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Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Notre Dame win
What five things did we learn about Michigan State football following its win over No. 18 Notre Dame?
The first road win of the season was an impressive one for eighth-ranked Michigan State football as it hit the road to take on the No. 18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The win gave the Spartans the Megaphone Trophy, the final one they were missing in their rivalry tour. Michigan State now owns every possible rivalry trophy that they battle for.
Coming to town this weekend is No. 11 Wisconsin and it’s going to be a tough test for the Spartans, especially after a taxing road contest. Michigan State will be playing two consecutive ranked teams and that could spell doom for a young team, but Mark Dantonio has been in this position many times before.
Over the past few years, Dantonio has beaten the likes of Michigan, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Baylor and Stanford. That’s quite a resume for one of the most underrated coaches in college football.
Now that Michigan State has escaped South Bend with a 36-28 convincing victory, we know more about this team than we did after the Furman game. What are the five biggest takeaways from the Spartans’ big win?
5. The offensive line is better than advertised
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Brian Allen (65) prepares to snap the ball in the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Brian Allen, Kodi Kieler, Miguel Machado, Brandon Clemons and Benny McGowan, among others, played incredible. Not allowing a single sack against the Fighting Irish and their strong front-seven is a feat in itself, but when a team puts up 260 yards on the ground with three rushing touchdowns, you know the offensive line is doing something right.
The trenches were won by the Spartans all day long as the offensive line got a good push on Notre Dame’s defensive front, picking up an average of 5.0 yards per carry. That was boosted by a 73-yard touchdown run by Gerald Holmes, but it wouldn’t have been possible without a gigantic opening in the middle of the line for him.
Holmes went the distance, untouched, on a run between the tackles. That’s just not something you hear very often.
Going into the season, no one knew what to expect of a group losing three starters, but this offensive line is better than advertised.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio stands on the field during the first half a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
4. Play-calling must improve
Dave Warner made some very questionable decisions on Saturday night. On a couple of third and second down plays, he brought Damion Terry in for the Wildcat and allowed him to run the ball up the middle or slightly outside the tackle on a sweep. That’s the epitome of a predictable play call and that can’t keep happening.
When defenses see Terry come into the game at quarterback, they know he’s not throwing the ball. He has a solid arm and if he did decide to sling one, he’d probably catch the defense off-guard and it might end up going for a big game. However, that’s never the case.
More often than not, Terry is going to take the ball to the left or right and try to gain positive yards, which seems to be a rarity these days. Teams sniff it out right away and he’s usually stuffed at the line of scrimmage. There was one play where he came in and handed the ball off to LJ Scott and acted as a decoy, but that didn’t work either.
No more running up the middle on first and second down to gain three or four yards and then passing it on third only to fall short of a first down. Defenses can almost predict every play the Spartans run, and that’s an issue.
This goes for the defensive side of the ball, too. Play-calling got too conservative, blitzes ceased and the coverage was in a slight prevent late in the game, allowing DeShone Kizer to do whatever he wanted. Time to get, and stay, aggressive.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) fights his way into the end zone as Michigan State Spartans linebacker Chris Frey (23) defends in the fourth quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. MSU won 36-28. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
3. Defense must remain aggressive throughout
Again, this might have a little to do with play-calling, such as Harlon Barnett remaining in press coverage instead of soft coverage in the third quarter, but the defense needs to remain aggressive.
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We all know the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Michigan State learned that the hard way against Notre Dame in the second half. The Spartans were getting heavy pressure on Kizer in the second and third quarters, taking a commanding 36-7 lead because the Fighting Irish couldn’t get anything going offensively.
Riley Bullough, Andrew Dowell, Chris Frey and Jon Reschke all made a serious impact in the run game while Malik McDowell, Kevin Williams, Raequan Williams, Evan Jones, Gabe Sherrod and Demetrius Cooper helped plug holes. The defense limited Notre Dame to just over 50 rushing yards and the passing game wasn’t faring much better.
Then the defense backed off, started to play prevent and allowed Kizer all the time in the world to get the ball off and Michigan State’s once-comfortable 29-point lead shrunk all the way down to just eight. Luckily, Michigan State escaped with the eight-point victory even though it looked like Kizer was going to engineer a comeback.
If blitzes and tight coverage are working, don’t change it. That was a major difference-maker in Notre Dame’s 21-point run. That can’t keep happening.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Donnie Corley (9) celebrates after MSU defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 36-28 at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
2. Donnie Corley is well ahead of schedule
Donnie Corley is good. I mean, really good. The true freshman wide receiver from Detroit King rose to the occasion Saturday night and put on a show for the entire nation to see. No longer is Corley a household name for just Spartan fans, but after his incredible touchdown catch against Notre Dame, the rest of the country knows about him.
In the second quarter, the first-year receiver went to the corner of the end zone for a deep route, O’Connor trusted that the young star would go up and get the ball, and he did just that.
Check out @MSU_Football WR Donnie Corley's amazing touchdown catch in Spartans' win over Notre Dame! #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/uMPmX6UcWG
— Spartan Vision (@Spartan_Vision) September 19, 2016
This might have been the catch to give the Spartans all the momentum in the world and it showed Michigan State fans what they already knew: Corley is on pace to be an elite wide out at the collegiate level.
Corley was the highest-rated player, along with Josh King, in Michigan State’s 2016 recruiting class and being an early enrollee, the coaching staff got a good look at what he could bring to the table early on. Four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown showed just how much he meant to the offense and he was Michigan State’s leading receiver in just his second game.
We learned that Donnie is well ahead of schedule and he’s going to be an integral piece of this offense for the rest of the season. He already has six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown in his first two games and he’s only going to get better.
Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Tyler O
1. Tyler O’Connor is still getting better
Growing up a fan of Notre Dame, you can imagine how much this game meant for Tyler O’Connor. The fifth-year senior was starting his first game ever against the Fighting Irish in his final season and he was trying to do something neither Connor Cook nor Kirk Cousins could — win in South Bend.
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In his second career road start, the first coming against Ohio State, O’Connor defeated the Irish thanks to a 19-of-26 performance with 241 yards and two touchdowns. He did throw an interception which happened to be a poorly-tossed pass toward the end zone, tipped up into the air by Notre Dame’s Daelin Hayes and picked off by Devin Studstill.
However, the senior quarterback showed poise and elusiveness in the pocket, avoiding pressure all game long and looking more athletic than his predecessor. He rushed for 43 yards on 10 carries as well.
It’s crazy to think that even with his 3-0 record as a starter with two road wins against ranked foes that he’s only going to get better. He wasn’t perfect against the Irish, by any means. He panicked a little under pressure and forced some poor throws and even missed a few open guys deep, but he will work out the kinks in practice.
That’s the beautiful thing about game film, a player is only going to improve after watching what he did correctly and incorrectly. O’Connor did plenty right, but he also did some things wrong.
O’Connor is good, but he has the potential to be even better.
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