MSU answered adversity at Notre Dame but never reclaimed control

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Michigan State's defense kept the damage from two interceptions off the scoreboard Saturday night. It could not keep Notre Dame from controlling virtually everything else.

That explains how the Spartans remained within striking distance for much of the night yet finished their 27-10 loss with only 45 offensive plays, 167 yards, and less than 23 minutes of possession.

Michigan State responded to adversity but it never reclaimed control of the game.

That was true of both sides of the football, which is why the loss cannot be reduced to a defense that did its job and an offense that did not. The defense repeatedly protected Michigan State after offensive failures. The offense rarely provided the sustained possessions or points that would have allowed the defense to play from a position of strength.

Neither unit consistently changed the conditions the other one faced.

The most impressive examples came after Alessio Milivojevic's two interceptions.

Notre Dame took over at its own 27 following the first one and advanced to midfield before Michigan State stopped the Irish on downs. The second created a much more dangerous situation. Notre Dame returned it to the MSU 27 with 10:49 remaining, already leading 27-10 and positioned to turn a competitive game into a rout.

Michigan State allowed only six yards before Spencer Porath missed a 39-yard field goal.

The two interceptions produced no Notre Dame points. For a defense operating without the benefit of a takeaway of its own, those responses were impressive. Afterward, Jordan Hall described that ability to defend sudden changes as part of the unit's identity, and Michigan State demonstrated it twice against an opponent capable of punishing mistakes quickly.

Hall was central to that resistance. Playing through an arm issue that had made his availability uncertain earlier in the week, he finished with 13 tackles, eight more than any other Spartan. His production was not merely the result of Notre Dame running 67 plays, either. Hall consistently reached the ball and helped prevent several difficult situations from becoming worse.

But preventing the game from getting away is different from taking it back.

Notre Dame possessed the ball for 37:02, accumulated 395 yards, reached the red zone five times, and scored on every one of those trips. The Irish ran 43 times, produced 20 first downs, and punted once.

Michigan State's defense handled sudden changes well but did not generate one of its own. It forced no turnovers and too rarely created the kind of short possession that could have given the offense rhythm, field position, or another chance before Notre Dame drained the clock.

The defining sequence began early in the third quarter.

Michigan State received the second-half kickoff trailing 17-10...