Michigan State's defense was a massive issue to begin the 2025 season.
Everywhere you looked, it was giving up a big play. It didn't matter if it was 390 passing yards to a lowly Boston College squad and a quarterback who would later be benched, or facing a USC offense off to an elite start or a top-tier team like Indiana. The unit couldn't stop anybody.
But somewhere along the line, something changed. The Spartan defense has been far from perfect, but its last few games have shown vast improvements in understanding and effort, culminating in a superb performance against an Iowa offense that is actually good, for once, even though it still resulted in a loss.
"We're in the game to win. That's the nature of this business," defensive coordinator Joe Rossi told the media earlier this week. "But I told them how proud I was of them at the end because the reality is, four or five games into the year, we weren't playing very well. They beared it. They care. They don't want to not play well, so we kind of had a heart-to-heart, and we've done some things, and I feel like they've gotten better and better every week, which I'm very proud of them for."
As any Spartan fan knows, that heart-to-heart led to Rossi moving from the coaches' booth to the sidelines, where he can be a part of the action and have better interactions with players and other coaches throughout the game, thus inspiring a greater effort from the unit overall.
"... You go up [to the booth] and make your calls, you're kind of secluded. You're by yourself," Rossi said. "The coaches are up there, but you're not able to interact with the players. You're not able to high-five them. You're not able to say, 'Hey, I need better than that.' And you're not able to double-check an adjustment. Our coaches do a phenomenal job, but I think there's something to be said when a coordinator comes over and says, 'Hey, Coach talked to you about that. I need you to get this done.' There's a little bit of a difference to that. And I have more fun down there."
It seems like a simple change, but it's been worth it. Since Rossi came down to the sideline, the Spartans have held each opponent to well under 200 passing yards and just 25.5 points per game. In seven games with Rossi in the booth, the defenses allowed 32.71 points per game, including 39.75 through their first four Big Ten contests.
"Any good defense, the sum is better than the individual parts," Rossi explained. "Our sum wasn't that way early, but it has been of late. We're getting better, and I think that's a testament to the guys working and buying into the things that we've told them that they need to be better at. It's one thing for you to tell them. It's another thing for them to listen, acknowledge, and go to work, and then the assistant coaches to hold them to that standard."
Unfortunately, while the defense has been better and helped give the team some opportunities to win some games, the Spartans have been unable to do so. They're trending toward a winless season in conference play and an overall 3-9 finish, two games worse than last season while playing an "easier" schedule.
Some teams fold easily under those circumstances, but Rossi believes the difficulties of the season have helped his unit.
"I think, as the year's gone on through some adversity, it's actually pulled the guys closer," he said. "Hard times either pull you apart or pull you together. I feel like, in the case of our defense, it's pulled them together. That's why they continue to improve, but we're going to need our best effort this week."
Michigan State's season didn't go the way anyone wanted it to, but the improvement of the defense is a small bright spot amid all the adversity. Now comes one last chance to turn in a stellar performance and validate the progress.
The future of this coaching staff may still be uncertain, but there's no question that Joe Rossi and his defense will fight until the end.