Michigan State Football: 3 hot takes from overtime win over Nebraska

1. Winning an ugly, close game like this is actually a good thing

I think Mel Tucker touched on this after the game on Saturday and a lot of people probably just assumed it was coachspeak, but winning a game like this is actually a good thing.

Through three weeks, Michigan State had handled opponents, beating Northwestern, Youngstown State, and Miami by at least three scores each and they hadn’t really faced pressure until the third quarter of the Hurricanes game. They ended up winning comfortably and didn’t have to face the pressure of late drives needing to be converted for touchdowns and stops being critical on the other side.

On Saturday, Michigan State faced all the pressure after playing a terrible second half and still somehow found a way to win. Scraping and clawing their way to victory after recording a handful of yards and no first downs in the second half, the Spartans now realize that they have what it takes to win these tight games.

Also, not playing good football for most of the game and still being in a position to win is a pretty impressive feat. Nebraska was no pushover and the Spartans found out the hard way.

Michigan State needed a reality check and they got one and still won the game. That’s huge.