Michigan State Football: Report card for bounce-back win over Northwestern

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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 21: Naquan Jones #93 of the Michigan State Spartans moves to tackle Drake Anderson #6 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on September 21, 2019 in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 31-10. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Defense

The defense was stingy as always through three quarters and then Northwestern was able to move the ball against the backups in the fourth quarter. Drake Anderson ran wild against the Spartans’ No. 2 defense and that led to most of the yardage as well as the only touchdown of the game.

Defensive Line: B

This group has had better games, but that’s not to say they weren’t effective. The reason the grade isn’t higher is because the backup line couldn’t seem to close the running lanes in the fourth quarter which led to Drake Anderson rushing for 91 yards and the Wildcats’ only touchdown. Kenny Willekes was limited but Raequan Williams had a big game, adding a sack. The Spartans finished with two sacks and four quarterback hurries, but this group was kept quiet because of quick passes. Drew Beesley was a major bright spot off the bench.

Linebackers: A-

Joe Bachie had himself a game and might just be working himself into a higher draft position after recording a career-high 14 tackles to go along with a sack, two pass deflections, an interception and two tackles for loss. He has been outstanding this season and this was his best game, leading the stout run defense through three quarters before sitting out most of the fourth. Antjuan Simmons was second on the team with six tackles and a tackle for loss and Tyriq Thompson had three takedowns. This group is quietly elite.

Secondary: A

It helps that Northwestern has a major quarterback issue, but the Spartan secondary didn’t give up anything longer than 20 yards. Josh Butler was targeted quite a bit and still managed to play well and Josiah Scott had his best game of the season, picking up an interception as well. Xavier Henderson and David Dowell both kept everything in front of them as Northwestern’s quarterbacks combined for just 126 yards and three interceptions on 19-of-37 completions and most of the attempts were within 5-10 yards.

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Can Michigan State continue this hot streak next week in a big homecoming matchup with Indiana?

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