Keep the faith, Michigan State football fans, rebuilds don't happen overnight

This Michigan State football season did not end the way we wanted, but big picture is a necessary lens to look through. While we've seen some success in recent years, seasons like this are not anything new to Spartan fans. Most of the Mel Tucker era was unimpressive aside from 2021. Even some of the Mark Dantonio era, especially towards the end of his tenure, included sub-eight win teams.

Whatever your bar for success is, many years it is nowhere near close to competing for major hardware.

Many are aiming at new head coach Jonathan Smith as the root of the bowl game-less season that is 2024, and I get it. Who wouldn't immediately look at the man in charge? However, to call for his job or deem this season a "failure" because of what you saw go down in Bloomington as if that happens every year is just wrong.

The amount of people calling this season a “failure” and that the program is “dead” honestly goes to show how spoiled they were during the Dantonio era. Dantonio wouldn’t be able to handle this era of football immediately, that’s why he retired. In all fairness, who would? All the leverage goes towards the programs with the biggest donors and brand, which a lot went out the door when Mat Ishbia (one of if not the biggest NIL donors, who hasn't notably contributed since 2021) bought the Phoenix Suns and Mel Tucker decided his personal affairs were worth more than $100M.

That ended in a bit of a tangent but the point is, the game is different even from five years ago. It’s not as easy to rebuild for long-term success and stability, especially if your team was left in a bad spot by the selfish previous head coach. A head coach who recruited all the big-time four and five stars, but were only able to land a couple and had no plan Bs, so you had to settle for 16 and 18-man classes.

So you have no depth, the coach couldn’t develop so the four-stars aren’t even good or transferred, and now you a have a new coaching staff trying to salvage it.

Let’s not act like Smith was handed a top-40 team on a silver platter. This is a team with depth issues, poor play-calling, a very young quarterback, and major injury issues especially in the final stretch of the season. So before you call it a failure, please include context, a tad bit of sympathy, and understanding that half the team left in the transfer portal and Smith had to do his best with what he was given.

Rebuilds don’t happen in a year. Indiana went one route, they got a ton of grad transfers and an established college quarterback who all won’t be here next year. They will have to try to replicate that next year and not be a flash in the pan. Michigan State took a different route, attempting to rid of a toxic culture in the locker room and establish a new and stable foundation. That doesn't come without some adversity and tough times.

Often, it gets worse before it gets better.

I’m not trying to make excuses for a 5-7 season. I expected 7-5 myself, but let’s not ignore blatant context and information we all already knew before the season. This team is a process, and we knew that when we brought in Jonathan Smith. Put down the torches and pitchforks and allow him to try to turn this around.