Observations on the first half with Michigan State, 0-6

Michigan State converted two red zones for 6 points; Michigan gained one red zone, but came up empty. The Wolverines had one turnover, but the Spartans couldn't score off the miscue. Michigan has been shut out at halftime three times this season.

Offense continues to perform poorly! They could only muster 78 yards with 40 on the ground, and 6 first downs; they were one of five in 3rd down conversions. Tommy Carr hit 5 of 9 for 38 yards with an interception plus almost two more; he was inaccurate with throws the whole half, and sacked 3 times. Bryson Kuzdzal ran 6 times for 35 yards, and caught a 6 yard pass. Andrew Marsh caught 2 passes for 18 yards. Travis Johnson caught a 10 yarder, and Jalen Hoffman caught a 4 yarder. This offense had made no progress this season. We have a poor offensive line, and are so predictable with our play calliing; the Spartans are ready for every play we run. Trey Lisle led the Spartan defenders with 4 tackles including a sack.

Defense also had a subpar performance. The Spartans dominated time of possession by more than 4 minutes, and it resulted in 13 more offensive plays. They gained 137 yards with 51 on the ground; they had 8 first downs, and were 6 of 13 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Alessio Milivojevic completed 14 of 22 passes for 86 yards; he was sacked twice. Brandon Tullis ran 10 times for 41 yards, and caught 2 passes for 8 yards. Kenneth Williams caught 4 passes for 23 yards. Chrishon McCray caught 3 passes for 42 yards.

Special Teams played extremely poorly. Cam Brown punted 3 times for a paltry 39.3 yard average with one downed inside the 20. Jacob Baggett missed a chip shot 26 yard field goal. Salesi Moa's nice punt return was negated by two penalties. The Spartans hit both their field goals.

We need to take the second half kickoff, and drive the field for a TD to take the lead, and never look back. If we lose to this lousy Spartan team at home, we'll finish the season, 5-7, with no bowl game. We really need to play a solid second half and force Spartan turnovers. Go Blue!