Sigh. Michigan State suffered another disappointing loss on Saturday afternoon, this time showing up to get shellacked by No. 3 Indiana, 38-13.
The Spartans came out of the gates looking like they belonged on the same field as the Hoosiers, even striking first and then taking a 10-7 lead in the first half. They faded away before halftime, blowing a couple of opportunities in Indiana territory, falling behind 21-10 at halftime.
The second half was all Indiana as the Hoosiers just extended their lead to 38-10 before Martin Connington kicked a field goal with under a minute left to make it 38-13.
Aidan Chiles actually played really well, almost totaling 300 yards and a touchdown, but it just wasn’t enough as the drives seemed to fizzle out deep in Indiana territory.
Yet, Chiles was thrilled with how his team came to play against Indiana compared to how they played against UCLA a week ago. His post-game quote about that pride in the way his team played may sound like him being a good leader, but it also shows just how far the program has fallen.
Aidan Chiles says he's proud and appreciative that MSU came out and played harder today against Indiana than vs. UCLA, and Alex VanSumeren seconds that.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 18, 2025
Chiles is trying to lift the team up, but you never would have seen a quarterback saying they were proud of a team’s effort in a four-score loss in the Mark Dantonio era.
I’m not trying to pick on Chiles here, because what else is he supposed to say? He probably could have said that the effort was better but still not good enough. He doesn’t have to say he appreciated the team not completely folding after that UCLA loss. It just felt like a quote from a player who knows that the season is essentially over.
This team does have a chance to redeem itself against Michigan this weekend, but if the Spartans do lose to the Wolverines, I don’t want to hear a single “proud of the effort” quote.