Michigan State football: Washington game one of most important in Spartan Stadium history

The Washington game this weekend will be one of the most important Michigan State football games in Spartan Stadium history.

After Michigan State football left the field against Richmond, Spartan fans as well as the team immediately turned their attention to fellow 2-0 opponent Washington. Mel Tucker said that prep for Washington would start immediately. You could tell the team was hungry to get revenge against the Huskies.

This is probably one of the most winnable marquee games on MSU’s schedule. They have four massive opportunities against current AP top-10 opponents this season. This one contained all the ingredients for a signature upset.

An afternoon game that would drift into the evening. A West Coast team traveling to a hostile Spartan Stadium. A team with a chip on their shoulder after losing decidedly at the hands of Michael Penix Jr. the season prior. A high likelihood of MSU debuting their “Shadows” black uniforms. The Rose Bowl team from 2013-14 being recognized.

All of that buzz about the Washington game went out the window late on Saturday night. Sexual harassment allegations came out against Tucker, instantly casting a massive shadow over the entire football program. It did not take the university and athletic department long to swiftly suspend Mel Tucker. They named Harlon Barnett as interim coach and brought back Mark Dantonio in an associate coaching role.

Obviously, Michigan State football fans were gutted for the players on the team, who appeared to be in the dark on the matter. Once again, eyes turned back to that game on Sept. 16. All of a sudden, this became one of the most significant games in Spartan Stadium history.

Fans know they have to go in droves. They have to support the team at a time most needed. To spew positivity even when the team isn’t playing their best game. They have to scream their lungs out. Simply put, the fans just have to be there for the players.

These 18-to-22-year-olds are being asked to shoulder the expectations of a very desperate fan base. A fanbase that needs some clarity, some direction about the trajectory of the program. If the situation going into this season was murky before, the news of Tucker made things even less clear about the future. MSU has faced nothing but leadership issues the last seven years. Is it even possible to fix these issues now?

It probably isn’t fair to ask the players to remove these distractions from their brain and pull off a miraculous upset. But that is the life of a major collegiate athlete today. They often receive unreasonable requests from some of the most passionate fans and coaches.

When you lose your leader in the way this team did, we should not necessarily expect them to play at such a high level.

However, I believe we might just see that elevated play anyway based on all the intangible factors I mentioned above. Add to that Dantonio’s steadying hand on the sideline, and this team will be focused and ready to compete their brains out.

I can’t help but think about the last time the MSU fanbase leaned on an athletic team in a time of crisis. Back in February 2023, a campus shooting devastated the community. Following that crisis, Tom Izzo stepped up to the podium and offered a similar steadying hand to a grieving campus. Obviously this is not the same situation as the one in February changed campus life entirely and took away a sense of safety, but you get the point. The community turned to Izzo and the Spartans to bring normalcy back.

That’s what sports does. It offers an escape from some of the troubling realities of the world. Fans can band together around a common rooting interest, and the players on the team can work towards a common goal. 

And I expect that very thing to happen this Saturday against Washington. With the Rose Bowl team in attendance and Dantonio back on the sidelines, Michigan State football will once again see the goal it is trying to reach. The mountaintop might feel ages away based on this latest setback. But I know for a fact that Spartan Nation will continue to back the players and university in the face of adversity.