Battle of unbeatens takes place in Madison

NCAA Football Betting Lines

09/26/2007 - Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of undefeated teams meet in Big Ten action this Saturday when the Michigan State Spartans come calling on the ninth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.

Mark Dantonio's Michigan State squad has been one the surprising teams in the conference here in the early going, averaging nearly 33 ppg in surging to its second 4-0 start in the last three years. The Spartans took out hapless Notre Dame last weekend, 31-14, and are playing their second straight road game after opening the season with three straight in front of the hometown faithful. Dantonio is the first coach is MSU history to begin his tenure at 4-0.

As for Bret Bielema's Wisconsin Badgers, they own the nation's longest winning streak at 13 games. UW opened the Big Ten portion of its schedule with a hard-fought 17-13 win over visiting Iowa last Saturday, giving the team its 10th straight home triumph. Going back a bit further, the Badgers have claimed victory in 21 of their last 22 games at Camp Randall Stadium. Their eight straight wins in conference marks the longest such run in program history.

This bout represents the 46th game in the series between these two conference rivals, with the Spartans holding a 26-19 advantage. Wisconsin has won three of the last four meetings in Madison.

Brian Hoyer and Javon Ringer sparked the Spartans to victory over the Fighting Irish last weekend, as the MSU offense rolled up 354 total yards. Hoyer, who ranks among the Big Ten's best in passing efficiency (140.5), threw four TD passes and Ringer rushed for 144 yards in averaging 5.5 ypc. Kellen Davis had just two grabs in the contest, but both resulted in scores, while Devin Thomas led all pass catchers with four receptions for 55 yards and a TD. For the season, Michigan State is averaging 416.5 ypg of total offense, boasting near equal production from the run (200.8 ypg) and pass (218.8 ypg). Hoyer is a 57.1 percent passer who has seven TDs against just three INTs, and Thomas is clearly his go-to guy as evidenced by his 16 grabs for 370 yards and three scores. Ringer spearheads the MSU ground assault with his 399 yards, while fellow RB Jehuu Caulcrick has scored six times and has rushed for 300 yards.

Pressure is the key to Michigan State's success on defense as the Spartans lead the nation in sacks per game (5.25). Four different players logged a sack in last week's win over Notre Dame, the team making 10 stops behind the line of scrimmage on the day. The Irish amassed just 203 yards of total offense, including a mere 86 via the pass, and they really struggled on third down (4- of-15). Foes are scoring just 15.5 ppg against the Spartans this season, and they are gaining only 265.8 yards of total offense. The MSU defense has given up just seven points in the first quarter and only eight in the third through four games. Kendell Davis-Clark is the team's leading tackler thus far with 26, while Travis Key is close behind with 25. Jonal Saint-Dic leads the Big Ten and is tied for second nationally with six sacks, collecting eight TFLs in all.

A week after scoring five TDs in a win over The Citadel, Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill rumbled his way to 113 yards and a score in leading the Badgers to a 17-13 win over Iowa at home last Saturday. Hill became UW's 11th 2,000-yard rusher in the contest and he currently sits 10th on the school's all-time rushing list. Quarterback Tyler Donovan, now 6-0 in his career as a starter, hit the mark on just 12-of-23 pass attempts for 138 yards with a TD and an INT, but he was sacked three times. Luke Swan tallied three catches for 62 yards, while Travis Beckum finished with four grabs. An efficient if not a flashy passer, Donovan is completing 60.2 percent of his throws for an average 190.2 ypg with seven TDs and only one INT. Swan and Beckum each have 20 receptions and two TDs this season, with the former picking up 359 yards. Hill is the engine that drives the UW machine and he is averaging 128 ypg and has crossed the goal line seven times.

The Wisconsin defense stood tall in last week's conference opener against Iowa, limiting the Hawkeyes to just 228 total yards. The Badgers effort against the run resulted in a mere 59 net rushing yards for Iowa, and Wisconsin was credited with four sacks. Deandre Levy and Jonathan Casillas made seven stops apiece for coach Bielema's defense, while Aaron Henry posted 2.5 sacks. Elijah Hodge is the team's current tackles leader with 28, but Casillas and Levy aren't far behind with 25 and 21 stops, respectively. The Badgers have dropped the opposing QB nine times this season, while making a total of 23 tackles in the backfield. Turnovers however, have not been plentiful to this point, with the Badgers averaging fewer than two takeaways per outing.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.