Indiana is set to welcome Michigan State to Bloomington this weekend for its Homecoming matchup. The Spartans sit at 3-3 overall and are still searching for their first Big Ten win.
With this in mind, our good friends at The Only Colors reached out to talk some ball. Here’s what we asked and what Oren “O” Basse had to say:
Q: What are the vibes like in East Lansing? It’s year two for Jonathan Smith and, from an outside perspective, it doesn’t appear progress has been made. Are there any signs of a slow
burn back to being competitive in the Big Ten on a weekly basis or is this general dysfunction?
The big storyline that came from last week’s game was a quote from UCLA running back Jalen Berger (who just so happens to be a former MSU player). He had this to say about his former team. “I think about the third quarter, it felt like they didn’t want to play anymore.”
As a fan watching it, I can’t say I would disagree. There did not appear to be much fight in the Spartans last week, which is also what it seemed like last year as the season went on. We ran a poll on The Only Colors earlier in the week. The overwhelming majority are ready to move on from Coach Smith. You can put me in that majority. I have no belief in this team.
Q: Aidan Chiles looked like an interesting prospect with a bit of a longer timeline as a high schooler that got accelerated when Smith landed the Michigan State gig. Has he improved in year two?
Aidan Chiles has improved in a couple areas, but not where we would have liked to see the biggest improvements. He is more decisive out there and knows when to take off running. Last year he stood in the pocket too long and would get sacked, but this year he is tucking the ball and freestyling. And he has had some very good runs. But his accuracy is still a major issue, and that is not just on the deep ball. He has overthrown guys down field and underthrown targets in short to medium range. To make matters worse, in the last two games, he has had 3 turnovers (2 INTs, 1 fumble), so that is becoming a problem again after he was displaying some markedly improved ball security earlier in the year.
Q: What’s the identity of this Michigan State team? Against an evenly-matched opponent, what should the Spatans be able to do to win football games, what’s the goal on both sides of the ball?
The frustrating thing about this team is that there is some talent on this team. The WR and TE groups are stacked with guys who can make plays. They are even doing a good job blocking for their teammates downfield (most of the time). The offensive line is a mess, though, so there is not much of a running attack unless the play breaks down and Chiles has to improvise.
On defense, there are some guys on the line that can get after the opposing QB, and the LBs may be the best part of the whole team. But the secondary is struggling. A blindfolded QB could throw against this coverage.
In this three-game skid, we are seeing a lot of mental mistakes (in addition to the aforementioned giving up). Stupid penalties, poor blocking by the O-Line and running backs on pass plays, bad angles on defense. A lot of that comes down to coaching. The goal should be to play better fundamental football. When I see that, then we can start talking about winning games again.
Q: Which Spartans’ names are circled on whiteboards in Indiana’s facilities this week? Has MSU had any consistent weaknesses?
Consistent weaknesses? As I mentioned in the last answer, the DB room is a liability. Don’t be surprised if Mendoza gets his first 300 yard game of the season. The biggest weapon MSU has is WR stud Nick Marsh. But, unfortunately, he is at the mercy of the performance of his quarterback.
Q: Do you have any strong predictions for the game? What needs to happen for MSU to pull off the upset?
I strongly predict that Indiana will win by 5 touchdowns. For MSU to pull the upset, we would need to see something like a mass outbreak of leg cramps just devastate the Indiana roster. Or maybe Coach Smith surprises us and starts Alessio Milivojevic, the backup quarterback, and he is suddenly the best QB in MSU history.
I would say good luck, but y’all don’t need that this weekend.
