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    • MSU Football Offense, Defense, and Coaching Grades vs. FAU
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    MSU Football Offense, Defense, and Coaching Grades vs. FAU

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    Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch rates Michigan State’s performance in the 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic on a scale of 1 to 10.

    ATTACK: 3

    MSU failed to top 300 yards of total offense, turned the ball over three times, twice in the red zone, converted 3 of 13 third-down attempts and, aside from a 63-yard touchdown run, the Spartans’ two running backs averaged 3 yards per rush, while quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 42 percent of his passes. They had three drives of nine plays or longer and scored on none of them. So it wasn’t exactly a smooth night on offense. The Spartans played poorly enough on that side of the ball to lose. But they didn’t. Because they made a few key plays, including Chiles and running back Nathan Carter chasing down Florida Atlantic cornerback Phillip Dunnam after Dunnam’s goal-line interception that easily could have been a pick-six. The offensive line wasn’t consistent or particularly good in the running game, but center Tanner Miller had a fantastic block that let Kay’Ron Lynch Adams jump for a long TD run and the line did a good job of blocking Chiles’ touchdown run. That was enough. Most weeks it won’t be.

    DEFENSE: 7

    There was a lot to like about MSU’s defensive performance on Friday night. The only real problem was the penalties. And there were quite a few of them, none of which cost the Spartans the game but could have. But MSU also won only because its defense was on point in many ways — most notably in the way Joe Rossi kept sending waves of defenders to Florida Atlantic quarterback Cam Fancher and the way those defenders kept the fleet-footed QB in check. This was far from a bend-but-don’t-break defense, which I think Spartan fans can appreciate. MSU tackled Fancher seven times, had 10 tackles for loss, stopped FAU on 13 of 15 third-down attempts, had two interceptions, forced a fumble and froze up in the red zone two of three times. And, unlike in years past, didn’t let a bad situation escalate into a disaster.

    SPECIAL TEAMS: 9

    If you didn’t know, Ryan Eckley is a very good punter. He showed it again on Friday, with six punts averaging 49.5 yards per kick — and that included a perfect 40-yard punt, downed at the 1-yard line, his first punt of the game. His placement on that kick was superb. He also waited to kick, giving MSU’s punt cover team time to get to the goal line. His only mistake was a 58-yard punt that blew past his coverage, leading to a 39-yard return that was called back for a block in the back. That seems like nitpicking. MSU’s own return game didn’t have many chances, though Alante Brown had a 33-yard kickoff return that followed MSU’s safety for a 2-0 lead. MSU didn’t attempt a field goal on Friday (though it should have; see below).

    MORE: Bench: Friday’s offensive woes show there’s no silver bullet for this MSU football team

    COACHING: 6

    There was one obvious decision by the coach to criticize: Jonathan Smith decided to go all-out on fourth-and-more over a yard, leading 16-10 early in the fourth quarter, when a chip-shot field goal could have given it a two-score margin. A clear mistake, given MSU’s short-yardage issues and how the game was going, which Smith admitted afterward. He was responsible and not at all defensive, which set the right tone. His afterward totally worked. Not overreacting, not overly happy or angry. Just sounding like someone who has learned a lot about his team and knows that he and his staff and players have to roll up their sleeves and keep working. It was not an inspiring performance on offense. Defensively, coordinator Joe Rossi had a good night. His layered pressure worked. His players were aggressive and consistent and tackled reasonably well.

    CONCLUSION

    It doesn’t look like life is going to be easy for this MSU football team. We’ll see how this defense can keep the Spartans in the game and how quickly the offense can develop into a unit with more punch and better execution than we saw on Friday. MSU is 1-0, but it didn’t look like a team that was likely to go 2-0.

    MORE: Bench: 3 Quick Reactions to Michigan State Football’s 16-10 Win Over Florida Atlantic

    — Graham Bank

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