Entering the 2024 season, expectations are lower than they’ve been in quite some time for Michigan State football. Following two straight bowl-less seasons to end the Mel Tucker era, the Spartans are projected to finish 16th in the new-look Big Ten which has 18 teams now. Not great.
But that’s not a bad place to be in the preseason.
Jonathan Smith is no stranger to facing low expectations and then exceeding them. He did that for years at Oregon State. He took over one of the worst Power Five programs in the country and then turned it into a perennial winner and even won 10 games in 2022. That’s not easy to do at a program like Oregon State.
And now people are doubting him yet again.
However, as we’ve heard from the players who attended media days and Smith himself, they’re not worried about the outside noise. They’re ready to get to work and prove people wrong right away.
Nate Carter used the term “hungry” to describe this team and Dillon Tatum stated that there’s a different feel in the locker room this year compared to last. He said some guys were motivated more by financial situations than on-field success. That’s changing.
Smith has even used the mantra “low ego, high output” to speak about the team’s mindset moving forward and what kind of guys he wants to fill out his roster.
Everything is lining up nicely for Michigan State to exceed expectations. Smith, who reminds me a lot of Mark Dantonio, seems to thrive when people doubt him. And that’s rubbing off on his players — oh, and it’s a very common theme at Michigan State, thanks to Dantonio.
The media thinks Michigan State will be bad, Vegas isn’t high on the Spartans, and opposing fans are already overlooking this team.
It’s the perfect storm for one of those surprise seasons in East Lansing.
No, I’m not talking about 10-plus wins or even 8-9, but there are a lot of “experts” out there predicting Michigan State misses a bowl game and I just don’t think that’s likely. We’ll find out just how motivated this team is to prove everyone wrong.
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Publish date : 2024-07-29 19:39:18
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