Through three weeks, Jonathan Smith and Michigan State football have remained perfect. While the record is technically "perfect", the play on the field has been anything but.
The Spartans looked strong defensively in a Week 1 win over Western Michigan, holding the Broncos to zero points on the defensive end as the only touchdown came on a pick-six courtesy of Alessio Milivojevic. They followed that up with an impressive offensive showing in Week 2, thanks to clutch plays from Aidan Chiles, beating Boston College. Then, Week 3 brought the most concern.
Michigan State struggled to really put Youngstown State away, leading by seven at halftime, and then just 10 in the fourth quarter before a late touchdown gave the Spartans a 41-24 win.
It felt anything but good.
Now, Michigan State heads into a battle with the nation's top offense in Week 4, and the concerns are mounting. What are the biggest concerns after the Youngstown State win?
1. The secondary
Early on, it looked like Beau Brungard was going to kill the Spartans with his legs, but it was actually the opposite. He ran quite a bit early on, but when he realized that wasn't working, he took advantage of the Spartans' aggressiveness, and beat them over the top with some long throws.
The Spartans surrendered 242 yards and two touchdowns through the air, as it felt like Brungard did whatever he wanted all afternoon long.
Michigan State surrendered the most passing yards that Brungard had recorded all season, and that's concerning when you consider who he's played thus far. The secondary needs to figure it out before USC torches it for 400-plus yards.
2. Lack of a pass rush
Was this a case of Brungard getting the ball out quickly so the defense didn't have enough time to even create pressure or was the pass rush just that poor? Honestly, a little of both.
Brungard did a good job of getting the ball out quickly and not allowing a pass rush to reach him, but this is now the second straight game in which the defensive line was held in check. Anelu Lafaele recorded a sack off the edge, but the only other sack was courtesy of Jordan Hall. It's not a good sign when the only time you seemingly get pressure is when there's a blitz called.
This defensive line needs to figure it out before it goes through another sack-less drought like it had in 2024. Also, more pressure will help the secondary out a ton.
3. Not enough running room against an inferior foe
Sure, Michigan State accounted for 174 rushing yards and over 5.0 yards per carry throughout the game, but that was aided by strong performances late by Elijah Tau-Tolliver, Brandon Tullis, and Aidan Chiles on the ground. They padded the stats in the run game, but early on, there was next to no push for Makhi Frazier.
The sophomore starter went out with an injury and finished with just 22 yards on 12 carries after coming into the game seventh in the Big Ten in yards per carry.
The lack of push up front against the Penguins was a massive concern. Things are only going to get more concerning with Luka Vincic out for the year.
Bonus: Injuries
I know this is a concern of mine, and plenty of Spartan fans. The injuries piled up against an FCS foe in what was supposed to be a tune-up game before USC.
Losing Vincic for the season is going to hurt, and Alante Brown is expected to miss time, too, with a long-term lower body injury that he suffered during warmups. Nick Marsh and Frazier were also knocked out of the game and will be game-time decisions vs. USC.
Everything that could have gone wrong in the injury department did against Youngstown State.