1. Friday night MSU football is here to stay
Last week’s news that Michigan State football is playing two Friday night games this season — neither of them, so far, the first game — was largely met with a collective groan from MSU fans.
MSU plays Friday night, Oct. 4 at Oregon, starting at 9 p.m. ET, and Friday, Nov. 22 — a week before Thanksgiving — at home against Purdue, with what will likely it will be a frosty start at 8pm. part of Fox Primetime Friday Night College Football Season National Package.
Initially, the prevailing frustration seemed to be that MSU playing on the road at Oregon on a short week, six days after hosting Ohio State, was a competitive disadvantage. While it’s true, this may not be the time to worry about it. If this was a year MSU planned to be in contention, I would say howl. But in the first year of a new regime, coming off a 4-8 season, with half the roster changing, it’s the season-ending Friday night game against Purdue at home, six days after playing at Illinois, which has more likely to have an impact on the Spartans’ win-loss record.
The backlash, however, I feel is part of a broader feeling – the unenthusiastic vibes toward the changing world of college sports, the loss of control of the football schedule included, cherished norms (like Saturday games) discarded. . All of this is compounded by MSU football’s diminished standing in the landscape right now (which is a big reason why the Spartans play twice on Friday).
This seems like yet another thing we should NOT wait for.
Get ready. As MSU athletic director Alan Haller said recently: “With the new TV deal, flexibility for schools is not what it once was. A lot of these things are determined and tell us when, where and what time to play.”
Given revenue sharing with athletes is on the horizon, these media rights agreements are important to maintaining a robust athletic department. Maybe think of it this way: By watching on Friday night – as directed by an insensitive TV executive – instead of using Saturday, you are helping other MSU sports exist.
Do not like? I don’t blame you.
MORE: Couch: MSU athletic director Alan Haller undeterred by challenging future and undeterred by difficult fall
2. Transferring to a rival? You must get used to it and athletes must get used to your reaction
When former MSU quarterback Jaden Mangham entered the transfer portal at 11 a.m. this spring and soon after announced he would visit Michigan — where he ended up — MSU fans and former players took it personally. And one of Mangham’s family members took the criticism personally, which led to some not-so-friendly back-and-forth on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Here’s the thing: In this increasingly transactional and transitional world of college sports, this is going to happen more and more. Soon after Mangham picked the Wolverines, Michigan transfer linebacker Semaj Bridgeman picked the Spartans.
The venom against Mangham didn’t just come from him considering Michigan, but also because he was a starter who, a month earlier, went all in on the Spartans and their new coaching staff. But flirting with the Wolverines and ultimately choosing Michigan was his true sin. Former MSU players Felton Davis III and Tony Lippett were among those who expressed their displeasure. Fans were, not surprisingly, even less forgiving.
This, in a college football world created by passion and fanaticism, was seen as a betrayal. The MSU fan community could accept an athlete doing what is best for themselves. Leaving to play for Michigan, however, for those who bleed green, is betrayal.
While I normally cringe when fans go after athletes, what Mangham – and any other athlete who crosses that line – has to understand is that their sport is made up of these intense feelings of community, of devotion to a school, of these heated rivalries. Without all of this, there would be no major college football, no NIL, no interest. The venom Mangham felt is why he and other great college athletes are able to get paid and live on campus like kings. The turnaround is part of the paycheck.
3. Will ‘Died Trying’ be on Tom Izzo’s grave?
Few, if any, quotes from Tom Izzo in the dozen years I’ve been covering the MSU basketball team have been as seared into fans’ consciousness as what Izzo said following his team’s exit from the NCAA tournament in March: “ I’m coming back to compete in this tournament more deeply, or I’ll die trying.”
It was a refreshing statement for those who have seen the MSU program take a step back in recent years since the pandemic and let the world know that middling NCAA tournament seeds and second-round exits were not acceptable to Izzo.
It was assumed – by me as well – that this meant he and his staff would add to the Spartans’ frontcourt in the transfer portal, as the center position ended up being MSU’s deficiency so often last season.
But when the portal opened… crickets. Izzo and company eventually added much-needed size and strength to the wing in Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler. But then again, crickets. Finally, in mid-May, two weeks after the portal closed, they signed 7-foot Szymon Zapala from bass major Longwood. A useful addition, perhaps. Required depth. But would this be an attempt to die?
MORE: Couch: Three quick takes on Michigan State basketball, adding transfer big man Szymon Zapala
Here’s where I’m at on it:
Izzo didn’t shy away from going after a more acclaimed and expensive big man just to piss off his fan base. Of that I’m sure. He chose this path so he could keep his cast together – Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Xavier Booker. Especially Kohler. I think he’s intrigued by the Kohler-Booker set. He was last year, and because of Kohler’s foot injury and Booker’s lack of preparation at the time, the team never got to see what they saw signs of in August and September. They really think there is something there.
I think Izzo sees player retention and development as the best path back to contention, as long as the pieces in place are worth retaining and developing. He believes he can recruit for it, that he can maintain a culture he has worked hard to create, by not bringing in a big man hired on over a $1 million NIL salary, a move that could lead to disharmony and distrust in other parts of the organization. lineup. .
In his mind, Izzo is dying trying, but also in a way he won’t regret. You and I don’t have to agree on every move or lack thereof. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t keeping his word.
MORE: Couch: Six Michigan State coaches are mothers. It’s a life of ‘controlled chaos’
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared in the Lansing State Journal: MSU Football: Three Quick Takes on Transferring Players to Rivals and More
