Michigan State Football: Report card against Indiana

Oct 24, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans punter Jake Hartbarger (25) punts the ball to Indiana Hoosiers during the 1st half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams: C-

Let’s start with looking at the bright side of things. The coverage teams did not allow any big returns that lead to short fields. Michael Geiger was credited with going 1-for-1 on the day and Jake Hartbarger did boom a punt to help flip field position. The Spartans even got a good return to start the second half, which occurs about as often as seeing a unicorn.

That was the good, and of course, Michigan State cannot go a game playing without incident in the special teams area. While Hartbarger did boom a punt he also followed that up with a 33-yard punt that gave Indiana a short field to work on. Hartbarger clearly has a ton of talent consistency just needs to follow.

While Geiger did make a field goal, (woohoo!), his unit also had a high snap which led to a no try on a 35-yard try that was in the center of the field. Leaving points on the field did not come back to haunt the Spartans but a 35-yard try from the center of the field should be a gimme, but clearly it’s not.

It seems like every time the special teams unit takes a step forward they take two steps back. For the rest of the season Spartan Nation will always hold their breath whenever a kicking team enters the field.

Next: Referees