EAST LANSING- Michigan State football remains undefeated after a double-overtime thriller against Boston College.
The Spartans completed the comeback tour and emerged victorious over the Eagles on Saturday night. This game was redemption for Michigan State, after last years’ 23-19 loss at Chestnut Hill.
“It was a beautiful football game,” head coach Jonathan Smith said. “It was a beautiful locker room after that, really proud of the guys that just continue to fight and find a way.”
Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles had a career-best performance against BC that earned him his first Big Ten weekly honor as Offensive Player of the Week.
Chiles threw 19-29 with 231 passing yards with four touchdowns, while also posing a threat on the ground, where he ran for 39 yards with a three-yard rushing touchdown of his own.
In the final stretch of the double overtime, Chiles connected with senior wide receiver Omari Kelly and completed the two-point conversion to walk it off for the Green and White, 42-40.
“This group wants it more,” Chiles said, compared to last year’s team. “We had player led team meetings and we would talk about how much we wanted it, and what we needed to do to win this game and to succeed this season.”
MSU’s secondary was tested against BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan, who went 34-45 with 390 passing yards and four touchdowns against the Spartan defense.
“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,” Smith said on Lonergan’s performance.
To compete with teams that utilize the air game in the way BC did, the Spartan defense will need to implement more pressure on quarterbacks and adjust in the backfield to stop the passing game.
Spartan nation witnessed some of that defensive pressure from junior linebacker Jordan Hall, who forced a fumble at the one-yard line early in the first quarter.
Hall recorded a career-high 15 tackles and nine solo in the win over Boston College, earning himself the title of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
Another hero for the Green and White is none other than redshirt junior punter, Ryan Eckley, who was named the Ray Guy National Punter of the week.
Eckley had two punts down at the one, and all three of his punts were downed inside the 20 for zero return yards.
Eckley finished with a 54.7 yards per punt average and kicked for 164 yards on the night.
“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.
This victory will be remembered as a statement win for this football program. The Spartans proved that they could win under pressure and finish their business that began one year ago in Chapel Hill.
“This game for us was very important, it really tested our brotherhood, our strength as a team, it tested how we can handle adversity going into overtime, going into double overtime, and just keep fighting,” sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh said. “It says a lot about us.”
The Spartans look to advance to 3-0 as they take on the Youngstown State Penguins this weekend at Spartan Stadium.
Scouting Youngstown State
The Youngstown State Penguins are part of the MVFC and are currently 2-0 with victories over Mercyhurst and Robert Morris.
Their junior quarterback, Beau Brugard, set the MVC QB record with 294 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in victory over Robert Morris.
Brugard went 12-16, passing for 122 yards with a one-yard touchdown pass against the Colonials.
In his sophomore season, Brugard had more than 100 rushing yards in four games, with over 59 rushing yards on eight occasions.
Sophomore running back Jaden Gilbert ranks second on the team in rushing yards with 82 on 14 carries, with one touchdown on the season.
Youngstown State seems to rely on their quarterback to get them yards on the ground. It will be interesting to see how their offensive play style matches up with MSUs defense, which as of last Saturday, ranks eighth in the nation in rushing defense.
Senior wide receiver Max Tomczak leads the Penguins in receiving yards with seven receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Senior defensive back Dathan Hickey leads the Penguins in tackles with 14, and 11 solo tackles as well. Hickey leads the team in interceptions with one on the season.
Michigan State will host Youngstown State at Spartan Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Tune into the live broadcast featuring Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan locally on 88.9 FM or at https://impact89fm.org/
