3 Takeaways From Michigan State Football’s Loss to Notre Dame

On Saturday night, Michigan State football suffered their first loss of the Pat Fitzgerald era, falling to the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27-10. The Spartans took the road trip to South Bend to battle for the Megaphone for the first time in a decade.

The Spartans had preached execution and playing their game as the keys to success all week, and a few errors and mental lapses did the Spartans in. That, alongside a few sustained Irish drives, drove the Spartans firmly into the losing category on Saturday.

Here are three reactions following my three-hour trip home from Notre Dame Stadium.

The Defense Came to Play

The defensive unit had shaky moments against Toledo, but has recovered nicely. Although allowing 27 points is not ideal, the defense got forced into defending the ball with less than 60 yards to the end zone three separate times, alongside being called out on a sudden change situation after Alessio Milivojevic’s first interception.

Jordan Hall was back after missing the Eastern Michigan game, and was a monster on field. In the first four carries by a running back, Hall was in on the tackle for all four. His monster game came in light of running mate Brady Pretzlaff suffering an undisclosed injury in the first half that he did not return from.

Outside of the secondary, the defense set the tone. The starting front seven look extremely stout, with all providing good bits of action. Granted, it would be remiss to not mention the Irish being down over half their starting line on Saturday.

Wide Receivers Struggle

Coming into the game, the Spartans went from MAC corners to arguably the best secondary in the country, with Leonard Moore, Adon Shuler, and Christian Gray all having very real NFL aspirations.

That said, the Spartans struggled all game creating separation, enabling the defensive line to get pressure right as receivers finally broke open over four seconds post-snap. It was a recipe that did not produce winning football. Michigan State football subjected Alessio Milivojevic to multiple plays where the calls were not set for success.

That said, the receiver room had 6 players hit the field, and combined for 5 catches. While some falls on a young quarterback in his seventh start not making reads quicker, a lack of separation and confidence also loom large.

Michigan State Football Sent a Message

Although the Spartans did not emerge victorious or even show their second half rally from the last two weeks, this game put the country on alert. Michigan State football has a physical team, and the Spartans were not intimidated by the rankings for Notre Dame.

This was a team that was ready to play, and mental errors added up. Kenneth Williams had a critical drop in the end zone that led to a field goal and erased momentum from the Spartans. Alessio Milivojevic had two ill-advised throws that were intercepted. On the last interception, Milivojevic faced late pressure on a missed block.

Pat Fitzgerald publicly bemoaned players that forgot their teaching under pressure, failing to put a hand on a receiver in press coverage. During the last five-minute drive where the Irish ended the game, the Spartans had multiple moments where players doubled into gaps to create free running lanes.

The Spartans were playing until their bodies gave out. Brady Pretzlaff, Jay Coyne, Cam Edwards, and Cal Thrush all went down with apparent lower body injuries. Tyran Chappell was vomiting on the sidelines. Alessio Milivojevic was spotted limping after the game. Jordan Hall reaggravated his injury and made a solo tackle on third down the next series.

Michigan State football is not afraid to mix it up with teams, and Pat Fitzgerald was “p.o.’d” after the game. He was ready to get home, lose sleep, and clock in early to turn things around against Nebraska next Saturday.

The Spartans outperformed where they were expected to be on Saturday. The question becomes if they can take that overperformance and turn it into momentum and fuel for next week. Last year against Indiana, we saw the Spartans stick with the eventual National Champions, before putting up multiple clunkers and poorly coached games.

The task is on for the Spartans as they host the Cornhuskers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at 5 p.m. EST on September 26.