Michigan State heads into its rivalry showdown with Michigan knowing the spotlight is fixed on one Wolverine in particular: JJ Buchanan.
The Spartans are staring at what many would call the biggest game of the season, no matter what it does for the record. Beating Michigan would not just mean a short-term lift; it would also give MSU a major jolt of confidence and fuel plenty of the conversation around the program heading into next season.
That kind of game demands sharp prep, especially after coming off a loss. For Michigan State, the challenge starts with identifying the danger points in the Wolverines’ offense and making sure the wrong players do not take over.
Buchanan has been impossible to ignore since the opening week of the season, and now MSU has to deal with him directly. Even with quarterback issues around him, Michigan’s top receiver has remained one of the Big Ten’s most productive pass-catchers and one of the few steady bright spots for an offense that has struggled to find much else.
His numbers say plenty. Buchanan has 539 receiving yards on just 33 catches, averages more than 16 yards per reception and has found the end zone four times as a receiver. He has already turned in three games with more than 90 receiving yards, and in two of those he topped 120.
The deeper concern for Michigan State is not just the raw production, but the week-to-week reliability. Buchanan has reached at least 30 receiving yards in every game, and most weeks he has cleared 50. That kind of consistency makes him the kind of player a team leans on when the rest of the offense feels unsettled.
If the Spartans can keep Buchanan from becoming the center of everything Michigan wants to do, they give themselves a far better shot at pulling this one out.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Got A New Reason To Circle Oregon
Oregons midseason shakeup adds another layer to a matchup Michigan State already had circled. Dan Lanning moved on from his offensive coordinator after the loss to Illinois, and the Ducks have now turned to former Spartans coordinator Jay Johnson in that role on a temporary basis. For Michigan State, it is the kind of storyline that makes a late-season trip a little more personal, because the staff on the other sideline now includes a familiar face from East Lansing.
The timing matters, too, because Oregon is trying to steady itself after a rough stretch that has included three losses and the season-ending injury to quarterback Dante Moore. Johnson stepping in gives the Ducks a different look offensively at a moment when they need answers fast, and Michigan State will get a chance to see how that transition settles in before it plays out on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Finally Making A Serious Push To Rebuild Fast
Pat Fitzgeralds first season in East Lansing has not delivered the kind of on-field turnaround Michigan State was hoping for, but the bigger picture around the program may be starting to move in a much more ambitious direction. New athletic director Dan Bartholomae has already signaled that he wants the Spartans to spend at a level that can keep them among the Big Tens financial heavyweights, a clear acknowledgment that roster building now matters as much as any coaching change.
According to a report by Justin Spiro, that shift could show up in a major way this offseason, with Michigan State planning to spend in the high-$30 million range on its football roster. If that number holds, the Spartans would be putting themselves in the top five for Big Ten spending, a sign that the school is trying to speed up its rebuild rather than wait for it to happen gradually. The question now is whether that investment can translate into the kind of immediate competitive jump the program has been searching for. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Velling Reignites A Familiar Michigan State What-Might-Have Debate
Jack Vellings NFL path has already taken a familiar turn for Michigan State fans who remember the promise and the inconsistency from his two seasons in East Lansing. The undrafted rookie tight end landed with the Falcons after the preseason, only to be released, leaving him back in the market for another practice-squad opportunity as he tries to keep his pro career moving.
For Spartans followers, Velling is one of those players who naturally triggers the what-might-have-been conversation. His college stint offered flashes without fully settling into the kind of breakout run that changes a programs view of a player, and now his next stop will say plenty about whether there is still untapped NFL value waiting to be found. [Read more 🡒]