Michigan State Football: Michigan win shows Mel Tucker’s potential

Hopes were not high for Michigan State football after Mel Tucker’s first game. But after a victory over Michigan, the first-year coach has bounced back.

Let me start with this. I was wrong about Michigan State football. I was wrong about Mel Tucker. Heck, I was even wrong about Connor Heyward. Not only did this team come to play on Saturday, but they showed off their true potential in the only game of the 2020 season that really matters at the end of the day.

After the Rutgers game, I was absolutely distraught. I’m sorry for my overreactions, it was just a healthy part of losing to the Scarlet Knights. In my defense, it was a really, really ugly loss Rutgers. That being said, nothing could have prepared me for the complete 180 that this team displayed against the Wolverines.

Michigan State who, at one point, was a 24-point underdog, actually beat Michigan. Not only is this arguably the best first win for Tucker, but it’s one of the worst losses in Jim Harbaugh’s six-year career as head coach in Ann Arbor.

It wasn’t just a lucky upset either; Tucker’s squad looked better than Harbaugh’s in nearly every facet of the game. Most notably, we saw this with the wide receivers. For most Michigan State fans, today was their introduction to Ricky White. The freshman wide out put on a show to the tune of 196 yards and a touchdown grab and was as close to unguardable as he could have been.

Speaking as a relatively young Spartan fan, I don’t remember many better games from a Michigan State wide receiver. The exciting part about this is that he might not even be the most talented guy on the roster with other electrifying guys like Jalen Nailor and Jayden Reed. On Saturday, though, White was the guy who reaped the benefits of having the more talented position room.

Another positive sign from a coaching perspective was Michigan State’s zero turnovers. After a week where pointless fumbles lead to a complete collapse this team was able to hold onto the ball for the entirety of the game. To me, this gives me the security of feeling like Mel Tucker will hold his players accountable for mistakes they made in the game.

Defensively, the unit wasn’t overly flashy, but played as well as the offense needed them to. Antjuan Simmons stepped up and the cornerbacks locked down. Usually, we’re used to a Michigan State defense that stops the run and forces turnovers. Against the Wolverines, we didn’t really get either of those things too much. In fact, the Spartans didn’t force a single turnover, but still managed to hold Michigan’s point total to 24 points.

It’s like I’ve been saying all season: we can’t expect to have a defense as strong as Mark Dantonio’s best during Tucker’s tenure. Rather, we should expect this offense to take a big step forward and the defense to take a small step backward. While I wouldn’t say the offense has taken a huge step forward, this team as a whole is developing an identity of a more balanced team.

The play calling was great at times, but Jay Johnson left us with at least a couple of things to complain about. With a lead against Michigan, the coaches continued to play conservative. In fact, at the end of the first half, they seemed to be playing for a lead at half. That being said, rather than a poor football IQ play, this might have been an extremely smart way to play the game in hindsight.

Overall, I won’t be jumping to too many conclusions after this one. That being said, after a worst-case scenario first game, Tucker definitely bounced back in a huge way with a win against his new big brother, Michigan. He has shown that he knows what this rivalry means to state fans and that alone is huge if you want to be the head football coach in East Lansing.