Well, another week, another disappointing loss for Michigan State after being handled by Wisconsin, 31-3.
The Spartans didn’t show much life in the losing effort and it feels like the Pat Fitzgerald era is trending in the wrong direction. Patience must be preached and practiced (once again) unfortunately.
What did we learn from yet another disappointing MSU loss?
1. Joe Rossi needs to start feeling some pressure
Is Joe Rossi on the hot seat? Probably not, but the conversation needs to be had.
I get it, the defense has been depleted by injuries and not having the quarterback of the unit (Jordan Hall) definitely hurt once again, but there’s no reason Wisconsin should be running the ball 80 percent of the time and zero adjustments are made to stop the run. Wisconsin ran the same 2-3 plays throughout the first quarter outside of two of the same touchdown passes to the same tight end and everything looked way too easy for the Badgers.
Rossi coached a really poor game and he needs to start feeling some pressure again or things are just never going to change and the defense will forever be mediocre.
2. The Cam Fancher package isn’t it
Alessio Milivojevic was finally getting into a nice rhythm in the second quarter with a couple of first down throws in a row and a nice RPO to gain a few yards, but Nick Sheridan decided to run out the Cam Fancher package because apparently he didn’t feel like moving the ball anymore and wanted to completely halt any momentum the Spartans had.
Yes, the package has worked this season, but it worked against Eastern Michigan and Toledo and on one drive against Notre Dame, but had been getting worse each time we see it.
It’s time to stop getting cute, especially when Alessio finally gets into rhythm and potentially retire this package — at least when Alessio is dealing.
Unfortunately, a non-contact leg injury to Fancher may have just taken away the package for a while.
3. The offense needs some change
After another poor performance from Milivojevic, it’s becoming clearer that Michigan State needs change and it may require some younger receivers getting a shot, maybe a new mix on the offensive line, or some more creative play-calling.
Over the past 12 quarters, Michigan State has scored a total of 26 points which should be a fireable offense for most offensive coordinators but Nick Sheridan is going to get a longer leash because this is Year 1 of a seemingly massive rebuild.
Somehow the off base got worse after the forgettable Jonathan Smith era. What happened to the program that we loved?
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