Michigan State hoping to 'build on the win' over Northwestern, turns attention to Ohio State

After a season-opening loss to Rutgers, Michigan State followed up with a 27-24 upset win over Michigan making head coach Mel Tucker only the second coach in program history to win his debut against the Wolverines.

But that’s where the fun stopped for Tucker, until Saturday.

The Spartans brushed off back-to-back blowout losses against Iowa and Indiana to muster a 29-20 upset win over No. 8 Northwestern, in Evanston last Saturday.

During Tucker’s weekly press conferrence on Tuesday he addressed some of the issues facing the Spartans planning for an uncertain week, and how they plan to build on the big win over the Wildcats.

MSU coach Mel Tucker: “Our focus is to play Ohio State” and trying to “block out the noise” about a potential cancelation.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 1, 2020

Tucker asked if RB Jordon Simmons will be back soon after missing the Northwestern game. “We have some guys that are banged up and sore. They’ll be ready when they’re ready.”

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 1, 2020

Mel Tucker says this week is about building on the win, building on what they did well and figuring out their identity.

— Matt Wenzel (@mwenzel2) December 1, 2020

Michigan State is 2-4 this season and is scheduled to play Ohio State on Saturday. However, recent issues with COVID-19 — which forced the Buckeyes to cancel last week’s game against Illinois — could put the B1G East matchup in jeopardy.

For now, though, Tucker and his team are focused on playing the game and figuring out a way to stop (or at least slow down) Ohio State’s dynamic offense. It will be the biggest challenge the Spartans have faced all year.

Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET with the game airing on ABC. The Buckeyes are a 24-point favorite.