Michigan State HC Mel Tucker talks about blowout loss to Ohio State, moving on to Penn State

The Michigan State Spartans had a golden opportunity on Saturday but the Ohio State Buckeyes shattered their dreams before the first quarter was even over.

Now, the Spartans have lost two of their past three games with a tough matchup against Penn State starting them in the face.

On Monday, MSU head coach Mel Tucker spoke to the media about putting the Ohio State loss behind them and moving on to Penn State.

Here are some of the things Tucker had to say.

Mel Tucker at the podium. Says "it is a test of character and resolve and things of that nature" to recover from OSU loss and prepare for Penn State.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker said in MSU's team meeting this morning he reiterated to his players and staff that their voices need to be "much louder and more influential than the voices outside" the program "because the voices inside are the ones that have the most affect on how we prepare."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker: "We're not playing with the house's money, so to speak. That's not our attitude."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker said he told the staff "it's time to go to the mattresses, basically. For this week and beyond." pic.twitter.com/AVPkriwtzS

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker: "I really embrace challenges. So do our players, and so does our staff. We're competitors. We're in a position to go into our stadium one last time this season and get the job done. That's our sole focus."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker asked by @Graham_Couch about the confidence factor coming off a blowout loss at OSU: "I'm not worried about that. You're gonna take some Ls in your life, and you deal with it."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker: "We rally the wagons and go. It's high stakes (in) Power 5 football. … We know how to handle adversity."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker: "We already evaluated the film, good, bad and ugly. We've already moved on."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker: "There was no player, no coach – myself included – that was good enough" at Ohio State.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021

Tucker: "We have a significant amount of injuries on both sides of the ball and special teams, I don't think that's a secret. It's next man up, and we game-play with the guys that are available."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 22, 2021