Replacing Walker will be a big storyline without him in the bowl game, MSU’s run game was as powerless as it had been the previous few years. Still, the Spartans came back from Atlanta with a lovely trophy to set in the case alongside the Spittoon, the Land Grant, and Paul Bunyan. Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell scorched the hapless Spartan pass defense for over 500 yards, and after a rebound win over Maryland, Michigan State was outclassed in all phases by Ohio State to fall out of the division race.Ī thrilling blizzard win over Penn State in the Land Grant game sent MSU to the Peach Bowl, though the game’s national shine diminished somewhat when Walker and Pitt QB Kenny Pickett both opted to sit the game out. Until the next week, when a season-long vulnerability met an opponent with a type advantage to absolutely blast that weak spot. Walker became the first player to ever score five rushing touchdowns against Michigan, Wolverine fans added another moment to their pantheon of crappy excuses for losing, and the beat rolled on.
The Spartans then did what they do anytime they’re any good at all, and beat Michigan in front of a national audience. Narrow escapes over Nebraska and Indiana ran Michigan State to 7-0 heading into the October bye, ahead of a Halloween weekend tilt with also-undefeated Michigan.
But the Week 3 road win over an ostensibly more-talented Miami team, wherein Michigan State was the visibly better-conditioned team in the South Florida sun, was the point where the question shifted from ‘can we be any good?’ to ‘what isn’t on the table?’ A season-opening romp over Northwestern brought the name of Kenneth Walker III to the nation’s attention. Great! The first real marks of a turnaround season didn’t wait long to reveal themselves.
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An actual offseason for coaching and scheme installation, plus a huge infusion of transfer portal talent, should have indicated a big step forward was on the horizon. That was perhaps understandable coming off of 2020’s 2-5 record, but anyone who cared to consider the context would have seen a team primed for major improvement. Mel Tucker’s sophomore season as the head coach in East Lansing wildly exceeded expectations, which to my memory were generally ‘well, we need to make a bowl for sure’ and outside the fanbase were even lower than that, recalling that O/U line mentioned above. July B1G 20XX placement for a team that won 11 games and a New Years Six bowl? Tough neighborhood, man.
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