EAST LANSING- Michigan State football is 3-2 so far this season, with two frustrating back-to-back losses against Boston College and Ohio State.

This Spartan team is talented, but they continue to make careless mistakes that end up costing them wins. Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles is still finding his footing as QB1.

Chiles has struggled severely with turnovers, putting up seven interceptions in the past five games. 

Chiles has the talent and ability to be great, but he is not efficient enough to make difficult passes when he is pressured.

These interceptions happen because Chiles is way too quick to get rid of the ball and doesn’t know how to get out of the pocket to complete a pass. 

In the game against Boston College, Michigan State had 45 seconds left to score. MSU was moving the ball very well down the field, getting multiple first downs and stopping the clock.

Instead of continuing to run these short plays, Chiles panicked and threw the ball 50 yards to the end zone into double coverage, leading to an interception.

It is situations like these where Chiles needs to gain patience. Chiles is very young, and he is still learning. He just needs to relax and focus on the task at hand, not turning the ball over.

Which leads to another issue, offense in the red zone.

Michigan State’s offense has moved the ball efficiently between the 20s, but turnovers in the red zone have cost the team at least 28+ points this season.

In yesterday’s game against Ohio State, the Spartans went for it on fourth and one from the 20, which resulted in no yards gained and no points on an otherwise successful drive. 

The Spartans also fumbled the ball twice against the Buckeyes in the red zone.

With stats like these, it is almost impossible to win any football game. When you are up against a national title contender like Ohio State, you cannot afford to make mistakes. 

On the flip side, MSU’s defense has been performing relatively well. 

Junior cornerback Charles Brantley has been an asset so far, putting up two interceptions on the season, and setting a school record for the longest pick six in MSU football history of 100 yards against Prairie View A&M. 

MSU’s red zone defense is pretty good. The Spartan defense had a huge stop on fourth and goal in the game against Boston College. The problem is that the offense cannot capitalize off these clutch defensive plays.

You cannot expect to win a game when you cannot score, and that is where this Spartan team struggles.

This team is very young, and in time they will prove themselves. However as of right now, they have some changes to make.