LOS ANGELES — Michigan State left the Coliseum on Sunday morning with its first loss of the season, a 45–31 defeat at the hands of USC that revealed both the Spartans’ grit and their shortcomings.
For head coach Jonathan Smith, the message afterward was simple: his team battled, but not well enough.
“We just didn’t have enough to finish the deal,” Smith said. “Credit to them. A couple of times we forced them to a fourth down and they converted. A couple of times we were around the quarterback, had a chance to get him on the ground, and we didn’t do it. They finished better than us.”
Coming into the game, Michigan State knew what it was up against. Through three weeks, USC led the nation in total offense, and quarterback play had been sharp and efficient.
Smith expected fireworks through the air, but it was USC’s ability to pair that with a strong ground game that proved decisive.
“We knew they were going to be able to be explosive in the pass game,” he said. “But when you’ve got both of that going — pass game and run game — it makes it tough.”
The Trojans ran with authority, gashed the Spartans early, and stayed on schedule. Michigan State’s defense simply couldn’t hold the line.
