We knew this would happen

At the start of the season I told myself, and anyone who would listen, that this was a 7-5 team, with five probable wins, five toss-ups, and two sure losses. So far this season we are 4-0 on the probable wins, 1-2 in the tossups, and just lost our first sure loss. So why is everyone so upset?

The truth of it is part of the reason that we all make predictions at the start of the season is to counter that overly-optimistic, ten-year old kid in all of us that is dreaming of ways we can go 13-0. As much as you repeat the more realistic prediction out loud, there's still that little voice saying "If we only get some solid safety play and we get some breaks, we could win it all."
When the season starts with an electrifying win, that little voice starts to get louder. After the Notre Dame win, and even after the close losses at MSU and Iowa, we started to believe that maybe we could win this game.

But the truth is any chance we had to be competitive in this game ended five plays into the game when David Molk went down with an ankle injury. We just don't have the talent right now on the defensive side of the ball, or the experience on the offensive side of the ball to be among the top teams in the Big Ten. Somewhere that ten-year kid is in mourning.

Bullets:
-The next two games are absolute must-wins. 7-5 with a mid-level bowl is progress for the program. 6-6 and a low-level bowl, or heaven forbid, 5-7 will be epic fail.
-If I have one complaint with the offense this year (other than general inconsistency and turnovers that come with two freshman QBs) it's the lack of a downfield passing game. Clearly, developing a pocket passing game with Tate Forcier has got to be one of the priorities for the off-season.
-Jordan Kovacs would be a halfway decent safety if he were just a step or 20 steps faster. Unfortunately, he's the only one we really have.
-Ok, let's see, two weeks ago Texas Tech beats Kansas State by 52. Last week Kansas State beats Texas A&M by 48. And this week, A&M beats Tech by 22? Gotta love college football.
-The MSU / Iowa game was an absolute snore fest for the better part of three quarters but turned into a classic big ten battle at the end. We got not one, not two, but three goal line stands, some questionable playcalls, a hook and lateral!, a missed fumble call, and a last second TD to preserve a perfect season (so far). Once they get past the gut shot nature of the loss, Spartan fans have to be happy with the direct of their program. The defense is much improved over the start of the season.
-My god is EMU horrible. Four and a half games after he went out for the season with an injury, QB Andy Schmidt is still the team's leading passer.