EAST LANSING – There’s a common refrain among football coaches: if something works for another team, steal it.
No, not like that, Connor Stalions.
Concepts and ideologies have come and gone throughout the sport’s history as quickly as jobs turn over at the pinnacle of the profession. Coaches openly borrow good ideas from their peers, sometimes thieving them in whole and sometimes tweaking them to fit their own schemes and personnel.
Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith admitted he’s no different. And he saw plenty of things he liked that he’s considering pilfering from Boston College coach Bill O’Brien’s game plan in a 42-40 double overtime win Saturday, Sept. 6.
“I think you’re always trying to learn and grow. And I’m not unique in that way,” Smith said Monday, Sept. 8. “In college football, you see it all the time, people copying other people’s stuff. We’d love to do anything we think is good and new that’s gonna help us, and we’re gonna try to use it.”
The Spartans (2-0) host Youngstown State (2-0) in their final nonconference game Saturday, Sept. 13, at Spartan Stadium (3:30 p.m., BTN). But one of the things Smith did after rewatching the thrilling back-and-forth game with O’Brien’s Eagles was to have his staff put together a package of things he felt gave MSU’s defense trouble. It wasn’t for Joe Rossi to make fixes, but instead for offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren to digest and see what could work for Aidan Chiles and his offense.
That included how O’Brien and his staff had quarterback Dylan Longergan (34-of-45 for 390 yards and four touchdowns) getting rid of the ball quickly and how BC’s formations challenged MSU’s secondary and linebackers in coverage.
“We learned a ton,” Smith said. “Call me a football junkie, but I just got respect. You turn on a tape and then you kind of watch it, and you see a previous play and some adjustment getting made.
“You see a formation shown, and sometimes a play is run in a formation really for the next play that he’s gonna call. You got a lot of that out of Boston College, coach O’Brien and that offensive staff. … I just got a bunch of respect for that kind of thing.”
After getting outscored in the second half last season (168-83) and coming off being shut out over the final two quarters of a 23-6 opening-week win against Western Michigan, Lindgren dialed up plenty of misdirection and play-action after halftime against Boston College. The Spartans had 113 yards on 24 plays in the first half, 66 rushing and 47 passing. They outscored the Eagles 28-19 in the second half and overtime while generating 83 yards on the ground and 184 yards through the air.
“I think that added to our confidence,” Smith said.
MSU trailed 21-14 at the break, then came out of the locker room and ripped off a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive off the second-half kickoff that included deep shots from Chiles to Omari Kelly for 30 yards and to Nick Marsh for a 41-yard touchdown. It was just the third third-quarter TD for Lindgren’s offense in 14 games at MSU.
Chiles, who was named Big Ten co-offensive player of the week on Monday, finished 19-of-29 for 231 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes, spreading the ball around to eight different receivers. That included an 11-yard TD to Marsh on a quick slant in the first quarter, a 3-yard touchdown to Michael Masaunus late in the opening half that was just the second by a tight end with Lindgren running MSU’s offense and a 5-yard play-action scoring toss to seldom-used fullback Jay Coyne in the first overtime.
Coyne, who has emerged as a blocking force, said part of Lindgren’s concept to throw off the defense’s timing was for the offense to sprint to the line quickly before the snap.
“We worked that play a lot,” Coyne said Saturday. “I’m just happy that we got it right. It was awesome. … I had a pretty good feeling, watching film (last) week, that it was probably gonna be open.”
Chiles also ran for 67 yards on eight non-sack rushing attempts, including 3-yard TD run on a quarterback draw in the second OT tied the Eagles. And his roll right-throw left back corner pass to Kelly delivered the game-winning 2-point play that gave MSU the win, another well-designed route from Lindgren’s playbook the Spartans hadn’t previously shown often.
“As an offense, we came out and finished,” Chiles said Saturday. “We finished four quarters. And, shoot, we finished two overtimes. That’s big growth in a week.
“Forget about what happened last year, it’s all about what we are now. And this is a team I want to ride or die with right now.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football’s offense produced, but Boston College gave Jonathan Smith ideas
Reporting by Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
