Against All Odds, 2025 Week 10: Superstition
I am not a very superstitious person, but results like Saturday makes me wonder.
I am not a very superstitious person by nature. I believe that it just isn't the way. But when you see so many things that you don't understand, it really makes one wonder.
The Michigan State Spartans suffered yet another loss on Saturday, this time an overtime loss on the road to Minnesota, by a final score of 23-20. But it wasn't so much that it happened as how it happened that is so frustrating.
In many ways, the Spartans played well enough to win. Redshirt freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was sharp in his first career start. The Spartan defense forced seven punts and one missed field goal, and Michigan State generally dominated the box score.
But the Spartans also found a way to make just enough mistakes to allow the Golden Gophers to be tied at the end of regulation. If one had a magic wand and the ability to change to result just one out of about 10 different plays, Michigan State would have won the game.
Once the game made it to overtime, all of the calls, including multiple questionable ones, went against the Spartans. The rest is history
Over the past several years, the Spartans have found increasingly creative ways to lose winnable football games. Poor play and poor execution are certainly to blame, but at some point I have to wonder if some jerk has a voodoo doll version of Sparty down in their basement.
Seriously, did someone on Mark Dantonio's staff in the summer of 2018 somehow walk under a ladder, trip over a black cat and fall into and break a looking glass? Other than the 2021 season, which now seems like a daydream, the Spartans seems to be suffering through seven years of bad luck.
In the 23 months since head coach Jonathan Smith arrived on campus, Michigan State is just 3-12 in conference play. Some believe that the writing is on the wall and are begging MSU Athletic Director J Batt to do all that he can to save the program.
I am not convinced that making a change to the coaching staff will rid the Spartans of their problems. Jumping back onto the coaching carousel can often just bring seven more years of bad luck, especially with how competitive this year is in terms of open jobs across the country.
I am also not convinced that the good days of Smith's coaching career are only in his past. But the devil is in the details, and the details so far have not been good.
I don't have the answer to how to turn around this sad song. All I can do is to encourage all the fans, coaches and players to keep on going strong. Other than that, there is nothing more to say.
