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Michigan State Football: 5 storylines to follow vs. Indiana
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Tyler O’Connor
Which storylines should we be following for Michigan State football Saturday against Indiana?
Michigan State football did something on Saturday against Wisconsin it hasn’t done in a while. It lost a Big Ten game at home. The Spartans suffered their first Big Ten home loss in nearly two years, when they lost to Ohio State in a high-scoring affair in 2014.
In fact, it was only their second Big Ten home loss since the beginning of the 2013 season. MSU fans are not used to going home after a loss. Add in a new starter at quarterback and people start to panic. Message-board football gurus are calling for all kinds of drastic changes, including firing offensive coordinator Dave Warner, who has set multiple school records, and starting redshirt freshman quarterback Brian Lewerke.
Meanwhile, injuries are taking its toll to the deep linebacking corps, forcing reserves in the spotlight to prove that supposed depth.
Michigan State will have to figure things out quickly, as a tricky road trip to Indiana awaits on Saturday night. Indiana wields a dangerous passing attack, ranking 13th in the nation at 334 yards per game. Michigan State’s secondary has been fairly solid this season, but has also struggled at times, including during Notre Dame’s comeback and on some third downs against Wisconsin.
Coach Dantonio will look to right the ship and avoid dropping two straight Big Ten games, something the Spartans haven’t done since 2012.
Let’s take a look at five story lines to follow as the Spartans travel to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Hoosiers under the lights.
Sep 24, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) walks off the field during the first quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
5. Running back rotation
LJ Scott had a rough game, to put it nicely. While his rushing statistics were OK (61 yards on 14 carries), Scott lost a costly fumble that broke open the game for Wisconsin.
On the first possession of the second half, Michigan State was driving down just 13-6 when Wisconsin safety D’Cota Dixon jarred the ball loose from Scott. The ball was then picked up and returned 66 yards by Leo Musso to put the Badgers up 20-6. Any momentum the Spartans had left Spartan Stadium on that play and never came back.
The turnover wasn’t the only issue for Scott. Pass protection was a problem all game for the Spartans, making Tyler O’Connor uncomfortable which had a hand in his 3 interceptions. Not all the blame was on the offensive line. Dantonio singled out the running back blocking as a major factor in the pass blocking struggles.
“It’s not just the offensive line, it’s the protection,” Dantonio said. “Our running backs, for some reason, were cut-blocking people.”
Dantonio didn’t single out Scott with that quote, but he played the majority of snaps on Saturday. Madre London and Gerald Holmes only had one carry each.
It is obvious from Dantonio’s comments that pass protection will be a point of focus among the running backs this week. Whoever performs better at that task in practice may be in line for more snaps on Saturday. After a strong performance against Notre Dame, I was surprised to see Gerald Holmes see such limited action against the Badgers. Look for Holmes and London to see the field more versus the Hoosiers.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (6) has pass broken up by Michigan State Spartans cornerback Vayante Copeland (13) during the second half a game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
4. How will the pass defense fare?
Coming into the season, Michigan State’s secondary was thought to be a strength, returning starters Demetrious Cox, Montae Nicholson, Darian Hicks and getting Vayante Copeland back from injury.
The Spartans pass defense only ranks as mediocre nationally, sitting at No. 64 in the nation in passing yards allowed per game with 226. However, they are vastly improved over last year’s defense, which gave up an average of 320 yards per game against its first three opponents not named Air Force, who ironically, mostly runs the ball.
The problem with the pass defense this year has mostly been on third downs. Wisconsin converted 7-of-13 third downs, most of which came through the air with a redshirt freshman QB, Alex Hornibrook, starting his first game.
On plays such as these this season, the blame should actually be on the lack of pass rush and not the secondary. Too many times Deshone Kizer and Alex Hornibrook had way too much time in the pocket after a four man rush or blitz did not result in any pressure. If you give most quarterbacks time to throw, they will find an open receiver eventually.
“On those third downs it was a different coverage in each situation,” Dantonio said according to SpartanMag. “But on a scenario where when you bring people (on a blitz), you’ve got to affect the quarterback. Quarterback connected. He was on. Thought he played very well in the game.”
Michigan State will face a productive passing attack this weekend led by Hoosiers quarterback Richard Lagow, who leads the Big Ten in passing at 334 yards per game.
Indiana’s offense usually focuses on quick hitting passes that beat the defense to the edge rather than throwing downfield, which makes getting to the QB difficult. It is always a test every year for MSU’s defense and in-game adjustments have proven to be successful in past meetings.
MSU gave up 308 passing yards last year to Indiana after struggling early, but eventually pulled away, defeating the Hoosiers 52-26.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Tyler O
3. Offensive line taking step forward or backward?
After losing All-Americans Jack Conklin and Jack Allen, the offensive line was thought to be a question mark coming into the season. After three games, it is still a question mark.
The line looked dominant against Notre Dame, opening massive holes that allowed the Spartans to rush for 260 yards. O’Connor rarely saw pressure and threw for 241 yards with two touchdowns and only one interception.
Against Wisconsin, it was a completely different story. Michigan State struggled to find room on the ground, only rushing for 75 yards on 2.8 yards per attempt. Just as costly, O’Connor was pressured all day which resulted in some poor decisions and throws that led to three interceptions.
Michigan State has to be able to run the ball effectively and give the QB time to throw if it wants to fulfill its preseason ‘Back 2 Back’ goal of repeating as Big Ten Champs. If the Spartans are unable to do either against a traditionally iffy Indiana defense, we may be looking at a 2012 type season.
