Michigan State Football: Report card for ugly win over Indiana

Defense

It was tough to watch the defense struggle for almost an entire game and it was basically due to the dinks and dunks from Michael Penix Jr. all afternoon. He was able to pick apart the secondary and that’s something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Defensive Line: B

It’s hard to knock the defensive line for not getting to Penix Jr. but he was getting the ball out in a second or two from the snap. The line didn’t have a chance to get to him, but Raequan Williams had an impressive game against the run and even got some pressure and recorded the team’s only sack. Kenny Willekes led the team in tackles with 12 and had a QB hurry but he didn’t get enough time to get to the quarterback. Mike Panasiuk played well in the middle as well.

Linebackers: B-

Matching an All-American performance like last week’s would have been impossible for Joe Bachie, especially since rumors were swirling about him being a game-time decision, but he started and played well. He finished with seven tackles and a tackle loss while Antjuan Simmons had one of his best games with nine takedowns and 2.5 tackles for loss. These guys didn’t fare well against the short passes either, but kept everything in front of them.

Secondary: C-

Listen, I’m not going to sit here and act like the secondary was fully to blame here, but rather the schemes weren’t set up for success. The coaching staff didn’t put these kids in a position to have success against the short passing game and that was partly to blame, but they were also not playing their best football. Late in the game, the backs were getting beat deep and fatigue was setting in as the defense was on the field for most of the third and fourth quarters.

Which position group would you have given the highest grade to?