Michigan State football becomes more tragic with every week of every season. I’m convinced we are all stuck in one of Dante Alighieri’s seven levels of Hell. This tortuous way the Spartan fans have had to endure recently has been far more than just clouds. It is a fog. Like some weird, dark, Ministry of Magic kind of fog where there is no telling if we will get out of it. As painful as this may be, it is time to get started on this weeks clouds and suns. I think this week, I’ll save the suns for
the end.
Cloud #1
The inability to stop Colton Joseph in the run game is number one for me. Everyone knows that Joseph can run the ball. I mentioned it back in August when we previewed this matchup. So, the question we all have, why did the defense seem incapable at slowing him down? 141 yards rushing to a quarterback is brutal. We all know the depth chart is at its limits and this just showed us how far away we really are from any sort of success. Joseph rushing and passing combined for more total yards than the entire Spartan offense. Sit and let that sink in for a minute if you can stomach it.
Cloud #2
My second cloud is going to 3rd and 4th down on both sides of the ball. MSU was terrible offensively on both downs. 1-6 on 4th downs screams desperation. They were desperate to try to make something happen but fell short nearly every time. The line is still struggling to give Alessio time and Alessio just doesn’t have that extra magic those special QB’s have. Wisconsin doesn’t even have that great of a defensive line themselves, it just shows how far away our athlete is from theirs.
Defensively was just as poor as Wisconsin was 50% on 3rd and 100% conversion rate on 4th. This was especially painful in the first half where the defense just allowed Wisconsin to move the chains and put the game out of reach early. The line can’t push forward, the edges weren’t maintained and the linebackers are depleted. I don’t see how any of this improves much this season
Cloud #3
MSU has had some history of having some solid wide outs. Guys that could stretch the field and guys you knew were getting the ball. This team doesn’t have much at wide receiver. None of them were able to get separation from the defenders. None of them can be considered “the guy” to get the ball on those tough 3rd and 4th down plays. It was a roster area that we were all concerned about prior to the season starting. I still don’t understand why the portal wasn’t attacked more as this position is in need of a stud. Somebody who will make opponents game plan for. There is literally no need for opposing coordinators to spend any time on the current wide receiver room and that is a very glaring problem.
Sun #1
There was even less to pull from for the suns this week than last week, and last week was rough. In a game where you can’t score and can’t convert on 3rd downs you get to see your punter in action. In fact, MSU has become Punter U with its ability to let punters showcase their skill so consistently. Thankfully, the kicking game is a bright spot on this team. We still have to get close enough for Boyd to show off his skill set, but he is another bright spot on this roster. The kicking game being solid is great to have but it isn’t the area that should be your best for a D1 school in the B1G.
Sun #2
My second sun is going to the 1 penalty for five yards and no turnovers. This is with having more time of possession. That was a big improvement from the Nebraska game. Playing cleaner football is a small bright spot we have to take. Now, can they build on this and maintain this simple stat as the season progresses? It may be one of the few interesting items to pay attention to in the rest of a season that will be painful to watch. It will give a good insight into what Fitzgerald has going on. Play clean and disciplined and you show that there is respect for Fitzgerald from the players and maybe if he has the resources to build something we can assume this is a pillar of his plan.
Sun #3
I’ve seen many people mention and even others that cover MSU talk about, “at least its almost basketball season”. Everyone has a lot of optimism for Izzo’s squad and a Detroit Final Four make this truly something to be excited for.
My third sun, however, is going to the fact that hockey season is here. In a Friday exhibition against #12 Boston College, MSU looked solid. The hockey team is another team we can be happy about. It could be a fun year for MSU basketball and it could be just as fun for hockey as both teams have legitimate shots of winning it all. With a football season that really isn’t worth watching as a fan anymore, it is enticing and hard not to be optimistic about Izzo and Nightingale’s teams.
Well TOC, I look forward to sharing a Spartan therapy session in the comments as you all have an opportunity to let out your frustrations. Will it solve the problems? No. It will help you feel better though. Who is ready to see a former MSU quarter back in Hauser come into East Lansing and light us up on homecoming? Shockingly, I don’t see any hands up, just a bunch of heads down as we continue to mourn MSU football. As many of you readers know, my professional sports ties lie in Chicago so I’ll close this one with a let’s go White Sox! If you’re looking for a team to cheer for this postseason, the Chi Sox are that team.
