Penn State and Michigan State have a chance to do something neither team has done in almost two years Saturday in East Lansing, and that’s bring the Land Grant Trophy home.
Penn State currently owns the trophy, having one the last two matchups, in 2022 and ‘23.
PSU interim head coach Terry Smith would like to keep it that way.
Smith wasn’t the interim head coach when PSU beat Michigan State the last two meetings but he was a part of the staff as James Franklin’s right-hand man. Now, he’s the boss, and he knows how important Saturday’s game is.
“It’s very important that we maintain control of the Land Grant Trophy,” Smith told reporters Wednesday.
WIN OR GO HOME
DETROIT, MI – NOVEMBER 24: Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Theo Johnson (84) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a college football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan State Spartans on November 24, 2023 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire)
Ok, that headline might seem dramatic, but this really is an elimination game. Penn State is 3-6. Michigan State is 3-6. That means, whoever loses is out of the bowl game picture, barring something unforeseen (5-7 teams have gone bowling before.) Yes, it’s true that all of Penn State’s major goals for the 2025 season are no longer attainable. But along with playing for pride, PSU is also playing for a bowl invitation, which Smith suggested it would accept when asked about it earlier this month.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“My mindset is, we’re trying to win this week, and as we continue to win, why wouldn’t we want to play football?” Smith said at his weekly press conference Nov. 3.
“My feeling based on how they’re performing right now is, if we win enough games to get to bowl eligibility, I think they would play,” Smith said. “Because they haven’t laid down yet.”
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State and Michigan State have played 28 times since PSU joined the Big Ten in 1993. PSU has won 18 of those games, including four of the last five.
But the last time Penn State played in East Lansing, Michigan State won, 30-27, in a game best remembered for the snow. Since then, Michigan State fired Mel Tucker and hired Jonathan Smith, and Penn State fired James Franklin.
Penn State is currently looking for its next full-time coach, and Michigan State will find itself in a similar situation if it decides to move on from Smith.
PSU-Michigan State is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 on CBS.
