MSU is tied for 75th in the country in turnovers forced after finishing among the top 40 in the country in that category last year. It is also tied for 118th in the country in sacks out of 122 teams, after getting to the quarterback more than all but two teams last year.

So even though MSU still ranks fifth in total defense and 11th in scoring defense, the importance of creating sacks and forcing turnovers has become especially critical in helping improve field position for an offense that head coach Mark Dantonio admitted Tuesday hasn’t performed at the level the coaching staff anticipated at this point in the season.

Junior linebacker Denicos Allen said the defense understands the team’s inexperience offensively and supports the unit completely, but the struggles can get frustrating from time to time.

“We all understand on defense that we’ve got a young offense and they’ve got a lot of improvements to make, but we can only go out there and do what we can do,” Allen said. “We give props to them for giving all the effort they can, given how inexperienced they are, but it could get frustrating at times, not putting up any points. We understand it, though, so we’re there for them 100 percent.”

Defensive line coach Ted Gill said part of the reason for the drop-off is because opposing offenses have been more conservative than in years past, choosing a different attack against MSU’s defense.

“I think a lot of it is when you get so many sacks, people try to do different things against you,” Gill said.

“(They’re) running outside a little bit more. … People are getting the ball away quicker. If you look at that and time it, it’s a little bit different. And people are trying to break the pocket a little bit differently, so it’s a combination of a lot of different things.”

Going from one of the top five teams in sacks to one of the bottom five in just one year can create frustration, Gill said, especially when opposing offenses are purposefully getting rid of the football quickly.

Gill cited Indiana’s quick, spread offense as an example and said it’s important for the coaching staff to make sure players remain determined.

“You’ve just got to be a little patient,” he said. “You’ve got to keep pounding on (the players) a little bit about doing the right things and not getting frustrated because sometimes when you don’t get there as much as you’d like to, you get frustrated.”

Despite the schemes of opposing offenses, senior defensive tackle Anthony Rashad White said there still are opportunities for the defense to make plays, and Allen said it falls on the defense to seize those chances.

“They’ve been getting rid of the ball quicker, and we’ve been getting back there, (but) we just haven’t been finishing,” Allen said. “So it’s part on us, part on the offense scheming against us.”