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What Mel Tucker said before Michigan State’s game vs. Penn State
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The 7th-ranked Michigan State Spartans had a nightmarish weekend in Columbus.
Both Ohio State and Michigan State entered at 9-1. A Spartan win would have gotten coach Mel Tucker’s group one step closer to a Big Ten title in just his 2nd season at the helm. Instead, quarterback CJ Stroud and the Ohio State offense lit up the Spartan defense for 49 first-half points en route to a 56-7 win.
Though College Football Playoff aspirations were dashed along with their Big Ten title hopes, the Spartans could still be looking to make their case for a New Year’s 6 bowl game. There’s also Senior Day.
The Penn State Nittany Lions (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) come to East Lansing on Saturday for a regular-season finale, kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Tucker met with members of the media on Monday to address that game, last week’s loss, and more.
Here’s what he had to say:
Mel Tucker speaking now: "We accept responsibility for what happened. Coaches and players."
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 22, 2021
Mel Tucker at the podium. Says "it is a test of character and resolve and things of that nature" to recover from OSU loss and prepare for Penn State.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker said in MSU's team meeting this morning he reiterated to his players and staff that their voices need to be "much louder and more influential than the voices outside" the program "because the voices inside are the ones that have the most affect on how we prepare."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker: "We have a lot to play for Saturday."
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 22, 2021
Tucker: "We have an opportunity to go undefeated in The Woodshed and win 10 games in front of our fans."
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 22, 2021
Tucker: "The expectations we have here and we have had from the beginning, prior to us even starting, was that there were high expectations for us internally. We told our players that there wasn't a team we couldn't beat or a team that couldn't beat us."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker: "We're not playing with the house's money, so to speak. That's not our attitude."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker asked by @Graham_Couch about the confidence factor coming off a blowout loss at OSU: "I'm not worried about that. You're gonna take some Ls in your life, and you deal with it."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Mel Tucker on a potential contract extension: "That's not my focus. That's not the focus of my team. I'm not focusing on anything other than our upcoming opponent. That's the only thing I'm thinking about right now."
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 22, 2021
Mel Tucker: We have a significant amount of injuries on both sides of the ball and special teams. I don't think that's a secret.
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) November 22, 2021
Tucker: "We already evaluated the film, good, bad and ugly. We've already moved on."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker: "There was no player, no coach – myself included – that was good enough" at Ohio State.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Mel Tucker said he forgot Thanksgiving was this week until this morning
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 22, 2021
Tucker on Connor Heyward: "If he's being invited to the Senior Bowl, obviously people are evaluating him" as an NFL prospect. "God-willing, he'll have an opportunity to show what he can do."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker says he has opened MSU's practices and film to NFL scouts, to talk with him and the staff, trainers/academic side, as well as coming to games. "We're wide open. … We want it to be a very inviting place for the NFL so they can evaluate and get good/accurate information."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker said there is a chance a player could participate in MSU's senior day with remaining eligiblity but still return to school. He sees no problem with that.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021
Tucker on Elijah Collins getting some carries after the early season injury: "It was good to see Elijah to get back out. … he had to battle and fight back."
— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) November 22, 2021
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.