Michigan State football: Defense accomplishes feat for first time since 2011

The Michigan State football defense has accomplished a feat for the first time since 2011. What’s the accomplishment?

The Michigan State football defense has struggled the last few seasons, to put it lightly. Even during our magical 2021 season they left a lot to be desired. This units past struggles the last few seasons had many fans concerned going into this season.

However, so far they have been lights out.

So much so that this unit accomplished something no Michigan State defense has accomplished since 2011.

Michigan State defense makes history

For the first time since 2011, Michigan State’s defense has recorded back-to-back games with at least 10 tackles for loss. The Spartans recorded 10 tackles for loss against Central Michigan and 13 last weekend against Richmond. Of those 23 total tackles for loss, 10 of them have been sacks. For a unit that has had issues in most aspects compared to the rest of the country, this is an extremely encouraging thing to see.

Now I know what some of you are thinking. We haven’t played anyone yet. That is true and maybe that is part of the reason why we were able to accomplish this in our first two games. But can’t the same thing be said for every season? Every season starts off with at least two easier non-conference opponents, so if this team could accomplish this feat why didn’t previous teams do the same thing?

This accomplishment really begins to stand out when you consider that some of our best defenses of all time have been after 2011.

The 2013 Michigan State football team went 13-1 and was Rose Bowl champion. They also boasted the No. 1 defense in the country. That team still couldn’t accomplish this feat. What about our 2017 defense? They finished 10-3 and had the number one rushing defense in the country. Were they able to accomplish this? Still no. Since 2011, we had many other elite defenses outside of these two teams, yet none of them were able to accomplish this feat. That puts into perspective just how impressive of a start this year’s defense has gotten off to.

Can they keep it up going forward?

That is the most important question now. Doing this against Central Michigan and Richmond is great. But lets be honest, we still would’ve won both games without all the tackles for loss. Can we keep this momentum going with the difficulty of our schedule ramping up?

The Spartans have arguably their toughest test in front of them this weekend.

No. 8 Washington comes to town this Saturday and they have one of the most electric offenses in the country. So far this season, the Huskies are averaging 49.5 points and 565.5 yards per game. On top of that, their offense has only surrendered nine tackles for loss in their two games combined. I don’t expect Michigan State to have the same production defensively that we have seen our first two games, but if we are going to beat Washington they are going to have to do better than a year ago.

Last season, Washington accumulated 503 total yards and scored 39 points. The Spartans defense was also only able to rack up one tackle for loss all game. If those three stats happen again on Saturday, I don’t think we stand a chance at winning.

Can Michigan State pull off the upset this weekend? A lot of the pressure is on our offense to keep up and score with the high-powered Husky offense. Our defense being able to step up and make big plays will be the difference maker. If our first two games are any indication, I think our defense is up to the task and will make enough plays to give our offense a chance to win this game.