Observations on the loss to Michigan State, 33-37
Michigan converted 6 red zone trips for 26 points; Michigan State converted 2 red zones for 15 points. One of the chief reasons that the Spartans prevailed was their ability to limit the Wolverine scoring in the red zone. The Wolverines gained 10 points of 2 Spartan turnovers, and gained an early advantage; however, the Wolverines lost their poise and composure with two 4th quarter turnovers that gave the Spartans 7 points and the win. The better team won today, give Michigan State the credit they deserve; they played over their mistakes, and came back from a 16 point deficit to beat a very good football team today by playing tough, hard-nosed football and believing in themselves by playing with equanimity in a highly emotional competition. Michigan started well, but didn't finish well. The Spartans won the 4th quarter, 15-3, and that propelled them to victory.
Offense gained 27 first downs, 552 yards on 82 plays with 406 in the air in 13 possessions; they were only forced into three punts, and converted 9 of 20 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. The offense exceeded expectations, and did not lose this game; however, they didn't win the game when needed in the 4th quarter. Cade McNamara hit 28 of 43 passes for 383 yards and 2 TDs by dishing the ball to 9 receivers; he was outstanding, and added 23 rushing yards on scrambles and no sacks. Freshman J.J. McCarthy hit 3 of 4 for 23 yards and a TD plus ran for 7 yards on 3 carries; however, he fumbled twice in the 4th quarter, and the second fumble was receovered to MSU which cost us this game by giving the Spartans the ball with 7:12 left in the game which they converted into a TD six plays later. Andrel Anthony caught 6 passes for 155 yards and 2 TDs; he looked like a reincarnated Anthony Carter. Erick All caught 10 passes for 98 yards. Mike Sainristil caught 2 passes for 62 yards and a TD. Rushing game was negated by MSU with Hassan Haskins providing 59 yards on 14 carries plus had two receptions for 18 yards, and Blake Corum with 47 yards in 13 carries; we ended up with a net of 146 yards, but couldn't get the job done on short yardage or in the red zone. The offensive line protected McNamara well as there were no sacks, few hurries, and only two quarterback hits; however, they didn't control the line of scrimmage, and we couldn't rush the ball as needed especially in short yardage with zero rushing TDs as compared with the Spartans 5 rushing TDs. Corum also caught 2 passes for 12 yards, but our most explosive offensive player was bottled up by the Spartan defense. Cornelius Johnson gained a 9 yard end around plus had 6 catches for another 36 yards. Quavaris Crouch led the Spartan defense with 13 tackles; Cal Haladay and Darius Snow had 10 tackles each; there are not too many teams who can give up 33 points and 552 yards in total offense, and come out with a win with 4th quarter stops as the Spartans did today.
Defense was a sieve! They allowed the Spartans 21 first downs, 395 yards in 66 plays with 199 yards on the ground; Michigan State was 6 for 14 on 3rd down and 4th down conversions. Kenneth Walker gained 197 yards on 23 carries for 5 rushing TDs with runs of 58, 27, 23, 8 and 1 yards; Michigan couldn't tackle him. Payton Thorne hit 19 of 30 for 196 yards plus passed for two two-point conversions, but gave the Wolverines 2 interceptions, and was sacked 3 times. Jailen Nailor had 4 catches for 75 yards; Jayden Reed had 6 catches for 80 yards. Defense forced the Spartans into 2 turnovers and 5 punts in 14 possessions; however, the 5 rushing TDs with two in the 4th quarter were the difference in this one. The defensive line did a nice job putting pressure on Thorne; however, they did not not control hte line of scrimmage, and plays weren't made when needed. Josh Ross had 10 tackles; Junior Colson and Daxton Hill had 6 tackles each. Let's face facts about Michigan's defense: it is a good defense overall, but the linebacking is poor and the tackling is consistently poor and unacceptable. We'll never again be a championship caliber team unless this is corrected. Championship teams have solid personnel at all position groups, and they tackle well; that is not the case with Michigan football. If Mike MacDonald is to become a great defensive coordinator, his task is to improve the linebacking and tackling on this team as it is currently not championship quality.
Special Teams were solid with 4 field goals from Jake Moody in 4 attempts, and great kickoff coverage with 3 touchbacks and a 20 yard return. Brad Robbins miffed punt also hurt the Wolverine effort as it was like another turnover; however, the Spartans didn't capitalize on it as the defense held them on their next offensive series. Robbins punted twice with both downed inside the 20. A.J. Henning sparked the special teams with 58 yards in 3 punt returns. Blake Corum was thwarted with 2 kickoff returns for only 38 yards. Bryce Barringer did a great job punting for the Spartans with 5 punts averaging 55.8 yards per punt including a 66 yarder. The Spartans chose to not return almost all kickoffs, but one as they chose to not make special teams an emphasis in this game. Michigan may have won the special teams phase of the game, but they didn't win the offensive or defensive phases. Michigan dominated time of possession by almost 10 minutes which gave them 16 more offensive plays.
We could win the rest of our games leading up to Ohio State, but the same problems that exist on the team have to be corrected if we are to have a shot to topple the Buckeyes. This team could finish 10-2 or 11-1 depending on how much they improve after this game. Michigan State has now defeated Michigan 10 of the last 14 games in this rivalry. If we can't beat our two biggest rivals, Michigan State and Ohio State, we cannot become division champions nor can we win the Big Ten Championship or qualify for the BCS. This team and football program must improve. Go Blue!
