Michigan State Football: Report card for Notre Dame win
Who performed the best for Michigan State football in a huge 36-28 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday?
Michigan State football’s win over Notre Dame on Saturday was one of the more impressive feats in Mark Dantonio’s tenure as head coach. Not only did he lead his young team into South Bend and get the win, but he did so with no one in the national media, and a majority of his own fan base, giving the Spartans a shot.
Well, Michigan State came out on top after taking a commanding 36-7 lead in the third quarter before nearly squandering it due to conservative play. Michigan State got too comfortable with the 29-point lead and the Spartans played soft in the fourth.
The Spartans are now entering Week 4 with a 2-0 record and a nice road triumph. However, Wisconsin is sitting there, waiting for Michigan State. The Spartans will host the No. 11 Badgers on Saturday at noon — too early, I know — and you better believe Coach D will have his guys ready.
Before we talk about Wisconsin in too much detail, let’s take a look at the grades for each Spartan position group from the Notre Dame victory. Who performed the best?
A-. . OL. Last Week: N/A. OFFENSIVE LINE
The offensive line was one of the pleasant surprises of the game for Michigan State. Coming into the season, no one really knew what to make of this position group with Jack Conklin, Jack Allen and Donavon Clark departing, but the returning group has been effective.
Led by Brian Allen, the grunts up front were a major reason as to why the Spartans engineered a 36-0 run in the second and third quarters. They opened huge running lanes for LJ Scott and Gerald Holmes and even protected Tyler O’Connor long enough to make some deep throws and a couple touchdown passes.
O’Connor didn’t get sacked once and the offensive line looked 100 percent more confident and effective against the Fighting Irish than it did versus Furman.
Whenever the run game accounts for 250-plus yards, you know the offensive line is doing its job. That’s exactly why it has received one of the highest grades of the week.