Defensive PFF grades for Michigan State football at USC

On Saturday, Michigan State football fell in a 45-31 shootout to USC. Naturally, whenever a team gives up 45 points, the defense was lacking a bit, to say the least. Joe Rossi’s scheme and players failed to generate a single tackle for loss against the Trojans.

I will give the Spartans a few passes here, as USC was the best scoring offense in the country heading into this contest. This game is much more excusable for a defensive clunker than the YSU or even the Boston College game, in my opinion.

Additionally, the Spartans were missing Jordan Hall, Wayne Matthews III, and Brady Pretzlaff, their top three interior linebackers, by halftime. Hall was ejected for targeting, and Matthews III was carted off. Pretzlaff did not make the trip due to an injury against YSU.

All the excuses aside, who performed, per PFF, and who did PFF not grade out highly?

Top 5 Spartan Defenders, Week Four at USC

• LB Aisea Moa: 77.4
• DT Alex VanSumeren: 76.3
• LB Marcellius Pulliam: 76.0
• DT Grady Kelly: 69.3
• DT Ru’Quan Buckley: 68.1

Well, my first reaction to this is saying that my eye test was completely off against the Trojans. Moa was a player in my own top five, as was VanSumeren. But Pulliam, Kelly, and Buckley all come as a surprise to me.

Moa was all around the field, generating a quarterback pressure and showing great promise during his extended look at linebacker. VanSumeren was the steadying force in the middle as always, recording the highest grade against the run.

Pulliam never really stood out to me in the press box on Saturday night, but the junior was nearly the top-graded Spartan. He was credited with six tackles and a stop, alongside never being targeted in coverage. Pulliam graded as the second-best defender against the run on Saturday.

Kelly recovered an Armorion Smith forced fumble, and that was the extent I saw out of him Saturday. PFF also gives him an abysmal 21.8 tackling grade, lowest of all qualified defenders on the field Saturday. That said, his rush defense was graded as top five from the players to take the field.

Buckley was even more surprising to me. Outside of his top-five run defense grade, all of his numbers are in the middle. With MSU’s play against USC, that gave Buckley a top grade.

Bottom Five Defenders at USC

• LB Jordan Hall: 48.1
• DL Jalen Thompson: 41.8
• S Nikai Martinez: 40.7
• LB Semaj Bridgeman: 38.7
• DB Ade Willie: 36.6

Yet again, a few head-scratchers here. Martinez and Willie did not have great games, that was in my game notes. Thompson being the lowest graded defensive lineman came as a surprise. Bridgeman played five snaps, so he is unfairly on this list. He saved Darius Snow (48.8 PFF grade) from being on the bottom five.

Hall was ejected from the game for targeting early, and my best guess is there may be an added penalty for it. None of his other individual grades are lower than 57.4, so I am unsure how he grades that low.

Thompson provided pressure on Jayden Maiava a few times, but his failure to finish the play hurts him. PFF also called Thompson the worst defender against the run of all 27 Spartans to play a down on Saturday.

Martinez was beat for a touchdown during the game, and also only recorded one half of the game snaps, missing the second half of the game with injury. With the senior seeing his first FBS action since Rutgers last November, give him time to knock rust off.

I’ve already said my piece on Bridgeman, with the linebacker barely being on field. He missed his only tackle attempt, killing his ratings with so few reps.

Willie was switching with Snow, Bridgeman, Jeremiah Hughes, and Anthony Pinnace III, depending on the series and formations faced. That said, the senior from Florida graded the lowest among Spartans, allowing a catch on his only target and missing one of his three tackle attempts.

The good news for the Spartans is that the Nebraska run offense is not as intimidating as USC’s was on paper. Plus, MSU has a week to prepare.

Unfortunately, Nebraska is also on a bye week, and Dylan Raiola’s numbers mark him as a player having a great second season as well.