSU Insider: Spartans' bowl scenarios, from Rose to Capital One
Some projections are penciling Michigan State into the Rose Bowl.
While the Spartans are surprisingly close to their first trip to Pasadena, Calif., since the 1987 season, the reality is they are just as close to getting shut out of a BCS bowl, even if they finish 11-1 and share the Big Ten title.
The consolation prize, in that case, would be a New Year's Day appearance in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Not bad, but it isn't one of the prestigious BCS games.
And for a program having its best season in more than four decades, that would be a shame.
What Michigan State needs most to get a Rose Bowl bid is a loss by Ohio State, which has three games remaining -- vs. Penn State, at Iowa, vs. Michigan.
A tiebreaker, more than likely, is going to determine the Big Ten's automatic BCS bid to Pasadena. MSU (5-1), Ohio State (4-1), Wisconsin (4-1) and Iowa (4-1) are in a tight race with three weeks remaining.
The conference's tiebreaker order is head-to-head result, followed by overall record and then BCS ranking.
Here's how Michigan State fares with the potential scenarios:
* Three-team tie with Ohio State and Wisconsin: This could be the Spartans' worst-case scenario. All three teams win out to finish 11-1 overall, 7-1 in the Big Ten, which leaves the BCS standings as the deciding factor. In this week's standings, Wisconsin is No. 7, Ohio State No. 9 and Michigan State No. 11. MSU will not pass either one. So it would be Wisconsin or Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. The Big Ten should get a second BCS bowl, an at-large bid, probably to the Sugar or Orange. Those bowls can choose any eligible team. The tiebreaker rules only apply to the Big Ten's automatic BCS bid. Michigan State certainly would lose out to Ohio State in this type of selection process. Wisconsin , which has one of the best-traveling fan bases in the nation, also could get the nod, especially with a higher BCS ranking, despite losing at MSU in the Big Ten opener. No conference is allowed more than two spots in the five BCS bowls (National Championship Game, Rose, Orange, Sugar, Fiesta).
* Three-team tie with Iowa and Wisconsin: This is a best-case scenario for the Spartans. Iowa gets eliminated by the overall-record tiebreaker because of a nonconference loss to Arizona. Michigan State and Wisconsin then revert to a two-team tiebreaker, which goes to the Spartans because of their victory over Wisconsin.
* Two-team tie with Ohio State: The teams don't play, so the Buckeyes would go to the Rose Bowl based on the BCS standings. But Michigan State likely would get one of the at-large BCS bids (Orange or Sugar).
* Two-team tie with Iowa: Michigan State lost at Iowa, which would give the Hawkeyes the automatic spot. MSU could still get the Orange or Sugar bid.
* Two-team tie with Wisconsin: Michigan State would go to the Rose Bowl based on its victory over the Badgers.
What gets tricky is whether the Spartans actually need Wisconsin to lose at least once, or win out.
For example, if Iowa beats Ohio State (Nov. 20 in Iowa City), Michigan State wants Wisconsin to win its final three (vs. Indiana, at Michigan, vs. Northwestern). The MSU-Iowa-Wisconsin three-team tie favors the Spartans for the Rose Bowl, whereas the MSU-Iowa two-teamer favors Iowa.
But if Ohio State beats Iowa, Michigan State needs Wisconsin to lose. The MSU-Ohio State-Wisconsin three-team tie could leave the Spartans without a BCS bowl.
Bottom line: If Michigan State wins its last two, and Iowa beats Ohio State, the Spartans should get a BCS bid one way or the other.
None of this crazy tiebreaker talk, of course, matters unless the Spartans take care of their business with season-ending victories over Purdue at home and then at Penn State.
Michigan State hasn't even shared a Big Ten title since a four-team tie in 1990.
"Having a Big Ten championship-type ring surpasses the BCS things to me," said MSU coach Mark Dantonio, whose team is idle this week. "The main focus, to me, is what are you going to say 20 years from now?
"What we can control is we can be, at the very minimum, co-Big Ten champions."
'All the world's a stage'
Michigan State basketball player Delvon Roe is splitting time between his two career passions.
The No. 2-ranked Spartans open the season Friday night against Eastern Michigan at the Breslin Center (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). Roe also will be appearing in a Michigan State theater production of Shakespeare's "As You Like It" next week before leaving for the Maui Invitational.
"I'm playing Charles the Wrestler," Roe said. "I have a Shakespeare class I'm taking. I get to learn Shakespeare and all the words, what they mean.
"It's actually something very interesting to watch and learn. So many movies now are based off Shakespeare back then.
"It's not just reading the lines. You have to break the words down and see how many syllables some words have, to express if he's angry or if he's mad or if he's happy. There's a lot more into it than just memorizing."
Korie Lucious and some of Roe's teammates plan to attend one of the performances.
"I think it's going to be funny," Lucious said. "I hear him reciting lines during tutor sessions. I make fun of him every day about it. I don't think I have the patience to learn all those lines."
Nov. 11, 2011
