Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Indiana loss

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Oct 1, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers place kicker Griffin Oakes (92) celebrates his game winning field goal with punter Joseph Gedeon (86) in overtime of the game against Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium. Indiana Hoosiers beat the Michigan State Spartans by the score of 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

We learned plenty about Michigan State football this past weekend after a loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

Michigan State football suffered one of its worst losses in the Mark Dantonio, but no, the sky is not falling. Yes, this team can turn it around if changes are made, but time will tell if that will truly happen. The Spartans have lost two games in a row for the first time since 2012 and fans are losing their minds.

It’s OK, everyone. This team will be just fine. They might not win 10 games this season like they’re used to, but they also won’t lose 6-to-8. Michigan State has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, now it’s just time to put it together and work toward a common goal.

Dropping to 2-2 on the season and 0-2 in Big Ten play is something Dantonio is not used to, but we learn more about teams in times of adversity than in times of success. The Spartans are facing of ton of the former right now and we are about to see what they’re truly made of.

We did learn a lot about the Spartans from the Week 5 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers and, no, not all of it is positive. Let’s take a look at our five takeaways from the Spartans’ Week 5 loss to Indiana.

5. Changes need to be made on offensive line

Oct 1, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Delton Williams (22) celebrates his touchdown with teammates in the second half of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. Indiana Hoosiers beat the Michigan State Spartans by the score of 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The offensive line just can’t diagnose blitzes and blocking effectively without holding seems like an impossible task. Michigan State had 11 penalties against Indiana and a majority of them were holding — a few even cost the Spartans first downs.

Sitting around and letting Tyler O’Connor get blitzed and rushed at the rate he is, sending him fleeing for his life is only going to make things worse. The offensive line needs to be changed up a bit.

Two reliable lineman stand out in Kodi Kieler and Brian Allen, but the rest are struggling. The left side of the line is doing a mediocre job of protecting O’Connor’s blindside and that was proven by the only overtime drive the Spartans had, allowing the senior quarterback to get sacked twice and drop out of field goal range.

It’s time to make some changes and maybe insert some youth into the trenches as starters such as Thiyo Lukusa or Tyler Higby.

Oct 1, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers place kicker Griffin Oakes (92) kicks the game winning field goal in overtime to beat the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium. Indiana Hoosiers beat the Michigan State Spartans by the score of 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

4. Special teams need major work

Special teams have been mediocre for Michigan State ever since the start of the 2015 campaign. Other that the field goal to beat Ohio State and the Jalen Watts-Jackson scoop and score to shock Michigan, this unit has been mediocre, at best.

The special teams suffered through yet another tough game as there were mental errors all over the field.

It started with a field goal try in the first half by Michael Geiger which could have been the difference in the game. The announcers claimed he kicked the ball too low, but it was a normal attempt but the line just got blown back and Indiana blocked it.

The next lapse was on punt coverage when Jake Hartbarger was punting deep out of his own territory and booted a beauty, but the coverage couldn’t slow down the returner as Mitchell Paige brought it back 31 yards.

Speaking of poor punt coverage, Drake Martinez has a total mental lapse when he didn’t give Paige enough room to catch one of his punts and it resulted in a penalty which may have been a fumble recovered by the Spartans if he had just stepped back one yard.

On the same note of Martinez, he was flagged for “leaping” over the offensive line on Griffin Oakes’ game-winning field goal try in which he missed to the left. The game looked to be headed to double-overtime, but that penalty allowed him to get another, closer attempt to win.

Oct 1, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Donnie Corley (9) catches the ball and is tackled by Indiana Hoosiers defensive back Tony Fields (19) in the second quarter of the game at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

3. Receivers have a ton of potential

This one’s pretty obvious. Other than a couple of egregious drops — one by Donnie Corley and the other by Felton Davis III — the receiving corps have a ton of potential Corley might be the most talented of all, which is impressive given the fact that he’s just a freshman.

For the third straight game, Corley caught four passes, this time for just 35 yards, though. He now has over 200 yards receiving as a Spartan on 14 receptions in four games. He is truly becoming that No. 1 target for the future that Michigan State was hoping for.

Even a guy who didn’t record a single reception, Justin Layne — another true freshman — ran some nice routes and would have had a touchdown catch if O’Connor’s pass wasn’t under-thrown.

Davis III still looks like he’s slowly getting back to his normal self after missing a short time with an injury and he caught a pass for 11 yards, but has the potential to do much more damage.

R.J. Shelton and Monty Madaris are the veterans of the group and have been as sure-handed as they come. Shelton finished with seven receptions for 141 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown catch and Madaris had three catches for 33 yards.

This group of wide outs is extremely talented.

Oct 1, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Tyler O

2. It might be time for Brian Lewerke

Hate to say it, but the Brian Lewerke era may need to begin sooner rather than later. Albeit, Dantonio did say that he’s sticking with O’Connor for the time being, I don’t think that closes the door completely on a Lewerke drive, here and there, for the next few games just to show what he’s got.

What harm could it do if Lewerke got a couple drives in each game? He might show that he’s more than capable of leading the offense in its current state and he may just win over the coaching staff with his intangibles.

Last summer, Dantonio compared the then-true freshman quarterback to Kirk Cousins and said he has the same type of qualities. If that’s true, then letting him sit on the bench as a redshirt freshman isn’t doing the team any good.

O’Connor played a bit better against Indiana than he did against Wisconsin and that’s probably because the Hoosiers’ defense isn’t great. He still missed some easy throws and his long windup makes it easier for defenses to tell where he’s going with the ball.

Looking at his final numbers, you might think he had a great game, but sometimes those stats are deceiving. He was slightly more accurate, but his inability to locate the open man and hit him in an instant is hurting the team.

Give Lewerke some chances now or it will be another long process with a new quarterback in 2017.

Oct 1, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio talks with players during a time out in the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. Indiana Hoosiers beat the Michigan State Spartans 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

1. Play-calling needs to be more creative

Dave Warner, how much more obvious can you make it? First downs are almost exclusively for runs up the middle, setting up long second downs and potentially equally as long third downs. The first-down play-calling should be the most important each time, but it hasn’t been.

Must Read: MSU Football: 10 bold predictions for 2016 season

How bad is it? Well, Michigan State is one of the worst at converting third downs in the Big Ten, which means that the offense usually has a long way to go. In fact, the Spartans were just 4-of-15 on third down against a lackluster Indiana defense Saturday.

That’s not acceptable for a top-tier program.

Michigan State did out-gain the Hoosiers by one yard, 438-437, but the Spartans failed to make the yardage count on third downs. Sure, there were more shots down the field in this one, but the Spartans don’t have the type of quarterback who can excel with a number of down-field throws.

Change it up every now and then. No more jet sweeps to the short side of the field, no more runs up the middle every single first down and no more running routes shorter than the first-down sticks on third down, unless it’s a safety valve.

Time for some fresh play-calling.