Michigan State Football: What worked and what didn’t against Purdue

Oct 3, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) is tackled by Purdue Boilermakers linebacker Andy James Garcia (42) and Purdue Boilermakers safety Robert Gregory (7) during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

The injuries keep piling up along with the shaky victories for Michigan State football. Preseason All-American offensive tackle Jack Conklin is injured and was replaced by Dennis Finley only to see him go down with a gruesome injury late in the first half against Purdue.

With a 21-point lead, it seemed like the MSU coaches decided to just shut down the offense after losing their third offensive tackle this year. It turns out Finley is done for the year and the Spartans will need to do some scrambling to figure out what to do at their tackle positions.

Additionally, during his Sunday night teleconference, head coach Mark Dantonio revealed that starting safety RJ Williamson will be lost for the majority of the season. Williamson was the Spartans’ most reliable playmaker in the secondary and also by far the most experienced. His presence is a definite loss on a unit that has struggled signficantly all season.

While the injury news and the on the field play were not particularly good, State still finds itself at 5-0 and 1-0 in the Big Ten. We break down what went right and what didn’t against Purdue by position.

Oct 3, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) warms up prior to a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterbacks

Connor Cook went 13-of-19 for 139 yards and touchdown and earned his MSU record 28th win as a starter. His 68 percent completion rate was his best of the season. But as good as the completion percentage was, Cook was 10-of-12 in the first half and only 3-of-7 in the second half. The fact that he only had seven attempts in the second half tells a story all on its own.

The coaches have shown that they trust Cook enough to put the game on his shoulders in the past, they haven’t had to do so yet this year. If he does have to put the team on his shoulders, he’ll have to do it without much practice.

What went well: Running the ball

For two years now we have heard Mark Dantonio talk about Cook’s ability to run the ball. We have rarely seen it — with that bruising run to start the Michigan game last year as a convincing exception.

In this game, though, Cook ran the ball 5 times for 48 yards. Some of those were designed runs – including the zone read play which Cook kept for possibly the first time all year. Some were scrambles from broken down plays. Either way, the runs were effective and adds a dimension to defending the Spartans’ offense.

What didn’t: Deep ball accuracy

Cook didn’t throw many deep balls — he didn’t throw many of any length balls– but he was not as accurate as he needed to be on either that he threw. On one deep post to Monty Madaris, Cook led him just a bit too much which led to Madaris making a brilliant diving catch. A perfectly thrown ball ends up as six, though.

On another chance to put Purdue away, Cook missed a throw to Aaron Burbridge. Burbridge had beaten his defender with a double move and Cook severely underthrew his receiver. A pass interference penalty should have been called, but a good throw would have resulted in a very long completion.

More and more teams are emulating MSU’s defensive philosophy of making quarterbacks throw very difficult passes to beat them. When MSU has lost, it’s been against quarterbacks with the ability to drop the deep ball into a tight space and have their receivers take it the distance.

In years past, Russell Wilson was able to do just that, Marcus Marriota was able to do that, J.T. Barrett was able to do that, Bryce Petty was as well, though Cook outgunned him in the end. If teams are going to put nine or 10 in the box, Cook has to make them pay with excellent deep throws.

Next: Running Backs