Field Level Media
26 Nov 2021, 07:10 GMT+10
Michigan State lost all hope for a College Football Playoff berth and a Big Ten championship during a non-competitive outing against Ohio State on Saturday.
The Spartans, who tumbled to No. 12 in the CFP rankings, will look to finish the regular season on a high note when they host Penn State this Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
The Buckeyes cruised to a 56-7 romp over the Spartans (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten). The score could have been worse, considering Ohio State led 49-0 at halftime.
"We accept responsibility for what happened, the coaches and players," coach Mel Tucker said. "We learned from it and put together a plan to improve and correct things. Then we turned the page to prepare for Penn State."
With their record, the Spartans are still likely to play in a New Year's Day bowl. They could enhance their resume with a victory over the Nittany Lions (7-4, 4-4), who blanked Rutgers 28-0 last weekend after a narrow loss to Michigan.
"We have a lot to play for on Saturday," Tucker said. "We have a significant amount of seniors, some of whom have been here six years. We want to make it a special day for them. We have an opportunity to win 10 games and to go undefeated in the Wood Shed (Spartan Stadium) in front of our fans."
However, Tucker admitted losses to Purdue and Ohio State stung after his team surprised many people by going 8-0.
"We're not playing with the house's money, so to speak," he said. "That's not our attitude. I get that a lot, so I know the players are hearing that as well. 'Hey, this has been a great season. No one expected you to do anything.' That doesn't register with me and that doesn't register with our team."
Kenneth Walker III likely saw his Heisman Trophy dreams dashed in Columbus. The junior running back rushed for just 25 yards on six carries and caught one pass.
Walker sustained an undisclosed injury and his status for Saturday's game is unknown.
The Spartans might also be missing their top two receivers. Jayden Reed suffered a right foot injury against the Buckeyes, and Jalen Nailor sat out with a hand injury.
This game includes the unique circumstance of pitting two coaches who signed 10-year contract extensions this week -- Tucker with the Spartans and James Franklin with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford left the game against the Scarlet Knights early with flu-like symptoms, but freshman replacement Christian Veilleux tossed three touchdown passes. Clifford is expected to play on Saturday.
Franklin is concerned that the Spartans will be an angry bunch after getting pounded last weekend.
"Whether it's a close loss, that people feel you should have won against a really good opponent, or whether it's the opposite, it's challenging," Franklin said. "Especially teams that have high expectations, high standards."
The Nittany Lions should be able to exploit Michigan State's FBS-worst pass defense (339.9 ypg), but Franklin won't scrap his running game.
"The numbers do matter," he said. "But you have to play your game plan and you have to stay balanced because if you try to become something on Saturday that you haven't been throughout the season, then you're going to get out of whack."
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of San Jose Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Jose Sun.
More InformationABU DHABI, 3rd July, 2025 (WAM) -- The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and the National Basketball Association...
Washington DC [US], June 30 (ANI): Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were recently spotted spending quality time together in New York....
Washington [US], June 29 (ANI): Justin Bieber's little bundle of joy, son Jack Blues, who is just 10 months old, seems to be already...
BEIJING, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Here are the latest Chinese sports headlines from the past week: 1. China's Wang Xinyu finishes runner-up...
ESPN's extensive programming surrounding the 2025 college football season kicks off with coverage of conference media days throughout...
ESPN today announced an update to its 2025 Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Capital One schedule. On July 20, the American League-leading...
NEW YORK, New York -U.S. stock markets closed with broad gains on Thursday, led by strong performances in U.S. tech stocks, while European...
LONDON/STOCKHOLM: The Persson family is ramping up its investment in the H&M fashion empire, fueling renewed speculation about a potential...
PARIS, France: L'Oréal is making a fresh play in the booming premium haircare segment with a new acquisition. The French beauty conglomerate...
MENLO PARK, California: Robinhood is giving European investors a new way to tap into America's most prominent tech names — without...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks diverged on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The Standard and Poor's 500 hit a new all-time...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, weighed down by growing concerns over Washington's fiscal outlook...