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Michigan State

V-Cast: What can Michigan State do to pull out of its current tailspin?

On3 imageby: Paul Konyndyk10/14/25PKonyndyk
V-CAST - COMP AND PK AHEAD OF INDIANA

EAST LANSING – Michigan State finds itself in a difficult spot amidst a three-game losing streak ahead of massive challenge in a road game against a Top 5 team in Indiana. The Hoosiers are coming into this after one of the biggest road wins in college football, having beaten a good Oregon ballclub soundly in Eugene.

Michigan State, meanwhile, is coming off of an ugly loss at home against UCLA on Homecoming. After beginning the season 3-0, the Spartans have consecutive losses in games against USC, Nebraska, and UCLA.

Can the Spartans pull out of their current tailspin against an Indiana team that is better than they were one year ago last season, or do the Spartans have too many flaws on both sides of the football to play a competitive game against potential CFP team?

SpartanMag staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk weigh in the state of the Michigan State football program and change gears to talk some basketball in the latest V-Cast.

V-CAST TOPICS

Putting Words into Practice: Michigan State coaches and players are saying all of the right things ahead of a daunting road game at Indiana. Head coach Jonathan Smith is projecting a calm demeanor and preaching execution and accountability in the face of an existential threat to his job as head coach of the Spartan football program. Players, meanwhile, are parroting those talking points. And while that is all well and good, many of the things that are being said publicly by Spartan coaches and players are things that have been issues from the start of the season until now. Watching film, addressing errors, and practicing better are all good things. Put the Spartans have struggled to play cleaner games as a result.

Quality Control: UCLA running back Jalen Berger, who played two seasons at Michigan State after beginning his career at Wisconsin, created headlines earlier this week after stating that Spartan players gave less than their best effort against his current team last weekend. While most Michigan State defenders appeared to play with good energy from start to finish against the Bruins, there were a handful of examples of a defender or two may have been a quart low on effort. Michigan State coaches cannot afford to let instances of anything less than maximum effort slide by without repercussions.

Talking Basketball:  Michigan State will hold its media day on Thursday, and SpartanMag has been taking mailbag questions, including an intriguing one about on-ball guard defenders in the program in addition to sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears. Backcourt defense is something of an unknown going into the season with the addition of several new players and the departure of reliable backcourt defenders like Jaden Akins, Tre Holloman, and Jase Richardson.

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