EAST LANSING– Michigan State’s loss to No. 2 Indiana a week ago was seen as a foregone conclusion by some. While the offense found rhythm again the defensive struggles continued against a highly efficient Hoosier attack. This week however, the Spartans have a more realistic chance to get back in the win column and keep the season alive.
This opportunity also comes with in-state bragging rights and the Paul Bunyon trophy on the line as MSU takes on No. 25 Michigan at home. Oftentimes this MSU coaching staff has preached approaching every game the same way but even they recognize the increased stakes of this weekend.
“At Allegheny we played Whittenberg, and at Maine we played New Hampshire, we didn’t really have one at Rutgers, in Minnesota we had Wisconsin,” MSU defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said. “This one trumps all of those, it’s just different, it means more to people in the state, it means more to the players, and there’s more edge to it…. you don’t understand it till you play in the game.”
For the Spartans to break their three-year losing streak to the Wolverines, junior quarterback Aidan Chiles needs to be focused and on point. After two straight weeks of underperforming, Chiles rediscovered his touch against a strong IU secondary. Chiles delivered 243 yards, going 27-33 on completions and one touchdown, but only managed 13 points on the scoreboard. The Spartans got into plus territory a number of times last week but did not make enough of those chances, a newfound issue that must be rectified against UM.
The Spartan receiver core is also looking to build on positive momentum. Sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh continued to feast with seven catches, 64 yards, and MSU’s lone touchdown against IU. Senior Omari Kelly and junior Chrishon McCray got involved again as well, combining for 101 yards on seven receptions. Marsh as the feature wideout has been long established, but the passing game is far more dangerous with capable weapons in multiple spots.
If MSU decides to spread the ball in more of an air raid look, the Wolverine secondary will welcome the challenge. UM, adding three picks to its count against Washington, ranks fifth in the nation in passes intercepted. The biggest ball hawk patrols the middle of the field as sophomore linebacker Cole Sullivan has three INT’s. MSU may be stuck testing this unit all night unless a stagnant run game can find any sort of life.
Sophomore running back Makhi Frazier is still MSU’s season leading rusher with 384 yards and two touchdowns, but has been stuck in the mud recently with running lanes hard to come by. Last week Chiles carried the load with a team high 48 yards on the ground with Frazier only totaling a single rushing yard. This recent trend does not bode well against a hungry UM front seven.
The Wolverines are third in the conference in tackles for loss with linebacker depth being the true difference maker. Sullivan has been a dual threat in run stop and coverage with four tackles for loss on the year. He backs up senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham with seven for 36 yards lost and will also be on the hunt for Chiles throughout the night.
Chiles’ pass protection remained uneasy as the Big Ten sack leading Hoosiers added to their tally with four against MSU. Barham and senior edge Derrick Moore look to keep the Spartan field general on his toes. The duo have combined for seven and half sacks accounting for 82 yards lost, seven QB hurries, and three pass break ups.
Chiles and the Spartan offense will be tested everywhere on the field, but have enough playmakers to overcome this challenge. MSU needs the right attitude and will to get it done Saturday night, as the Wolverine offense looks to go blow for blow.
Scouting Michigan
True freshman quarterback, Detroit native, and former five star recruit Bryce Underwood is making his rivalry debut for the maize and blue. After a tough result at USC, Underwood calmly captained his squad to a solid home win over UW. He had an efficient day by going 21-27 for 230 yards with two touchdowns.
The young gun for UM has not lit anyone on fire yet, but has shown maturity, smart decision making, and manages the game well in a system that lends itself to his strengths. To combat the short screens and checkdowns the Wolverines rely on, Spartan tackling and pursuit needs to be sharper.
“Tackling is about eliminating space, space is the enemy of the defense. How do you do that, you set edges, that’s one way,” Rossi said. “The second way you do that is play with incredible effort and then when you get the point of attack you have to trust low tackling. We’re a low tackle operation but in the last couple weeks we haven’t trusted it, so we gotta trust it.”
While neither had career days against the Huskies, graduate wide receiver Donaven McCulley and freshman Andrew Marsh have settled him in through the year. The pair have 666 yards and four touchdowns combined, averaging 15.38 and 16.5 yards per catch respectively.
What really makes the QB comfortable is the elite ground game that UM has shown off all season. The Wolverines are the Big Ten’s third best in total rushing yards, rushing yards per game, and rushing yards per attempt. Underwood, a running threat himself, has 202 yards and three touchdowns on the season. This is comparable to Chiles’ rushing numbers of 234 yards and five touchdowns.
Unlike MSU though, the Wolverines offense is powered by its running backs in Justice Haynes and sophomore Jordan Marshall. Haynes, who is still the conference’s second leading rusher with 705 total yards, exited against USC with an injury and did not play in the UW game.
His status for Saturday is questionable, but Marshall is more than capable of taking the lead back reigns. As the number one option, Marshall finished with 133 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown over the Huskies. He has totalled four touchdowns thus far with 434 yards on the ground. While the MSU defense started off strong against the run, conference play has this group struggle against competent ground games.
“The run game is still very similar to what they were doing last year, they certainly have some new wrinkles but they are a physical team,” Rossi said. “They run the ball and run a variety of different run schemes and do it out of a bunch of different personal groupings.”
The Spartans allow 131 rushing yards per game, with IU finishing last week around this mark with 132 yards. The Hoosiers used their backs as a way to open the passing game, but UM will use the rush to establish their will on the front lines.
“I wouldn’t call it an old school style, just the style of the Big Ten, you love being a linebacker in the Big Ten,” junior linebacker Jordan Hall said. “To this game specifically, any time we’re playing a Big Ten opponent, especially not out west, you look forward to going in, being a linebacker and being able to have the opportunity to stop the run.”
However, Underwood may take the top off a struggling and depleted Spartan secondary anyway. Against the Hoosiers, MSU looked totally overmatched and allowed scores on six of IU’s seven possessions. The Wolverines might have the option to play keep away from Chiles and hold the ball with sustained possessions or strike quickly, two strategies that have worked for MSU opponents so far.
“We just gotta execute better, there were a lot of situations where we felt like we left a lot on the table,” Hall said. “Whether it was communication or just not executing the calls to the best of our abilities. We’ve been harping on that all week, just executing better, that was kind of coach Rossi’s message.”
On this side of the ball, the defense will also be asked to look galvanized and motivated for its biggest game of the season. If they cannot look alive for this one, with rivalry and season implications on the line, when will they for the rest of the campaign.
“It’s personal, we’ve seen the coach [Mark] Dantonio clips time and time again, it’s gonna be an important game, it’s always gonna be an important game and it’s never gonna be over,” Hall said. “That’s kind of been the message that’s been harped on us, this is a personal game. But again playing with emotion but not being emotional and not letting your feelings of the game jeopardize the position of the team in a negative way.”
Under the lights of Spartan Stadium, MSU and UM’s annual clash goes down on Saturday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan will have the call live locally at 88.9 FM or streaming at https://impact89fm.org/.
