A Super Lesson

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The New York Giants 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots sent shock waves to the rest
of the NFL.

Just get in the playoffs and play your best football in December and January, as they became the first team in NFL history to lose seven games and win a Super Bowl.

The Giants were 7-7 in December and made it to the playoffs by defeating the Dallas Cowboys 31-14 to win the NFC East Title in the final week of the season, finishing 9-7.

By winning the division title, New York earned a home game and dispatched the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 in the opening round. Atlanta's only points came off a safety.

The Giants took their act on the road as they defeated 15-1 Green Bay 37-20 in the second game of the tournament in frigid Lambeau Field. They prevented Packers MVP QB Aaron Rogers from leading Green Bay to its second straight Super Bowl Championship.

The NFC Championship Game would be hosted by the 13-3 San Francisco 49'ers. But the Giants wouldn't be affected by the three hour time difference as they earned a 20-17 overtime victory.

What would it take for New York to win the Super Bowl over the 13-3 New England Patriots? It would take an MVP Performance by Giants QB Eli Manning as he threw for 296 yards and one touchdown. Manning became the fifth player in Super Bowl History to win two MVP Awards and he accomplished that twice against the New England Patriots.

This MVP came in the stadium that his brother Peyton built---Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Giants played good defense. They sacked Patriots QB Tom Brady twice and forced him to throw one interception. Brady had a safety on the Patriots first possession of the game.

Ironically, my good friend Eddy Alvarez, who is my AT&T Dealer in Deerfield Beach, Florida, asked me an hour before kickoff as I was buying my new tablet, if there was going to be interesting play to watch out for.

I told him that there would be a two-point play of some sort. When Brady had that safety, Alvarez sent me a complimentary e-mail after it happened.

In the end, this Super Bowl rematch of four years ago would be decided in the final minute as the Giants got a late touchdown by Ahmad Bradshaw, a play designed to set up a field goal. However, he inadvertently backed in and scored. This play will go down as one of the classic endings in Super Bowl History.

Eli Manning's legacy has now been cemented as a two-time Super Bowl Champion. With two Super Bowl rings, he owns family bragging rights over Peyton and his father Archie.

Following the Super Bowl, the Giants have defeated the Patriots three consecutive times---including two Super Bowl triumphs and a 24-20 regular season win in New England on Sunday, November 6, 2011.

More importantly, the Giants Super Bowl victory sends a message to the entire "Sports World."

"Don't worry about the win-loss regular season record. Just qualify for the post-season."

As long as a team peaks in the playoffs, that's all that matters. You can bet every coach in every sport on all levels will use the Giants improbable underdog ride as motivation to inspire players to win a championship.

That's what will make Super Bowl XLVI stand out for years to come.

Finally, the Green Bay Packers won last years title with a 10-6 record and add the Giants 9-7 mark, and the combined record for both squads is 19-13.

That's incredible.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

U-M VS MSU

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

In The Wonderful World Of Normalcy, the Michigan State Spartans should still be playing in a BCS Bowl Game despite losing to the Wisconsin Badgers 42-39 on Saturday, December 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

But this is NCAA Football where a computer ranking decides which two teams play for a National Championship.

In my home state, the sides are divided as to which team deserved a BCS Bowl Game.

Even though the Michigan State Spartans (10-3) defeated the Michigan Wolverines (10-2) during the regular season, MSU is going to face the Georgia Bulldogs (10-3) in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida on January 2.

My friends Gus Pantelides and Mike Pantel of Clearwater, Florida have to be elated they'll see MSU in their backyard.

But Spartans Head Coach Mark Dantonio, who has compiled a 43-22 record in five seasons, wishes his team was playing in New Orleans, Louisiana.

That's where Michigan is set to face Virginia Tech (10-2) in the Sugar Bowl.

According to the BCS Standings,  Michigan was ranked 13 while Michigan State dropped to 17.

But lets face the reality. When Michigan is winning, they're a hot property.

A win by Virginia Tech over Michigan will do wonders for the Hokies football program.

Sorry Michigan State. That's the way it works out.

Here is the Tale Of The Tape between these two in-state rivals.

Michigan State:

1) All-Time Record--633-427-44.
2) National Championships--Six, the last one in 1966.
3) Post-Season Bowl Record--7-14.
4) Conference Titles--Seven
5) Heisman Trophy Winners--Zero.

Michigan:

1) All-Time Record--894-310-36 which is No.1 All-Time in NCAA Division I, FBS.
2) National Championships--11, the last one in 1997.
3) Post-Season Bowl Record--19-21.
4) Conference Titles--42
5) Heisman Trophy Winners--three.
6) Highest All-Time Winning Percentage in College Football--.735%.
7) Most Winning Seasons--113.
8) Most Undefeated Seasons in Division I/FBS (23).
9) One of only three schools with a winning record against every Division I A/ FBS Conference.
10) Longest Current Streak Not Shutout Division I/FBS (348), last time was October 20, 1984 by the Iowa Hawkeyes.
11) Largest Crowd to ever attend an NCAA Football Game was 114,804 on Sept 10, 2011 at Michigan Stadium VS Notre Dame.
12) Longest streak in Home Attendance of over 100,000 (239 games) dating back to November 8, 1975 VS the Purdue Boilermakers.
13) The Most Televised School in College Football History--431 televised games.
14) On December 21, 1984, BYU (12-0) defeated U-M (6-6) by a 24-17 margin to win the Holiday Bowl in front of 61,248 a record at that time at Jack Murphy Stadium, to win the National Championship. It's hard to believe the National Championship was decided before New Years Day.
15) Before missing a bowl game in 2008, Michigan had made a bowl game 33-years in a row and had a winning season for 40 straight years.

