What Mel Tucker says as Michigan State turns attention to Maryland
Michigan State will have to lick its wounds and get ready for its showdown with Maryland.
The Spartans lost to Purdue 40-29 in West Lafayette. Purdue is getting a reputation for playing spoiler to teams in the Top 10. The Boilermakers already had an upset against Iowa in Week 6. The Hawkeyes were ranked No. 2 at the time.
Since joining the B1G in 2014, Maryland has played Michigan State 11 times. The Spartans have a 9-2 record against the Terrapins all-time, including a three game win streak heading into this game although they didn’t play each other in 2020.
Maryland will be bowl eligible with a win in East Lansing. However, the Terrapins will need to find some consistency as they are 1-4 in their last five games following a 31-14 loss to Penn State.
The Spartans had some issues in their last game. The Spartan defense allowed 536 yards passing against Purdue. They also had two turnovers during two key points during the game on offense, one of which was a fumble on their opening drive.
Tucker spoke about how the matchup with Maryland can cause problems, the Purdue game last week, and many other things at his presser on Monday.
No. 3 Michigan State (8-1) and Maryland (5-4) meet Saturday in East Lansing 4 p.m. ET on Fox.
Here’s what Tucker said at the press conference:
Mel Tucker here with a very raspy voice at the podium. “Obviously last Saturday did not go the way we wanted. But like I told our team after the game, all of our goals are still in front of us and we control our destiny.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker calls Maryland “a very dangerous team, so we’re gonna have to be at our best.” Credits Mike Locksley as being a good offensive-minded coach.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker on if he will work with secondary: “I’m gonna be as involved as I possibly can to fix some of these issues.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker: “You would like to win every game every year, but ultimately that’s not usually the case. You have to be able to respond to a loss.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker made a tape to show MSU players it was “death by inches” at Purdue. “When you don’t have success on a play … the margins are so narrow when you’re competing at such a high level. All it takes is that one mistake, one mental error, one missed assignment to kill a play.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker on the timing of penalties at Purdue: “When you get penalties on offense, it’s like a drive killer. If you get penalties on defense, it’s like giving free yards.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker adds that MSU’s penalty yards “were ridiculous.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker on Simeon Barrow targeting penalty/ejection: “We submitted the play this morning (to the Big Ten).” Expects feedback from league later today or tomorrow. “I’ll hold my comments until I get that back and have some information that might enlighten me or help coach better.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker: “I don’t like to talk about bad calls. That’s not part of our culture. We don’t like to make excuses about anything. I think that makes your program soft and gives your players and coaches a way out.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
Tucker on DE Tank Brown, who played on special teams at Purdue: “We do need to generate more rush. We need to get more speed on the field more often.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 8, 2021
