Michigan State Football: Series history vs. Washington

Michigan State football hosts Washington on Saturday evening for the back half of a home-and-home. What’s the series history?

The biggest Michigan State football game so far this season is finally here. After a couple of easier games, we finally get our first true test. And it’s going to be a difficult one. The No. 8 team in the country, Washington, comes to East Lansing in what should be an electric game.

Before the game begins, let’s take a quick look at what MSU’s series history against the Huskies looks like.

Series history

The history between two non-conference teams tends to be minimal, and that is no different here. The Spartans and Huskies have only faced off four times in their history with Washington leading the series 3-1.

Michigan State won the first matchup in this series, 27-11, in East Lansing in 1969. The Spartans then lost the return trip to Washington the following year 42-16. These two programs then met in the 1997 Aloha Bowl in Hawaii, which saw the Huskies win again 51-23. The most recent meeting, as I’m sure you all remember, was last season. This game did not go well for us as Michigan State lost 39-28. The score makes it seem like it was close, but it never really felt like the Spartans stood a chance of winning.

Key facts in this series

A couple of interesting things stand out in this series. The first is that each game has never been that close. Last season’s matchup was the closest in the series after an 11-point loss for Michigan State football. The other three meetings were all blowouts, including 16, 26, and 28-point wins. This could mean bad news for Michigan State because if it does win this game, I don’t see it being in a blowout.

The other thing that stands out, this time in Michigan State’s favor, is that the home team has won every matchup. Excluding the neutral site bowl matchup, Washington has won its two home games and Michigan State has won its only home game in this series.

History has a way of repeating itself, and I hope that is the case on Saturday night as well.

What would a win on Saturday mean?

A win on Saturday night against Washington would mean everything. This would announce that Michigan State football is officially back. A win would make the Spartans contenders in the Big Ten East, something that seemed impossible only weeks ago. Beating Washington likely means that the Spartans have found stars in quarterback Noah Kim and running back Nate Carter. Finally, it likely means that the defense is the real deal.

Not only would this win have great meaning for our team on the field, but it would mean a lot off the field as well. With everything that has happened in the news this week surrounding the Mel Tucker investigation, MSU fans could use some good news. Michigan State could use a positive story in the headlines and a “feel good” moment after such a tough week.

In my opinion, this win would be one of the most meaningful wins in the program’s history because of everything that has happened this past week.

This will be no easy task. Washington has one of the best offenses and teams in the country. But I think this Michigan State team is better than most give them credit for. I believe the Spartans can win this game and finally start to change the narrative of what Michigan State football is on a national level.