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EAST LANSING — There was a time not that long ago when fans would have been glued to their TVs on Tuesday, waiting eagerly to see where Michigan State stood in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.
Then again, 2021, the last time MSU was apart of the discussion, feels lightyears from 2024 with the changes that have happened since. And it has been nine years since coach Mark Dantonio actually guided the Spartans into the 2015 CFP field of four.
Current coach Jonathan Smith got to see first-hand how far the program he inherited has to go to get back to the elite echelon of the sport. Entering the fourth quarter of his debut season, MSU (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) has lost to three of the 12 teams in Tuesday night’s first CFP rankings of the season. And it lost by a composite score of 116-27.
Smith’s task looks gargantuan. Especially when four other conference foes are currently in the field, let alone the glut of other programs in the expanded 18-team Big Ten in front of the Spartans.
Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles walks off the field after an interception against Indiana during the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
Saturday’s blowout loss to Indiana pointed to two coaches and two programs seemingly heading in two different directions. But there is some nuance to that.
Needing two more wins in its final three after this week’s second bye of the fall, MSU visit Illinois on Nov. 16 looking to both find footing for the rest of this season and create a building block for the future of Smith’s program.
There are plenty of reasons why the Spartans are in their current state of stagnation.
MSU football stagnation: How it happened
Michigan State’s head coach Jonathan Smith, left, talks with Indiana’s head coach Curt Cignetti before the game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-indiana-show-2-110842377.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-11-07 11:08:42
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