Michigan State Football: Ugly win vs. Maryland exhibits progress

Michigan State football recorded an ugly win over Maryland on Saturday afternoon and it signified progress for the program.

It wasn’t pretty, but what Michigan State football win is nowadays? The Spartans were unable to pull away from Maryland in a rain-soaked and snow-covered Week 12 win. Winning big won’t do the Spartans much good, other than gain them some confidence heading into bowl season, but the tight victory signified progress for the program.

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Winning games like this by 10-points and having it feel almost like a loss shows just how far the Spartans have come since last year’s 3-9 debacle.

The locker room seemed to have its problems last season, but the winning atmosphere is back. It’s nice to be able to complain about 10-point wins rather than take solace in close losses.

Michigan State has turned things around thanks to Mark Dantonio. The Spartans were lost this offseason, but they put their trust in the head coach and even with the attrition, the young team looks like a future power.

Going from 3-9 to 8-3 in less than a year is nothing short of magical and that’s the type of thing that could win Dantonio the Big Ten’s coach of the year award. Progress was made against Maryland with the run game getting established despite Brian Lewerke’s ugly performance — the weather didn’t help much.

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Although this team is young and had trouble extending a lead late, the Spartans continue to show that they can win hard-fought Big Ten battles and the youth is earning valuable experience.