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    • MSU football falls 24-17 to Michigan: 3 quick shots
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    MSU football falls 24-17 to Michigan: 3 quick shots

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    This column has been updated to add a video.

    1. That loss will hurt MSU because the Spartans had an opportunity and didn’t take it

    ANN ARBOR – Regret. That should be the overriding emotion for the Michigan State football team following its 24-17 loss to Michigan Saturday night.

    The Spartans had a chance to win this thing. They controlled the game early and managed just seven points from two impressive drives, then fumbled late in the first half, allowing Michigan a field goal to take the lead. And in the second half they seemingly did a zillion little things to hurt themselves. Mostly penalties: false starts, the wrong man signaling a fair catch, a purposeful call even though it seemed unjustified.

    Michigan grew into the game. MSU grew out of it – and into it again, but by then the tide had turned. The Wolverines were without a doubt the better team in the second half. But the game status should be different.

    Michigan passing defense – especially the rush – is the best group the Spartans have faced. This was no easy task.

    That made the early rides so promising and yet melancholic. The same goes for the fourth-quarter touchdown drive.

    MSU thought its best chance was to run the football and did so effectively for more than a while — for 163 yards, including 93 in the first quarter.

    This loss would sting no matter how it happened. It’s Michigan. That evokes all kinds of emotions, as we saw during the scuffle in midfield at the end of the match. But it’s hard to add regret to those emotions.

    This game has a way of defining you. The last few years have been frustrating for MSU. The Spartans have closed the gap. But they’re not there yet. They’re not good enough to leave that many points off the board. They are not seasoned enough. If they had, they would have won.

    2. MSU’s offensive line improvement in the run game appears real

    I’ve seen too much over the past decade to trust even one promising Saturday from MSU’s offensive line. Last week’s performance against Iowa was shockingly good – against a solid defensive front, no less. Saturday night at Michigan, MSU’s offensive line once again stood out compared to what we’re used to seeing.

    On MSU’s opening drive, the Spartans attempted just one throw on their first 11 plays, advancing 73 yards to the 2-yard line. The next drive featured runs of 34 and 8 yards and finally a touchdown run, hitting it in from the 1-yard line.

    Things got tougher from there, but there were still some good wins, especially behind right guard Brandon Baldwin and from Nate Carter, who had his most memorable game as a Spartan. MSU nailed it twice on third-and-long, converting once and nearly on the second, and had only a few negative plays in the backfield – although one came on third-and-1, forcing a field goal attempt long (and make), which ends a ride.

    After a game like that, it’s hard for the Spartans to find comfort in anything. But if this is indeed tangible progress from the unity that has held this program back for nearly eight years, then at least that’s something.

    3. This could have been a Nate Carter legacy game

    If you want to change how you are perceived at MSU, do something unusual in a game like this. Nate Carter is considered a solid running back who runs hard at MSU. He was much more than that Saturday night. He seemed to have a different gear. He maximized every fold. He refused to go down — memorable after a catch on third-and-14 near midfield as MSU tried to drive for a tying touchdown.

    This could have been a legacy game for Carter, had MSU won it. As it is, I think people will look at him a little differently.

    Carter looked like a back trying to prove his point. He dreamed of playing for Michigan in the Big House as a high school recruit. Maybe that had something to do with it. Either way, he was a bona fide weapon Saturday: 19 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown, and two catches for 58 yards. That version of Carter makes the difference. Let’s see if he can duplicate it over the next season and a half at MSU.

    Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch.

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