Well, at least Michigan State beat Michigan this season

Michigan State football will be in for a rough year, but at least it beat Michigan football.

Victories will be hard to come by for Michigan State football, but it did defeat Michigan football.

In Mel Tucker‘s first year in East Lansing, the Michigan State Spartans are expected to be one of the worst teams in the Big Ten East. Through three games, they already have losses at home to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and on the road to the Iowa Hawkeyes, losing 49-7 on Saturday. The loss at Kinnick was expected. While losing to Rutgers stunk, at least Michigan State beat the Michigan Wolverines.

Getting blown out to a winless Iowa team knocks Michigan State off cloud nine

Through the first three weeks of the Big Ten football season, the only two teams we know for certain are good are the juggernaut Ohio State Buckeyes and the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers. We also know that neither Michigan school is the least bit decent. As Tucker looks to rebuild in East Lansing this season and maybe win three games, well, at least one of them came vs. Michigan.

It will take time for Tucker to get Michigan State humming. While the Mark Dantonio era in East Lansing brought the Spartans tremendous success, including three conference championships and a College Football Playoff appearance, Michigan State had come back to earth after its magical 2015 season. However, the Michigan win has Tucker in good graces with Michigan State already.

As their arch rival seemingly unravels under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the middle of the Big Ten East is wide open. Indiana looks to be legit, but this untrodden territory for Tom Allen’s Hoosiers. Rutgers may be competitive under Greg Schiano and having Taulia Tagovailoa at least makes Mike Locksley’s Maryland Terrapins interesting. So maybe Michigan State will not be down for long?

Ultimately, this will be a season where moral victories are important for Tucker and his Spartans. They are going to win more than one game this year, but probably no more than four if everything goes right for them. However, the manner in which the Spartans learn and grow from this chaotic season will definitely serve the program in 2021 and beyond. That is the plan here for Tucker.

While Michigan State is a bad football team, at least the Spartans upset the Wolverines.

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