East Lansing — The Spartans didn’t want a consolation prize, so they didn’t settle for one. They needed a fresh face — and a face-saver — and against the odds, with risk abounding and pressure mounting, they got what they wanted. Maybe not the way they wanted, or the name they initially wanted, or the price they preferred, but they got it.
Mel Tucker is here to fix it up and stir it up, and to calm it down. He left Colorado about as abruptly as Mark Dantonio retired from Michigan State. In the aftermath, the unpleasant issues with timing and decorum will fade, part of the business of the game.