How much blame does Mel Tucker deserve for Spartans 2-2 start?
By Jacob Cox
Michigan State football is off to a 2-2 start after winning 10 games a season ago and Spartan fans are already looking for someone to blame.
Mel Tucker is in his third season at the helm of the Michigan State football program and after going 10-2 with the addition of a Peach Bowl victory, the Spartans are off to an underwhelming 2-2 start to the season.
In week one, Michigan State football struggled offensively for about three quarters before pulling away from Western Michigan to win 35-13. In week two, the team destroyed Akron in every way possible, winning 52-0. Although Spartan fans knew taking a trip to face Washington wouldn’t be an easy task, they felt like they were on the verge of being as good as they were a season ago.
After leaving Washington with a 39-28 loss where the Spartans’ pass defense, which was the worst in the country a year ago, got embarrassed, head coach Mel Tucker vowed things were going to change. But they didn’t.
In Saturday’s loss to Minnesota, the Golden Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan threw for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Spartans’ defense was so out of sorts they gave up 240 yards on the ground including a touchdown.
How much blame does Mel Tucker deserve for Michigan State football’s underwhelming 2-2 start?
It isn’t time to hit the panic button in East Lansing or start calling for Mel Tucker’s job. I wouldn’t even say he is the person to blame for the lackluster start this season. Much of the blame needs to be placed on Michigan State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton.
Hazelton has refused to make adjustments defensively. The Spartans thought Minnesota’s game plan was going to be to run the ball when they have the worst pass defense in the country. Now I never played football, but I think I would be more prepared for my opponents to attack my weakness rather than my strength.
Now obviously, Mel Tucker can fire Hazelton if this trend defensively continues and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen midseason if things get worse in East Lansing, but if things don’t improve drastically, Hazelton could be out of a job at the end of the season.
Something that has flown under the radar in East Lansing though is the inconstant offense. Jay Johnson caught some noise from fans last season when it came to play calling, but this season has been all about the defensive struggles.
Against Minnesota, the Spartans’ first-team offense as a whole, and quarterback Payton Thorne, who has looked bad at times through the first four games, couldn’t muster any points against the Gophers. Michigan State got on the board late in the fourth quarter with backup quarterback Noah Kim.
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Mel Tucker isn’t to blame for the Spartans’ 2-2 start, but some coaching changes might need to be made soon, and if he refuses to do so as his predecessor did, he could end up on the hot seat.