A win is a win I guess? MSU’s 41-24 win over Youngstown State seems to have left Spartan fans with even more questions than we had before last Saturday’s game. On one hand, State is now 3-0 and halfway to reaching bowl eligibility. On the other, the Youngstown State Penguins just moved the ball at will on your defense, and put up three touchdowns in Spartan Stadium. Beyond this game being far too close for comfort, starting RB Makhi Frazier, OG Luka Vincic, and standout WR Nick Marsh, all went down in a trio
of concerning injuries. While hopefully Marsh and Frazier will make speedy recoveries and suit up this weekend in Los Angeles, Vincic is likely done for the season; bad news for an already struggling offensive line. Before we can move on to USC, let’s see what we can learn from a final review of the tape from the YSU game.
Offense
As a team that has decidedly committed to the zone scheme run, I hope the execution of wide zone/outside zone runs by the offensive line on Saturday absolutely infuriated OLine Coach Jim Michalczik, because it certainly gave me some serious concerns myself. Youngstown State is an FCS program with FCS-level athletes. On top of that obvious advantage, the Penguins spent the vast majority of the game in a two-high shell, with both free and strong safeties well outside of the box, in an attempt to slow down MSU’s passing attack. So not only should you be able to muscle yourself to success in the run game, but you also will likely have a numbers advantage on most every run play. The Spartans chose to do neither, and only mustered a downright embarrassing stat line of 90 rushing yards from the RB’s, or a nauseating 53 yards (!!!) if you take away Elijah Tau-Tolliver’s 4 carries on the final drive in garbage time. I could go on and on about how disappointed I am in the Spartan offensive line, but why don’t I just show you instead.
Above is a perfect look to run an outside zone or stretch play against to the left. With Masunas and Veiling both attached to the offensive line on the left hand side, MSU has a 7 to 6 man advantage in the box. Below is a look at how the play is executed, and you will notice that no one has a line indicating they will block the right side Defensive End for the Penguins. This is technically by design, as MSU assumes that the left side of the OLine will be able to open up a hole quickly enough for the speedy Frazier before the end man can catch up to him. Leaving that end also allows for State to gain a bonus double team on the defensive tackle nearest the top of your screen.
On paper, or on Coach Michalczik’s whiteboard, this SHOULD be a successful play. The five linemen have a numbers advantage by leaving the end man unblocked, and MSU even has numbers to block the Strong Safety (Masunas), the Sam linebacker (Veiling), and the cornerback (Kelly). Should be a big gain right?
Wrong. Nearly everything that could go wrong on this run play does, and Frazier is stuffed for a loss of two yards. Let’s see what happened, working left to right. Omari Kelly, Jack Veiling, and Michael Masunas do their jobs, firing off the line quickly and taking care of their assignments. Veiling and Masunas both kick their men out, which should open a nice seam for Frazier along the left hash mark. Unfortunately, LT #65, Stanton Ramil, gets shoved 2 yards deep in the backfield, miserably losing his position block. LG #72, Caleb Carter, is late in getting off his double team with the Center; and his responsibility, YSU’s Mike linebacker, is able to shoot the gap and force Frazier to hesitate. This gives the backside defensive end, who is left unblocked, as we discussed earlier, enough time to catch up to Makhi and make the play.
I chose this clip because it epitomizes nearly all of the issues MSU had blocking for the run against YSU. The combination of poor physicality (Ramil) and poor execution of the concept (Carter and the rest of the line) allowed for the Penguins to blow up plays that should have been successful.
If I am a defensive coordinator at USC, Nebraska, or any team still on the schedule, my mouth is watering watching plays like this. If MSU continues to block like this, now against far more physical and talented defensive linemen, the Trojans and Cornhuskers should easily be able to create penetration and buy time for their backside D-ends to catch up to Spartan running backs and create big losses of yardage.
If I am Jonathan Smith, Brian Lindgren or Jim Michalczik, it is time to make adjustments. When State has had success in the run game, especially against Western and BC, it has been when the two tight ends are in the game, and one or both is involved in the blocking scheme. Below is how I would redesign a similar zone run play going forward if I was MSU.
Instead of releasing Masunas straight to the Strong Safety, I would have him block down on the defensive end, giving the struggling Stanton Ramil some assistance. This would allow for the two to double team the end and come off to the Mike linebacker, and the LG and Center to have a better angle to double team off to the Mo linebacker. And on the backside, the RG and RT will both be one-on-one with the Defensive Tackle and Defensive End, respectively.
