Michigan State football: 3 takeaways from Ohio State loss

Michigan State football resumed Big Ten play, hosting Ohio State. With Mark Dantonio in the house, how did the Spartans play?

Michigan State football was back on the field Saturday following its heartbreaking loss to Boston College last week. The Spartans did not get a week to lick their wounds, as they played host to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mark Dantonio was in the house for this game, as he, alongside hundreds of his former players, was present for his induction into the Spartan Stadium Ring of Honor.

The Buckeyes entered their first Big Ten game of the season after an early bye week. It was a decent game, until it wasn’t. The Spartans dropped their first Big Ten contest of the season by a score of 38-7.

1. The final score is slightly misleading

The Spartans may have lost on Saturday night, but the offense looked surprisingly good. The Spartans put up a fight despite missing their primary blocking tight end, being down to a limited Nick Marsh, and starting true freshman Rakeem Johnson. In the first half alone, Aidan Chiles was efficient, putting up 142 pass yards and finding the right guy. One of his few incompletions was a throwaway when all his routes were taken away and there was no scramble option without a hard hit coming.

At halftime, the score was 24-7, but without a few huge Jeremiah Smith catches, the Spartans could have held the lead. Brian Lindgren called arguably the best half of Spartan football in a decade but only came away with seven points.

After MSU punted the ball away to begin the second half, everything unraveled for MSU.

It was not a great game, do not get me wrong. This felt much better than any MSU-OSU contest under Mel Tucker, and also much closer than MSU-Washington (2023) or MSU-Minnesota (2022).

2. Self-inflicted wounds were the difference

Multiple times, the Spartans suffered from a lack of execution. On their first drive, the Spartans could not get a push on fourth-and-1 to convert a quarterback sneak. On defense, Malik Spencer dropped a pick in the endzone, and OSU got a touchdown on fourth down the next play. The next drive on offense was cut short after Jack Velling fumbled following a 26-yard catch and run, coughing the ball up on the OSU 12.

Chiles was stripped of the ball on a quarterback draw on third down, and he fumbled it away on a drive that could have given the Spartans a minimum of a Jonathan Kim field goal. To be fair to Chiles, the referees missed a blatant facemask as he scrambled through the line.

In the second half, the Spartans could not get a fourth-down stop. They missed a Judkins run stuff by inches. Then, a fourth-and-5 blitz could not get home and Nikai Martinez was beaten by Emeka Egbuka on a drag route and he turned it into a house call.

Chiles had a good first half, but he forced a pass in the third quarter and Denzel Burke nearly housed it. A few plays later, the Spartans faced a 38-7 deficit.

3. The defense was not great

The Spartans offense had an impressive half, but for the defense, it was a day to forget. The Spartans could not get a stop, with Ohio State punter Joe McGuire touching the ball once in the first three quarters. Jordan Turner played like a man possessed, recording an interception, multiple quarterback hits, and a recovered fumble that was whistled back due to Treyveyon Henderson’s forearm just beating the ball to the ground.

Michigan State football rotated through defensive back after defensive back, and Ed Woods found himself at the receiving end of a few Jeremiah Smith highlight reel catches. Charles Brantley had a fairly impressive game, being targeted a few times, and allowing a first down, but his side of the field rarely saw any action. Martinez, Armorion Smith, and Malik Spencer all fell victim to being just a step too slow against an elite offensive unit.

What’s up next?

The Spartans will move on to new Big Ten opponent Oregon before their bye week. Remember, it’s a Friday night Michigan State football game. The Spartans will run into Autzen Stadium and kick at 9 p.m. ET. We can only hope it is not a replay of this week. The gauntlet is here, and MSU was not great in their first test.