EAST LANSING– The grudge match between Michigan State and Boston College was viewed by many as a marker in Jonathan Smith’s career as head football coach.
Almost a year removed from last year’s loss at BC, a game that feels like it got away from the Spartans, this season’s version of the game saw many positive changes in the program. While MSU certainly has points of improvement, they found a path towards a monumental victory.
“I got a little emotional after the game, just given the three years that I’ve been here, those were the games that we let slip away,” junior linebacker Jordan Hall said. “That sigh of relief a little bit that this is finally one we got our hands on, it wasn’t perfect but we were able to get it done.”
Here are the takeaways from the 42-40 double overtime win.
Chiles has career night, claims stake as a program leader
Last year’s loss to BC can be chalked up to a multitude of on field mistakes, including quarterback Aidan Chiles’ three interceptions. The now junior showed up to Spartan Stadium with a vengeance and a will to make his mark. Chiles found ways to make plays with both his arm and legs while maintaining solid decision-making skills.
He found sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh for two touchdowns and the duo’s connection seemed reignited. This was a spark MSU missed in this game last year, as Marsh was ruled out on injury. On the first drive of the game, Marsh caught a slant where he dragged a few Eagles into the endzone with him and reigned in a 41-yard deep ball to open the second half scoring.
“I felt like they couldn’t guard me so I told coach when I got to the locker room, ‘look coach, let’s take a shot’,” Marsh said. “He trusted me with that and we got back out there, took a shot and you know we just executed.”
Marsh also commented on how missing out against BC last year impacted his performance and mindset on the night.
“My whole thought process going into the game was, you know, they didn’t have a taste of Nick Marsh, so I was ready,” Marsh said. “I feel like we had a pretty decent season leading up to them last year and they ended our little three game win streak so it was real personal.”
Along with hauling in two scores, Marsh finished as MSU’s leading receiver with five catches for 68 yards. Chiles also flashed his dual threat capabilities in the second half with multiple big gains off of scrambles and locking down 39 rush yards.
The field general for the Spartans was also able to lean on sophomore running back Makhi Frazier when he needed to. While Frazier never reached the heights of last week’s performance against Western Michigan, He made multiple impactful rushes including a 13-yard cutback in double overtime to set up the game winning sequence. Frazier finished with 81 yards on 17 carries with a long of 16-yards.
Most importantly though, Chiles maintained composure and confidence till the very end. Including the game-sealing QB draw for six and the dart to senior wide receiver Omari Kelly in the back corner of the endzone for the two-point conversion.
Chiles went 19-29 passing for 231 yards on the night, featuring four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, and zero interceptions. The five total touchdowns is a career high and he more than demonstrated his leadership capabilities in a high intensity situation. Something that could be carried through the rest of the season.
“As an offense we came out and we finished, we played a second half, we finished four quarters and shoot we finished two overtimes,” Chiles said referring to second half offensive struggles last week against. “That’s big growth in a week to see, you know, like forget about what happened last year. It’s all about who we are now and this is the team that I want to ride or die with right now.”
Eagles go air raid
BC’s week one victory over Fordham was an omen for its offensive attack in week two. While the ground game never found a spark, finishing the night with 67 yards on 25 carries, Eagles sophomore quarterback Dylan Lonergan maintained the hot hand. After zero points on their first three possessions, BC settled in as Lonergan seemed to get whatever he wanted.
“They challenge you schematically too because they flood the boundaries, and you don’t get a lot of people doing that,” Smith said. “Again, I think they were on the same page with being accurate, he could go through a progression. He’s not just throwing it to the first guy. He’s going through multiple reads.”
BC’s next three drives after this ended in touchdowns. The Eagles found a few deep balls but really found success with crossing routes over the middle and on short passes to the flat. The Spartan defense could not contain senior wide receiver Lewis Bond especially, as he reeled in 11 catches for 90 yards, almost mirroring his stat line against the Spartans last season.
The absence and loss of starting safeties for MSU certainly did not help either. Senior Nikai Martinez was ruled out before the game and fellow senior Malikh Spencer was knocked out in the first quarter. The pass rush never seemed to bother Lonergan much either, only getting one QB hurry and zero sacks after showing promise last week against the Broncos.
Lonergan capped off his night with 390 yards on 34-45 passing with four touchdowns, all of which went to different receivers. Of the touchdown recipients, senior tight end Jeremiah Franklin proved most dangerous with eight grabs for 84 yards and a score.
“I think No. 11 [Bond] is a really good player. Tight end that can catch the ball. He’s a good player,” Smith said. “Throw that along in with a coaching staff, schematically, those guys are really good. So, with all of that, challenges; I know on our end, we did miscommunicate a couple of times.”
While the Spartan defense showed room for improvement, they showed belief throughout and never truly caved in. The Spartans allowed six second-half points before overtime. The Eagles did find the endzone twice afterwards but senior defensive back Armorion Smith made a major pass deflection on BC’s two-point attempt to give the offense a game winning opportunity. The Eagles largely had their way through the air, but MSU still pulled together clutch moments defensively.
“There were times in this game where things we felt like just couldn’t go our way. A lot of missed assignments, some busts,” Hall said. “But at the end of the day we were able to respond when it mattered most and put our offense in the best position to win a football game.”
Spartans will
Many believed MSU would need a strong start to get the victory and with good reason. The Spartans had not outscored an opponent in the second half since the win against Prairie View A&M last September.
However, MSU did almost everything they could to prove this team can compete in all four quarters and then some. Not only did players like Chiles and Marsh come up huge, but this seemed like the definition of a program win.
“I think it’s a step forward that we found a way to win it like this. Again, this is game two, we’re hoping to play a lot more games beyond just 12 type thing,” Smith said. “But we talked about how confidence can come from displayed performance and these guys did it tonight, and hopefully their confidence continues to grow for them.”
Freshman kicker Martin Connington, who missed the WMU game due to injury, hit the first two field goal attempts of his career with the first one being from 50-yards out. Junior punter Ryan Eckley stuck the Eagles inside their own one-yard line twice.
“Offensively, they wanted to go do this thing, where this guy bombs at 60 yards, puts the thing on the 16, totally flips the field, and that’s a weapon in this day and age to have that,” Smith said. “I don’t exactly know how he’s got this technique where the thing just sits and doesn’t continue to go into the end zone, but he’s got it.”
Hall, who made 15 tackles on the night, forced a goal line fumble which led to MSU’s first touchdown. Sixth year wide receiver Alante Brown found 100 yards on kick returns. Junior tight end Michael Masunas grabbed an open endzone shot in the second quarter after one of those returns and junior fullback Jay Coyne found himself with a wide-open score in the first overtime. Even Kelly, who muffed the game’s opening punt to give the ball back to BC, stayed the course with four catches for 60 yards and made the walk-off reception.
“Something I live by is don’t flinch. Like, whatever happens, you know, however things go, good or bad, don’t flinch,” Kelly said. “Because things can change in a second and, on that two-point, Aidan just trusted me, and I am grateful for that honestly.”
This win needed every piece given by this Spartan roster and the group held together, showed resilience, and never flinched. A trait that could prove the biggest difference between this season’s team and the one before it.
“We have player-led team meetings where we talk about how much we want it, what we could do to win these games to succeed this season,” Chiles said. “We go out there and we play football how we want to play football because this team actually wants to do that, this team is completely committed to the goal.”
MSU will end their home stint against Youngstown State on Saturday, September 13th, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan will have the call locally on 88.9 FM or streaming at https://impact89fm.org/.
