Well, it was sure fun while it lasted- this idea that the Michigan State football program had reached “reload, not rebuild status.”
And thanks for the memories “who nationally has it better than us” memes with pictures of Michigan State football Coach Mark Dantonio and Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo. On the weekend that Michigan State basketball began practicing, we learned that the 2016 Michigan State football season was a lost cause.
The Golden Age of Sparta, with both sports being in that top five, national championship conversation has ceased. It probably ended in March when Middle Tennessee State pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.
That was about as GUT PUNCH a defeat as any loss you’ll ever find. Really the only game recap you can write for a contest like that is a Tweet simply articulating “I HATE EVERYTHING!”
Then came the spring and summer and hopes that Sparty football would erase those memories but instead all we have is “Sparty No!” Hopes are very high for Sparty hoops, with #TheClass, but the season tip-off is still more than a month away.
Thus, we focus on the gridiron Spartans, on their way to their worst season since 2012; coincidentally also the last time Michigan State football was breaking in a new quarterback.
However, this time the problem isn’t just new QB1 Tyler O’Connor, like in ’12 when the problem was mostly Andrew Maxwell, or more perhaps more importantly the decision Dantonio made to go with Maxwell instead of Connor Cook.
I think the Larrold said it best:
This is a thousand times worse than 2012. The problem then was mostly one guy. This is every guy. Sickening.
— At larrold on dat sky app (@Larry_Boa) October 2, 2016
Yes, the football Spartans lost to Indiana, yes the football Hoosiers in overtime 24-21 and it was another gut punch kind of game. Actually, this setback was really more of a “Crying Jordan.” MSU committed 11 penalties, including a “leaping” infraction that bailed out IU and kept their game winning drive alive.
Michigan State made so many self-destructive errors that really they had to beat two teams late last night- IU and themselves.
There’s so much wrong with this Michigan State football team though, beyond just a lack of discipline. Pass blocking, run blocking, special teams, pass defense and a failure to close to deal and put opponents away reside at the top of the “must fix” list.
Indiana beats No. 17 Michigan State in OT, Hoosiers’ first win vs a ranked Big Ten team since 2006 vs Iowa (24 straight losses since).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 2, 2016
Next they’ll try to get right when they host BYU, and then Northwestern the following week. On paper, Michigan St. should be favored in both of those contests, but Michigan State football fans have spent most of 2016 revising expectations downward s it’s possible that trend will continue.
Amazing what happened between week three and week five. Notre Dame hosting Michigan State was a top 20 matchup in prime time, a huge game at the time. Now, just two weeks later, it’s two teams who will be lucky to reach 6-6 and qualify for a bowl game.
MSU’s two wins just look all the less impressive as the season rolls on.
I predicted this. As goes the Indiana game, so goes the season. It's a lost cause.
— Little Izzo (@LittleIzzo) October 2, 2016
The Fighting Irish have been exposed as a very flawed team, so State certainly cannot hang their hats on that victory. The season opening win over a lowly FCS foe was just too ugly to even bring up again here. While this season might be a lost cause, there still will be some exciting moments to come.
You know this Michigan State football team will get up for Michigan, because every team does, every season. They might even rise up to give Ohio State a good game too.
It’s also very possible that 2016 is a one year aberration. Athletic Director Mark Hollis led a Golden Age; maybe the next one isn’t all that far off. Remember, Dantonio is the man who led the program to new sights that haven’t been seen since the 1960s. He made Michigan State football nationally relevant again, and it’s quite likely that he’ll do so once more in the near future.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.