Go time...

To borrow a phrase from the greatest show that never got a third season, Frisky Dingo, it's "Go time, mother-humpers!"

Tonight MSU faces Auburn in a truly pivotal game for both teams' seasons. A win for Auburn tonight sets the War Eagles/Tigers/Plainsmen/whatevertheHELLtheyarethisweek (snip-snap!) on the road to an Iron Bowl showdown with Alabama which will likely determine the SEC West participant for the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. A loss for Auburn and they are effectively out of the running unless they manage to run the table in the west, which is never an easy task.

On the other side of the coin, a win for MSU would lend some credence to the already mounting evidence that Dan Mullen and his Bulldogs are on the rise and are now a legitimate threat in the SEC. A loss doesn't end the season, but it leaves a lot of work left to be done if the Bulldogs are to make a bowl appearance this postseason.

There are a lot of subplots in this match-up, but none more compelling than the man under center for Auburn. Cam Newton, the new star QB, once studied under MSU head coach Dan Mullen while both were at Florida. Newton was all but sold on playing for MSU and Mullen until he suddenly changed his commitment to Auburn at the last minute. Comments made by Newton's father would lead Joe Fan to believe his son was too good to play for lowly MSU...

AND I QUOTE:
“He was leaning toward Starkville.,” Cecil Newton said to the Montgomery Advertiser. “He had that relationship with Dan Mullen and there was a comfort level there. I didn’t think that was the right place for Cam. They just don’t have all the moving parts. Cam was going to have to be the star. He’d have to do everything himself. I didn’t want him to be a rented mule.”
End quote.

The rented mule bit is too easy, so we won't go there. Suffice to say there will be no love lost between MSU's fans and Auburn's QB, but when hasn't that been the case? Dan Mullen did quite a job of game-planning for another QB he mentored last season, and although the Bulldogs fell to Florida, I expect to see more of this tonight.

After suffering through the last decade as an MSU fan, it's difficult for me to view tonight's game objectively. I'm trying to remain realistic, but in truth I want Auburn to feel like Felicity "Fat-tits" Finnegan when we get done with them this Thursday night ("Aw, so close to the weekend, that is rough...").

But in the end, my fandom wins out every time. I believe both teams have quality athletes on both sides of the ball. I'm not completely sold on Gene Chizik as a coach, although he looks a hell of a lot better than the Lane Kiffins of the world. One thing I do know, though... that Dan Mullen's crafty.

Hooch out!