Sorry Spartan Nation, it's hard to compete against these numbers.

But heck, who can complain about a trip to the Tampa Bay Area where you'll have plenty of transplanted alumni wearing green & white singing your fight songs. This consolation prize isn't all that bad.

But do the Big Ten and your fans a favor. Don't get blown out by another SEC team and duplicate a 49-7 loss to former Coach Nick Saban's Alabama team on January 1, 2011 in the Capital One Bowl two hours away across I-4 in Orlando.

MSU is 0-2 against Georgia in Bowl Games. The Spartans dropped a 34-27 decision in the 1989 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Twenty years later at the Capital One Bowl, the Bulldogs bit MSU 24-12 in 2009.

Will MSU's third meeting against Georgia at a different venue be the charm? We'll find out in the coming days.

As for Michigan, I'm looking forward to see how the Wolverines fare against ACC powerhouse Virginia Tech and legendary Coach Frank Beamer in their 432 televised game.

The Sugar Bowl ratings figure to get a boost with U-M electrifying QB Denard Robinson, a Deerfield Beach, Florida, native. Robinson has thrown for 2056 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has rushed for 1163 yards and 16 touchdowns.

This will be fun to watch and hopefully MSU and Michigan will put on good shows in 2012. A win over Virginia Tech would be a great ending by the Maize and Blue for first year Head Coach Brady Hoke.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Worth The Trouble?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I have never seen an amateur athlete stir up this much controversy before he ever reached the pros more than former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor, who will turn 22 years-old on June 20.

During his stormy tenure at Ohio State (2008-2010), his off the field actions led to the departure of a Head Coach Jim Tressel, who was 9-1 against the Michigan Wolverines, led the Buckeyes a National Championship in 2002, was 106-22 and 66-14 in the Big 10. Tressel's career record is 241-79-2.

As I look back, it's hard to believe that Pryor was very close to signing with the Michigan Wolverines and playing for former U-M Coach Rich Rodriguez. But he took his talents to Columbus instead of Ann Arbor and the Wolverines have struggled the past few years.

Are Wolverines fans upset that they didn't land Pryor now? Their consolation prize was a youngster out of Deerfield Beach, Florida., named Denard Robinson. All Robinson is doing is breaking longstanding Wolverines rushing and other offensive records.

But now the question remains? Is Pryor going to be more trouble than he's worth in the NFL?

I don't care that he has 2,164 rushing yards, 6,177 passing yards, 57 touchdown passes and two BCS Bowl Game MVP Awards. I don't care that he was 31-4 as a starter for the Buckeyes. Neither will the experienced NFL linebackers, defensive ends and linemen that are looking to knock his head off every week. These MEN are much bigger and stronger and will hammer and punish his 6-6, 233 pound frame.

If they're former Buckeyes, they'll be mad because Ohio State is going to be handed some severe penalties because he traded autographs and memorabilia for cash and discounted tattoos. The NCAA is looking into the cars Pryor has owned or was loaned while at Ohio State.

I understand him leaving knowing that he would have served his five game suspension if Tressel had remained the coach.

While I do believe there will be an NFL season, there are more questions that remain?

1. Is he a franchise quarterback? I'm not convinced right now but go ahead and prove me wrong.

2. Would the CFL have been a better move and use that league as a stepping stone to get to the NFL? If you ask Warren Moon and Doug Flutie, they'll say YES! The wider field will give Pryor plenty of room to run.

3. Could Pryor gain valuable coaching from Jim Fassel or Dennis Green in the UFL? These guys are excellent offensive minds and have done real well in the NFL. But Pryor has such a big ego that he probably figures he's too big for this young league and all he'd do is be brought there to sell tickets.

But in the end, is Pryor "Worth The Trouble?"

This question has so many different answers. I have a feeling they'll be saying NO at Ohio State pretty soon since he didn't deliver a National Championship and their coach is gone.

In the NFL, they'll probably say YES because despite all of his baggage, his price tag will be much lower and he'll likely play quarterback and have some offensive packages to use his athleticism at wide receiver therefore, his explosiveness could cause major headaches for defensive coaches.

At Michigan, hindsight will tell you NO because of Robinson and all of the NCAA violations they avoided.

I'll be curious to see how all of this plays out for both Pryor and Ohio State. But I have a feeling there will be some tough times ahead at Ohio State as the NCAA is about to sack the Buckeyes for all of the wrong reasons.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.