Michigan State Football: 3 biggest bright spots from Michigan upset

2. Improvement in the trenches

If you watched the Rutgers loss, one thing stood out above the rest: Michigan State’s offensive line looked worse than it did at any point in 2019.

Was this because of a completely new offense being implemented and the first game of a new era? Maybe, but it was disconcerting nonetheless. There were no open run lanes for the backs and Rocky Lombardi was running for his life all afternoon. Even a couple of turnovers can be attributed to the line’s lackluster play.

That changed against Michigan in a big way.

Rocky was given time to throw the ball and he wasn’t sacked a single time. Michigan had an elite defensive line coming in and finished with zero sacks, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. The run game struggled still, but this was a huge step in the right direction and guys like Nick Samac and JD Duplain stepped up in a big way.

In the defensive trenches, Michigan State generated little pressure against Rutgers, but that changed against Michigan with one sack, six tackles for loss and a couple of quarterback hurries.

Both sides of the ball improved drastically from the Rutgers game.