The configuration of the Michigan State media rooms is a fittingly symbolic one.
Two doors and two rooms separated by what appears to be the kind of carpeted wall that could open into a much larger room. It’s a well configured and well furnished area that in another life may have worked quite well in a middle school or high school.
On the door to the left Penn State players and James Frankin went over a 55-16 loss to Michigan State. Just feet away inside the right door Mark Dantonio and his players did the same thing except on the winning side of things. A program not far removed from the NCAA playoffs and just a win from a Big Ten title, there is plenty to be happy about.
One team celebrated, another team wondered what the future might hold for them.
It’s hard to quantify exactly when a program’s history no longer becomes a tangible aspect of its present. That is to say, finding the moment when a winning tradition turns from the current state of affairs to memories that prop up an otherwise average existence.
Sports by their very nature are cyclical. No one franchise stays atop the world forever. They may revisit those high mountain tops frequently, but every climb up requires having started from a lower vantage point.
For Penn State it faced in nearly every aspect the kind of program it wants to be on Saturday evening. A Michigan State program in the middle of a six year stint of nearly constant 11-win seasons and national relevance. An operation that’s stadium could be bigger but nicely fits a passionate crowd devoted to their Spartans.
Dantonio himself has gone from well respected to largely revered in coaching circles. His mixture of physical play with well timed surprises and wrinkles has made Michigan State a beautiful combination of being visually predictable but so effectively deadly.
Off the field Michigan State’s academics are as good as any and Dantonio has turned the Spartans into a factory, churning out high level talent using mid level recruiting prospects. Michigan State exists in a perfect world of chip-on-the-shoulder backed up by consistent football in every phase of the game.
There is a tendency to defend the notion that Michigan State and Penn State are not equals. In the traditional sense that may be accurate, but history books don’t play the games.
As such Penn State faces a challenge, to overcome the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan. There’s no way around it, there’s no way to pretend those programs aren’t elite standard in the conference. And there’s no denying that Penn State wants in every way to be just like them. In the very least, well made replicas.
If nothing else Saturday was a display of how wide the gap between these programs and Penn State truly is. The Spartans were better, they had more talent, they were experienced, they were well coached. The final score is something rather trivial once these points are proven to be true. Losing 55-16 is no less impressive than if both totals had been cut in half. It was a game that simply illustrated what was already known to be fact. Michigan State is elite, Penn State is not.
The Nittany Lions survive on talent, Michigan State wins on talent, schemes and execution. Everything Penn State did Michigan State did better. The why doesn’t matter, that’s just how it went.
The hope Penn State fans can cling to is the truth that underneath all of the negative stats and performances lies real potential. Players like Saquon Barkley and Chris Godwin, Troy Reeder and Marcus Allen. They may be the outliers on the roster, but it may not stay that way for long.
So all there is left to do is wait. There’s no certainty that Penn State will ever catch Michigan State, but there is an undeniable reality that there is little that can be done to drastically change depth, talent and experience issues across the board. Michigan State didn’t get here overnight and Penn State won’t either, especially with a trigger happy fan base.
At 7-5 on the year Penn State should not forget this night no matter how hard it might be to remember what a beating feels like.
Because on a brisk Saturday afternoon, Michigan State marched on to the field a program and team that Penn State wants to be.
Not an easy pill to swallow, but all that really matters is who you are, not who you were.
And if you’re losing, nobody cares either way.
