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Michigan State Football: 3 reasons for optimism ahead of Ohio State game

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker, left, gets Kenneth Walker III fired up before the game against Maryland on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211113 Msu Maryland 030a
Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker, left, gets Kenneth Walker III fired up before the game against Maryland on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211113 Msu Maryland 030a /
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Nov 13, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mel Tucker before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mel Tucker before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

2. The team feeds off of Mel Tucker

If there’s one thing I can say that doesn’t worry me one bit about Saturday’s game against Ohio State it’s the energy level and intensity.

Michigan State players feed off of Mel Tucker and it has shown this year. He’s an intense coach on the sidelines each game and the players usually feed off that intensity each week and in big games — all you have to do to look for proof is watch the Michigan film.

And he just said in his weekly press conference on Monday that he had coaches take note of players who weren’t engaged on the sidelines during the Maryland game so they can be held accountable. This is the type of energy and attitude it takes to win games against teams like Ohio State and the Spartans are going to come out fired up.

Plus, Mel is from Ohio so this game probably means a little more to him than most people. He has appointed three Ohio natives as captains and the team is built off of guys from the Buckeye State who were likely overlooked by Ohio State.

I can bet that practice was intense this week and Mel let everyone know that he expects to win this game and they’re going into this one with the same mindset.

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