The talent gap was just a little too big for Michigan State on Saturday evening at Spartan Stadium and while Pat Fitzgerald believes that this team can hang with and beat anyone they play, they ran out of gas against Nebraska in the Big Ten opener to drop to 2-2 with a 31-13 loss.
Injuries piled up for the Spartans as they lost guys like Conner Moore, Cam Edwards, Jordan Hall, Tre Bell, and a handful of others as the depth was completely depleted and Nebraska just stepped on their throats.
While Fitzgerald saw this Big Ten opener going much differently, there was just nothing the Spartans could do after losing their best defensive player, their best offensive weapon, and their top defensive back to injuries on Saturday — Bell was injured during warmups.
On to Wisconsin, but what did we learn from this Nebraska loss.
1. Health could be the downfall of this team
No one can ever knock Michigan State for not being tough but unfortunately wins and losses in the Big Ten require more than just toughness.
Unfortunately, injuries were piling up throughout the game and the Spartans just couldn’t seem to get off the field without someone new entering the medical tent. With talent already being an issue, the health taking a hit cannot happen. The margin for error is already slim so losing 5-10 guys a week is just going to tank the season.
Not sure what kind of curse has been put on Michigan State football to experience all of these injuries every season, but hopefully it’s lifted soon.
2. Jaz Patterson is the perfect Spartan back
Although most takeaways after a loss are going to be negative, I came away impressed with Jaz Patterson who filled in for Cam Edwards when he left the game with a leg injury. He ran tough, hard, and didn’t go down on the first hit, really making that Nebraska defense work for every stop on the ground.
Although he didn’t have the best yards per carry numbers, he was always falling forward and the only negative play I remember was a two-yard loss in the fourth quarter. He was solid and he’ll probably be the starter for the foreseeable future, barring some surprisingly good news on the Edwards injury front. Spartan fans love a back who fights for extra yards and keeps those legs churning and Patterson is just that.
Everyone should probably just get used to Patterson now because it doesn’t look like Edwards will be back any time soon.
3. We’re still waiting for that complete game
The first quarter was rough, the second quarter was not much better, and then the third quarter was all Michigan State before the Spartans whithered away in the fourth.
Did Michigan State just run out of gas? Yeah, probably, but a lot of the issues on Saturday were self-inflicted like several fumbles and two interceptions. The Spartans also missed a field goal and had a blocked punt called back due to holding. Michigan State has to put together a full game and we might see something special.
Unfortunately, that just hasn’t happened yet. The Nebraska game was about 1.25 good quarters and the rest was all Nebraska.
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