If you’re at a loss for words after Michigan State football’s 38-13 loss to a 1-4 UCLA team, you’re not alone. You have no idea how difficult it is to write about a team that doesn’t look like it wants to compete anymore. The last three games have been rough.
Michigan State came into Saturday’s home game against UCLA as a 7.5-point favorite, but the Spartans couldn’t cover, and actually got beat straight up by what felt like a million points.
The game was essentially over at halftime.
Michigan State found itself down 24-7 at the half, and despite getting the ball to start the second half, the Spartans didn’t score again until the fourth quarter when backup quarterback Alessio Milivojevic hit Nick Marsh for a meaningless touchdown.
Now, it’s time to reflect on the bloodbath we all witnessed in East Lansing. These are the three most horrendous stats from the 25-point loss.
1. 0-for-4 on fourth downs
What was Jonathan Smith even doing on fourth downs? Better yet, what was Brian Lindgren doing? The Spartans were 0-for-4 on fourth downs, including a horrendous play call in the first half at their own 30, turning the ball over which led to a quick score by the Bruins to take a 10-7 lead.
Michigan State’s play-calls on fourth were just bad. There was nothing good to take from this. Going 0-fer on four fourth-downs attempts is embarrassing.
Everyone should be demanding answers for these fourth-down calls.
2. 238-87 rushing yards advantage for UCLA
Prior to Saturday’s game, UCLA was averaging just over 150 rushing yards per game which was right in the middle of all teams nationally and the Bruins averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Nico Iamaleava was the team’s leading rusher, and former Spartan Jalen Berger was just under 80 yards on the year on 23 carries.
All of that changed on Saturday as the Bruins gashed the Spartans for 238 rushing yards at 5.5 per attempts and Berger had his best game of the season with 89 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Getting out-rushed 238-87 is just unacceptable, especially when the run game was supposed to be a strength this season.
3. 36:24 to 23:36 time of possession
The time of possession was a joke. The Spartans went three-and-out basically every time they touchded the ball in the first half, totaling under 100 yards. The time of possession reflected that.
UCLA had the ball for nearly 40 minutes on Saturday compared to just over 20 for the Spartans. Doubling up the time of possession is never a good sign, and it almost always leads to disaster. The defense was on the field for way too long and it reflected in the final score.
You’re not winning many games where you get doubled up on time of possession.