Central Michigan vs Michigan State: Final grades for the Spartans

Sep 26, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Jack Allen (66) gestures to the Central Michigan Chippewas during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 30-10. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive line: B+; Defensive line: A-

You really have to give it up for this offensive line. Losing Kodi Kieler two weeks ago against Oregon was a tough blow, but then they lost Jack Conklin in the middle of this week’s game against Central Michigan. Despite those losses, this unit continues to gel together and move forward, getting better each week.

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Kieler’s injury hurt a couple of weeks ago, but the team expects to get him back soon enough while Conklin’s injury might be a devastating blow for this group as it’s unclear how long he will be out for.

Benny McGowan, Miguel Machado and Dennis Finley have all played well in place of the injured linemen and they opened up enough holes for the Spartans’ run game to finish with nearly 200 yards and three rushing scores.

As for the defensive line, Shilique Calhoun had his best game of the season. Before the game, I predicted he would finish with 2.5 sacks and five total tackles and his real stat line was quite similar. The senior defensive end had a hand in all three of the Spartans’ sacks, finishing with 2.5 of his own as well as six total tackles.

The defensive line should have gotten more pressure on Rush, but the secondary struggled a bit, allowing the junior gunslinger to release the ball before Calhoun and company could get to him.

Besides a big run play of 42 yards by Devon Spalding, the front-four limited the Chippewas’ run game to just 13 yards on 25 carries.

Next: Linebackers/Secondary