Mel Tucker, Michigan State football players comment on heartbreaking loss to Indiana
Michigan State football had one of their uglier losses in recent history on Saturday when they gave up a huge lead to Indiana and lost in double-overtime to a struggling Hoosiers squad.
After the game, Mel Tucker, Payton Thorne, Elijah Collins and more spoke to the media about the game.
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MSU coach Mel Tucker at podium says he was "very disappointed not being able to close this game out. We got outplayed in the second half." Special teams giving up the hidden yardage was problematic.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Tucker on Indiana KO returns, says MSU didn't have good leverage to the field.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Tucker: MSU ran Collins "one last time to see if we could pop one through" on final drive of regulation & he got stopped. MSU kicked FG, which Tucker said "we weren't initially playing for a FG. That doesn't make sense for us to try and do that." Calls it "lack of execution."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Tucker said Thorne getting calls from sideline was "by design. I'm not really sure I want to go into why."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Thorne on getting signals from sideline was part of the game plan and something Indiana did the past few years "to eliminate one of the things they do."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Tucker asked how to bounce back with how this game went: "It's a little different when we're on the inside." Continues to say "it comes down to execution" and that coaches will show players the tape to show where breakdowns happened. "Anytime you lose, they hurt the same."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Tucker: "We're not gonna cry about it. We haven't done that yet. We're not gonna make excuses. We gotta get it fixed. And one of the most important is what you do next. … It's either it's either do that or just quit. We're not just gonna pack it in."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
(2/3) "It does come down to field position, special teams, a big play here or there. It's not a matter of unraveling, it's a matter that the margins are very thin. You can look really good for a minute, you can look really bad the next minute.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
(3/3) Because it's just that close. If one guy doesn't do what he's supposed to on kickoff coverage – we don't have a large margin of error. If one guy doesn't do his job, touchdown. That's what it is."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Payton Thorne: "It's obviously not a very exciting time in the locker room. Silent. Guys are a little bit in disbelief how the game ended. And it stinks. It's not exactly, 'Hey, onto the next one,' in the locker room Sometimes, you gotta soak it in for a little bit."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Xavier Henderson says Indiana's "explosive plays" were big reasons for the collapse.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Thorne said MSU's offense needs to stay on the field more and put up points.
Henderson says the defense needs to tackle better. "But I don't think it was too different than last game, we just finished last game better."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Thorne on the second half: "I don't feel like I ever felt like it was slipping away. I was 100% convinced we're gonna win the game."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Thorne said on the fourth-down play, it was designed for Barker to go outside but the TE saw an opening and went inside. Play was for Coleman to run where he was.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Asked if they ever thought MSU might not be bowl eligible this season, Henderson shakes his head. "No," Thorne said, "we did not."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Elijah Collins said he was "just looking to get the ball and do my job" and wanted to make sure he left it all on the field in what could be his final game at Spartan Stadium.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Collins said today reminded him of 2019 for how he ran, and of the collapse against Illinois that year.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Collins said the third-down play in the end of regulation was to the right, he saw a crease to the left. Says he takes responsibility for not going right to set up the kicker.
Collins also says he is not yet sure if he will return to MSU next season.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
Collins: "Truthfully we could have won today. Today was a very winnable game. At the same time, it didn't happen."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 19, 2022
