The Wiz of Odds

Big Hits

Three big hits from Saturday, starting with Virginia's Chase Minnifield getting decked by Georgia Tech's Malcolm Munroe. Minnifield was not hurt.

Play to the Whistle? Perhaps Not in the Big Ten

Hasn't been the best of seasons for Big Ten officiating crews. Michigan State safety Roderick Jenrette gets flagged for a late hit on Michigan receiver Junior Hemingway.

The Finalists for Readers' Choice Poster of the Year

The Wiz is happy to present the 10 finalists for Readers' Choice Poster of the Year.

Each of these teams have survived a rugged primary to reach this point, and now it's your turn to select a winner. Voting will close on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at midnight (Eastern). You get only one vote. Repeat voters are blocked by IP address.

The finalists: Iowa State, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Penn State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, USC and Mississippi. View all of the finalists after the jump and click an image for a closer view.

Playing In the Band

Golden Tate's dive into the Michigan State band, done to Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." We would have preferred the Hurra Torpedo version, which you can view after the jump.

Michigan State

The Spartans have shown steady improvement under Mark Dantonio, going 7-6 in 2007 and 9-4 in 2008. The defense, with eight starters returning, should be solid, but the offense will have to replace Javon Ringer, the workhorse running back who had an insane 390 carries last season, the most in Division I-A. Michigan State is one of five teams to have never played a Division I-AA opponent since the NCAA adopted the division setup in 1978 (the others being USC, UCLA, Washington and Notre Dame). But the Spartans fall off the list Sept. 5 when they play host to I-AA Montana State. Thanks to Harry and Brian!

Best Halloween Costume

While "Joe the Plumber" and "Sarah Palin" were popular costumes on Halloween, Michigan State fans had something else in mind. Check out "Michigan Touchdown." If you don't know what were talking about, click this link. Thanks to Bill.