Film Room: Michigan State vs. Notre Dame
A comprehensive defeat for the Spartans against the Fighting Irish, but one to grow on.
It was a game that no Michigan State fan really expected to win, but one that every MSU fan was curious to watch. How would the Spartans acquit themselves? Could they hang tough against Notre Dame? To me, the answers are "quite well" and "yes, they can." As expected, all eyes turn to next week for one of the most pivotal matchups of the season against Nebraska in Week 4.
In bullet-point format, my thoughts on the Spartans' 27-10 loss to the Fighting Irish:
MSU is well-coached, and tough. The Spartans consistently did little things well: the wildcat out of a sugar huddle in the third quarter to convert a third-and-short is proof of that.
Special teams is a strength, despite the tipped punt. Keshawn Williams stopping the fake punt was terrific.
Safety Devin Vaught and linebacker Jordan Hall were terrific in run defense for the Spartans. Linebacker depth is a concern, however, with Hall playing banged up and Brady Pretzlaff suffering an injury on Saturday.
Notre Dame is not a good running team. It averaged 3.58 yards per carry against Wisconsin and Rice. The Irish got 3.74 yards per carry versus Michigan State, but MSU held up well early, before getting ground down late.
MSU had more success on the ground early than I expected; this allowed the Spartans to compress the game. However, the MSU offense never truly threatened.
The pass protection fell apart in the second half, and the pass game never really got going. Competition caveat: Notre Dame has an outstanding defense and secondary.
While Michigan State hung tough and competed, I at no point felt the Spartans were a threat to win this game. That's OK! MSU simply needed more from the offense against possibly the best defense in college football. MSU did a good job shrinking the game, which allowed the Spartans to remain in contact, but the talent deficit was marked. The offense did not feel like it was a genuine threat to compete, especially into the second half.
On the whole, the Spartans acquitted themselves well. Looking at the schedule, save Oregon (loss) and Rutgers (almost certain win), it seems like every other game could be a toss-up and a bowl game should be well within play. However, health is a concern if another week of injuries like this one occurs.
Let's jump into the video film review below.
