WATCH: Mel Tucker Gets Fired Up Talking About Michigan At Big Ten Media Days
While Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker expressed optimism and confidence in his football team at Big Ten Media Days, it didn't take long for the conversation to turn towards the Spartans' bitter in-state rival.
Earlier on Wednesday, NBC announced that this season's Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy will kickoff in primetime at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. Tucker offered a succinct answer when asked for his thoughts concerning another night game against the Wolverines in back-to-back years.
“We’ll be there," the head coach said.
Of course, last season's game in Ann Arbor is remembered best for what happened in the Michigan Stadium tunnel, not what went down on the football field. Eight Michigan State players were suspended by Tucker following the skirmish in the tunnel.
Following the incident, discussions raged across the state and even nationally about whether the rivalry between the Spartans and Wolverines had become too heated, nasty or toxic. Asked if the emotions surrounding the rivalry needed to be 'reigned in', Tucker said he didn't think that was possible.
“What do you mean reined in? How do you rein it in? I don’t know how you do that," he said. "There’s not a day that’s gone by that I haven’t heard something about that game. I mean, every day of my life I hear about that game. So, I don’t know how you rein that in. It just is what it is.”
After last year's game, some even went to far as to suggest the rivalry needed to take a year off to cool some of the disdain that both programs and fanbases direct at one another. Tucker scoffed at that idea.
“No, that’s never going to happen," he said. "That’s not even a reality. Why would we want to do that?”
As the Big Ten Conference transitions to a new 'flex-protect' scheduling model beginning in 2024, Michigan-Michigan State is one of the rivalries that has been put into protected status, meaning it will continue to be played on an annual basis for the foreseeable future. Tucker was in full support of the rivalry being protected.
“Of course. I mean, that’s what’s great about college football," he said. "I’ve been a part of – we’ve talked about it before – when you’re coaching Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Chicago-Green Bay, Alabama-Auburn, Georgia-Florida, Colorado-Nebraska. Those are big games. And, that’s why we coach. That’s why you play – to be in those games and ultimately win those games. Oftentimes, you’re judged by how you do in those games. So, I think it’s great.”
Regardless of how heated things have gotten between the Spartans and Wolverines in recent years, Michigan State will continue to emphasis the game against Michigan above all others.
“From the day I got here, in my initial press conference, I’m not shying away from the challenge of the rivalry," Tucker said. "It’s the biggest game of the year for us. And it’s always going to be like that as long as I’m the coach here.”
Mel Tucker's full comments regarding the Michigan State-Michigan game can be viewed below:
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