It’s hard to recall a road game with so many subplots where Washington was involved—except last year in Tempe, Arizona. In that game UW faced another team embroiled in controversy. It was one of two losses for Washington last year.
This week Kalen DeBoer takes his Huskies on the road to East Lansing, Michigan where there’s another team in a precarious position.
Head coach Mel Tucker is out on leave as the investigation Michigan State continues to investigate an improper relationship and improper conduct he had with a female who was closely associated with the team. Defensive assistant Harlon Barnett will serve as interim head coach.
Like the Huskies, the Spartans have taken care of business against two lower-tier opponents. In game one they finally got into rhythm against Central Michigan in the second half. They went into the locker room at half up 10-7 but was able to lean on their better talent to outlast the Chippewas 31-7.
Their second game was FCS Richmond where the Spartans dominated.
The tough part for the Huskies is the potential outcomes a suspension has on the players. One idea is the boost in production a team can get when there is a firing or suspension of their leader. On the other hand, this could be such a distraction that the players are unprepared and checked out.
From the outside looking in, the Mel Tucker-era at Michigan State is becoming a train wreck since signing a $95,000,000 contract after his second season. In all aspects of the job the program has begun to slip under his watch since that point in time.
The team was worse in every major statistical category and they lost major contributors to the transfer portal. Whatever comes of the allegations proves at the competitive level to be a huge mistake judgment that has put himself in the spotlight and made the program look more like a circus.
The reality of the job of head coach of a major university is to put the athlete and the program first through discipline and stability that starts at the top. He has failed that requirement by allowing his personal life to leak into his profession.
He is paid generously to ensure a stable and winning culture at MSU and put his best foot forward for the university, and in that he has also failed.
The play on the field has lacked the indicators of a healthy program. The sharp decrease from finishing the season in the top ten in 2021 to missing a bowl in 2022 is alarming. Heading into the season last year the Spartans came into the game with Washington as the ranked opponent.
They were considered major contenders to break Ohio State and Michigan’s stranglehold on the conference. Instead after being dominated in Seattle the Spartans would only win three more games finishing at 5-7.
They also had an exodus of key contributors from the previous season. An example that hits close to home is Germie Bernard. He might have been MSU’s top target this season but chose to transfer back to Washington where is excelling. They also had other major contributors enter the Transfer Portal.
Washington is favored by 16 points with an over/under of 58. I see this game being somewhere around 45-17.
I said all of that to say this…My picks:
—Expect Washington to cover -16 points
—Take the Over 58