This double team at the point of attack should help create much more movement than Ramil does on his own, and also allow the line to shift their responsibilities one man to the right, which takes care of the previously unblocked backside DE who makes the play. I would rather see the Strong Safety left unblocked at 9 yards downfield, giving Frazier (or any RB) a chance to see him coming and make him miss, as opposed to being hawked down from the backside before crossing the line of scrimmage
In the run game overall, MSU’s physicality was a huge concern. As a result, you can expect more creative run plays going forward, with an increased usage of motions, shifts, and misdirection, all in hopes to help a struggling offensive line gain an advantage.
In pass protection, communication and mental errors by the Spartan OLine seemed to be key in YSU’s success rushing the passer. Below is a drawn up version of the defensive line stunt by Youngstown on an important 3rd Quarter 3rd and 10 for the Spartan offense.
The Penguins have an “X” or “cross” stunt dialed up, where the inside Defensive Tackles will cross one another, and loop around the outside to rush the passer. YSU’s ends will slant inside, directly attacking Chiles.
The Michigan State line has a “man” or “big-on-big” protection called, which should be a sufficient call to pick up a mere four man rush from the defense. Similar to switching a pick-and-roll in basketball, the guards and tackles should be able to communicate post-snap and pass off responsibilities to each other.
Unfortunately, this switch happens too late for the guards and not at all for the tackles. Watch the eyes of RG Kristian Phillips as he initially follows #56 of Youngstown, not recognizing the stunt and switching responsibilities with RT Conner Moore as he should. This puts him out of position, and forces Moore to take the slanting #90, leaving interior DLineman #95 free to pursue Chiles around the edge. A very similar sequence unfolds on the left side of the line, as a lack of communication forces Stanton Ramil to pick up an impressive spin move from the right side defensive end, and makes it impossible for Caleb Carter to pick up #56 looping around the outside.
This mental error forces Chiles to check it down to Makhi Frazier who gets stuck for a loss of yardage yet again. Not ideal. In even worse news, as Big Ten play begins, MSU will face quicker and stronger defensive lines that could easily make this a QB hit or sack, as opposed to a check down. Defending stunt plays like the one shown above are definitely an area of concern, especially going forward this week against a USC defense that leads the Big Ten so far in 2025 with 14 sacks.
Moving away from the offensive line, let’s take a look at two of the positive things the offense did on Saturday. In the first half, star wide receiver Nick Marsh was able to tally up 94 yards on 6 receptions, all coming in the first half. While we have seen Marsh make many a big play downfield in his young career in the green and white, it was his crisp, efficient short routes that were on display versus Youngstown State. Like I mentioned earlier when discussing the run game, YSU spent nearly the entire game with two high safeties and corners playing off at 6/7 yards or more. Below is a clip of Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh taking advantage of a “free access” quick hitch to the field when the YSU cornerback is playing deep and backpedaling.
This is almost too easy for Aidan and Nick. Brian Lindgren and the MSU offense utilized a lot of “FIB” or “Formation Into Boundary” looks against the Penguins, which more often than not gave Marsh a one-on-one matchup to the field, which is far too much room to work with for the stud sophomore. Aidan does a great job of getting rid of the ball quickly and on a line, and even though it isn’t the most accurate pass, Marsh easily breaks a tackle and gets upfield for a gain of 28. Also notice Marsh’s route, it is his aggressive three steps that gain him separation, as his firing off of the ball makes the YSU corner think he is running a vertical route.
In Michigan State’s first two games of the season, we saw WMU and BC mainly opt to shade a safety or extra defender to the side of Nick Marsh, which allowed for big games for Omari Kelly and the rest of the WR corps. Youngstown decided to primarily try and guard on Marsh one-on-one with a large cushion, and Nick took advantage when he was able to be in the game. Having a weapon like Marsh available for the USC game this coming week not only gives the Trojan defense a problem to game plan for, but also opens up even more of the playbook for Lindgren and Chiles.
To wrap up the offensive side of the ball, my personal favorite call of the week by the Spartan O. Late in the first half, State calls something along the lines of “Trips Left Wing Tear Switch Vert/Drag”. As the drawn up version below shows, MSU has 3 wide receivers to the left, one being Veiling in a wing behind the LT. Tear refers to the “tear” motion to the field by Frazier the RB. And in terms of routes, the 3 to the field will be running a four verticals concept, except for one wrinkle. Veiling and slot WR Chrishon McCray will switch landmarks, with McCray crossing the field towards the opposite hash, the usual aiming point for the inside man. Veiling will take the usual job of the middle man in a trips set four verticals, running straight up the hash once he gets a wide release off the line.
Watch the Strong Safety (outlined with a red triangle) commit ever so slightly downhill to Frazier’s tear motion, and McCray do an outstanding job of clearing the Weak Safety out of the on his crossing route, opening a huge seam for Jack Veiling.
