Michigan State football's loss to Ohio State showed program progress
No one likes a moral victory. As Michigan State football fans, we're beyond that point as a program. This program is way too proud to celebrate "keeping it close for a half" against Ohio State.
You won't hear me or any realistic fan talk about how happy we are to see that Michigan State was within three points in the second quarter against a top-five Ohio State team. It's not something the Spartans should be proud of, especially since Michigan State crumbled in the final 40 minutes of the game and lost by 31.
There are no "we kept it close for a couple of quarters against Ohio State" banners to be hung, but I will say one thing: this loss to the Buckeyes felt a lot different than the previous eight blowouts.
Yes, the score was very obviously lopsided as the Buckeyes covered the spread of 24.5 points but Michigan State looked competent against Ohio State for once. That was something that couldn't be said in any matchup under Mel Tucker and it hasn't happened since 2016.
Even when Michigan State was a borderline top-10 team in 2017 and also 2021, the Buckeyes throttled the Spartans and made them look like a high school freshman team against a varsity squad. There were zero close games (feel or score-wise) from 2017-2023. Zero.
Things felt different on Saturday night in East Lansing.
Michigan State lost in a lopsided manner not because it didn't belong, but because it kept shooting itself in the foot with three first-half turnovers along with a dropped interception and an overturned fumble recovery. The game could have been so much different if the Spartans avoided these mistakes. They could have even held a halftime lead.
For once, Michigan State felt like it was competitive. The final score was not indicative of how competitive the game was through three quarters. The Spartans just ran out of gas.
Ohio State didn't come out and score at will and Michigan State didn't get suffocated and struggled to move the ball. It was actually the opposite. Sloppy and avoidable mistakes led to the lopsided score, but Michigan State turned a corner as a program on Saturday night.
On Mark Dantonio night, this performance (not result) was fitting.
Jonathan Smith is righting the ship, we just have to be patient. Saturday showed us that we're in good hands.