Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Football: Report card for Pinstripe Bowl win over Wake Forest

By Connor Muldowney

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 27: Defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk #72 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Michigan State Spartans won 27-21. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 27: Defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk #72 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after defeating the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Michigan State Spartans won 27-21. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 27: Quarterback Jamie Newman #12 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons rushes past safety David Dowell #6 of the Michigan State Spartans during the first half of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 27: Quarterback Jamie Newman #12 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons rushes past safety David Dowell #6 of the Michigan State Spartans during the first half of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on December 27, 2019 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

Defense

It was a rough start for this side of the ball but the Spartans settled down and figured out what it took to slow down Jamie Newman and the up-tempo Wake Forest offense.

Defensive Line: A-

I came away impressed with the defensive line’s push against Wake Forest’s offensive line. It seemed like there was a missed holding call on almost every play against the Demon Deacons as the Spartans’ line was too much to handle without grabbing and that goes to show just how solid this group was. Kenny Willekes had a big strip-sack late and the Spartans had four sacks. Oh, and we saw a fat-man touchdown as Jacub Panasiuk battle a Jamie Newman pass into the hands of his brother, Mike Panasiuk, who returned it for a score in his final game. Overall, great game for the line.

Linebackers: B

The linebackers struggled to diagnose the delayed running plays early in the game and that led to some big gains on the opening drive but they settled down. They still need to cover better as Wake’s tight end scored an easy touchdown by just sneaking right by this linebacking group — that’s also on the safeties for not being in the right place. Antjuan Simmons already stated he’ll be back after a solid game and you can bet he’ll be a captain next year as he said he has unfinished business in East Lansing. He finished with nine tackles while Noah Harvey broke out with 14 tackles and Tyriq Thompson had eight.

Next. 3 takeaways from Pinstripe Bowl win over Wake Forest. dark

Secondary: C+

Honestly, if the Spartans didn’t have a much better second half, I would have considered giving this unit a D. It started incredibly slow and allowed Jamie Newman to do whatever he wanted. He was kept in check late with 15 incompletions on 27 attempts and he may have had three touchdown passes, but none came in the second half. Josiah Scott played well but it’s time to figure out who starts opposite him next season — assuming he returns.

Home/Spartans Football