Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Michigan loss

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

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Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Monty Madaris (88) attempts to make a catch over Michigan Wolverines cornerback Jourdan Lewis (26) during the second half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State football suffered a tough loss to Michigan over the weekend, what are the five Spartan takeaways?

Losing to Michigan is tough. No Michigan State football team should ever be OK with a loss to the in-state rival that considers them “little brother.” However, the Spartans played well enough to win and blew big opportunities.

Despite being 2-5 heading into the game, Michigan State truly believed that it had a shot to upset No. 2 Michigan in East Lansing. That belief was strengthened on the opening drive when LJ Scott dominated and then scampered in for six. It took about eight minutes off the clock and looked like a typical Mark Dantonio scoring drive.

There were no deep Tyler O’Connor passes to R.J. Shelton in this one nor were there any deep balls thrown against Michigan’s vaunted secondary, but the Spartans kept this one close and finished with a 32-23 defeat.

Should Mark Dantonio be happy with the loss? Absolutely not, beating Michigan is always a top priority of his. Does he have some positives to take away from the defeat? He sure does.

Here are the top five takeaways from Michigan State’s loss to Michigan.

5. Offensive line looked much better

Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive end Chris Wormley (43) rushes as Michigan State Spartans offensive lineman Miguel Machado (55) defends during the first half at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

If you’ve watched Michigan State’s offensive line throughout the season, you would know that it’s not exactly an area of strength for the Spartans. Pressure continuously gets to whoever starts at quarterback and running lanes have been tough to come by.

However, against one of the best defensive lines in the country on Saturday, Michigan State held its own in the trenches. Even the young guys like Tyler Higby and Thiyo Lukusa played well and Kodi Kieler and Brian Allen held down the line as veterans.

The youth up front has brought excitement for the future of this line and it should be one of the most improved groups on the team next year. Holding their own against a Michigan defense that is considered the best in the Big Ten is impressive stuff. Maybe the offensive line is turning a corner.

Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) runs the ball against the Michigan Wolverines during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

4. LJ Scott is clearly the Spartans’ best RB

It’s becoming more obvious by each passing week that LJ Scott is the Spartans’ best running back. Every time he gets more than 20 touches in a game, he rushes for at least 98 yards.

Let’s just take a look at the numbers. In the four games in which he has touched the ball less than 20 times, he has 133 total yards and averages just 4.3 per carry. In the four games in which he has at least 20 carries, he has 470 yards and averages 5.6 per touch. Simple solution: get him the ball as much as possible.

Against Michigan’s top rushing defense, the sophomore back finished with a season-best 139 yards and a touchdown on just 20 carries. He looked like the running back we all expected at the start of the season and if he continues the pace he had over the last two games, he will finish with over 1,000 yards.

Scott has a good chance to be the Spartans’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Jeremy Langford after rushing for just 699 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2015. He currently has 603 yards and four scores and is getting more involved in the pass game with five receptions for 52 yards.

Gerald Holmes is a heck of a backup running back, but it’s clear that Scott should not be seeing much of the bench for the rest of the year.

Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jabrill Peppers (5) breaks the tackle of Michigan State Spartans linebacker Chris Frey (23) during the first half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

3. Chris Frey is the ultimate gamer

Chris Frey is one of the toughest players in the conference. Not many guys can take an illegal hit, which was clearly a missed targeting call, to the head and get back out there and play one heck of a game. He finished with nine total tackles and was all over the field once again for Michigan State.

It’s unfortunate that his redshirt was burned because of his special teams play in 2014 as a true freshman because two more years with this kid would be nice. In fact, the trio of him, Riley Bullough and Jon Reschke would have been dominant this season if it weren’t for an injury to Frey’s linebacking mates.

Not only did he suffer after that brutal collision on the punt with the illegal hit to the head, but he also played through leg issues, hurt his arm and it seemed like was just beat up on every play, but Dantonio couldn’t keep him off the field.

If there’s one guy on the defense who is going all out 100 percent of the time and laying a beat down on opponents, it’s Frey. He currently has 66 total tackles on the season and will combine with Reschke in 2017 as two of the toughest linebackers in the conference.

Frey has truly proven himself to be one of the best linebackers in the recent Dantonio era.

Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Trishton Jackson (8) makes a catch inbounds during the second half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

2. The future is extremely bright

Looking up and down the roster at the players who have seen the field as true freshman this season, it’s fairly evident that the future of Michigan State football is bright. Dantonio might receive some major flak from fans and the media this season, but he’s grooming one heck of a team for next season.

Let’s just take a look at some of the young talent MSU has to look forward to. First, there’s the impending quarterback battle in the offseason between Messiah deWeaver and Brian Lewerke. You might ask where Damion Terry stands, but he’s better off at a different position. If the worst option under center is to be decided between Lewerke and deWeaver, MSU is in good hands.

The receivers, namely Trishton Jackson, Donnie Corley and soon-to-be Cam Chambers will be exciting to watch. Corley already might be the team’s most talented wide out and Jackson caught his first pass on Saturday.

Tyler Higby and Thiyo Lukusa, as mentioned earlier, looked impressive on the offensive line. Scott ran through wide open holes and he’s also part of this youth movement.

Defensively, Auston Robertson, Josh King, Joe Bachie, Mike Panasiuk, Khari Willis, Raequan Williams, Andrew Dowell, Justin Layne and Grayson Miller have all played well. These guys are going to keep getting better and offenses will be very weary of that.

Oct 29, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio looks on from the sidelines against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

1. This loss is on the coaching staff

As much as it’s tough to blame coaches for some of the play on the field Saturday, it truly was Michigan State’s staff that caused some of the issues.

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I’m not going to knock Dantonio for going for it on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard-line in the third quarter, it was the right move. The Spartans would have come within 10 points instead of 14, making the deficit much more manageable. Plus, as we learned, no field goal is a given with Michael Geiger.

Although Geiger did drill a 50-plus yarder earlier in the game, he missed one from under 40 that led to another empty red zone trip. He has been very inconsistent throughout his career, and that may have led to the staff trying to punch it in from a yard away.

However, I did take exception to the idea of running the ball four straight times inside the 3-yard-line to five the Spartans basically no yardage and a turnover. A play action pass to Josiah Price would have made the score 27-17 and changed the outlook of the game. If you don’t trust O’Connor to pass, why is he in the game?

Michigan State also went for it on fourth-and-one in the first half inside Michigan territory and didn’t get it. Those stops can change momentum in an instant.

The Spartans had three trips into the red zone where they left with no points. They had four trips into Michigan territory with nothing to show for it. That could have been at least 10 points left on the field right there, the difference between a win and a loss.