From the first snap on Saturday night, it was pretty clear that Michigan State football just didn't have the defensive talent to keep up with the USC Trojans.
The Spartans were able to put up 31 points in a 45-31 loss, but it was the defense that really let the team down. It didn't help that both Wayne Matthews III and Jordan Hall left the game in the first half -- the former was on a scary injury, and Hall was ejected after a targeting call.
Michigan State falls to 3-1 on the season with the 14-point loss, but outside of some shaky offensive line play, it's time to buy all the stock in the Spartans' offense.
What'd we learn on Saturday?
1. This defense needs drastic changes
There's no sugarcoating it, Michigan State's defense needs changes.
Joe Rossi's unit has gotten progressively worse since holding Western Michigan to zero points in Week 1, and Saturday's performance against USC was the Spartans' worst to date. Not only was the secondary bad, giving up 234 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-26 completions, but they surrendered 289 rushing yards and three more scores on 7.2 yards per carry.
Whether it's younger guys getting more reps or open position battles at essentially every position but linebacker, something needs to change. Rossi's seat is warming up.
2. Aidan Chiles is special
Getting battered, bruised, and held back by some questionable play-calling all night long, Aidan Chiles was still able to put on a show. He didn't have crazy numbers because he somehow threw the ball just 23 times compared to 32 team runs, and that's on Brian Lindgren.
Chiles was making plays with his arm and legs despite the poor play-calling and some shaky blocking along the offensive line, finishing with 243 total yards and four touchdowns. He capped off his night with a beautiful 75-yard touchdown pass to Omari Kelly with just minutes left.
Another solid game with four total touchdowns and no turnovers. The growth of Chiles has been obvious.
3. There's just not enough talent on this team yet
Early in Saturday night's game, it was fairly obvious that Michigan State just didn't have the dogs to compete with USC. The Trojans were moving the ball with ease on every drive, and they didn't have their first punt until there were about 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter. It was obvious that the Spartan defense just didn't have the pieces to keep up with that electric USC offense.
Sure, Michigan State has some future pros like Jordan Hall, Nick Marsh, and Aidan Chiles, but there's just not enough to compete with the big dogs in the Big Ten yet.
Recruiting should fix that, but it won't happen overnight.