Ohio State game will tell us a lot about how far Michigan State football has come
It's been nearly a decade since Michigan State football beat Ohio State. One whole decade of demoralizing defeats against the Buckeyes. That does a lot to a fan's mindset when you head into another matchup with that team.
For Michigan State fans, it has made us expect a loss.
Death. Taxes. A blowout loss at the hands of Ohio State.
Truly, it's been the norm dating back to the late days of Mark Dantonio, throughout the Mel Tucker era, and hopefully it ends with Jonathan Smith.
On Saturday against the Buckeyes in East Lansing, we'll see just how far this program has come under Smith. So far, it looks like Michigan State has a pulse on the gridiron for the first time since 2021. The Spartans are 3-1 and probably should be 4-0, but a blown lead late against Boston College led to that lone loss.
If Smith and the Spartans can at least keep this game within "hey, they actually have a shot here" throughout the first 2-3 quarters, I'll own up to it and call it progress.
It's sad that it has come to that, but the Tucker era and the end of the Dantonio era have done that to Michigan State fans. Just "keeping it respectable" against the Buckeyes isn't good enough, but it will at least show that the program is headed in the right direction. We can't have another 49-0 at halftime debacle like we did in 2021 when Michigan State was ranked in the top 10.
Here's what the last seven loss to Ohio State look like:
2017: Ohio State 48, MSU 3
2018: Ohio State 26, MSU 6
2019: Ohio State 34, MSU 10
2020: Ohio State 54, MSU 12
2021: Ohio State 56, MSU 7
2022: Ohio State 49, MSU 20
2023: Ohio State 38, MSU 3
As you can see, Michigan State has been throttled in this game over the years, but if Smith can keep the Spartans within a couple of scores, he'll have some fans singing his praises.
All they ask is that Smith and the Spartans show some fight and don't get absolutely dog-walked on their own field in the biggest game of the first-year head coach's tenure.