What a week.
After being the topic of just about every coaching search and potential coaching search in the country, Curt Cignetti inked a new contract to stay in Bloomington, declaring that he plans on “retiring as a Hoosier.” We can all exhale.
Meanwhile, Cignetti and No. 3 Indiana will be tasked with defending the highest AP ranking in program history in a battle for the Old Brass Spittoon with Michigan State coming to town for homecoming. The Hoosiers are heavy favorites, but this is a Spartan
team desperate to show improvement in year two under Jonathan Smith.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of this game:
Trap Game
I don’t know that I’ve ever said this about an Indiana football game before in my life, especially not a rivalry game, but this has all the makings of a trap game. Cignetti and company will need to show that they can handle the expectations that come with that big No. 3 ranking next to Indiana’s name.
To the extent that Cignetti can be distracted from his ultimate goal of winning football games, contract negotiations and rumors surrounding his future employment would be the kind of thing that might take up more of his time than would be ideal.
Not to mention the fact that Indiana is coming off of the biggest win in program history, a 30-20 win over then No. 3 Oregon on the road. The contract extension may have been a bigger focus for us as fans, but for the guys in the locker room focused on finishing out the season, there was plenty to celebrate all week.
Oh and it’s homecoming, which should give Indiana an even bigger home field advantage than it’s enjoyed already this year.
Indiana will have to find a way to tune this all out and demonstrate that they can handle the spotlight from here on out. It’s only going to get brighter.
The Record
Michigan State has not won a game in Big Ten play yet, but they haven’t exactly been blown out either.
Entering the fourth quarter against then No. 25 USC, the Spartans found themselves trailing by just one score. They went on to lose 45-31, but hung around for three quarters on the road against a ranked team.
The next week, they went to Nebraska and entered the fourth quarter tied 21-21 before being outscored 17-6 in the fourth quarter to fall to 0-2 in conference play.
Of all teams, it’s been an apparently rejuvenated UCLA team that dominated MSU the most, leaving East Lansing with a 38-13 victory. Six of those Spartan points came in the fourth quarter, with the game well out of reach.
It’s hard to make sense of a team that’s looked better on the road than at home, especially when the home loss came in blowout fashion to a Bruins team that was one of the worst in the country just a few weeks ago. Based on the road performances, it’s not a team Indiana should sleep on. If they’re locked in though, things could get lopsided.
Aidan Chiles
In year two as Michigan State’s starter and year three under Jonathan Smith, Aidan Chiles has made some strides in his game. His completion percentage is up a tick, from 59.4% to 61.3%, and he’s cut back on interceptions, throwing just three through six games versus eight in his first six games last year.
Unfortunately for him, he’s not had great protection up front, with a line graded near the bottom of the conference in pass protection on the season. He’s been sacked 15 times already this year, including four each by Western Michigan and Boston College to start the year. Nebraska also sacked him four times.
Taking so many hits, it’s not surprising that he’s missed time in each of the last two games to injuries. He’s expected to play against Indiana, but I can’t imagine he’s at 100%. He probably will not be until well after the season ends.
He’s not played particularly well under pressure, with two of his three interceptions coming in pressure situations, per PFF. Neither of those pressures were on blitzes either.
I expect Indiana to pressure him, but he is mobile enough to punish teams that aren’t disciplined. Despite losing 123 yards to sacks this year, he’s averaging 3.2 yards per carry with the second-most carries on the team, behind only lead back Makhi Frazier.
Early in the season, in games where Indiana was expected to coast on both sides of the ball, the defense struggled against mobile quarterbacks, so this will be something to watch for this weekend.
