Michigan State Football: Report card for loss to Northwestern in Week 9

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EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 28: Justin Jackson #21 of the Northwestern Wildcats keeps his balance as he runs for a first down against the Michigan State Spartans at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Michigan State 39-31 in triple overtime.(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

B. . LB. Michigan State. LINEBACKERS

It’s hard to find many flaws within this unit other than a first-overtime touchdown pass from Clayton Thorson to Cameron Green over the head of Chris Frey. Too often he gets sucked in by pump fakes and play-actions and tight ends have slipped right by him. That was the case as the Wildcats scored easily to take a 24-17 lead.

That score could have been prevented if his stuck with his man and shadowed him in the end zone. Holding Northwestern to a field goal to start overtime would have been crucial.

Other than that, Frey played well, finishing with four tackles. He needs to work on his coverage, but he was a main cog in the run-stopping of Justin Jackson. In fact, Jackson had just 41 rushing yards on 17 carries.

This unit, led by Joe Bachie, made sure the run was not an option. They held the Wildcats to just 64 rushing yards on 2.3 per carry. Bachie had a game-high eight tackles and a sack and Andrew Dowell was right behind with seven tackles and a pass deflection.

The coverage from this unit needs to improve over the middle and on short routes. Too many easy throws into the flats for Thorson that tore up the defense.

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