Couch: 3 quick takes on MSU football’s Friday schedule, players transferring to rival schools and Izzo’s ‘die trying’ promise

Michigan State’s Jaden Mangham intercepts a Nebraska pass in the end zone during the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. The interception was called back due to an MSU penalty.

1. Friday night MSU football is here to stay

The news last week that Michigan State football is playing two Friday night games this season — neither of them, as of now, the opener — 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 — the week before Thanksgiving — at home against Purdue, with what’s likely to be a frigid kickoff at 8 p.m. Both games are part of Fox’s national primetime Friday night college football season 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 true, this might not be the season to worry about that. If this were a year MSU planned to be in contention, I’d say howl away. But in Year 1 of a new regime, coming off a 4-8 season, with half the roster turning over, it’s the Friday night game against Purdue at home late in the season, six days after playing at Illinois, that’s more likely to impact to the Spartans’ win-loss record.

The reaction, however, I sense is part of a larger feeling — the unenthusiastic vibes toward the changing world of college sports, the loss of control of football scheduling included, cherished norms (like Saturday games) discarded. All of it made worse by MSU football’s diminished place in the landscape at the moment (which is a big reason why the Spartans are playing twice on Friday).

This just feels like one more thing NOT to look forward to.

Buckle up. As MSU athletic director Alan Haller said recently, “With the new TV deal, the flexibility for schools is not what it was. A lot of this stuff is determined and we’re told when and where and what time to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/couch-3-quick-takes-msu-015123516.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2024-05-29 01:51:23

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