Four games down, eight to go. Michigan State football is in the same exact position as it was a year ago, starting 3-1 and looking like a team that could either go on a run or completely crumble.
A season ago, the Spartans chose the latter.
After that 3-1 start, Michigan State stumbled against some of the conference's top teams before finally securing a win over Iowa to get back over .500. They then lost 4-of-5 games to end the season, finishing 5-7, and missing a third straight bowl game.
This year, Jonathan Smith is hoping for better luck, but his team needs to come out of a Week 5 bye with a ton of improvements made.
So far, there have been plenty of disappointments. These are my top three.
1. The defensive line
After Week 1, I was ready to declare the worry about the defensive line -- and the defense as a whole -- officially dead. The Spartans gave up zero points, and got to Western Michigan's two quarterbacks a few times, but since then? Not much.
Michigan State got a couple of sacks against FCS foe Youngstown State, but recorded zero against both Boston College and USC. The defensive line has been putting next to no pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and it's led to some huge games by Dylan Lonergan and Jayden Maiava.
The defensive line has been held in check through four games, which is severely disappointing.
2. Joe Rossi
Sight. I don't know what to say about this other than the fact that he has some time to figure things out and get the right packages in place, but his defense has been abysmal this year.
If we thought the past three defensive seasons have been bad, this one might just take the cake. The Spartans have surrendered 40 points against Boston College, 24 to an FCS team, and 45 against USC. The defense has done nothing but fall short of expectations, and at some point, the blame needs to go to the coaching staff.
Joe Rossi has some questions to answer during the bye, and if he answers them incorrectly, his job may be on the line.
3. Pass-blocking
While Michigan State's pass rush has been non-existent this season, the pass-blocking by the offensive line has been almost as ineffective.
The Spartans are lucky that Aidan Chiles can scramble with the ball and escape pressure, because if he weren't a mobile quarterback, he'd be getting sacked a good 5-10 times per game. He's constantly evading pressure and rolling out to avoid sacks while throwing on the run. Fortunately, he's good enough to pull that off, but it's going to wear on him as the season progresses.
The run-blocking ranks near the top of college football (No. 16) by Pro Football Focus, but the pass-blocking is a completely different story.