Michigan State Football: Revisiting Week 8 goals vs. Michigan

The good news is that if you don’t want to, you never have to watch that game again. By far, it was the worst game I’ve ever seen by a Michigan State football team.

There are zero positives that came out of this game. If MSU Athletics gave me the option to forfeit the rest of the season and just end it now, I would take it. It’s obvious that these players aren’t getting better, and in fact, it might be worse for their confidence to have them play these games.

There’s an injury risk that could affect next season as we are getting later in the season. The frustration is building which is evident by all the late penalties and an ejection by the Spartans. It has unraveled further than any one could have imagined and that’s just the on-field antics.

Off the field, this university’s administration could not be further from cohesive or competent, but I’ll get to that later.

Let’s see where the Spartans excelled and where they came up short on the goals.

Just kidding, they didn’t excel anywhere.

1. Start hot

I’ve seen a lot of bad starts from Michigan State football, but this might have been the coldest start in history. Michigan, who is a powerhouse, has only scored a touchdown on their opening drive in three of their first seven games, but barely broke a sweat while putting up 28 points in the first half.

JJ McCarthy could have completed a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle then thrown the ball left handed and they would have had the same result.

There was no pass rush, terrible coverage, and it was just clear as day that the Spartans are just devoid of skill on the defensive side of the ball. Even when things were heading in the Spartans’ direction in the form of forcing the Wolverines in third-and-long, the Spartans bring no extra pressure, allowing McCarthy to roll to his right and find a tight end for a first down.

Fine, let’s turn this into a points extravaganza. The problem? Jay Johnson is your offensive coordinator and your offensive line would allow a top high school program to get three sacks. The opening offensive play was a shotgun inside run and it has never worked this season. Second play? The same thing. Only this time, there was no one on the offensive line who wanted to block a defensive end. Whether it was a player execution issue, or a coaching issue, neither are acceptable and I’m so sick of knowing what play is coming next, knowing the result before the team breaks the huddle, and knowing there’s nothing I can do to prevent it.

A perfect  example is the fourth-and-2 call. Out loud, I just kept repeating, “Please, don’t run the ball up the middle from the shotgun. Please, don’t run the ball up the middle from the shotgun. Please, don’t run the ball up the middle from the shotgun.” And what’s the play call? A run up the middle from the shotgun for not enough yards. The rest of the game went the same way.

Predictable offensive play-calling mixed with poor talent and scheme on defensive led to the worst loss in rivalry history.