Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch grades Michigan State’s football team after its 31-20 loss to Michigan.
OFFENSE: 2
MSU’s passing game was supposed to be its strength and its equalizer against better competition. Saturday, MSU’s inability to get anything going through the air, even the short stuff, was the biggest reason the Spartans lost. MSU needed the best of Aidan Chiles. This wasn’t close. He and the Spartans were up against the best defense they’ve faced, but too many throws were off the mark, even some that were catchable and weren’t caught. Chiles finished 14-for-28 for 130 yards passing, before giving way to Alessio Milivojevic, who should be be considered earlier if Chiles looks like this again. The Spartans did run the football with some sporadic success, including a 14-carry, 109-yard day from Makhi Frazier, highlighted by a dazzling 49-yard run in the second quarter that was the biggest play of the season at the time. But this was a poor showing overall, right down to a number of offensive penalties, 12 (many of them false starts), that didn’t help.
DEFENSE: 5
I think this was the best MSU’s defense can play. It’s not a unit that’s ever going to be confused with the peak Mark Dantonio years, but the Spartans played well enough defensively to win Saturday. They forced six punts, two fumbles (one lost to a bad offsides call) and got well-timed and impactful pressure on Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, who only completed eight passes for 86 yards. The Wolverines had some success on the ground, especially as the game wore on (87 yards in the first half and 189 in the second). But some of that was because MSU’s defense was on the field a ton and eventually gave up a few big runs to Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall. Where was this defensive performance against UCLA?
RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s 31-20 loss to Michigan
SPECIAL TEAMS: 5
There were a few miscues that bring this score way down — two penalties as MSU lined up for its first punt (a delay of game and then a false start), and then Omari Kelly let a punt go over his head, which rolled dead at the 3-yard line, when MSU was trailing 17-7. But punter Ryan Eckley was mostly terrific on seven punts, averaging 47.4 yards a boot, including one that pinned Michigan against its own goal line.
COACHING: 4
Joe Rossi’s defense is doing the work to keep this grade from being in the toilet. Rossi, who coached from the sidelines instead of the press box this week, coached perhaps his best game at MSU. He had some answers for Michigan and for his defense, which has so often this season been on its heels. Offensively, oof. MSU’s passing game never found a rhythm. There were a few calls that were puzzling, including MSU trying to run the ball when time was ticking late and a late fourth-down throw to Jack Velling that never looked like it had a chance (and probably should have been a field-goal attempt instead). MSU had no answers on that side of the ball. On a night Jonathan Smith needed to put his best foot forward, his team offensively was undisciplined and ineffective.
BOTTOM LINE
This was the last chance for this MSU football season and this coaching regime to find some juice and change some minds. The ending now is inevitable.
RELATED: Couch: For MSU’s Jonathan Smith, after performance against Michigan, the inevitable looms
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Grades for Michigan State football team’s performance against Michigan
Reporting by Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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