The Spartans are collapsing behind enemy lines

Michigan Football is headed to its first rivalry game of the 2024 season: hosting the Wolverines Michigan State on Saturday evening at the Big House in the Battle of Paul Bunyan.

Like UM, the Spartans are 4-3 and 2-2 in the Big Ten, but narrowly prevailed Iowa in perhaps their most impressive win of the season. Stephen Brooks by SpartanTailgate joins Behind Enemy Lines to break down MSU’s strengths and weaknesses and name a new-look Michigan State team led by Jonathan Smith.

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Alejandro Zúñiga: The Battle for Paul Bunyan is finally here. It will be kickoff at 7:30 p.m., another night game for Michigan State. Second home game of the year for Michigan. It will air on the Big Ten Network. The first game between Michigan and Michigan State in a while where neither team is ranked in the AP Top 25. Both teams are 4-3 overall. Both teams are 2-2 in the Big Ten.

This is the first year under Jonathan Smith, who came from there Oregon State. MSU has 61 new players, one of the largest roster moves in all of college football. At this point in the season, just over half way through the season, what are your impressions of the first year under Jonathan Smith? What does he want to build in East Lansing and what does the identity look like so far this year?

Stephen Brooks: I think it went as well as could reasonably be expected. I think they lost the games, nobody really gave them a chance. Boston College was a bit like a coin toss. You lost on the road there, and when it’s home the coin might go the other way. They were certainly the most limited personnel that day, especially on offense – I think they had four of their top six receivers down that day.

We are seeing growth from week to week. Sometimes it’s small, and sometimes you have to squint to see it, but it’s like it’s there when you put it all together.

They are a limited team in terms of talent and depth at certain spots. It was never going to be some Big Ten contender team coming out of nowhere. If you look at them in a 4-3 ratio, you can say that everything is largely on schedule. You are on track. The fact that you saw growth during the season is promising. You mentioned the game against Iowa: “Absolutely their best performance, and I would say their best coaching job as well.” Offensively, they got to the ball a little quicker. Aidan Chiles was more of a runner, introducing more true read options rather than constant direct handoffs, which made him an option and put him in space. And so there’s a little more RPO stuff than we’ve seen so far, which is getting the ball out quickly so your offensive line doesn’t have to protect for very long.

Aidan Chiles, a young quarterback making his first start, is a roller coaster ride in every sense of the word. The highs are exhilarating, but sometimes you want to puke in your lap. So there was both. Last week too, Jonathan Smith described it as his most complete game. And I would definitely agree with that. He threw another pick, his ninth interception, and he also had a few fumbles. Therefore, ball losses are a big problem for him. And then you look at a red zone offense that has struggled, especially this week.