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The start of the Mel Tucker era at Michigan State was not ideal last year, a 38-27 loss to Rutgers. Now on Saturday, the Spartans are hoping to flip that result at the Scarlet Knights.
No. 11 Michigan State is 5-0, one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the top 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. Tucker was asked this week during media availability about Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and his impact on the rebuilding Scarlet Knights.
“Greg is a great coach, he’s hard-nosed and he’s disciplined. His guys play hard and he’s always coached that way,” Tucker told reporters this week.
“He’s known for getting the most out of his players; they have one more year of experience in his program and his culture and he’s got good players. He’s got them on the program he wants them on and you can see that on the field. The program is progressing and that’s to be expected, that’s why he’s there.”
The Scarlet Knights are 3-2 and have lost consecutive Big Ten games the last two weeks to No. 8 Michigan and No. 7 Ohio State.
Last season, Rutgers took their solid start from the Michigan State game to a 3-6 record all in the Big Ten, a surprisingly strong start in Schiano’s first season back with the program.