EAST LANSING- Michigan State football improved to 3-0 after a victory over Youngstown State in its final non-conference game this season. 

The Spartans pulled off the 41-24 victory, but there were aspects of the game that need adjustments before heading into conference play. 

Here are some of the takeaways from MSU’s win over the Penguins. 

Defensive struggles 

In last week’s game against Boston College, the Spartans had some cracks in their secondary, after they gave up 390 passing yards to the Eagles.  

Saturday’s game against Youngstown State held somewhat of a similar narrative, and it was evident that defensive struggles were starting to come to light. 

The MSU defense gave up three fourth downs to the Penguins and a 66-yard breakaway rush from sophomore running back Jaden Gilbert, which led him to a one-yard rushing touchdown. 

“I think schematics gave us a couple issues especially on defense on the one long run, we’re not even lined up correctly and it increases for the big hit,” head coach Jonathan Smith said. 

That drive catapulted Gilbert to 72 rushing yards on seven carries with one touchdown, which halted the Spartans’ momentum. 

“I think that they’re a great team, (Youngstown State) they did a lot of things schematically that kind of took us some time to get used to,” junior linebacker Jordan Hall said. 

The Spartan defense gave up 242 passing yards from junior quarterback Beau Brungard.  

However, MSU held Brungard to just 17 yards on the ground, compared to the 264 rushing yards he had the week before against Robert Morris. 

“We knew that it was a big factor for that program he had a rush for a lot of yards these past two weeks, so we knew that was going to be a point of emphasis for that team,” Hall said. “So that was kind of our game plan just being physical, wanting to attack and try with the best of our ability.” 

In the second quarter, redshirt junior defensive back Armorion Smith had a huge interception to give the Spartans the ball at their own 24 to start the second half.  

“It excites me,” Hall said on Smith’s interception. “It was a great play, especially when that kind of momentum was shifting a little bit, but it was big in that moment, it was shifted right before halftime.” 

The momentum would quickly diminish as Brungard threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ky Wilson, which cut the lead to 10 in the fourth quarter. 

Despite that, the offense was able to answer with a 22-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver, to cement the Spartan victory, 41-24. 

“Overall, there’s a lot of room to improve especially on the defensive side of the ball, things that we’re going to need to improve looking on to conference play, and before we go over to USC,” Hall said.  

Offensive Opportunities 

MSU managed to go back-to-back games scoring over 40 points, after last week’s 42-40 victory over Boston College. 

Against Youngstown State, the Spartans were plagued with injuries but had multiple players step up and contribute to the win. 

“We took the momentum from last week and just came in and we played football how we play football and went out and scored,” junior quarterback Aidan Chiles said. “I don’t think there was much to it, it was just we got out there and competed.” 

Redshirt senior wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. Had an 8-yard rushing touchdown to set the tone for the Spartan offense. 

The team of all three running backs left the game with a touchdown of their own, sophomore running backs Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis, and Tau-Tolliver, who earned his first career touchdown as a Spartan. 

“If you aren’t a starter, you can still perform and execute like you are a starter,” Smith said. 

Chiles led the team in rushing yards with 76 yards on eight carries and went 22-29 passing for 270 yards and one touchdown. 

“I like his game right now,” Smith said. “Decision making, accuracy, well managing things playing really hard, I thought he did a good job again tonight.” 

Chiles connected with senior tight end Michael Masunas in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and freshman kicker Matt Connington went 2-2 for field goals, completing a 24 and 27-yarder. 

“We talk about it all the time you know, respect all, fear none,” Chiles said. “We see everybody as an obstacle to achieving our bigger goal, and they were an obstacle (Youngstown State), and we got through it today.” 

Next Man Up 

Michigan State played without multiple key weapons who were injured on Saturday or were already ruled out before the game. 

Sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh exited in the second quarter after another impressive first half. Marsh finished with six catches for 94 receiving yards and multiple second efforts to lead the Spartan offense. 

MSU also lost Frazier late in the game, who favored his left leg in his departure after finishing with 22 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown. 

The offense looked to continue without some of their key players and found answers in guys like senior tight end Jack Velling, Masunas, Bullard Jr., Tullis and Tau-Tolliver. 

“It’s just the thing, next man up, you know not as much stress, just react, we got the guys we got the depth to it, so when that unfortunately happens, we don’t think about it we just go in and execute,” Velling said. 

Sixth year senior wide receiver Alante Brown was also missing in action due to injury in pre-game warmups, but it would be senior wide receiver Omari Kelly who would take his place and complete an 83-yard punt return that led to a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Tullis. 

“It was a good feeling,” Kelly said. “It feels good having my teammates out there blocking for me and knowing everybody trusts me back there.” 

Even with the depth the Spartans displayed tonight, the real test will come next week when they head to the West Coast to begin conference play. 

“It’s a physical game and you need guys to get in,” Smith said. “Now a guy goes down you need the next guy to go in, and that’s the expectation and kind of the culture of the locker room.” 

MSU will travel to Los Angeles to take on USC at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20. Tune into the live broadcast featuring Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan locally on 88.9 FM or at https://impact89fm.org/