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Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Week 8 loss to Michigan

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 20: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans looks to pass during the second half while playing the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium on October 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 20: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans looks to pass during the second half while playing the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium on October 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football wasn’t able to pull off the upset against Michigan on Saturday afternoon. What’d we learn from the lethargic performance?

There was no one more disappointed in Saturday’s outcome than Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio. Forget all the pre-game drama with the walk-through — I mean, who really cares at this point? — because there was an actual game played on Saturday afternoon.

Michigan was dominant on the defensive side of the ball and did just enough offensively, wearing down a defense that was on the field for a majority of the game, to get the job done.

Things were knotted up at 7-7 before Shea Patterson found a streaking Donovan Peoples-Jones for a 79-yard pitch-and-catch. That go-ahead touchdown late in the third was the back-breaker and everyone seemed to feel as if the game was over seeing as the offense wasn’t able to move the ball against the Wolverines.

Michigan added another touchdown late to make it 21-7 and that’s how things would end. The Wolverines avoided going 3-9 against Mark Dantonio with the win and here’s what we learned from the Michigan victory over MSU.

5. Depth is being tested — and it’s not looking pretty

With more injuries on Saturday, Michigan State’s depth is being tested, big-time. The Spartans lost top offensive threat Felton Davis III for the season, saw little of Jalen Nailor and didn’t have Cody White, Laress Nelson or CJ Hayes on the offensive side of the ball — along with no David Beedle and an ailing Kevin Jarvis.

Moreover, Matt Allen went down with an injury and a developing storyline after the game was that Brian Lewerke was playing on an injured shoulder.

Defensively, Michigan State was still down Josiah Scott and Josh Butler while the rest of the unit was relatively full-strength. The depth on offense is being tested and you saw the results with just 94 total yards of offense. Things will get ugly, and fast, if these guys can’t get back onto the field soon.

It’s hard to win without depth, and Michigan State is finding that out.

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