COLUMN: Putting Michigan State's Loss to Boston College in Perspective
I'm not going to tell you to look at the bright side. That's not what this is about.
Michigan State should have won Saturday's game against Boston College. The Eagles would probably agree.
What I am suggesting fans to do is to be realistic about this Spartan team. Many didn't think Michigan State would be 3-0 heading into Boston College. And it's worth noting that this team could have easily been 1-2 had it not been for some late-game heroics against Florida Atlantic and Maryland.
Nonetheless, the Spartans were undefeated going into Saturday night's matchup with the Eagles, and they weren't expected to win.
This team wasn't supposed to go 8-4 this year. With this brutal upcoming stretch of Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa and Michigan, splitting those four games would probably be the best-case scenario.
This is the first year of a new regime, a new quarterback. The early mistakes aren't a surprise. This season, the Spartans should be merely looking to build a foundation, something they can carry over into next season and beyond when they're better positioned to compete within arguably the best conference in college football.
And maybe they already are. After all, they already have a Big Ten road win under their belt. But looking at the big picture, this season should be about putting the rest of the conference on notice.
No more will they be a laughing stock. No, they're going to bring it every game.
Down Jaron Glover and Nick Marsh, along with the abundance of other key assets who have gone down early this season, Michigan State took it to the Eagles in a game most didn't think it had any right to be in. Take away the turnovers and the Spartans win that game.
Turnovers. You might want to pin it on Aidan Chiles. Yes, three interceptions is not acceptable -- seven in four games is even worse. But when you look at what Chiles has been able to do for this Michigan State offense -- frokm a positive standpoint -- you'd have to think there's no other young quarterback in the Big Ten you would want to build a team around.
Chiles has to fix the turnovers. He knows that. He has to fix the blown opportunities. He knows that.
But you can't place the blame on the first-year starter when you celebrate his big-gain scrambles or the deep shots to Montorie Foster Jr. or Marsh.
I said before the start of the season that this Michigan State team simply needs to compete in Jonathan Smith's first year. It has done that through four games, and it will surely continue to do so.
When you take away the self-inflicted wounds, the sky is the limit for this team. It really is.
And while that's encouraging to keep in mind, remember to be idealistic about this season and what the ultimate goal is.
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AIDAN CHAMPION