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Each week, Lansing State Journal reporter Joe Rexrode and assistant sports editor Barry Kiel debate a topic related to MSU football. This week's question: If MSU upsets Ohio State today, is it a legitimate contender for a BCS bowl game?
• Barry Kiel: Absolutely. If the Spartans get a win today (a very big if, but possible), they would be 7-1 and clear favorites in their next three games - two of them at home. Win those three and you have a 10-1 team that's unbeaten in the Big Ten, meaning it could be in the BCS even with a loss at Penn State. The Spartans aren't on the same level with teams like Texas, USC and Oklahoma, but upset the Sweater Vest today and their chances to play in a BCS bowl are legit.
• Joe Rexrode: I can't argue with your logic. I can argue with anyone who thinks the Spartans are ready for a BCS game. This has been an impressive season so far because MSU is doing what it takes to win - limiting mistakes, forcing opponents into mistakes, beating teams it should beat. But this is not a BCS-bowl-level team. One of those New Year's Day games against an SEC team would be tough enough, and that looks like the Spartans' most likely scenario.
• BK: I would agree that the Spartans don't jump out at you as a BCS team. But if they can beat the Buckeyes and then avoid upsets the next three weeks, then I say they absolutely deserve to be there. They would have a 10-1 record against what was rated as the 11th-toughest schedule in the nation at the start of the season. Of course, if they end up in the Rose Bowl against USC, the result would be really ugly. Still, MSU would have earned the bid.
• JR: Not necessarily. Some of that depends on how Ohio State fares from here. The Buckeyes already have come up short of what I expected this season. If MSU pulls the upset and the Buckeyes lose to Penn State next week, or perhaps Illinois later in the season ... I don't know if MSU really deserves a BCS spot, even at 10-2. I know the Rose Bowl buckled and took Illinois a year ago, but that USC trouncing should increase the pressure to ditch tradition and find a better matchup.
• BK: If being able to play close with USC is the requirement, then the BCS would have a hard time filling out its bowl slots. The Trojans may have had their yearly pratfall against a bad Pac-10 team, but they still would pound 98 percent of the teams in college football, including most of the top 10. Ohio State is underachieving a bit, but it's still lost just one game (at USC) and a second loss to No. 3 Penn State would hardly be a crime. The Rose Bowl wouldn't pass on a 10-2 MSU team.
• JR: Far be it from me to disagree with someone who uses the word "pratfall." OK, let's pretend you're a Rose Bowl exec, rather than a guy with a strange mug shot who comes up woefully short in a public debate forum each week. You have a 10-2 MSU team, which has a marquee win over a 9-3 or 8-4 Ohio State team. And you have, say, a two-loss Oklahoma team that could give USC a great game. You're picking the Spartans?
• BK: A Rose Bowl exec would pick a 10-2 Big Ten team over a two-loss team from another league every time. The Big Ten-Pac-10 tradition is worth keeping. By the way, you certainly went leaping off that Ohio State bandwagon in a hurry. I hope you didn't hurt yourself on the jump. If you've finally come to your senses and want to join the informed over on the Penn State train, just let us know.
• JR: Wrong again. I was just presenting hypotheticals. For the record, I like Ohio State to win today and next week against Penn State. And you're about as "informed" as Joe Paterno is "involved" and calling plays from his press box seat.
