Like Pat Fitzgerald alluded to after Michigan State’s loss to Notre Dame, there are no moral victories in East Lansing.
Losing by “just 17” isn’t a win at Michigan State and even though this was expected to be a rebuilding year and the Spartans were 30-point underdogs, that’s not good enough here. Fitzgerald acknowledged that following the game and fans grew to like him even more.
While there are no moral victories stemming from the loss, there are still some winners on the Spartans’ side. Unfortunately, there were plenty of losers, too.
Winner: Cam Fancher
There was very little to brag about on the offensive side of the ball, but Cam Fancher provided excitement and that led to a scoring drive for a second week in a row. Last week, Nick Sheridan and the Spartans debuted a Fancher package that led to some points after he went 6-for-6 through the air while also rushing for eight yards on two carries.
This week, that package gave an encore performance, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown scamper by Fancher — his first as a Spartan. His lone pass attempt should have been a touchdown, but we’ll get to that later.
Loser: The offensive line
The offense really struggled against the Irish with a couple of big plays but really nothing sustainable, especially in the second half. That was due, in large part, to an offensive line that really struggled against the Irish defensive front.
Not only did they only pave the way for 44 rushing yards on 27 carries, but they allowed four sacks and Alessio Milivojevic’s interceptions could have been prevented with better protection.
Milivojevic was running for his life all game and Cam Edwards couldn’t get anything going on the ground with just 38 yards on 12 carries.
Winner: Jordan Hall
Although he got banged up again, Jordan Hall was a monster once again and he led a strong defensive effort that limited the Irish to 3.7 yards per carry. He was racking up tackles on Saturday night, leading everyone with 13 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Hall was elite once again and he continues to establish himself as the best player on that side of the ball along with Kenny Soares Jr.
The defense seems to feed off Hall and when he’s on, good things happen. More on that later, too.
Loser: Receivers not named Rodney Bullard Jr.
Rod Bullard made the catch of the week on a diving 53-yard grab on an absolute dime from Milivojevic that set up a big score before halftime. He led all Spartan receivers with two catches for 66 yards and continues to look like the best pass-catcher on the roster.
The rest of the receivers essentially disappeared against Notre Dame.
While Jayden Savoury looked solid at tight end again and Kai Rios even had a catch, all Spartan wideouts not named Bullard combined for three receptions and 17 yards. Not great.
A clear WR3 stepping up has been a need for weeks now but Chrishon McCray’s targets declining in two straight outings is a concern. One catch for five yards for the WR1/2 is not going to cut it. This can’t continue into Big Ten play.
Winner: The defense
Joe Rossi and Max Bullough put together a really strong game plan and limited Notre Dame’s big plays. Outside of a 61-yard pass, the Spartans allowed under 5.0 yards per play (still high, but not as bad as it was projected to be) and they gave up just two plays of 20-plus yards. Losing the big-play battle 2-1 is a win for an unranked team on the road against the nation’s No. 3 team.
Soares and Hall looked good and the secondary didn’t give up a ton deep outside of that 61-yarder. They really only gave up a couple of chunk plays through the air, showing vast improvement from a year ago.
Did the weather being rainy on and off help? Probably a little, but the defense still held its own and didn’t look completely outmatched.
Loser: Kenneth Williams
Not going to pile onto the star kick returner, but his dropped touchdown in the first half cost the Spartans a big score while trailing by two scores and they had to settle for a field goal. He’s a running back and kick returner so we’re not going to try and make him feel any worse for the drop (he’s probably been kicking himself since) but he probably won’t be getting any targets in the passing game again.
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