Michigan State’s defense looked like a shell of itself in the first half of the Spartans’ win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, especially in the second quarter. There was a good 10 or 15-minute stretch where Eastern Michigan looked like the tougher team.
Pat Fitzgerald sent a message that was well-received at halftime, and then spoke about how he trusts Joe Rossi to get the guys right after the game.
It’s also worth noting that the Spartans were without star linebacker Jordan Hall who’s poised to have an All-Big Ten season in East Lansing. It was pretty obvious that Michigan State desperately missed Hall and the defense just didn’t look the same without him.
The Spartans need him back sooner rather than later or the defense could be in trouble.
Fortunately, Fitzgerald hinted that Hall should be back for next week’s trip to Notre Dame.
Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald on Jordan Hall:
— Jim Comparoni (@JimComparoni) September 12, 2026
"Jordan was really close to playing today. The medical team told us late in the week that he was not cleared to play. I expect that in practice tomorrow he would be ready to go.”
Hall was “really close to playing” against Eastern Michigan according to Fitzgerald and he believes that his senior linebacker is going to be ready to go next practice.
While he was sporting a huge brace during the Spartan Walk, he did play with a brace after going down against Toledo. It sounds like more of a precautionary holdout than anything more serious and Fitzgerald was pretty open about expecting him back immediately.
The Notre Dame matchup would not be pretty if Hall is out.
Michigan State’s defense needs Jordan Hall back
There’s probably not a single person upset with Hall being held out against Eastern Michigan, although when it was 14-7 at half, there was some panic in the air about the missed tackles. If Hall was out there, you wouldn’t have seen nearly as many missed tackles nor would the defense have been gashed on the ground like it was.
Brady Pretzlaff, Dion Crawford, and Caleb Wheatland responded nicely in the second half and clamped Eastern Michigan, but the first half was really concerning.
There were still too many missed tackles in the second half and that’s something that Hall will correct when he’s healthy, presumably for the Notre Dame game.
Max Bullough is going to be in the film room with these guys all week because he knows that what he saw with the missed tackles and misreads is unacceptable for Spartan football. They didn’t quite live up to his standards on Saturday, at least in the first half, but with Hall back, Bullough shouldn’t have to worry about his group.
When Hall is healthy, he makes everyone around him better. A duo of Pretzlaff and Hall is going to be a scary sight for opposing offenses and Crawford and Wheatland got much-needed extended snaps on Saturday so they’ll be ready if this injury situation arises again.
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