MichiganCardinal

The interim president keeps saying "this is not the MSU of old", as if everything about this does not scream "this is the MSU of old". A "new" MSU would not have waited until this got public to take action. They were reactive, not proactive. Curious to see if there are any hard hitting questions.

Eagles up 16-0 in the 1st quarter. Both them and the 49ers have looked like they haven't missed a beat.

I hope both Love and Fields look awful. Seven combined interceptions.

Jamaal Williams runs 11 yards for a first down to ice their game against the Titans, then fumbles the ball, but is lucky enough to get it back. Finishes his first game out of Detroit with 18 carries for 45 yards, no scores. Before the last play of the game he was at 17 carries for 34 yards. Not so great away from the Detroit offensive line.

This is what makes me okay with having Gibbs on a pitch count with Montgomery. Monty has shown NFL durability, he can take a licking and keep on ticking. The plan for Gibbs is that he is going to be performing at a high level for 17... 18.... 19.... 20?!? games. Need to keep him fresh, no need to just create a Swift 2.0.

Minnesota loses 20-17 to a not-good Tampa team and has a Thursday Night matchup against Philadelphia upcoming. They looked plainly awful from what I saw. Could not get anything going offensively unless it went through Jefferson. Hock caught multiple passes behind the line of scrimmage in the second half and would immediately get pounded. Add on two fumbles lost plus a red zone interception.... yikes.

Terrible DPI call on 3rd and goal gifted Minnesota four points (assuming they would have kicked the field goal). 17-17 early in the 4th.

Minnesota has not looked good on offense or defense. It's Justin Jefferson surrounded by mediocrity. Tied 10-10 at the half.

The obviously way too early rooting guide... Bucs over Vikings Steelers over 49ers Titans over Saints Patriots over Eagles Everything else is a wash so far as I can tell.

The USA Today article looks like it condenses 1200 pages of investigation into it. It’s pretty comprehensive. The point isn’t that she couldn’t have possibly entered into a consensual relationship though, the point is that he, as the $95MM face of the Michigan State football team, has to have better judgment than to do so, even consensually. The same goes for Title IX. I seem to agree with the finding that it is subject, as they met due to the partnership, MSU paid her, and the conduct took place on a trip MSU paid for. Not that this is about football, but this will set MSU football back another 2-3 years. No talent will come or stay after this. Their only hope is to poach a Prime Time away from Colorado, and I can’t imagine that will happen. Otherwise, they’re going to be a 2-10 to 5-7 football team for a while.

And then there is this. It gets worse and worse.

With his injury last year, he only played in seven games. Not to say he's a rookie this year, but they may be trying to ease him into action somewhat. If he makes use of his snaps with huge plays like that 3rd down TFL, he'll be seeing the field more often, guaranteed.

I had some at a tailgate before the game and didn't eat at the stadium (I never left my seats once the game started). I did see some being eaten by people nearby that sure looked and smelled authentic.

If this was just a staffer, or a senior assistant, or some random fling by Tucker, it would be incredibly embarrassing for the school, and fireable if the sexual harassment allegations were sustained. This is a woman who was brutally sexually assaulted by four members of the Oregon State football team in 1998. She goes to schools around the country, speaking to student-athletes, mostly football teams, about how to be good teammates and good men, and how to ensure that sexual assault and sexual harassment do not become a part of the culture, and how to react if a situation of sexual assault presents itself. In 2017, in the very infancy of the #MeToo movement, I had the privilege of listening to Brenda talk to a group of student-athletes and band members on my undergraduate campus. She was impassioned, serious, and devoted her life to sexual harassment prevention. Even if we take everything Tucker said at face value, bad judgement doesn't even begin to describe the idiocy of his actions. Do you really think this woman, nearly 25 years after her attack, after spending many of those years combatting sexual harassment and sexual assault on college campuses, is going to enter into a consensual relationship with a head football coach? Even if you think the answer is somehow yes, do you really think that is at all even remotely a good idea? I would be shocked if Tucker survives the week, but it blows my mind that he coached yesterday. For a school that paid out $500 million in settlements for Nassar, you would think they would learn something - anything at all - about taking allegations against people in power seriously. The allegations were made in April 2022. The second Tucker admitted to having phone sex with her, he should have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an expedited investigation... Instead, Michigan State has allowed USA Today and ESPN to run with this story 17 months later, catching them on their heels anyway. For WHAT?? And MSU sure better hope that this was a one-time thing with one person, because personally, I doubt it.

