Last Year: 4-8, 1-7 Big Ten.
Fans Are: Once again on the upswing of their three-year manic-depressive cycle. John L "Slappy" Smith has taken his maverick ways, terrifying offense, and maddening defensive and special teams breakdowns to... well... somewhere, probably. Who cares? New head coach Mark Dantonio is going to make MSU a disciplined, winning, tough team and Michigan's instate hegemony will finally end! Viva el revolucion!
Expectations: Dantonio will get a free pass in his first year on the job. State was awful last year; the fans will take a bad team as long as it's not obviously dumb. One of those 6-6/7-5 bowls would be nice.
1. They were that bad and they had Drew Stanton... how bad will they be without him?Though the JLS firing cost Michigan State the services of Stanton clone Keith Nichol, Michigan State is actually in decent shape at quarterback. Brian Hoyer was well-regarded by the recruiting services, though he was a step behind some other quarterbacks regionally, and showed a good arm and decent command of the offense when Stanton was forced out of games with a series of nagging injuries. While he lacks Stanton's mobility, a healthy Javon Ringer will help take the pressure off of Hoyer.