The most under-rated team in the FBS resides in the great state of Michigan. To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Head Coach Mark Dantonio leads a capable offence, and one of the best defences the Big 10 has ever seen. Outside of a loss to Notre Dame back in September, the Spartans have been perfect, working their way up the BCS rankings where they currently sit 16th. With Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota and potentially Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship game still on the schedule, Michigan State has a chance to crack the Top 10 and wind up in the Rose Bowl. For a team you have heard very little about, the upside for the Spartans is incredibly high. And its well deserved. In their nine games, eight wins and one loss, the Spartans have given up more than 17 points just once. In their last three games theyve combined to give up just nine points total. They have allowed 11.6 points per game which is third-best in the FBS. Now paired with their daunting defence is an offence that has provided capable of keeping pace. Sophomore Connor Cook has taken over as the starting quarterback and has tossed 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Jeremy Langford has done a respectable job replacing Leveon Bell with 11 total touchdowns out of the backfield. The fact of the matter is the Spartans have been dismissed because of all the talk that the Big 10 is "down" and the conference is well behind the likes of the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12. The truth is while the depth in the conference is down; the top end could compete with all of those other conferences. The three-headed monster of Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin is capable of hanging with the other powers. Currently Michigan State sits behind Northern Illinois, Fresno State, and two-loss teams in UCLA and South Carolina in the BCS standings. On a neutral field the Spartans would win games against all four of those teams - a few of them handily. Depending on how they perform the rest of the season, it may take until the bowl season for Michigan State to prove that their ranking has been a sham all along, and the Spartans should have been considered elite long ago. Teams dont need to score 60 points to be exciting or successful, and the Spartans are the number one team at proving that point. They have work left to be done, starting with the Cornhuskers this weekend, but keep an eye out for Michigan State as they take a run at the Big 10 Title and a berth in a BCS bowl game. Other notes from around the NCAA: -Michigan lost their first game at home under Brady Hoke, falling to Nebraska. Theyve combined for minus-69 rushing yards the last two games. -Tyler Gaffney ran the ball 45 times in Stanfords upset win over Oregon, good for the new Cardinal school record. -Auburn scored 55 points against Tennessee despite attempting only seven passes. Theyve won two straight games without attempting 10 passes in either contest. -92 points and 1,092 yards in the Texas A&M win over Mississippi State. In likely his last game at Kyle Field Johnny Manziel tossed five touchdowns and three interceptions. -Tyler Cameron completed five passes and threw three interceptions against FSU. Amazingly, he wasnt even the teams worst QB on the day – that title goes to Tanner Price who had three picks and only one completion. The six INTs by Florida State were a school record. -Pitt upset Notre Dame 28-21. In the fourth quarter Ray Vinopal had interceptions on back-to-back passes by Fighting Irish QB Tommy Rees. -The 38 points Alabama scored against LSU were the most since they put up 41 back in 1947. -UCF RB Storm Johnson had his third 100-yard rushing game of the year and the Knights are tops in the American Conference. The stat may not be that impressive, but the name Storm Johnson sure is. Discount Ecco Shoes Sale .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. Cheap Ecco Shoes Online . - The New England Patriots needed help on defence so they added three experienced players at midseason. http://www.cheapecco.us/ . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. Cheap Ecco Shoes . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. Ecco Shoes Wholesale . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk.DETROIT -- Victor Martinez drove in three runs to help Detroit to a much-needed win, then offered a bit of a plea to Tigers fans who have been losing patience with the AL Central favourites. "Its not fair when people out there are thinking that weve got to win this division by 10, 15, 20 games," Martinez said. "Were not playing Little League teams. Were trying. Its too long of a season. At some point youre going to struggle. Every team struggles at some point. "As a fan, if youre going to be with us when were doing good, we really need the fans when were struggling too." Martinez had three hits, and Nick Castellanos homered and tripled to lead the Tigers to an 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Detroit rallied from a 4-1 deficit and snapped a four-game losing streak, but the Tigers remained a half-game behind first-place Kansas City. The Tigers are suddenly facing adversity amid mounting injuries. They had to send Buck Farmer to the mound to make his major league debut, and he allowed four runs in five innings. Blaine Hardy (2-1) followed with two scoreless innings of relief, lowering his ERA to 2.05. Hes been a rare bright spot in a bullpen thats been unreliable. "Hes done an excellent job, really," manager Brad Ausmus said. "Hes not strictly a lefty-lefty guy. Hes got the ability to get right-handed hitters out, which gives me a lot of flexibility in the middle innings." Castellanos put Detroit ahead 5-4 with a solo homer off Vance Worley (5-2) in the sixth. Martinez added a bases-loaded single in the seventh. The Tigers returned home after going 2-7 on a road trip against the New York Yankees, Toronto and Pittsburgh. A 19-inning loss to the Blue Jays stretched the pitching staff thin, and Anibal Sanchez and Justin Verlander are nursing injuries. The game was tied at 1 in the fourth when Pittsburghs Jordy Mercer hit an RBI triple and Travis Snider followed with a two-run homer. The Tigers tied it with three runs in the fifth. Alex Avila led off with a homer to make it 4-2, and after a single by Eugenio Suarez, Ezequiel Carrera hit a grounder to second. Jayson Nix tried to make a tough throw to second to get the lead runner, but his throw was poor, and the error helpped Detroit to a big inning.dddddddddddd Miguel Cabrera eventually hit a sacrifice fly, and Martinez tied it with a two-out RBI single. Castellanos hit his ninth homer of the year with one out in the sixth. "I think the pitches that hurt were the home runs," Worley said. "Couple of guys who I got behind -- had to throw good pitches." Worley allowed five runs -- three earned -- and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. TOUGH SPOT: Farmer has spent most of this season at Class A West Michigan, and he was called up from Double-A Erie to make this start for the Tigers. He made it through the order the first time without allowing a hit, but the Pirates scored a run in the third and three in the fourth. He allowed six hits and a walk and struck out four, and the Tigers were able to rally after he left the game. OUTFIELD PROBLEMS: Pittsburgh centre fielder Starling Marte made a diving attempt on Castellanos hit in the second, and the ball got past him for a triple. Right fielder Gregory Polanco couldnt handle Torii Hunters double in the fourth, and Polancos long run to right-centre in the seventh was for naught when he was unable to make the catch on Carreras drive, which went for a triple. FOR THE BIRDS: Worley and Cabrera both seemed distracted by two birds that settled in between the mound and the plate while Cabrera was batting in the first. Cabrera stepped out and waved his bat at them, then Worley rolled a ball to the plate, trying to shoo them away. TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: Pittsburgh was once again without 2B Neil Walker, who has been limited to only three games this month. Walker has been bothered by a bad back. Tigers: Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler stayed in the game and seemed to be OK after a pitch by Stolmy Pimentel bounced weirdly and hit him in the side of the head. Pimentels pitch in the seventh inning was in the dirt, then bounced up off C Russell Martin and hit Kinsler. UP NEXT Pirates: Francisco Liriano (3-8) takes the mound for Pittsburgh on Thursday against Detroit. Hes posted a 2.25 ERA in five starts since returning from a left oblique strain. Tigers: Max Scherzer (13-4) pitches for the first time since striking out 11 in eight innings against Toronto on Saturday -- in a game Detroit went on to lose in 10. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '