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Michigan State Football: Report card for tight win over Indiana in Week 7

By Connor Muldowney

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 16: Members of the Michigan State Spartans defense celebrate with Cal Haladay #27 of the Michigan State Spartans after an interception returned for a touchdown against the Indiana Hoosiers at Indiana University on October 16, 2021 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 16: Members of the Michigan State Spartans defense celebrate with Cal Haladay #27 of the Michigan State Spartans after an interception returned for a touchdown against the Indiana Hoosiers at Indiana University on October 16, 2021 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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A year ago, Indiana came into East Lansing and blanked Michigan State football 24-0, tacking on another loss to Mel Tucker’s first season.

This year, Michigan State got some revenge, heading into Bloomington and the defense played hero in a 20-15 win over the Hoosiers. Indiana isn’t having the best season, but one could argue that it only has a losing record because of the tough schedule it has faced.

Still, Michigan State got the job done despite looking really bad on offense while the defense stole the show with a couple of big turnovers and three sacks.

Which position group received the highest grade in Saturday’s win at Indiana?

Offensive Line: D+

Man, was it ever hard to watch Saturday’s game because of that offensive line. It felt like the Nebraska game all over again with the Spartans struggling to pick up yards on the ground and Payton Thorne running for his life more often than not. It also didn’t feel like there were many adjustments by the coaching staff throughout the game to combat the struggles up front.

The Spartans finished with just 100 rushing yards on 35 carries which was good for just 2.9 per touch and that’s not going to cut it against the likes of Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State.

Also, there were just too many penalties and not enough picking up the blitzes and the stacked boxes. This group needs to fix a lot heading into the bye week and if they want to get Kenneth Walker III and that offense back on track, they need to improve drastically.

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