Michigan State football: 3 takeaways from crushing loss at Michigan

Michigan State football made the short journey to Ann Arbor this weekend, visiting the hated in-state Michigan Wolverines. Both teams entered this game at identical 4-3 records, additionally being 2-2 in the conference. The winner would take the Paul Bunyan Trophy, but also much more than that.

The Wolverines entered the game in a “must win” scenario, as their matchups against Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana likely mean that a loss against the Spartans would lead to a season without a bowl game. Additionally, Michigan coach Sherrone Moore entered looking to be the first Michigan coach to win in his rivalry game debut since 1948.

For Jonathan Smith and the Spartans, they entered looking to end Michigan’s two-game winning streak in the rivalry. Additionally, Smith would be the third Spartan coach in the rivalry’s history to win in his debut, joining Mel Tucker and Nick Saban.

Unfortunately, the Spartans could not capitalize on an impressive first quarter, falling to the Wolverines 24-17.

What was taken away in the battle of “A House Divided?”

1. The Spartan rushing attack was not a one-time success

After hitting 200 yards rushing as a program for the first time in 700 days against Iowa last weekend, the Spartan rushing attack was potent as well. Nate Carter had 77 yards at the half, with a ton of runs that were “one missed tackle away” from a huge run. Aidan Chiles added 24 on the ground and was hovering over 30 yards until a sack erased his good night. The first two Spartan drives had MSU dominating the Wolverines, traveling 135 yards in their first two times touching the ball. Most of that, outside of a 26-yard catch-and-run screen by Carter, came via the rush.

Michigan had no answer and the Spartans looked poised to pull away.

Even with their lead dwindling, MSU showed an ability to rush the ball. With the defense giving up multiple touchdowns, it went on to the Spartan offense to score, and hopefully, score quickly. The rush offense put up 141 yards by the start of the fourth quarter. Nate Carter and Co. combined for another 22 in the fourth quarter, and the Spartans won the rushing battle by 44 yards.

2. Mental mistakes beat this team

At the half, Michigan scored twice in the final minute with a touchdown and field goal to pull ahead 9-7. The Spartans should have been up 10-9 or 14-9, as the first Spartan drive was mismanaged. A delay of game prompted Jonathan Smith to attempt a field goal, which Jonathan Kim missed. A small mismanagement mistake led to Michigan State football leaving points on the board, which is something a team cannot do to beat their biggest rival.

The Spartans allowed a drive to continue after multiple missed tackles and blown coverages culminated in a Colston Loveland touchdown. Following a bad snap, the Spartans led 7-6. Unfortunately, a Carter first down rush prompted an Aidan Chiles deep shot, where the quarterback was promptly strip-sacked and Michigan recovered. On another blown coverage, no Spartan followed Donovan Edwards to the flat, and the running back made the field goal 15 yards shorter for Wolverine kicker Dominic Zvada.

Following a Michigan touchdown drive, the Spartans made another mistake. Alante Brown wanted to return a short kick and Sam Edwards signaled for a fair catch, giving the Spartans the ball on their own seven. Michigan State football drove the ball 67 yards on the ensuing drive but had to settle for a 46-yard field goal as a result.

After forcing a crucial Michigan stop after a mental error drop, the Spartans shot themselves in the foot again with a false start. They gained 10 yards in the next three plays, with the false start proving crucial. Then, the Spartans could not get off the field. On the next Wolverine touchdown drive, the Spartans aided the effort with a Jordan Turner targeting (which will also have the linebacker out for the first half next week). A few plays later, the defense lost track of Colston Loveland on a Donovan Edwards halfback pass, putting the Wolverines up by two scores.

The one time they got a much-needed stop, down 7 with over 4 minutes to play, the Spartans drove the ball. This drive occurred after a Chiles intentional grounding nearly ruined the drive. Then, a Stanton Ramil false start really hurt the Spartans, as they proceeded to not be able to convert a 4th-and-6 on that series that would ultimately be the last time MSU touched the ball.

They won the yardage battle by nearly 100 yards, but the fumble, points left in the red zone, and mistakes proved too costly.

3. Missing in action: Michigan State pass rush

After a hot start to the year, people claimed the Spartan pass rush was back. They had 15 sacks through four games and were leading the conference. Since that day, the Spartans have failed to record a single sack. What is even worse is that the Spartan defense failed to generate a single sack after Illinois recorded five in their domination of Michigan the previous week. The Spartans’ failure to generate pressure led to Davis Warren having his first game without an interception this season. Warren was relatively efficient, going 13-for-19 for 123 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, he added in a 7-yard scramble the one time the Spartans got him uncomfortable in the pocket.

The other Michigan quarterback playing today, Alex Orji, was just threatening for the defense, but with his legs. Orji had 64 yards rushing, including a massive 29-yard run to begin the second half. The Spartans lost contain multiple times on Orji, and Smith had acknowledged in his post-game press conference that they had planned for Orji to see extensive action this weekend.

The run stopping, outside of Orji containment, looked very impressive. Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards combined for 22 carries for 42 yards. Coming into the game, if I was told that Mullings and Edwards had that total on the ground, I would have thought Michigan State football would easily win. Unfortunately, no pressure on Davis Warren made it easy for the Wolverines to keep drives alive.

It does not get easier for the Spartan pass rush to get back, either. Undefeated Indiana is in town for another rivalry trophy game in the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon. That will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. The Spartans currently stand at 4-4 with four games remaining.

There were a lot of good things to see on Saturday night, but it is extremely disheartening to have the coaching and mental mistakes do just as much to beat the Spartans as the Wolverines did.