You might remember Aug. 30, 2013, if your memory is jogged. The storms that night at Spartan Stadium. A Michigan State offense that looked stuck in the mud. The idea you’d be watching the Spartans in the Rose Bowl four months later a thought too absurd to think.
P.J. Fleck remembers that night, too. A fresh-faced 32-year-old making his head coaching debut, yet to prove anything at Western Michigan other than he could talk a good game. That night, a 26-13 defeat which began a 1-11 season, turned out to be a tone-setter for Fleck’s WMU program and for the first decade of his career.