Michigan State Football: 4 key plays that decided Illinois loss

The last time Michigan State football came out of a bye week, there was a stunning upset against the Iowa Hawkeyes. This time, the Spartans were not able to replicate that success in a 38-16 loss against Illinois in Champaign.

The best way to describe the game was that it was very similar to the Indiana game, but we had more hope.

Let’s take a look at a few plays that helped to decide this contest.

1. Luke Altmyer passes to Pat Bryant for a 57-yard TD in the first quarter

It is always important to get your team going early. That is exactly what happened on the second Illini drive of the game. After MSU’s offense was saved by a fumble called back, the Spartans weren’t able to keep the drive going. A punt ensues and the Illini senior night started hot. On the second play of the drive, senior Pat Bryant was able to take advantage of the broken coverage. He was able to escape from Angelo Grose and created just enough separation to get in the clear. There was no doubt what was going to happen as soon as he got that space. Bryant had an easy walk to the endzone.

The biggest issue here is the broken coverage. Grose is too experienced to allow mistakes like this against a top receiver if the Spartans are going to win more games. Nikai Martinez can be seen trailing on the play as well but it was already too late. Bryant was able to hurt the Spartans on multiple big plays that ended up costing the team overall in the end. It also gave up some momentum that the Spartans were trying to establish early on.

2. Jonathan Kim missed extra point in the first quarter

Once Illinois scored, it was important that the Spartans came out better in their second drive. Overall, the team was much better. The offense was able to get in a few running plays, including a 19 yard rush by Aidan Chiles. Then Aidan made the big play. He was able to find Aziah Johnson wide open on the sideline and he was able to take it to the house. The touchdown didn’t look that different from the Bryant score on the previous drive. The thing that hurt this drive though was the missed extra point by Jonathan Kim. Considering that he is usually automatic, this was very unfortunate.

The reason that this play played a big role is mostly for mental reasons. The game would have been tied. Against a team like Illinois that has been good all season, teams need to take as many points as they can. This missed extra point put the offense into a number of situations later on that ended up having large ramifications on the outcome of this game. It also plays with the minds of teams and make them feel like they are down more than they actually are.

3. Aidan Chiles to Nate Carter on 4th-and-2 for a TD in third quarter

Going into halftime, Michigan State football was down 21-9. The team elected earlier to defer the kickoff and received the kickoff to start the second half. It’s not exaggerating to say that another team came out of the locker room. One player specifically that deserves a lot of praise was Montorie Foster Jr. He grabbed three receptions and one rush on the drive. The biggest reception was a 10-yard pass on 4th-and-4 to convert. Chiles was then able to hit Nate Carter in the corner for not only another fourth-down conversion, but a touchdown. Bringing the score to 21-16 made it feel very feasible that this team could come back.

Unfortunately, that offense did not show up for the rest of the game.

The biggest issue with the offense in the second half especially was that Chiles had no time to make a play. On more than one occasion it seemed that just as he got the ball from the center he was already running for his life. He did the best that he could out there, arguably playing one of his most efficient games with Michigan State football. It was not enough though to make up for the lack of help he had up front.

Between injuries and younger players, it can be tough, but this is why it is the Big Ten. Players need to make plays.

4. Khris Bogle hurries Luke Altmeyer to force a punt in the third quarter

While the Spartans have now gone about half of the season without registering a sack, the defensive line has got to be angry and devastated. The team had opportunities given by the Illini offensive line, but the Spartans were unable to take any of those chances. In this case, the Spartans were able to force a punt. In the four drives to start the half, the Illini were only able to get three points. The Spartan defense looked to much improved. These pressures were able to offer one last glimmer of hope for Michigan State football fans.

Unfortunately though, the offense was not able to deliver on the good fortunes. Without any offensive help, the Illini were able to pull themselves out of their issues and put together two more touchdown drives. The inability to take these chances and turn them into points are partially why the team was unable to complete any comeback during that game.

Overall thoughts

This is one of those games that really could have gone either way. Even with the injuries on both sides of the ball. The Spartans need to address the coverage in the secondary, and both of the lines this week in practice before kicking off against Purdue. If the team can get anybody back that would be a breathe of fresh air. It seems as though Chuck Brantley will not be available for the rest of the regular season unfortunately. Even with the injuries, the Boilermakers shouldn’t be an insurmountable challenge this week, they still play in the Big Ten.

This team needs to address things quickly if they are going to win these next two games and make a bowl game.

The Spartans will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night against the Purdue Boilermakers from Spartan Stadium. The game will be airing on FOX.

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