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V-Cast: Michigan State shows progress on offense, continues to struggle elsewhere in loss at Indiana

On3 imageby: Paul Konyndyk20 hours agoPKonyndyk
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – With an avalanche of negative momentum besetting the Michigan State program, the Spartans attempted to right the ship in a difficult match-up at No. 3 Indiana. Although the Hoosiers proved to be as good as their ranking, the Spartans did seem to make some progress on offense in a 38-13 loss.

Although Michigan State failed to halt its Big Ten losing streak, which is now four games, the Spartans seemed to have done enough good things on the road against a good team to give themselves a glimmer of hope ahead of a rivalry game at home against the Wolverines at Spartan Stadium next weekend.

After Michigan State’s latest loss, Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk checked in from Bloomington with the latest on the mood of the team and the vibe around Jonathan Smith’s program in the latest SpartanMag V-Cast.

V-CAST TOPICS

Aidan Chiles plays well against Indiana: Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles had a strong performance against one of the better defenses in college football. Chiles was efficient throwing the ball, spread the football around, and made plays with his legs when he had to. This version of Chiles is one that the Spartans can win with in games against teams in Michigan State’s peer group. Chiles accounted for 293 yards of total offense. His 243 passing yards with the most thrown by a quarterback against Indiana this season.

Defensive struggles continue: Michigan State did a handful of good things defensively against one of the tougher offenses to stop in college football. The Spartan defensive line, despite its inability to generate a pass rush, held up well physically at the point of attack against the IU offensive line. The Spartan defense, however, had a long day, giving up five straight touchdown drives to Curt Cignetti’s team to start this game. Indiana has one of the best quarterbacks in college football in Fernando Mendoza, who has no shortage of skill personnel. Nobody thought this game would be easy for the Spartan defense, but Michigan State hurt itself with poor tackling and alignment errors.

The Path Forward: Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith exuded confidence during his post-game press conference when asked if he felt that his team would be in the right frame of mind coming off this game with a rivalry game at home against the Wolverines next weekend. It wasn’t what Smith said, but how he said it that stuck out. The beleaguered Spartan coach expects his team to be ready. They need to be given the uncharitable mood of the Michigan State fanbase.

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