close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Michigan State vs. UM Football Ratings: Offense too unpredictable
    news

    Michigan State vs. UM Football Ratings: Offense too unpredictable

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    Free Press sportswriter Chris Solari rates Michigan State football after the Spartans’ 24-17 loss at Michigan on Saturday night.

    Violation: C-plus

    The growth and growing pains continue to make MSU’s offense unpredictable and inconsistent. How the Spartans beat the Wolverines in the head out of the chute was impressive: two long drives that led to a touchdown and a 135-15 yard lead and a 93-1 rushing lead after one quarter. But MSU’s failures in the red zone continued, costing a scoring opportunity on the opening kickoff when Aidan Chiles took a penalty delay while lining up to go for it on fourth down at UM’s 2-yard line. Nate Carter ran through contact for his best game in two years as a Spartan with 118 yards, and the offensive line continued its renaissance in the second half early before the Wolverines began to turn up the pressure to limit MSU to just 70 yards and rushed on 14 attempts. in the last three quarters. Chiles’ decision-making also remains a concern. He lost a fumble late in the first half for the fourth time this season and took another intentional grounder penalty early in the Spartans’ final possession while trying to go for the tying score.

    AFTER THE GAME: Michigan football TE Colston Loveland at MSU: ‘Little brother keeps doing little brother things’

    Defense: B-minus

    The Spartans dominated the quarterback-fluxing Wolverines for long stretches on Saturday, including three three-and-out drives and another four plays and a punt. The front seven surrounded Kalel Mullings all night, limiting UM’s leading rusher to just 18 yards on 13 carries and Donovan Edwards to 24 yards on nine attempts. But as well as the Spartans’ linebackers played the run, they struggled to keep tabs on the one Wolverines pass catcher who could hurt them: tight end Colson Loveland caught six passes for 67 yards, including two touchdowns, and added catch a 2-point conversion. One came on a halfback pass from Edwards when MSU sold out on the run, leaving Loveland running freely behind the defense. The Spartans also couldn’t stop one-dimensional running quarterback Alex Orji, who went off on six of his seven snaps and rushed his way for 64 yards and a touchdown on those designed runs. MSU didn’t record a sack for the fourth straight game after opening the season with 15 in the first four games.

    Special teams: D

    A week after Jonathan Kim’s record-breaking six-FG performance, the senior kicker missed a chip-shot 25-yarder after MSU’s first possession sputtered. After kicking a 46-yarder in the third quarter, Kim’s onside kick attempt was put out and recovered by UM after a few of its coverage units hesitated and double-checked for information after breaking up the rally. The Spartans were also offside on the kick, which cost them another 5 yards. The kickoff return unit also made a major blunder, when linebacker Sam Edwards signaled for a fair catch on a ball caught by Alante Brown, who negated a touchback and put the ball at the spot of the catch. That put the offense at its own 5 to start a drive after a Wolverines touchdown opened the third quarter. But worse, MSU lost regular long snapper Kaden Schlickel to an apparent left leg injury while racing in punt coverage late in the first half. Coach Jonathan Smith said it didn’t look good, but there wasn’t a full update after the game. MSU then split duties between Edwards on field goals and PAT and Jack Carson-Wentz on punts, and both delivered on their chances.

    Coaching: C-minus

    Give Smith some of the blame for the failure of the first drive, because he didn’t call a timeout for the delay of play penalty on the first drive that led to Kim’s miss – especially after he got the benefits of ‘seven points versus three points’, the season opener follows next. When, late in the first half, a pass play was called with 23 seconds left and the ball still on the MSU side of the field, Chiles put himself in a bad position to do the only thing he could was not possible at that moment: committed a turnover that gave UM three points and a halftime lead. The onside kick came at a predictable time, coupled with the poor communication that ultimately led to the failure. However, give credit to Smith, offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren and offensive line coach Jim Michalczik for the vast improvement in the run game and the poise to stick with it in the fourth quarter while trailing by two touchdowns. Carter and Kay’ron Lynch-Adams kept the chains moving on two third downs, boosting Nick Marsh’s fourth-quarter scoring and bringing MSU within a TD.

    Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.

    Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes every week Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And check out all our podcasts and daily voting briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like