Michigan State Football: Report card from Week 6 road win at Rutgers

Michigan State Football: Report card from Week 6 road win against Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, NJ - OCTOBER 09 : Payton Thorne #10 of the Michigan State Spartans in action against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during a game at SHI Stadium on October 9, 2021 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan State defeated Rutgers 31-13. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

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Oct 9, 2021; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights tight end Jovani Haskins (5) runs the ball against Michigan State Spartans linebacker Quavaris Crouch (6) during the first half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

Linebackers: B

It’s fairly obvious that Michigan State is at its best defensively when Cal Haladay is on the field.

The freshman linebacker missed the first half of the Rutgers game because of an iffy targeting call in the second half of the Western Kentucky win and the defense suffered. Ben VanSumeren and Noah Harvey just aren’t on the same level as Haladay, and that’s pretty clear. The Scarlet Knights were able to take advantage of that downgrade at linebacker in the first half, but once Haladay entered the game in the third quarter, it was all over.

Michigan State fared much better on defense with him on the field and he was all over the place, making plays from sideline to sideline. The defense just runs smoother with Haladay out there.

Haladay finished the game with four tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss while his linebacking mate Quavaris Crouch had seven tackles and a QB hurry.

This group receives a ‘B’ because of some missed tackles and the fact that Haladay’s first-half replacements just weren’t as productive.

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