Michigan State Defensive Tackle: Russell Wilson to Wisconsin Does Not Matter

Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy shot his mouth off via Twitter Thursday about the Wisconsin Badgers and their new quarterback, Russell Wilson, who transferred from North Carolina State earlier this week.

ESPN and other college football experts believe this makes the Badgers the team to beat in the Big Ten Conference's Leaders Division, which also consists of the Illinois Fighting Illini, Indiana Hoosiers, Purdue Boilermakers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions.

Some analysts believe that Wilson's addition is enough for the Badgers to win the 2011 Big Ten Championship as well.

Worthy, however, is not so high on Wilson and Wisconsin's chances in 2011.

"This guys on espn think wilson gona change something at wisconsin. It still don't matter cause they gotta come in to spartan stadium," Worthy tweeted. "Homecoming he will see how the big ten gets down."

Worthy also thinks the Spartans aren't getting their due respect from the analysts at ESPN either.

"If these boys at espn don't start giving msu their respect. It's gona be curtains for them. Lol. I'm just saying," Worthy tweeted.

Alright, I know all of the Michigan State Spartan football players and fans are going crazy in East Lansing because they have put together three winning seasons in the past four years, beaten arch rival Michigan three straight times and won a share of the Big Ten championship in 2010.

Now this is all pretty good for the past few years, but Worthy and the Spartans, along with their fanbase, need to relax a little bit and be given a dose of reality.

Michigan State had not won a Big Ten title since 1990 before clinching a share of it in 2010, have had six losing seasons since 2000, got demolished by the Alabama Crimson Tide 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl at the end of last season to remain winless in bowl games since 2001 and Worthy thinks the Spartans deserve more respect then Wisconsin?

Is he talking about the same Wisconsin program that has had five bowl game wins since 2000, which is almost as many losing seasons as the Spartans have in that time period? The same Badgers that have won at least nine or more games four of the past five years? 

Does Worthy mean the same Wisconsin team that won three Big Ten championships during the 20-year drought by the Spartans? Those same Badgers that shared the Big Ten title with Ohio State and Michigan State in 2010?

Wait, Worthy cannot be saying that his Spartans deserve more respect because the last time Michigan State won nine games in a season (2008), they followed it up with a 6-7 season the following year—can he?

Reality check, Spartan fans: Until Michigan State proves it can sustain success over the period of about five years, then they have no right to rip on Wisconsin.

Michigan State is not being talked about as a contender for the 2011 Big Ten title because they lost their top defender, linebacker Greg Jones; and like I stated before, the last time the Spartans won more then seven games in a season, they followed it up with a losing season.

The Spartans may no longer be the doormat in the Big Ten Conference and have certainly balanced out their in-state rivalry with the Michigan Wolverines, but do not get too far ahead of yourselves in East Lansing.

Michigan State still has a lot to prove before they earn the type of respect Worthy is expecting ESPN to give them.

Check out my blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports. You can also follow my blog on Twitter, @DirtyDugoutBlog, which will provide you with the latest updates about what will be posted on the blog!