MSU football: Video analysis of the Spartans’ 24-17 loss at Michigan
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press MSU beat writer Chris Solari break down the Spartans’ 24-17 loss at Michigan.
Free Press sports writer Chris Solari looks back at Michigan State footballl’s 24-17 loss to Michigan football and looking ahead to the Spartans’ visit from No. 13 Indiana coming up.
Matchup: Michigan State (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 13 Indiana (8-0, 5-0).
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing
TV/radio: Peacock (online-only), WJR-AM (760).
Line: Hoosiers by 7.
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It will be the second straight week — and third time this season — that for MSU coach Jonathan Smith faces another head coach in his first year with his program. But Curt Cignetti might be a runaway candidate for national coach of the year honors with how quickly he has turned around the Hoosiers. Indiana is off to its best start since 1967, the last time it won the Big Ten title and went to the Rose Bowl — a win over the Spartans would give IU its third nine-win season in program history. (The Hoosiers have never won 10 games in a year.) The former James Madison coach, who spent time as a Nick Saban assistant at Alabama, is 127-35 all-time as a head coach with stops at Division II Indiana (Pa.) and Elon before helping the Dukes transition from perennial Football Championship Subdivision domination to college football’s top division. JMU went 19-4 the last two years after moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision, including an 11-1 mark in 2023 that got Cignetti the job in Bloomington.
After losing quarterback Kurtis Rourke to a thumb injury on his throwing hand against Nebraska, Indiana rode its run game to 188 yards and two scores, while getting another touchdown from its defense, in a 31-17 home win over Washington on Saturday. Rourke had surgery last Monday but, according to ESPN, the Ohio University transfer is expected to try and play against the Spartans. His backup, Tayven Jackson, was 11-for-19 for 124 yards with an interception along with passing and rushing TDs, while running back Justice Ellison, a Wake Forest transfer, ran 29 times for 123 yards and a score. The Hoosiers rank No. 6 in the nation in total offense (487.6 yards) and No. 2 in scoring (46.5 points), but they are far from one-dimensional. Their defense is No. 5 in the country overall (269.5 yards), ranking No. 4 against the run (86.1 yards), and No. 4 in scoring defense (14.1 points). Indiana also ranks 35th in time of possession at 31:23.
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Red-zone woes: The Spartans’ struggles inside their opponents’ 20-yard line continue to mount, particularly early in the game. A delay of game penalty while preparing for a fourth-and-goal play at Michigan’s 2 on the opening drive of the game backed MSU up 5 yards. That prompted coach Jonathan Smith to kick a field goal instead, and kicker Jonathan Kim missed from 25 yards out. The Spartans were 2-for-4 in the red zone and now rank 129th out of 133 FBS teams — and last in the 18-team Big Ten — in red zone offense (70%). The Spartans are scoring just 21 points a game to rank 114th in the country.
Ball control: Between a markedly improve offensive line and a defense that has at times smothered opponents, MSU now ranks 21st in the nation in time of possession at 31:48. The Spartans outrushed their opponents for the second straight week, with Nate Carter’s 118 yards against U-M a personal best at MSU for the junior, and they dominated the Wolverines 37:05-22:55 in time of possession. The Spartans have not for the course of a season held the ball more than their opponent since 2019. They ranked 113th nationally in possession time last year (28:08), 127th in 2022 (26:13), 104th in 2021 (28:19) and 112th in 2020 (27:10).
Continued trouble: After Aidan Chiles’ fumble near the end of the first half — the fourth by the sophomore this season — he now has 13 turnovers on the season. Michigan mostly eliminated the run presence Chiles brought in a win over Iowa a week earlier, though he did escape pressure for 29 positive yards. But for the second straight week, Chiles took a self-induced sack on an intentional grounding penalty by neither throwing toward a receiver nor leaving the tackle box under pressure. He was dropped by the Wolverines two other times, and his fumble came while trying to escape a pass rush from his blindside. Chiles finished 17-for 23 for 189 yards and a touchdown to Nick Marsh, whom he targeted five times and completed four passes for 42 yards.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
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