The team will look to rebound once again in a homecoming clash with Big Ten foe Northwestern University next week in East Lansing, whom the Spartans have not played since 2013. That being said, here are some takeaways, grades, and game balls for MSU football’s performance against BYU.

TAKEAWAYS

1. Same old struggles with second half struggles

Just like last week, the Spartans took a lead into halftime, and though it was by no means a sizable margin for the Cougars to overcome, MSU was blown out in the second half 28 points to just seven.

A key thing to note was that the defensive side of the ball was once again the inability for the team to get off the field on third or fourth down. BYU finished the game 10-of-16 on third down conversions and 2-of-4 on fourth down, and both of these conversions led to points on the board later in the drive for the Cougars.

“It is just frustration that we had opportunities to make plays and you failed to do it,” junior linebacker Chris Frey said. “It is that gut feeling that you could have stopped them. You never know what happens if you can make that play. It's a terrible feeling and it hits deep.”

MSU's defense only gave up 155 yards (66 rushing, 88 passing) of offense to BYU when they carried a 7-3 lead into the locker room. BYU ended up with 398 yards, including 260 on the ground.

For perspective on the offensive side of the ball, the Spartans drove 15 plays for 73 yards their first chance of the game, leading to one of their two touchdowns. After that, MSU gained just 133 yards of total offense.

2. Quarterback controversy

In the fourth quarter, after BYU took a 17-7 lead, Dantonio and his staff wound up making a change at the quarterback position, inserting Damion Terry into the game in favor of Tyler O’Connor.

“Tyler (O'Connor) is certainly not to blame for our struggles offensively,” MSU offensive coordinator Dave Warner said. “He knows what the deal is but the bottom line is only scoring seven points through the first half and into the third quarter ... discussion was made and Dantonio make the final call with Damion (Terry).”

Though Dantonio stated that he didn’t want a quarterback controversy, he said that “things will be evaluated” from this week’s game film and in the practices leading up to Northwestern and did not definitively name O’Connor the starter for next week.

“(The conversation was) that something needed to be changed. We needed a spark, obviously, at that point. To get a spark, I think that's the easiest way to do it, is to switch out the quarterback position,” O’Connor said. “It was their decision.”

3. Play calling called into question

As for O’Connor, his first drive of the game was solid, going 6-8 for 46 yards and leading a touchdown drive. The rest of the first half, however, he only attempted one pass, a drop by wide receiver Monty Madaris, but Warner defended his play calling as being “reflective of the situations” the offense was put in.

The team did start inside their own five-yard line twice in the first half, but both times the running game was able to move the ball away from the shadow of the goal line. The play calling and coaching decision making was called into question after the game, and Dantonio was asked if he needed to take an introspective look at things.

“I think you look at everything involved,” Dantonio said. “It’s not one person’s fault; it’s a cumulative effect. Play calling, structure, execution, it's all of it.”

It brought up the interesting question of whether or not Dantonio, as head coach, would strip Warner of his play calling duties. His response was definitive.

“No, I am not going to do that,” Dantonio said. “Absolutely not. That will not happen.”

4. Spartans really missing Riley

MSU has now fallen to 0-3 without middle linebacker and captain Riley Bullough, whose shoulder injury has left the linebacking corps without an unsung leader. Linebackers Chris Frey and Shane Jones have been serviceable in his replacement, but the rest of the defense looks lost at times without the direction Bullough gives.

It seems to be most noticeable in the second half, where the Spartans have struggled to maintain leads and give up big plays, as seen in both this game and last week against Indiana.

“For whatever reason, the first halves are always good and second halves aren’t good at all,” co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett said. “We got to figure that out on defense. We talk about it constantly, we know we need to finish. We always talk about keys to victory: dominate the fourth quarter, finish the game, all those types of things.“

Bullough’s addition would help drastically, and he may be back when MSU takes on Northwestern and should be ready for the University of Maryland the week after. In the meantime, it’ll still be Jones and Frey, along with sophomore Andrew Dowell, heading up the Spartan linebacking group.

GRADES AND GAME BALLS

MSU OFFENSE: F

The offense generated 206 yards of offense, 147 of them coming on their two long scoring drives. O’Connor and Terry didn’t look terrible, but the offensive play calling was borderline atrocious. Only 21 passing plays, most short-yard attempts, on a BYU defense that gave up 52 points and over 400 passing yards to Toledo last week were made, yet 14 points with 206 yards was all the offense could muster up.

The offensive line looked confused at the simple schemes BYU’s defense was throwing at them, and the rushing attack was not finding holes. Then again, sophomore and four game starter LJ Scott had only three carries for nine yards and the offensive line was missing assignments.

Game Ball: Gerald Holmes (15 carries, 57 yards, TD, four catches, 22 yards)

Holmes started the game and was MSU’s go-to back for the majority of it. He was impressive on the first drive, and led the team in receptions, ending up third in receiving yards. Look for Holmes and Scott to be the clear one-two punch for MSU in the backfield in the coming weeks.

MSU DEFENSE: C-

The defense looked solid in the first half, even without linebackers Bullough or Reschke. Smith was average in replacing Hicks and the defensive front-seven did a good job of limiting Williams in the first half despite not having Malik McDowell or Raequan Williams up front.

Things changed in the second half, as BYU torched the defense on third downs and on the ground. BYU quarterback Taysom Hill was able to escape a number of tackles that would have been for a sack or loss, and MSU's defense was sackless for it’s second straight game, leaving BYU’s offense on the field for nine more minutes than MSU.

Game Ball: Montae Nicholson (17 tackles, one for loss)

With the runs of BYU getting to the second level, Nicholson was the main guy making sure they didn’t get any further. Only six of his tackles were solo, but he was all around the field making plays and preventing bigger ones from occurring. One bright spot for an MSU defense the really struggled in the second half.

MSU SPECIAL TEAMS: C

It was a windy day in East Lansing, and sophomore punter Jake Hartbarger’s punts got caught in the middle of it. It’s tough to blame him for it, but BYU had solid starting positions for most of the game.

The return game had opportunities, but didn’t make anything big happen, per usual. Senior kicker Michael Geiger was 2-2 on extra points. Not enough plays by special teams to give a higher or lower grade than the average “C.”

Game Ball: R.J. Shelton (Three kick returns, 69 yards on returns, long of 31)

Shelton also broke one return for a big game, but was tripped up. Other than that, he is the only special teams player that made somewhat of an impact besides Hartbarger.