After reading the USA Today article and reading Tucker’s comment where he admits to masturbating on the phone with a sexual assault survivor who was literally hired by the school to give talks to student-athletes on sexual harassment (!!!) I am FLOORED that Michigan State - of all the schools!! - did not placed him on paid administrative leave pending the results of this investigation. But instead they (probably illegally) dodged ESPN’s FOIA request and then conveniently scheduled the investigation hearing for a bye week five weeks into the season. Where are the adults??? Did they think that the alleged victim would not go public? Did they think they could just hide this? This absolutely reeks of a culture in the athletic program that learned absolutely nothing from the heinous acts of Larry Nassar and the tremendous shortcomings by the university in preventing further victimization.

And the other shoe…. Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker accused of sexually harassing rape survivor (USA Today)

Sources: Michigan St’s Mel Tucker subject of sexual harassment investigation (ESPN)

I’ll post the game thread after the Seahawks play tomorrow afternoon, but if the Lions can start 2-0 against two 2022 playoff teams, they will have set themselves up extremely well to “win” the first half of the season. The schedule in weeks 5-8 has what should be three very winnable games against the Panthers, Bucs, and Raiders. Week three’s bout against Atlanta should be winnable too, though they’ve made a lot of improvements and can’t be overlooked. And then there is going into Lambeau week four and going into Baltimore week seven, both very tall tasks. What game(s) will y’all be watching tomorrow?

Youngstown State is hanging with Ohio State early, despite Marvin Harrison Jr. putting up a 4/122/2 stat line in just the first quarter.

Some general thoughts on the game and Arrowhead: Arrowhead was great and I would definitely recommend it to football fans. It definitely gives off something of a college football feel to an NFL stadium. Maybe it's because I was in the upper deck, but I will say that I didn't personally think it was that loud. It definitely got loud when it mattered, but I found myself saying "Ford Field can beat this", which I think they can (and maybe will next Sunday), but I am also biased... I think an indoor stadium (particularly the way Ford Field's roof is designed) is naturally inclined to provide a louder environment when it's rocking than an outdoor stadium. Though I also know the decibel records disagree with me. I also think there was a not insignificant number of Lions fans there. The speckles and seas of Honolulu Blue reminded me (sadly) of the days 5-10 years ago of The Game in Ann Arbor, where masses of scarlet would be painting the maize. But that tells you that there were a lot of us there. And at the end, you could definitely hear the "Let's Go Lions" chants. It was great. There were some less than great aspects, which come with older stadiums. The scoreboards could definitely use an upgrade/renovation. Compared to what I've grown used to, and what the standard has become in the NFL, those things felt tiny... Also, the fireworks rained ash down on us in the upper bowls every time they went off. Judging by the comments from season ticket holder Chief fans around us, this was not usual, so not sure if it was just an abnormal wind or something. It wasn't a huge deal either, but I think I did end up drinking a bit of firework with my beer. The truly incomparable part of the experience for me though was the people. Chiefs fans are the best opposing fans I have ever met, bar none. Now granted, I'm sure it's easier to be nice when you're playing an out-of-conference lovable opponent after hosting five straight AFC Championship games and winning the Super Bowl. At the same time though, every fan I encountered was nothing but kind and welcoming. At the end of the game, as Goff took his final knee, the Chief fan behind us went out of his way to offer to take a picture of me and my friend. Truly phenomenal. Leaving the stadium, as I mentioned, I am sure many Lions fans came across as obnoxious with how boisterous we all were. But they remained kind and pleasant, making comments like "y'all go restore the roar now" and "hope to see you in Vegas". I didn't come across a single bad apple. Others have kind of beat the horse dead related to the game. I concur with everyone though. I think we brought a C+ performance and were still able to pull off the win, which is what good teams can do! I was very encouraged by the second-half defense and I think the offense is going to get things going in time. I thought Dan Campbell called a great game. I actually called the shot on the fake punt, which made everyone around us think there must be something in the water up here. The only thing I disagreed with was punting on the -40. I get that we don't have a Justin Tucker who can make a 57-yard field goal. Outside of getting someone who can though, I think we are better off going for it there than handing the ball to Mahomes, knowing that he can get the 30 yards back in one play, with ease. It worked out though. The officiating blunders were obvious from the upper bowl by the way, multiple times I saw the RT moving early and was calling it out, before even knowing that everyone across the country was seeing it too. I'm really looking forward to the Seahawks game. Ford Field is going to be absolutely electric in a way I don't think Ford Field will have ever experienced.

(not sleeping) The game against the Seahawks is about to be absolutely crazy. I think Ford Field may reach new volumes and reinvent Seattle’s 12th man.

17-0

I really didn’t think they could do it. Chiefs fans were leaving when they failed to convert the 4/25 and I was like “you don’t know this team like I do” 5:30am flight back home…. Will I sleep?

INSANE!!!! I’ve never experienced anything like the scene exiting Arrowhead tonight. Lions fans were EVERYWHERE. Embracing, hugging, chanting. Top moment I’ve experienced live in my lifetime.