Senior safety Marcus Hyde sprints down the field after making an interception Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans had a total of three interceptions against the Fighting Illini, helping them secure a 26-6 victory.
Coming off a 2009 season in which it forced six interceptions and finished last in the Big Ten in pass defense, the No. 8 MSU secondary is proving through its play that it’s in the midst of a turnaround.
After limiting the passing attacks of Wisconsin and Michigan in back-to-back weeks, the Spartans outdid both of those efforts in a 26-6 win against Illinois on Saturday by making plays on the ball and keeping all the receivers in front of them.
The secondary forced four turnovers in a hard-fought defensive effort, holding Illinois to 141 passing yards and, in a game where the Spartans’ offense wasn’t clicking like usual, stuffed Illinois’ attack in a win.
Illinois recorded just one play of more than 15 yards — a 39-yard pass from quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase to wide receiver A.J. Jenkins that ended with freshman cornerback Darqueze Dennard forcing and recovering a fumble. The Illini managed only two field goals and 255 yards of total offense.
“Last year we didn’t make plays on the ball like we should have, but this year we’re making plays,” junior safety Trenton Robinson said. “I saw everyone have one thing in common. Everyone is different, but we all have one goal: We all want to accomplish something great.”
Each one of the members of the secondary forced a turnover, as senior safety Marcus Hyde stalled an Illinois drive by picking off a pass at the MSU 26-yard line and returning it 30 yards less than a minute into the second quarter.
Sophomore cornerback Johnny Adams followed suit on the first drive of the third quarter to set up an MSU field goal. Then, after Dennard’s forced fumble in the third quarter, Robinson intercepted a pass halfway through the fourth quarter and returned it to the MSU 47-yard line.
Dennard impressed in filling in for senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker, who was suspended from Saturday’s game because of an OWI.
Football head coach Mark Dantonio said Sunday that a decision on Rucker’s availability for next Saturday’s game had not been made.
The numbers are surprising: The Spartans’ interception total stands at 12, which is double what they had last season and one behind Alabama and Florida for tops in the nation. Their 18 forced turnovers are four more than they had all of last season.
“We are communicating more and we have just taken it upon ourselves to just go out there and get better every day,” Adams said. “Well, 7-0 is great and now we’re got to keep pushing, keep going.”
Running game stalled
For the first time this season, MSU’s rushing game was grounded as Illinois’ defensive front generated good pressure and closed the running lanes.
Freshman running back Le’Veon Bell and sophomore Edwin Baker had nowhere to go when handed the ball, as they combined for 36 yards and the rushing attack produced just 93 yards. The rushing game had been averaging 225 yards per game coming
in, and MSU rushed for 249 yards in last week’s win at U-M.
Sophomore Larry Caper was a bright spot for the Spartans, rushing seven times for 37 yards and a touchdown, but MSU will have to get its running game on track after a tough battle with the Fighting Illini.
“They are extremely good against the run,” offensive coordinator Don Treadwell said. “We have said all along that this is one of the toughest teams that we were going to play, up to this point, defensively.”
Muma’s big day
Although sophomore kicker Dan Conroy was the star of the special teams with his four field goals, redshirt freshman kicker Kevin Muma performed well on kickoffs, hitting four touchbacks.
His 68.6 yard kickoff average Saturday pinned Illinois back in its own territory several times.
“Their starting point was always around the 20-yard line,” Dantonio said.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
“I really think (he) did an outstanding job on kickoffs.”
