Michigan State Football: Why could Spartans not deliver in 2019?

Many pundits had pegged Michigan State football to challenge for the Big Ten East. However, a few months later reality set in. What happened?

Head coach Mark Dantonio put all his chips in last January when he chose to not fire any staff members. He was doubling down on his guys, yet they were unable to deliver on that promise.

If there was one play that could sum up the Spartans’ season (there are multiple candidates) it would be the fourth-and-long against Arizona State in the waning moments of the game.

All they had to do was keep freshman Jayden Daniels from making a play. Simple, right? Wrong. Rushing only three, MSU thought if they could cover then they’d have him. The problem was Daniels could run and the Spartans forgot about him. It was a back-breaking play, but one that, if made, could have changed the scope of the season.

While they bounced back against Northwestern and Indiana, the season did not have the same feel to it. Indiana found cracks in the defense and there was no amount of sealant that could be applied to keep the defense from leaking. They missed graduated senior Khari Willis and junior Justin Layne. Their value and leadership was undervalued.

It’s easy to blame injuries, starting true freshmen and bad penalties. However, the real problem for the Spartans was they lacked leadership. It was leadership that would bail the Spartans out during their great run of 2013-15. Players make plays as Dantonio has often said. That statement was lacking this season.

Whether it was the numerous critical dropped passes, horrendous false start penalties or the turnovers, this team lacked the leadership to fix issues that have plagued it for the past two seasons. Maybe the players put too much pressure on themselves and when things went wrong they began to lose hope. If that is the case, then that’s a lack of leadership. Maybe it was a lack of faith in each other or focus on their part — either way, it’s a lack of leadership.

We can talk all about missed recruits and bad classes, but Dantonio always seemed to make it work. He took walk-ons and developed them so it was not all about the stars. They competed pretty well against Ohio State for a half. What hurt them? A Brian Lewerke pass that was overthrown. If Cody White catches it then he is walking into the end zone. The two critical early fumbles. If that does not happen, would that change the scope of the game? Absolutely.

Last Saturday against Maryland what you witnessed in critical moments was freshmen stepping into the big moment making plays. Plays that juniors and seniors had made in the past. True, it was a poor Maryland team however freshmen need that confidence-builder. It’s the reason there is hope for the next few seasons. They were close, but the mistakes were costly in 2019.

What does the future hold?

The Spartans finally have their running back, their receivers and their offensive line. Who will play quarterback next season? Junior Rocky Lombardi will get his fair shot, but MSU coaches are high on freshman Payton Throne. I’m speculating, but it could be that Theo Day was pulled against PSU for making the same mistakes he has been making in practice but he is in the mix, too.

Dantonio probably wanted to go out this season and thought he had what it took to get the job done. What will he do next? Fire coaches? Keep everyone? Whatever it is, the program needs leadership from the top down.

The difference between 2013-2015 seasons and 2017-19 is that they did not make the dumb mistakes that would cost them. In 2015, when they did make those mistakes, Connor Cook bailed them out. Players make plays. That comes down to leadership. What do you think needs to happen this offseason?