Michigan State’s 35-7 win over Eastern Michigan made a lot of fans feel better about the team entering a Week 3 showdown with the No. 3 team in the country, but there’s still a lot to fix.
The Spartans had a rough first half against the Eagles, taking a 14-7 lead into the locker room, and then they rebounded with a 21-0 second-half shutout. It was a tale of two halves and it felt like we were watching two completely different games, but the bounce-back was encouraging.
Unfortunately, this article isn’t about encouraging signs (that’s for later), but rather about the concerns stemming from the win over Eastern.
These are my biggest concerns following the Week 2 win.
1. Out-toughed by EMU for a quarter
Pat Fitzgerald even addressed this after the game: Eastern Michigan was the tougher team in the second quarter on Saturday. That’s not acceptable for a team that’s getting ready to face a top-five national title contender on the road this week, and it’s something that can’t happen again.
Getting out-touched by one of the more average MAC teams even for 15 minutes is not a good look and it’s a bit concerning heading into the Notre Dame game.
If the Spartans play like they did in the second quarter at all against Notre Dame, the Irish are going to take full advantage and probably make things ugly.
2. Missed tackles
The defense just didn’t look as poised and locked in without its leader and star in the middle as Jordan Hall missed the game with an arm injury but should be good to go in Week 3.
At least for the first half, the Spartans couldn’t seem to get the necessary stops and allowed several third-and-longs and missed what felt like dozens of easy tackles. If this is what the defense is going to look like with Hall out, that could be a problem if he has to miss any more time for the remainder of the season.
Also, he’s not going to be around forever, so it’ll be up to a younger guy like Brady Pretzlaff to carry the torch and assume his role when he’s out. The second half was thankfully much better.
3. Veteran receivers
Redshirt freshman Charles Taplin had himself a breakout game on Saturday, catching three passes for 65 yards and a touchdown, but if not for his performance, it would’ve been a letdown day for the receivers. The veterans were missing, for the most part, against a mediocre Eastern Michigan secondary and there wasn’t a ton of separation created throughout the game.
Yes, Alessio Milivojevic did miss some wide-open guys down the field like Chrishon McCray who was streaking toward the end zone with no one near him in the first half, but the three healthy veteran wideouts combined for just eight catches, 107 yards, and a touchdown.
That would be a solid line for one veteran wideout, but it felt like none of them had a really good day. Instead, Taplin and Braylon Collier stood out. Michigan State is going to need more from McCray, Rod Bullard, and Fredrick Moore, especially with better defenses coming up on the schedule.
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