Michigan State’s Resume Continues to Age Poorly
Michigan State football started the season 3-0, giving a reason for fans of the Spartans to be optimistic. But that optimism has not aged particularly well as the teams they’ve squared off against have floundered.
The sentiment after the season-opening 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic was that the Owls were going to be a tough Group of Five team and that head coach Tom Herman was starting to build something in Boca Raton.
Monday morning, Herman was fired after starting the season 2-8, going winless in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls had their best defensive performance against an FBS opponent holding the Spartans to 16 points.
In week two, the Spartans had what seemed to be a tough road test against the Maryland Terrapins. The Terrapins were coming off an impressive 50-7 victory over UConn and looked like the team that went 8-5 in 2023.
However, as the season continued, it became clear that the 27-24 victory for the Spartans in had become less impressive. Maryland now sits at 17th in the Big Ten standings with their lone win being an improbable comeback against USC, another team that has disappointed this season.
After dropping the Red Bandanna game to Boston College, the Spartans held their head high. It appeared as if the Eagles were on the fringe of being a ranked team and possibly contenders in the ACC after starting the season strong.
But after losses in four of their last five contests, Coach Bill O’Brien benched starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos. The Eagles find themselves in a similar position to the Spartans, fighting for a bowl game appearance at 5-5.
The Spartans’ biggest win against the Iowa Hawkeyes has even started to crack. The Hawkeyes were unable to pull off a road victory against the UCLA Bruins, a 4-6 team that wasn’t supposed to do much in their first Big Ten season.
Nobody is expecting to beat all three of these teams in Jonathan Smith’s first season but there should be the expectation to at least have a close game against one of them. In all three top-ten matchups, the Spartans lost by three or more scores.
Other Big Ten teams on the same tier as Michigan State have fought hard against the elite programs pushing them to the brink.
Wisconsin had a fourth-quarter lead against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks on Saturday. Earlier in the season Nebraska almost beat Ohio State on the road. Even Michigan gave the Indiana Hoosiers a scare two weeks ago in Bloomington.
The Spartans still have the opportunity to take a step in the right direction to finish the season. If they can take care of business against Purdue and Rutgers they would qualify for a bowl game at 6-6.
The 2024 season won't be rewarded with any banners or awards but slowly moving in the right direction would be a positive outcome for Michigan State.
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