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Michigan State Football: 5 fixes Spartans must make before facing Indiana

By Connor Muldowney

TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Running back LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans rushes the football past safety Jalen Harvey #43 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Spartans 16-13. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Running back LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans rushes the football past safety Jalen Harvey #43 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Spartans 16-13. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football is coming off a devastating loss to Arizona State in the desert, but the Spartans could make these fixes to get back on track.

There’s not one quick fix that will get the Spartans back on track. After losing to Arizona State in heart-breaking last-second fashion, Michigan State must turn to Mark Dantonio for help.

Yes, Dantonio was out-coached by Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils in the desert, but the veteran head coach has been great at getting his teams back on track over the years after tough losses and in bye weeks. That will be necessary this time around before Michigan State travels to Bloomington to kick off Big Ten play at Indiana.

What fixes need to be made before the Spartans face the Hoosiers? It’s not as simple as saying “score more touchdowns” but there are obvious weaknesses that can be corrected.

5. Increase the defensive pressure (especially from the ends)

It seems as if the defensive ends get a slight push-back from opposing linemen and they crumble or just stop trying to rush the passer. There’s plenty of talent at end, but this unit has been poor through two weeks, outside of Kenny Willekes and a surprise contributor in Jack Camper.

Over-pursuit has also been an issue. Many times against Jordan Love in Week 1 and Manny Wilkins in Week 2, the line got solid pressure, but couldn’t collapse the pocket because the ends over-pursued, leaving a gaping hole for the quarterbacks to run through. Wilkins was able to pick up multiple first downs because of this and it ended up killing the Spartans on second and third-and-longs.

Ramping up the pressure on the pass rush to get on the level of the run defense will be key.

The Spartans haven’t had an elite pass rush since the Pat Narduzzi days and that must change. There’s plenty of talent here, but the group seems to get gassed late and the line gets frustrated when the pressure doesn’t result in sacks.

This is an area that will help the defensive backs tremendously.

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