Photos by: Aaron J. Thornton
Michigan State Football’s season ended last night with a 42-0 loss to #11 ranked Penn State at Ford Field. After starting the season 2-0, the Spartan’s season came apart and included the firing of Head Coach Mel Tucker back in September for admitting to having a sexual encounter with a hired sexual assault awareness advocate. Michigan State finished in the bottom of the Big Ten East with a 2-7 conference record (4-8 overall).
The Spartans kept the game close in the first half. Holding the Nittany Lions to just one touchdown and a couple field goals going into halftime, a win was not out of reach with the score 13-0 in favor of Penn State.
Whatever Penn State Head Coach James Franklin told his team at the break worked, as the Nittany Lions came out of the locker room a different team. The Nittany Lions’ defense forced a three and out on the Spartans opening possession, which was followed by a 51 yard drive downfield and a second touchdown by Penn State to make the score 20-0 early in the second half. The visiting Nittany Lions went on to score three more unanswered touchdowns in the game to shut out the Spartans 42-0.
Interim MSU Head Coach Harlon Barnett said after the game that despite the loss and behind everything that occurred throughout the season, he was happy and proud that a lot of the players decided to stay and didn’t leave the team and they stayed engaged. “It wasn’t like they just stuck around, but they stuck around and gave everything they had,” Barnett said during the post game press conference. Barnett, who hopes to secure the permanent Head Coaching job for the Spartans, told the press that he thinks Michigan State can turn things around and be a good program sooner than later from how the program has always been able to get guys and develop them. As the Spartans finish with just four wins on the season, they will not be bowl eligible and thus will look to who their next Head Coach will be to lead the program into the future.
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