Alex Hornibrook, the aforementioned freshman for the Badgers, went 16-of-26 passing for 195 yards and a touchdown and looked as confident as a fifth-year senior while doing it. The Badgers came out with a plan to stop MSU’s offense, and with head coach Paul Chryst having the confidence and faith in Hornibrook, the Badgers never looked in trouble.
Here are five things to take away from the Spartans rough performance against Wisconsin:
1. It all starts in the middle
Senior linebacker and captain Riley Bullough was unexpectedly wearing street clothes before the game and did not see the field against the Badgers. Stepping into his place was junior Shane Jones, who finished the game with six tackles, two for loss, and a half-sack in the third quarter with senior Demetrius Cooper.
Jones said he wasn’t nervous at all, and it was quite the benefit still having Bullough on the sidelines for support.
“He (Bullough) was talking to us about what he saw from the sideline,” Jones said. “It’s kind of like having an extra coach out there you know, since he wasn’t out there. I had that extra coach right beside me the whole day. He was very positive. He was very energetic. He always has his energy and it was definitely a help for me today.”
Dantonio said that he thought Shane Jones played well and the defense as a whole did a nice job stopping the run. Co-defensive coordinator and assistant coach Harlon Barnett said Bullough is “week-to-week” at the moment.
2. Corley developing nicely
Freshman wide receiver Donnie Corley finished the day with four catches for 84 yards on eight targets, but could have had a lot more. A few overthrows and a miss when he was wide open in the endzone late in the third quarter could have added to his stat line.
Senior quarterback Tyler O’Connor put a lot of the blame on himself for that, as well as the gameplan that Wisconsin had prepared for them.
“There was slight miscommunication with protection and everything like that, but I got to put the ball in a safer spot,” O’Connor said about the interception that resulted in missing Corley open for a touchdown. “It was poorly thrown I think, and it was a stupid mistake.”
Nevertheless, Corley led the team in yards and targets on Saturday, and could quickly evolve into not only a starting receiver but O’Connor’s favorite threat on the outside.
3. Third-down woes on defense
Hornibrook and the Badgers offense made third down conversions look easy on Saturday, going 7-for-16 on third down. For comparison, two of those missed conversions were converted on fourth down, and two more were at the end of the game when the score was all but settled.
“Third down was the thing of the day for us,” Barnett said. “We got to get off of the field on third down. I feel like we contained the run well on first and second down, but got to be able to get off the field on third down.”
The Badgers had multiple long completions on third down attempts, as Spartan defensive pressure took too long to get to Hornibrook and allowed Wisconsin receivers to get open and for wide open throws.
4. No quarterback controversy
Despite O’Connor’s rough day, Dantonio said that there is no quarterback controversy and that O’Connor is still the starting quarterback for MSU football. Redshirt-freshman Brian Lewerke came on for the last drive and went 2-for-4 with 26 yards, leading MSU to the one-yard line before the game ended.
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“We were just thinking positively at that point,” Dantonio said. “I don't think you abandon somebody when they are having a tough day. I didn't want to do that. This hasn't become a quarterback race. That is not the issue. We will play through the pain a little bit here and see what happens.”
Dantonio said Damion Terry did not play as he was “banged up a little.” O’Connor will look to recover next week on the road against Indiana.
5. Beating themselves
The Spartans lost the turnover battle by a long shot when considering the special teams bad snap as one. That would make the turnovers 5-2 in Wisconsin’s favor, and one of MSU’s turnovers occurred as an interception on a hail mary attempt to end the first half.
Dantonio knows that the Spartans can’t win games when they lose the turnover battle by that much, but he knows his team will recover.
“People have been saying a lot of good things about us lately, and now we'll take some shots,” Dantonio said. “And I think that that's usually the case in these things, and we gotta regroup ourselves. Like I tell our players, you can always, always get worse. So we're going to pick ourselves up and get ready to go and play Indiana, and that's the nature of it.”
The fumble by LJ Scott that was returned for 66 yards for a touchdown seemingly took all momentum away from the Spartans for the remainder of the game, even though it was only 20-6 at that time. The interceptions either resulted in Badger points or stopped potential scoring drives.
Wisconsin wound up with 13 points of turnovers, 20 when counting the special teams bad snap. MSU only had three, the first points of the game following a Raequan Williams sack and forced fumble.
SIDE NOTE
MSU defensive end Gabe Sherrod, fullback Delton Williams and safety Kenney Lyke all raised one fist in the air during the national anthem of Saturday’s contest. Sherrod alluded to making a stand earlier in the week.
Dantonio doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, as it is their choice to make a stand or not.
“I guess they have decisions that people have to make, and as long as it’s done in a peaceful way, this is America, and that’s what the flag stands for,” Dantonio said. “It stands for the freedom to do what you need to do, and that’s the beautiful thing about this country,”
It is uncertain whether or not it will continue or if more MSU players will join them.
GRADES:
MSU Offense: D+
O’Connor was off his game in a big way, committing three turnovers himself, one of which deep in Wisconsin territory and another that set up Wisconsin deep in MSU territory. Scott’s fumble was housed by the Badgers.
The receivers played decent, and the offensive line played acceptable. Overall, this grade is so low due to O’Connor’s play and his turnovers in addition to some play-calling errors.
Game Ball: Donnie Corley (Four catches, 84 yards on eight targets)
MSU Defense: B
The defense really didn’t play all that bad. Two of Wisconsin’s scoring drives were under 30 yards, one of which started at the MSU five-yard line. It’s hard to fault them for the turnovers committed by the offense and special teams.
They stopped the run well, as Wisconsin star Corey Clement had 23 carries for 54 yards (2.3 average), despite his two touchdowns. The third-down conversions were obviously a concern, and they need to generate more pressure.
Game Ball: Shane Jones (Six tackles, two for loss and a half-sack)
MSU Special Teams: C+
The only good part about the special teams was senior kicker Michael Geiger, who buried two field goals each from over 40 yards away.
Sophomore punter Jake Hartbarger punted decent, but a bad snap resulted in a turnover on downs, giving the Badgers the ball at the MSU five, leading to a Badger touchdown on the next play. For the third game in a row, Kevin Cronin sent a kick out of bounds. Punt and kick returns were the opposite of explosive, and return coverage was average.
Game Ball: Michael Geiger (2-2 field goals, long of 48)
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