Mel Tucker’s suspension and what it means for Michigan State

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I’m Eric Single, filling in for Jayna.

As Week 2’s final games reached halftime on Saturday night, an off-field story surfaced that leaves the future of one of the nation’s highest-paid coaches in flux.

MSU coach subject of Title IX investigation

Editor’s note 9/27: Michigan State fired Mel Tucker for cause, saying he brought ‘public disrespect’ upon university

In the wake of reports from USA Today and ESPN that Tucker is the subject of a university investigation into sexual harassment allegations, MSU announced Sunday that he has been suspended without pay.

• According to USA Today, Brenda Tracy — a prominent rape survivor and activist who has worked with Michigan State and several other programs — filed a complaint against Tucker with the school’s Title IX office in December, and MSU hired an outside Title IX attorney to investigate. Tracy agreed to be identified by USA Today and shared 1,200 pages of case documents with the publication. You can read the full details of the allegations here.
• Spartans AD Alan Haller was asked Sunday about the timing of Tucker’s suspension, given that the school has held a report on the matter from the Title IX attorney since July 25. “Interim measures were in place, and those interim measures have been updated,” Haller said.
• Tucker’s 10-year, $95 million extension in 2021 made him one of college football’s highest-paid coaches.
• Longtime assistant Harlon Barnett will serve as interim head coach, with Mark Dantonio returning to the program to help as associate coach. Tucker is set for a hearing on Oct. 5 and 6 to determine whether he violated school policy — the Thursday and Friday of the Spartans’ idle week.

Read more: Ubben: Mel Tucker’s mistakes shouldn’t cost Black coaches, but will they? 

Chris Vannini believes MSU’s handling of this situation doesn’t inspire confidence.

Squinting Ahead To Week 3

Making the most of a sleepy slate

• LSU (1-1) at Mississippi State (3-0): Zach Arnett is undefeated as Mississippi State’s coach after surviving an overtime thriller against Arizona, and LSU routing Grambling on Saturday isn’t enough for me to declare the Tigers fixed.
• Washington (2-0) at Michigan State (2-0): How will the Spartans respond to a week of fallout from Tucker’s suspension with a top-10 team in town?
• Tennessee (2-0) at Florida (1-1): This one looked ugly after Florida lost to Utah in Week 1, but the Vols let Austin Peay hang around for far too long before pulling away Saturday.
• Wyoming (2-0) at Texas (2-0): You may have heard that the Longhorns just went to Tuscaloosa and knocked off Alabama. Their final game before Big 12 play is no gimme: Craig Bohl’s Cowboys have shown they’re not afraid of anyone.

Panic Time?

Which 0-2 teams should be sweating?

Four Power 5 teams are still searching for their first win, but their situations are not equal. Let’s take a closer look.

Texas Tech (8-5 in 2022): The Red Raiders lost in double-overtime at Wyoming, but they bounced back and pushed Oregon to the limit. As long as quarterback Tyler Shough can stay healthy, Texas Tech is dangerous. Rating: 2 out of 5 buckets of sweat.

Baylor (6-7 in 2022): The Texas State upset didn’t even look like a fluke, and starting quarterback Blake Shapen is expected out for at least another week. But the Bears had a good Utah team on the ropes for three and a half quarters. Texas goes to Waco in two weeks. Rating: 3 out of 5 buckets.

Virginia (3-7 in 2022): Expectations were pretty low in Charlottesville, and the Hoos were six-point underdogs against James Madison at home. But that wild 36-35 loss featured one reason for optimism: quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who started the season as the No. 2 but should be the guy moving forward after a thrilling 20-of-26, 377-yard performance. Rating: 1 out of 5 buckets.

Nebraska (4-8 in 2022): I’ve seen all I need to see from quarterback Jeff Sims, who has committed six turnovers in two games and left the Colorado loss late with an injury. Nebraska once again will need weekly heroics from its defense to help Matt Rhule find his footing. Rating: 4 out of 5 buckets.

Does It Still Mean More?

Emerson: The SEC’s shaky start

The SEC is 3-6 against Power 5 opponents to start the year — quite the fall from grace for a league whose fans are used to chanting its name at every opportunity. We caught up with The Athletic’s Georgia writer Seth Emerson, fresh off ranking the vibes of all 14 SEC programs through two weeks, to unpack what it all means.

How much do these early losses narrow the margin of error for the SEC’s CFP hopefuls?

Emerson: It already seems like Georgia or bust, doesn’t it? Tennessee and — yes, we’re typing this — Ole Miss could have a say in it. But this could be overreacting to early results: LSU and Alabama haven’t started SEC play, and if either runs the table and wins the SEC championship, the early losses become a distant memory. The SEC’s chances of being a two-bid league absolutely took a hit. Let’s guess those chances went from about 33 percent to 10 percent.

At what point should SEC fans panic about the league’s strength this year?

Emerson: If it’s just one year, it’s not a big deal. The passion and resources in the SEC are going to keep the conference at a perpetually high level. But if what we saw the past two weeks is the impact of NIL and the transfer portal allowing other conferences to catch up, it could be a big deal. Florida State and Texas were two national championship-caliber programs that had been dormant but now feature elite transfer receivers. Again, no conclusions can be absolutely drawn from a couple of weekends early in one season. But it is possible we saw an indication of a meaningful change in the landscape.

Scariest game left on Georgia’s schedule: Ole Miss at home (Nov. 11) or Tennessee on the road (Nov. 18)?

Emerson: It’s still Tennessee because of where the game will be. Even then, you definitely want to see the Volunteers look more like they did against Virginia than Austin Peay. Ole Miss had a good win at Tulane, but it was against the Green Wave’s backup quarterback. Ask me again after we see Lane Kiffin’s team go to Tuscaloosa in two weeks.

Quick Snaps

The Athletic 133 is out. Where are the big brands after some big wins?

Jesse Temple went to Pullman for Washington State’s 31-22 upset of No. 19 Wisconsin and talked to Wazzu diehards about how it feels to be left behind in the Pac-12 by the rest of the Power 5. A Cougars fan sums up realignment perfectly: “Nobody wants to be the last kid picked in gym class.”

Texas is in the AP poll’s top five after beating Alabama, and the “overrated” chorus has fallen silent. Matt Brown breaks down the Longhorns’ rankings rise.

Deion Sanders is a master of turning disrespect into motivation, David Ubben writes, and Coach Prime’s team is following his lead.

How did the nation’s top high school QBs fare this weekend? Grace Raynor rounded up the highlights, including a bonkers throw from Alabama commit Julian Sayin.

(Top photo: Mike Mulholland / Getty Images)