It shouldn’t be too hard to beat last year’s performance on the ground against Indiana. Last season’s battered offensive line led to only 142 rushing yards, averaging just 3.2 yards per attempt.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Jon Reschke (33) and linebacker Riley Bullough (30) celebrate interception of Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14)(not pictured) during the second half a game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
2. Injuries piling up in the linebacking corps
If you were to pick one position group on defense where Michigan State could withstand injuries, it would be the linebackers. That’s currently the situation the Spartans find themselves in now that starting ‘Star’ linebacker Jon Reschke and starting ‘Mike’ linebacker Riley Bullough are both sidelined with injuries.
Linebackers are some of the toughest players on the team, so you know it must be serious to keep them off the field. Dantonio was not specific about Bullough’s injury but said he is week to week and will be a game-time decision.
Reschke’s injury however, is much more serious. Dantonio said he will miss a significant period of time with a severe ankle sprain and hopes he will be back. However, people with inside knowledge of the situation are saying that Reschke is out for the season with a different kind of foot injury.
Shane Jones will fill in for Bullough at middle linebacker for the second straight week. The 6-foo-1, 221-pound junior from Cincinnati did a solid job last week against Wisconsin, racking up six tackles and getting in on a sack.
Andrew Dowell will start his second game of the season at ‘Star’ in place of Reschke. Dowell also started against Furman when Reschke was out with a hand injury. Dowell helped seal the game with a one-handed interception, a play that was spectacular enough to make No. 1 on Sportscenter’s Top 10 plays.
The Number1 Top play on Sportscenter????????. "It's a miracle how you'll wake up &yo dreams right in ur face" Everything1K pic.twitter.com/1BQOuvAQB5
— Andrew Dowell (@_Live5ive) September 3, 2016
Dowell will have his hands full this weekend, as Indiana’s offense loves to attack the slot-area linebacker. The Hoosiers have had success attacking that spot of MSU’s defense in year’s past. Dowell, a former defensive back, is probably the most athletic ‘Star’ linebacker MSU has had under Dantonio. The question is will he be able to recognize plays quickly and react.
With all of the shuffling going on, watch out for Ed Davis. He could see more playing time at ‘Sam’ linebacker. Davis missed all of last season with a torn ACL and has been slowly working himself back into his old self after the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility.
Sep 24, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Tyler O
1. Will there be a quarterback controversy?
The honeymoon is over for new starting quarterback Tyler O’Connor. After defeating Ohio State and Notre Dame in two out of his first three career starts, O’Connor had quite a dreadful performance in the 30-6 clubbing by Wisconsin last Saturday. O’Connor was just 18-of-38 and threw 3 interceptions. He also struggled to convert on third down which didn’t allow the offense to get in a rhythm all day long.
“Obviously it wasn’t good enough,” O’Connor said when asked about his performance to SpartanMag. “I made some poor decisions in some critical parts of the game. Wisconsin put together a really good game plan. They threw some blitzes at us that maybe we weren’t ready for and also it’s on me to get the ball out on time and put the ball in a good spot and not make a bad play worse for us.”
Staring down receivers, not going through his reads, missing open receivers, and holding on to the ball too long had Spartan fans calling him Andrew Maxwell 2.0 or O’Maxwell. Even worse, O’Connor has a problem Maxwell didn’t have: arm strength. O’Connor consistently under threw or was late in delivering passes.
While fans may be clamoring to bench O’Connor in favor of Damion Terry or Brian Lewerke, Dantonio is not ready to give up on O’Connor after one bad game.
“I don’t think you abandon somebody when they’ve had a tough day,” said Dantonio.
Dantonio did not completely rule out a QB competition, however.
“At this point in time there is no quarterback controversy. Now there may become one at some point. It’s about production. But there were a lot of things that entered into this one yesterday. You could probably take 15 snaps which were very, very good from our quarterback and then you could also take 15 that weren’t good. You’ve got to correct those.”
Nov 21, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Damion Terry (6) looks for an open receiver against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Michigan State won the game 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
Damion Terry was too banged up to play last week, but redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke came in for the final drive of the game and went 2-for-4 for 26 yards and ran the ball once for 16 yards. Lewerke’s first pass was an interception that was negated by a defensive holding penalty.
Dantonio didn’t pull any punches when asked about the freshman’s performance.
“Well, it was his first time in a football game and the first throw he had was intercepted,” Dantonio said.
“It was a poor throw, a poor decision,” Dantonio said. “Following that, he delivered one that was dropped on the money which was dropped by a true freshman, and then following that he completed one and then after that he scrambled twice, one which was called back and another one he scrambled. I would say that concluded his five plays.
“But he needs to get better. He’ll have his opportunities as the season moves forward.”
More from Spartan Avenue
If O’Connor struggles again against Indiana, Lewerke’s opportunity may come sooner rather than later. It remains to be seen who would actually replace O’Connor in the event he is pulled for poor performance. Co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner told the Detroit Free Press that the No. 2 QB is still undecided.
They’re both right in the mix right there,” Warner said. “That’s a week-to-week deal, like our running back situation. Brian showed what he can do in a game situation the other day, so that raises his stock a little bit. No decision’s been made, if we get in that situation.”
Who do you want to see start at quarterback for Michigan State? Let us know in the comments below.
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