Michigan State Fans Deserve Better than Current Product

It has been a rough decade for Michigan State football fans.

Ever since Connor Cook threw the interception at the end of the first half of the Spartans’ College Football Playoff game against Alabama, things have only gone downhill in East Lansing on the football field.

Sure, there have been some nice moments: the 2017 team rebounded from a three-win season and won double-digit games and a bowl. The 2021 team went 11-2 and won a New Year's Six game on the back of maybe the biggest Heisman Trophy finalist snub of all time.

Oct 30, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Kenneth Walker III (9) celebrates with fans after scoring a rushing touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-Imagn Images | Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

But the Spartans have failed to build a consistent winner since that 2015 season that saw MSU reach its first and only CFP.

MSU fans have the old reliable ‘At least we have basketball season,’ but it’s clear they want to see a winner just a quarter mile east of the Breslin Center.

And they’ve gotten so close. The college football media called Michigan State a sleeping giant in 2021 during the peak of Mel Tucker’s run.

Obviously, that did not work out for reasons on and off the field, but fans know a winner can be built at MSU. The team can operate with the best of them in college football.

And the athletic program has not operated that way in the last few years.

Michigan State fans deserve a winner

While the hire of Jonathan Smith appeared to be a home run decision from this department, Smith’s team has won only three conference games and looks to be on pace to miss another bowl game.

Gone are the days of giving a coach multiple years to turn a program around. Even with another year, Smith has made the Spartan football program worse.

Who knows what the future holds for Smith in East Lansing? Financial barriers appear to protect his job, but serious programs around the country have said, ‘to heck with the buyouts, we need to win some games.’

Will Michigan State operate like a serious program? Will they move on from Smith after the season and look elsewhere for a leader?

Athletic Director J Batt knows how important football can be for an athletic program. He helped turn Georgia Tech into a powerhouse, even with the Georgia Bulldogs in the state.

There is no excuse for him not to raise money for the football program and turn them into a winner again, even with the Michigan Wolverines just 70 miles down the road.

MSU fans have seen their entitled and pompous rival fanbase parade around for the last half-decade, and they are sick of it. A good MSU team usually has what it takes to beat Michigan, and the Wolverines have been gettable in the last few years.

Oct 30, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Jalen Nailor (8) yells out in celebration during the fourth quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-Imagn Images | Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

It’s possible to build a serious football team at Michigan State.

Whether that’s with Smith at the helm or not, Batt has to decide whether or not he wants to bring the Spartans back to the forefront of the sport.

Because the fans have sat through too much losing. They deserve to see a winner.

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