Back in the '60s, the 1860s that is, there was a certain leader of men named David Farragut. He was a coach of sorts. OK, technically he was an admiral, but at the time his team was facing a major challenge.

Farragut was attempting to capture the port of Mobile, Alabama during the during the U.S. Civil War, and he had a problem. The Confederacy had placed naval mines (referred to as "torpedoes") and Farragut had sustained several loses as his Navy attempted to enter the bay.

But Farragut was a bold man, and despite the adversity, he gave a clear order to his crew: "Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!" His team pressed on and eventually won battle. Farragut's victory allowed the Union to complete a blockade on the Gulf of Mexico, a key step for the Union to defeat the Confederacy.

While the stakes are certainly much lower, Michigan State football head coach Jonathan Smith may find himself in a similar position. After a strong start to the season, the Spartans have lost six of their last seven games, including three in a row . Smith's crew is battered and bruised, and some fans are a bit steamed about the results of the season so far. Some of that frustration has started to boil over on social media over the weekend.

In my opinion, Smith needs to take a bit of advice from Admiral Farragut. Ignore the noise, stay the course, and press on with boldness and confidence. The battle is not yet lost. For his regime, it is still just the beginning.

Up next on the Spartans' schedule are the Purdue Boilermakers, who are coming into town more ice cold than Michigan State. If the Spartans can pick up on win on Friday night, they have the chance to pick up some steam as they head to the post-Thanksgiving season finale against Rutgers.

If the Spartans can win two games in a row, they will be rewarded with the program's first bowl game since 2021. Some fans may have a lukewarm reaction to playing in a lower tier bowl game, possibly in Detroit against a MAC opponent, but the extra practices and positive momentum would be a major victory for the Green and White.

The Michigan State Spartans and Purdue Boilermakers have faced off a total of 68 times since 1918 and the Spartans lead the overall series 36-29-3.

The series was an even, back-and-forth affair up until the 1970s. It has been a series of streaks ever since. The Spartans won seven of eight games in the early- and mid-1970s, and the Boilers countered by going 7-0-1 in the next seven games.

Starting in 1985, Michigan State posted a record of 10-1-1 until 1997, when head coach Joe Tiller arrived in West Lafayette and turned around the program's fortunes. Purdue went 7-1 against the Spartans through the 2006 season.

Starting in 2007, the Spartans turned the tide once again, winning eight games in a row before being upset in the most recent meeting in 2021 in West Lafayette. Interestingly, Purdue is 5-3-1 against the spread versus Michigan State in the last nine contents. In general, the Boilermakers have been more competitive than expected against the Spartans consistently over the past decade.

As for this year's contest, Michigan State opened at a 14-point favorite over Purdue, which corresponds to an 84% chance that the Spartans will get to five wins. My computer is slightly more confident than that. It predicts a final score of Michigan State 34, Purdue 16.

Purdue is 1-9 so far on the season and is currently on a nine-game losing streak. The Boilermakers' sole win on the season came in Week One over Indiana State, a below average FCS team. Purdue grades out as the third weakest team on the Spartans' schedule, comparable to Florida Atlantic (Prairie View A&M was the weakest opponent on the schedule). These factors all point to a comfortable win.

That said, there are a few things in the numbers that make me nervous. First, Michigan State did not exactly blow the doors off Florida Atlantic in Week One, and the performance in the most recent game against Illinois was lackluster, at best. As mentioned above, Purdue has a recent tendency of playing the Spartans closer than expected.

Second, Purdue's has played a very challenging schedule so far (ranked No. 7 nationally in my system) including losses to Notre Dame, Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State as well as a "jet lag" loss at Oregon State in Week Four.

In Purdue's two Big Ten games so far this year against teams comparable to Michigan State, the Boilermakers lost by a single point at Illinois in overtime, and also dropped a game in overtime to Northwestern. Does it feel a little hot in here, or is it just me?

While I still think the Spartans come away with a win, I suspect this game will be closer than the 14-point spread.

Table 1 below gives a full summary of the action in the Big Ten in Week 12, including my projected scores, the opening point spread and the computers' projected point differentials.

Note that all rankings referenced below are my computer system's rankings and not any of the national polls.