Talk about being in the right place at the right time! Whether he admits it or not, Mel Tucker qualifies, as one big 11-2 season where all the dominoes fell into place at East Lansing in 2021 was enough to get him a mega-deal, big-bucks extension from Michigan State. We're still trying to figure out where Tucker fits into the coaching hierarchy. Take away that magical 2021, when Kenneth Walker spearheaded a Spartan revival before moving on to the NFL and the Seahawks, and Tucker's career record as a head coach is 12-19. That 2021 magic ride still qualifies as the lone winning season on Tucker's watch, which, to be fair, includes a pair of debut seasons at Colorado in 2019 and another of those the following 2020 after moving to MSU, which played half a schedule during the pandemic campaign. 

While we grant wide latitudes for coaches in those roles, the fact is that neither the Buffaloes in 2019 nor the Spartans in 2020 were very good. MSU certainly wasn't very good during a lackluster 2022 that might have been worse had MAC also-rans Western Michigan and Akron not shown up at Spartan Stadium for the first two games of the season...

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of Michigan State's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Big Ten season.

Big Ten preview: Conference winner | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Maryland | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota | Nebraska | Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Rutgers | Wisconsin

2023 Michigan State at a glance

• Last Year: 5-7 SU, 4-6-2 ATS, 5-7 O/U
  
• Returning Starters: Offense 5; Defense 4
• Win Total: 5.5 (Over +120, Under -140)
  

What do you need to know about Michigan State before locking in your Big Ten futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Big Ten futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!