the cats just killed michigan state today. it wasn't even close. by the middle of the second quarter, it wasn't even particularly interesting. a bit interesting. it certainly wasn't interesting when the cats scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the second half.

nemo said to me, i believe, "it's just so fun when you can tell the other team just doesn't want to be there anymore." and that's what it was like when baz found philmore in the endzone for the 49-7 deficit with ten minutes left. and it's the second time they've done that in conference play this season; while there was the fluke comeback, wisconsin had loaded up the bus to madison with about 12 minutes left a few weeks ago.

defensively, brendan smith made a fine play on the interception in the end zone, and herschel henderson continued to play well. as much as the spartans moved the ball (and they did move the ball), it seemed like the d-cats showed very well for themselves. gill's name was said pretty frequently. mims made a fine strip on the first half's biggest play, and david norrie didn't stop drooling over the play of nick roach (i believe he - maybe quoting r-dub - mentioned the possibility of a ten-year nfl career).

david norrie also predicted that brett basanez would be a heisman trophy finalist, which is just awesome to hear. it's, of course, inaccurate (it's gotta be, right?), and david norrie's hyper-praise for basanez is getting annoying, but it's pretty neat to hear, too.

my two favorite plays of the game (other than the stanton to mims' paw to eaton's gut to the endzone):

second quarter, sutton lined up to the right of baz. shotgun. snap. sutton runs the video game "hb circle", angling 45 degrees right, then a 90-degree cut to the middle. baz hits him as he exits the break and sutton, making the catch in stride, scampers down the left sideline for a 41-yard gain. he scored a touchdown on the next play.

third quarter. what a cut by peterman on his touchdown. a stop-spin-move after the angle in and, again, baz hit him right on the numbers.

no doubt in my mind that baz is the best quarterback in the conference. nationally, vince young and matt leinart might be better. that's it.

assuming penn state held on to its 63-3 lead, new conference power rankings:
1) ohio state
2) penn state
3) northwestern
4) wisconsin
5) michigan
6) michigan state
7) minnesota
8) iowa
9) indiana
10) purdue
11) illinois

local hawkeye beat writer is also an associated press voter, and he's moving the cats from unranked to top 20. he's also predicted a cats win over iowa, 55-42.

first things first, however, i think northwestern is going to beat michigan. and, like this one, i don't think it'll be that interesting. this, of course, contingent on the weather. (if it's slick, like 1998, things'll be tough for the spread/multiple-i.)

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joe crede's the best.