It was going to be a tough task to replace Joe Bachie's production on the field. It was going to be even harder to replace his leadership. Bachie, a Butkus award semifinalists, was ruled ineligible by the Big Ten for the remainder of the season after failing a drug test last week.

But, following Michigan State's 37-34 loss to Illinois Saturday afternoon, the Spartan defense believed the linebacker group — led by Harvey — accomplished that.

Harvey, was thrusted into the starting lineup and produced as if Bachie was still there. The sophomore from Hartland, Wisconsin, finished with a team-high nine tackles and added 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Harvey played off of the edge while Tyriq Thompson and Antjuan Simmons, normal outside linebackers took turns in the middle of Michigan State's defense.

With the Spartans leading 28-3 in the second quarter, Harvey punched the ball away from Illinois tight end Daniel Barker and appeared to force a fumble, which was later ruled an incompletion. Two drives later, he combined with Kenny Willekes to sack Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters on third down to force a punt.

His biggest plays came on the Illini's final drive. As Illinois approached midfield, Harvey dragged Peters down again for the second time for a seven-yard loss. And one play before Peters connected with Barker for the game-winning five-yard touchdown, Harvey shot out of a cannon off of the edge and hit running back Dre Brown behind the line of scrimmage for a three-yard loss.

“That's my guy. He played well," senior defensive tackle Raequan Williams said. "They all played well — all of the linebackers.”

Michigan State used numerous different combinations and unsung backups in Bachie's place against the Illini, each of which played a major role for the Spartan defense. Harvey played most of his time on the outside, which meant Simmons and Thompson took turns as the middle voice in MSU's defensive unit.

“I'm gonna do whatever I need to do for this team," Simmons said after recording six tackles in the losing effort. "If I got to play (defensive) end, nose guard, whatever. I’m going to do it and I’m going to give it everything I got.” 

Jeslord Boateng and Chase Kline contributed when their numbers were called as well. Boateng, a redshirt freshman from Dublin, Ohio recorded three tackles and one quarterback hurry, while Kline, a redshirt freshman from Chardon, Ohio, added two tackles.

“I think the guys that stepped in for Bachie specifically, I think they did a great job," senior safety David Dowell said. "Those guys practiced and executed in the game, like I said that’s the biggest thing. So i think we did a good job as far as that goes.” 

Even without Bachie, the linebackers played a major role in stopping the run. The Illini rushed for only 73 yards on 27 carries, with Reggie Corbin being their top ball carrier with only 32 yards on seven carries.

“The whole job was just to make sure our front four get lined up," Simmons said. "If those guys are good — if they’re good and they're rolling, we’ll be just fine. I think for the most part we did that as a group of linebackers — me, Tyriq (Thompson), Noah (Harvey), Jeslord Boateng and Chase Kline — all of us, I think we did a good job at that and we were fine.” 

Replacing Bachie was one of — if not the biggest — question mark for Michigan State's defense heading into Saturday's game against the Illini. If Harvey's, and the rest of the linebackers' performance, proved anything, it is that the group may be just fine going forward.

“I feel like all of the linebackers stepped up," Williams said. "They came in and made plays because they knew we were going to need it. We lost our leader and all those linebackers from Antjuan (Simmons), to Noah (Harvey), to Tyriq (Thompson), to Jeslord (Boateng) — all of those guys stepped up and it was nice to see.”