Michigan State Football: Report card for win over Michigan in Week 6

In my opinion, this was the best position group on the field Saturday. It was close with the defensive backfield, which you will soon find out, and the defensive line, but the linebackers played phenomenally.

Joe Bachie was the star of the defense and was actually named a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. He led the defense with 10 total tackles and added a sack, pass deflection and interception. He is the latest star in the middle for Michigan State and looks to be a future All-Big Ten first-teamer — heck, that may happen this year.

Chris Frey had a lapse in judgement in the fourth quarter with a late hit out of bounds that tacked on 15 yards to the final Michigan drive. Other than that, he played solid. He had three tackles and a quarterback hurry on a blitz. He’s becoming one of the better blitzing linebackers in the conference.

Andrew Dowell had himself a heck of a game with nine tackles and 0.5 for loss. He continues to get better each week and it’s making this linebacking corps that much scarier.

Antjuan Simmons and Tyriq Thompson both played well in the rotation and had two tackles each. The latter added a half-sack. Great overall performance from the linebackers, also attributing to the 2.9 yards per carry from Michigan’s run game.