Champaign, Ill. - It's been an up-and-down season for the MSU defense up to this point, but after allowing nearly 600 yards of total offense to Notre Dame last week, the Spartans put the clamp down on Illinois, allowing just 271 yards in MSU's 61-14 win over Illinois on Saturday.
"We made some mistakes, I made mistakes, but we made a big stride as a defense in this game," MSU sophomore linebacker Kaleb Thornhill said. "Hopefully we can continue to improve going into the Michigan game."
Despite the loss of junior linebacker David Herron Jr., who left the game early with a slight concussion, the defense played at a high level. He could've returned, but with the game already decided, he stayed on the bench. Sophomore Eric Andino and junior Steve Juarez came in and, according to head coach John L. Smith, performed well.
"They did a good job," Smith said. "It was good to see them do that because those guys have to get in and make some mistakes and learn, as we all did."
The Spartans defenders flew to the ball all game long, often swallowing up plays that normally would've been broken for big gains.
Sophomore bandit Sir Darean Adams was a big part of this, making many saving tackles. He finished the game tied for the team high with seven tackles, with one for a loss.
Coming off the Notre Dame game, many were saying that the MSU defense was the "same old Spartans." Now they have turned heads again, this time against a dangerous Illinois team with talented receivers and a mobile quarterback by making key plays, even when the game was in hand in the fourth quarter.
After a 76-yard kick return by E.B. Halsey put Illinois at the 22-yard line, junior cornerback Demond Williams put a quick end to the drive with an interception in the end zone. It was his first interception of the season.
"It was a crazy interception," Williams said. "I broke on the ball and I thought Eric Smith was going to knock my head off, but I held onto it."
Then, after pinning Illinois inside its own 10-yard line, junior defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic forced Illinois quarterback Tim Brasic to fumble out of the end zone for a safety.
Last week when Notre Dame's offense kept the Spartans defense on the field for 35:49 of the 60-minute regulation, MSU controlled the clock this time around, giving the defense plenty of time to rest.
"They kept the ball rolling," Thornhill said. "It was nice as a defense to see them control the clock. We got our rest and it was nice to see them keep pounding at them. That gave us motivation to go out there and stop them on third downs and get them off the field and get our defense back on the field."
