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

Oct 24, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Damon Graham (38) runs for yards after a catch against the Michigan State Spartans during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Linebackers

The defensive line has been the strength of the MSU defense and the secondary has been the liability. The linebackers’ performance has been somewhere between those — solid but not spectacular.

What worked: Solid play, one through six

The linebacking corps have become a unit that features six serviceable players. Andrew Dowell backs up starter and captain Darien Harris. Dowell had two tackles and Harris had three at the weakside linebacker. Middle linebacker Riley Bullough is backed up by Shane Jones. They each had five tackles and a half tackle for loss.

On the strong side, Jon Reschke has solidified himself as the first and second down linebacker. He’s been especially impressive in pass coverage where he had another pass break up to go along with his team-leading six tackles. His backup, Chris Frey, comes in on passing downs and is a bit of a blitzing specialist. One through six, the linebackers were once again quite solid in their play.

What didn’t: Impact plays

While solid play is the baseline, the next step is for the linebackers to consistenly make impact plays. It’s not as if they haven’t made them this year, but fans want to see the linebackers making a few big plays each game.

Fans want some of the pass breakups to be interceptions. They want the blitzes to get home not just pressure the quarterback. They want to see the forced fumbles not just solid tackles. Not that these things need to happen every single play, but a few a game would do the defense wonders.

Next: Secondary