EAST LANSING- Michigan State took down Purdue 24-17 in East Lansing to keep its bowl game chances alive.
MSU dominated Purdue in the areas they needed to, with constant pressure on the Purdue offense and turnover-free play on the Spartan offensive end.
Here are four takeaways from this matchup:
Spartan rushing attack
The Spartan run game has been one of the weak points for MSU this season, but last night it wasn’t a problem. MSU is 113th in the nation in yards per rush this season with 3.3 yards per carry, but the run game played a huge factor in the Spartan’s success today.
Sixth-year running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams leads the Spartans in rushing yards with 495 so far this season, and he led the Spartans in rushing yards last night with 85.
Lynch-Adams started the Spartans off strong with an 11-yard run, which kick-started the MSU offense. Redshirt junior running back Nate Carter started the season as the premiere back but started to share most snaps with Lynch-Adams depending on the situation.
The Spartans utilized Carter’s speed in the offense, with Carter scoring both touchdowns in the second half. He scored a two-yard rushing touchdown and a 20-yard fade ball completion from sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles, which put MSU up 21 to end the second half.
“That was a huge red zone touchdown by Nate,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “He’s had a couple of nice catches this back half of the season. I thought really, both those guys played pretty well tonight.”
With treacherous weather falling upon Spartan Stadium, passing became harder in certain situations, and the running back tandem of Lynch-Adams and Carter carried the load offensively. Both Carter and Lynch-Adams combined for 111 rushing yards.
Lead the way! Foster Jr.
MSU’s receivers showed their versatility against the Boilermakers, but redshirt senior wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr. led the way. Being Chiles’ favorite target this season, he was utilized the most against Purdue and was utilized for the first Spartan touchdown of the night.
In the second quarter, Foster Jr. caught a 33-yard pass from Chiles to open the floodgates for another Spartan touchdown, scored by Carter. After, the Spartans caught fire with Foster Jr. at the helm, who finished the day as the leading receiver with 59 yards and one touchdown.
“I’ve been here since January and he’s been the same person,” Chiles said. “I know I can trust him to run the right route, do the little things and details we work on. It’s a trust factor you build over time.”
Freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh helped out MSU as the second receiver with the most yards, but Chiles looked to his running backs in space for the remaining yardage through the air.
Lynch-Adams and Carter both combined for 50 passing yards, being Chiles’s second and third targets through the air against the Boilermakers.
As named the honorary captain for the matchup against Purdue, Foster Jr. came up big for MSU and was the main contributor for the Spartan offense.
Spartans defensive pressure
At the beginning of Smith’s tenure, defensive pressure was a signature Smith wanted to bring to the program. Yet it has been six games since the Spartans defensive front landed a sack on the opposing team’s quarterback, until Friday.
Redshirt senior defensive back Angelo Grose sacked senior quarterback Hudson Card for his first sack of the season.
Sixth-year defensive lineman Khris Bogle and sixth-year defensive lineman Maverick Hansen forced a fumble recovery, giving the ball back to Chiles and the offense.
The last fumble recovery was from junior linebacker Wayne Matthews III against Boston College in September.
Purdue closed the Spartan lead to only seven, with two passing touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, which left MSU to protect their lead in the fourth. Nevertheless, redshirt senior linebacker Jordan Turner picked off Card and ended the Purdue run and their chances of victory.
“It took away a possession they could have potentially scored,” Turner said. “So, we got off the field, and we had to keep pushing and fighting. Because the game wasn’t over, but it’s given us a better chance of winning.”
The Spartan defense forced Purdue to negative three rushing yards in the game and made Card move the ball through the air exclusively.
Chiles hitting his stride late
MSU has dealt with the turnover bug all season long, with Chiles having thrown 11 interceptions on the year so far. In his last two outings against Illinois and Purdue, Chiles hasn’t put the ball into harm’s way.
Smith has used Chiles’ dual-threat ability in a variety of ways this season, making him more difficult for defenses to hold on to.
The Boilermakers did a good job of making Chiles uncomfortable in the pocket, but as the second-leading rusher in the game, Chiles was able to extend plays using his legs.
Chiles rushed for 26 yards against Purdue, ensuring victory for MSU with a game-sealing QB rush. Chiles ended the game with two touchdown passes and 159 yards gained with no interceptions on the night.
Up next, MSU is set to take on Rutgers on Nov. 30 with kick-off set for 3:30 p.m. for its last chance at the postseason at Spartan Stadium. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Oscar Henderson and Jacob Maurer locally on 88.9 FM or at impact89fm.org/listen-live/.