Chiles puts the ball on the money, and despite some questionable late-in-the-half clock management, MSU is able to put points on the board and take a seven point lead into the locker room at half.
As the game wore on, similar to against Western Michigan, the offensive playcall became more and more bland, likely trying to keep things under wraps before a big time road test this coming Saturday. While Chiles and his weapons once again looked sharp, the offensive line play definitely puts a damper on any excitement about this offense. We are going to need to see major improvements up front, especially in the run game, if the Spartans want to have any chance against USC.
Defense
Now to the other side of the ball. Before we get into some more negative plays, why don’t we start off by giving a shoutout to one of the bright spots of the defense the last two weeks, safety Armorion Smith. The play drawn up below should seem familiar, as it is a very similar “switch verticals” concept as we just saw MSU run for a big gain.
The only difference? YSU’s running back on the tear motion is the one running up the seam. Armorion, unlike the Penguin safety from the previous play, is not fooled and reads the vertical all the way. He keeps his eyes on the QB, as he is taught to do when playing the middle of the field safety in what is a Cover 3 concept.
The only thing left to do? Make a timely and aggressive break on the football and pick it off for a huge turnover. Smith does just that. Watching his improvement week-to-week so far this season has been fun, and I have high hopes for #19 and his future in green and white.
Now, to the elephant in the (film) room. The lack of defensive line pressure. Earlier in our offensive breakdown, we saw what Youngstown State’s defensive line was able to do with just a four man pressure. In the image below, both backs will be leaving the box on routes, so MSU will have a similar 4 man rush versus YSU’s offensive line.
The Spartans do not call a stunt of any kind, so both wide defensive ends (Quindarius Dunnigan to the bottom of your screen, and #44 Cam Williams to the top) will rush off the edges and are responsible for contain of a known mobile quarterback for Youngstown in Brungard. Let’s see what kind of pressure they can generate.
Not much. While Dunnigan gets a decent push, he completely vacates the QB contain part of his responsibility, and Brungard is able to escape and scramble for a first down. Quindarius is not the only one at fault here though, as the most concerning part of this play in my opinion is the lack of pressure generated by the interior defensive linemen. Watch #98 Derrick Simmons and #88 Ru’Quan Buckley make absolutely zero progress in pressuring Brungard. I sound like a broken record at this point, but if this is the kind of physicality MSU is limited to against FCS Youngstown State, I do not feel confident in the pass rush going into Big Ten play.
In the following clip from the same drive, we see almost the same outcome. Even though the pass is incomplete, both interior defensive linemen generate little to no pressure, and Brungard has more than enough time to throw.
Like I mentioned with the offense, after allowing Dylan Lonergan and now Beau Brungard to pick the defense apart with all the time in the world in the pocket, it is time to make some adjustments. An increased stunt game, more linebackers brought on pressures, even safety or corner blitzes. Just make some kind of a change. I think I speak for all Spartan fans when I say we cannot go through another season of seeing zero sacks for a stretch of six straight games like we saw in 2024. While the secondary is slowly improving, even the No Fly Zone of 2013-2015 would not be able to cover for as long as this front seven allows opposing Quarterbacks to stand in the pocket.
Takeaways and Looking Forward
A film breakdown versus an FCS school should be a fun, quick article about big plays, backups getting their first college reps, and maybe a correction or two. This analysis was anything but. MSU has some real, glaring issues in the trenches on both sides of the ball that were exposed by none other than the Youngstown State Penguins. As much as I want to chalk it up to vanilla playcall and the emphasis on rotation for both lines stopping players from getting into rhythm, there are some concerns that cannot be ignored.
Versus a strong USC defensive line in terms of pass rush, it is absolutely pivotal that the Spartans establish a better run game than we saw against YSU. A strong run game can control edge rushers better than any single offensive lineman can, and we have seen what Chiles and company are able to do off of play action sets.
One thing in particular I will be watching for will be the pass protection by the running backs, especially if Makhi Frazier is unable to go. Brandon Tullis has shown some questionable pass pro at times, so don’t be surprised if you see fullback Jay Coyne getting some snaps on 3rd and long plays to help protect Chiles.
Defensively, this will be the best test for Joe Rossi thus far in his Michigan State career. By now it is no secret to him or opposing coaches that State has trouble rushing the passer. Can Rossi get creative dialing up blitzes enough to make USC QB Jaden Maiava uncomfortable in the pocket? How will Rossi fare in the chess match against offensive mastermind Lincoln Riley of the Trojans? Can the secondary once again create a clutch turnover or two? What adjustments will the staff make? Hopefully we can all stay up late enough Saturday night/Sunday morning to find out. Here’s to a statement road win for our Spartans, and a 4-0 start. Go Green!!!
