Spartans among biggest surprises in Big Ten this fall

Mel Tucker took over a downtrodden Michigan State program before a pandemic-shortened 2020

season. For a variety of reasons, it was one to forget in East Lansing.

After a 2-5 finish in his inaugural campaign, Tucker refurbished the program with returning players and a variety of important plug-ins from the transfer portal. All, he said, are especially motivated to prove the doubters wrong.

“Our guys will not flinch,” Tucker said

after the Spartans outlasted Indiana 20-15

on Saturday to move to 7-0 and 4-0 in the Big Ten. “They’re going to keep chopping wood, and they’re going to keep playing

hard. The most important thing is the next play.”

Tucker was the unanimous choice as Big Ten coach of the first half of the season

by writers from The Associated Press who cover the conference.

Michigan State has won three straight and moved up one spot this week to a season-high No. 9 ranking in the AP Top 25. It’s the highest ranking for the Spartans since the 2016

season.

Offensive Player of the First Half

C.J. Stroud, Ohio State. Stroud hadn’t thrown as pass in a

college football game when he was named the Buckeyes starting

quarterback by coach Ryan Day. His inexperience showed early,

but he’s now confidently running a passing game that is tops in the conference. He’s completing 66.2% of passes and averaging

339.8 yards per game for the Buckeyes (5-1,

3-0 Big Ten).

Defensive Player of the First Half

Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan (6-0, 3-0). NFL scouts have been closely following the

senior defensive end, who is projected to be

a first-round pick. Hutchinson is the best player on one of the

Big Ten’s top defenses, ranking among conference and national leaders with nearly

one sack per game.

Top Freshman

Treveyon Henderson, Ohio State. Henderson has emerged as the next potential

offensive star in a long line of them for the

Buckeyes. He’s averaging 102 yards per game, but that’s deceiving because he’s

been on the bench by halftime or shortly thereafter in Ohio

State blowouts in the past three games. His

8.7 yards per carry lead the conference,

and he’s got nine touchdowns.

Most Surprising Team

Michigan State. Expectations were low for a team coming off

a two-win season and led by an unproven

head coach. Instead, the Spartans are off to their best start since 2015, when they made

it into the College Football Playoff. A gantlet of Top 10 conference foes await in the second half. The

upcoming Michigan game, said Spartans linebacker Cal Haladay, “will show us what we’re made of.”

“We just keep finding ways, even when

everything is not clicking, to keep winning ball games,” tight

end Tyler Hunt said.

Most Surprising Player