Michigan State football and Mel Tucker, please report Ohio Stadium.
Just days after reports of MSU and two wealthy alumni paying Tucker almost $100 million to stay in East Lansing over the next decade, his team hardly showed up for the first half of play vs. OSU.
No. 4 Ohio State embarrassed No. 7 Michigan State, 49-0, over the 30 minutes of play in Columbus, Ohio. Freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud and his trio of NFL-ready wideouts tore MSU’s struggling secondary apart, effectively dashing hopes of inclusion in the College Football Playoff.
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Stroud had more touchdowns (six) than incompletions (two) in the first half to go with 393 yards.
The Buckeyes had as many touchdowns (seven) as the Spartans had first downs.
In some folks’ minds, Michigan State had to extend Tucker, who was reportedly drawing interest from LSU, a school known for plucking at least one great football mind from East Lansing. But the historic deal was low-hanging fruit for Twitter comedians Saturday, as MSU managed just 116 yards, missed its lone field goal attempt and fumbled in Ohio State territory.
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Extending Tucker’s contract still may well turn out to be the right call. But Saturday, the Spartans did very little right and social media told us all about it:
I haven’t seen the Spartans take a defeat like this since— [opens Wikipedia article on ancient Sparta] okay give me a second I’ll get there
— actioncookbook (@actioncookbook) November 20, 2021
Shoutout to Mel Tucker’s agent for getting that extension done ahead of this game.
— Nick Shepkowski (@NickShepkowski) November 20, 2021
You’re right, Sarah. I don’t think anyone needs to see any more of this. We get it, the Buckeyes are the real deal.
You just hate to see it.
86% of the money wagered on the Michigan State-Ohio State game at @FDSportsbook came in on the Spartans.
They are down 42-0 with 7 minutes to go in the second quarter.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 20, 2021
I think this Michigan State team has three points in them over the final two quarters! Maybe?
Spartans gotta at least get 3. Give us some hope.
— dink (@TheDinkologist) November 20, 2021
Follow the Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Tyler Davis can be contacted at tjdavis@freepress.com or on Twitter @TDavisFreep.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State gets roasted on, off the field during Ohio State game