Sandwiched in between a thrilling win against Boston College and opening Big Ten play at USC (which still seems odd to write), Michigan State will have to be on letdown alert against FCS foe Youngstown State this week.
The Penguins will come to Spartan Stadium on Saturday with a 2-0 record having so far defeated Mercyhurst 24-15 and Robert Morris 56-17. The Michigan State game will be the first road trip of the season for Youngstown, who is currently ranked #25 in the AFCA FCS coaches poll.
Doug Phillips
is in his sixth year as head coach at Youngstown, who went just 4-8 last season. However, prior to that, Phillips led the Penguins to back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023, including an FCS playoff appearance in 2023.
Let’s take a closer look at how Michigan State will match up with Youngstown.
YSU Offense vs. MSU Defense
After struggling to contain Dylan Lonergan from Boston College last week, the Spartans could face an entirely different challenge from Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard. The 6’-0”, 215 pound redshirt junior poses a threat on the ground as well as through the air. In the Penguins’ blowout win against Robert Morris, Brungard ran for a career high 264 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries.
Brungard leads YSU in rushing with 409 yards on 38 attempts through two games. His 38 carries are almost three times as many as Jaden Gilbert, Youngstown’s next leading rusher with 82 yards on 14 carries.
The quarterback-led rushing attack appears to be the focal point of the YSU offense but Brungard has also been effective in throwing the ball. He’s completed over 70% of his passes this year with no interceptions but between Brungard and backup quarterback Devin Sherwood, who played last week against Robert Morris, YSU is only throwing for 141.5 yards per game.
When Brungard throws, his primary target has been senior wide receiver Max Tomczak, who has 7 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Brungard is in his second year as YSU’s starter. He also displayed dual-threat capabilities last year in throwing for 2141 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for another 998 yards and 16 touchdowns.
No doubt that MSU’s defense will be focused on stopping Brungard’s ground game. When Youngstown does throw it, the Spartans can hopefully clean up some costly communication problems that led to coverage busts against Boston College. Michigan State may not have to blitz much when YSU decides to throw it but, after zero sacks against BC, the Spartans need to figure out a way to more effectively pressure the quarterback before conference play begins.
Other notable stats for the YSU offense so far include converting 10 of 21 (48%) or their third down attempts and 3-4 on fourth down. Youngstown has also converted all ten of their red zone opportunities this year, including 9 touchdowns. The Penguins have yet to commit a turnover through two games.
Hopefully YSU won’t see too much time in the red zone on Saturday and MSU can put an end to their turnover-free season.
MSU Offense vs. YSU Defense
On defense, Youngstown has been solid against the run so far. They appear to play a 4-2-5 / 4-3 hybrid scheme depending on the situation and personnel on the field. So far, this has resulted in the Penguins giving up just 51 rushing yards per game. They’ve been a little more vulnerable to the pass though, as Mercyhurst and RMC averaged 251 yards through the air against the Penguins.
Even though Youngstown has been effective at stopping the run so far, this should hopefully be a game where Michigan State can continue to pound the rock and rotate effectively on the offensive line before perhaps deciding on a more regular group of five linemen for the USC game.
It would also be nice to see a good dose of running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver and maybe even a first look at Jace Clarizio in this game. Clarizio was ruled out of the opener against Western Michigan with a calf injury. He didn’t appear on the injury report for the BC game but did not see action in that game either. If he’s fully healed, maybe Clarizio will get to make his Spartan debut on Saturday.
Finally, it should be a priority for the Spartans to create a situation where backup quarterback Alessio Milivojevic can get a lot of snaps in this game. If this is able to happen, it will be interesting to see how much Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren let Milivojevic throw it against the Penguins. As the TOC community is surely aware, Alessio has thrown two career passes at MSU and both have been intercepted. One, in the opener against Western Michigan this year, was returned for a touchdown. With a difficult Big Ten schedule looming, this could be the last chance to get Milivojevic some significant playing time to build depth and his confidence.
Special Teams
We are continuing our Ryan Eckley appreciation week here at TOC. This guy has almost made punting something to look forward to. And let’s be honest, at times over the last few years, there wasn’t much else taking place on the field where we can say that. However, now with the offense hopefully continuing to find its stride, we won’t lose sight of Eckley’s importance. The Spartans have also been solid in kickoff coverage, taking advantage of Eckley’s hang time as he’s also handled the kickoff duties so far this year. Michigan State also found a kicker in Martin Connington last week and produced some electric kickoff returns courtesy of Alante Brown.
For their part, Youngstown also has an impressive punter in Brendon Kilpatrick who is averaging 49 yards on 5 kicks so far this year. Kicker Andrew Lastovka has made his only attempt of the year so far – a 37 yarder against Mercyhurst. Lastovka is also a perfect 11-11 on his extra point attempts through two games.
Conclusion
By early accounts Youngstown State appears to be a very solid FCS team. Michigan State needs to come back to earth following last week’s thriller and not be caught looking ahead to USC next week. A disciplined, well-coached team should be able to pass this test.
It would be nice to see the Spartan offense put together 4-5 solid first half drives, mostly on the ground, before giving way to Milivojevic for most of the second half.
On defense, MSU can focus on better communication and plugging the gaps to stop Brungard. After giving up 21 first half points to Boston College, and looking pretty helpless at times, Michigan State made a much stronger statement in the second half in limiting BC to just 6 points. The momentum didn’t really continue into overtime though as the Eagles scored quickly and easily on their two possessions. Armorion Smith’s pass breakup on BC’s last two point conversion play and Jordan Hall’s forced fumble on the Eagles’ first drive were massive however, and proved that the Spartan D can make a play when really needed. Still, the execution should be much more consistent this week.
Finally, it would be nice if Eckley got a chance to rest his leg a bit in this one before continuing his path to the Ray Guy Award.
