The 100th ever Rose Bowl commences in just two days. The Grand Daddy of them all, and the final one before the playoff era comes to college football. Michigan State is here for the first time since 1988. This year’s slogan was “Chase It.” In 2011, it was “P4RB: Prepare for Rose Bowl.” Now it’s finally here. At my first and only Rose Bowl there was a Stealth Bomber fly-over, which tells you everything you need to know about the hype for this one.
Or the national title game which will occur at the very same Rose Bowl stadium 5 days later.
Therefore, we’ll keep the intro short.
At my first Rose Bowl, then Oregon Ducks and now Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly gave me one of my career’s signature moments in the postgame presser. It will be hard to top that at this year’s Rose Bowl.
Rose Bowl TV INFO: ABC/ESPN 4 PM CST
Rose Bowl SPREAD: Stanford -6
Mark Dantonio kicked his senior leader and mainstay defender Max Bullough off the team, announcing it on Christmas Night when no one was working and few people paid attention. And of course, they did not say why. That might just cost them the Rose Bowl as he’s the answer for exactly what Stanford likes to do: run it right up the middle.
Still this should be a great game, and it’s still forecast to be 75 degrees and sunny in Pasadena on Rose Bowl gameday Ahhhh!
The forecast for Chicago at the time my flight takes off is a whopping 5 degrees! Five.
Michigan State Preview:
Well Bullough is gone, however there’s still plenty left on the nation’s number defense.
Michigan State senior cornerback Darqueze Dennard was named the winner of the 2013 Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top DB in all of college football. With that, you’ll see his NFL Draft stock rise even higher. He certainly earned himself some extra future earnings in the Big Ten title game, as she showed tremendous closing speed, as well as a great tenacity to get an early break on the ball.
Darqueze Dennard also has tremendous ball skills and a nose for the ball. And possibly the best individual player on the Michigan State Spartans team. The man nicknamed the Human No Fly Zone, Darqueze Dennard, who leads the 12-1 Spartans in passes defended (14), pass break-ups (10) and interceptions (4).
Shilique Calhoun is one of only two defensive players in college football this season to score three touchdowns.
“Shilique Calhoun had a breakout year from his defensive end position,” Spartans Coach Shilique Dantonio said. “He’s a high-motor guy, who has the knack for making big plays. Shilique has played at a consistently high level all year, not only pressuring the quarterback but playing versus the run as well.” So those are the two main stars on defense. On offense, Connor Cook has really developed into a solid, above average quarterback. He finally got the offense moving. But the unit centers around RB Jeremy Langford.
The Spartans got it done in Indy to take out Ohio State which had the nation’s longest winning streak at 24. And they’re five phantom pass interference calls at South Bend away from being undefeated and playing for the national title.
Told yall on tue #SPARTANSWILL win by 10. #NailedIt #B1GFCG pic.twitter.com/DF3JB5B99F
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) December 8, 2013
Party time for #Sparty #B1GChampionship pic.twitter.com/jRz7EWACsz
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) December 8, 2013
.@LarryVonKurtze #chaseit #GoGreen #B1GFCG pic.twitter.com/rWSozGUrVj
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) December 8, 2013
Stanford preview:
“Who Cares?” — Bruce Weber.
Or DON’T CARE — Jay Cutler
Yes, this Rose Bowl preview is total homerism. And my Rose Bowl trip is a vacation, not work. So I am phoning in this Rose Bowl game preview just a bit.
Brutally honest record: 78-34
Brutally honest Rose Bowl pick: Stanford 19, MSU 17
This game is literally class warfare. And even though I’m emotionally charged for the underdog, and siding with the common man in this one…history has shown us that the manor-born always find a way to impose their will on the proletariat.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan