Senior cornerback Kendell Brooks, 33, fails to stop Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim for a Gopher touchdown during Michigan State’s match against Minnesota on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.
—After last weekend’s debacle in Seattle, Michigan State looks just as lost in its Big Ten opener, trailing Minnesota 17-0 at the half.
Quarterback Tanner Morgan threw for 207 yards against the Spartan secondary. The Gophers also had 105 yards on the ground, led by Mohamed Ibrahim.
Defense looks just as bad
One week ago, Michigan State’s defense was embarrassed against the Washington Huskies in its first true test of the season.
A week later, it seems as though not much has changed.
Minnesota’s offense marched down the field with ease on the opening drive. Splitting the passing and rushing attempts 50/50 and moving 75 yards down the field, it seemed as though everything was working for the Gophers. Ibrahim punched it in at the goal line, taking an early 7-0 lead.
On their next drive, the Gophers continued to move methodically down the field.
The defensive woes of the first half were best encapsulated by a 3-and-12 on Minnesota’s second drive near the end of the first quarter. Morgan dropped back to pass, surveying his options. With no one open, the sixth-year senior put his head down and turned on the burners, sprinting ahead for a first down.
On the very next play, junior wide receiver Daniel Jackson burnt sophomore cornerback Charles Brantley for a 23-yard touchdown.
At the end of the first half, Minnesota had more than double MSU’s time of possession. In short, the Gophers offense completely controlled the first 30 minutes, keeping the defense on the field for long, grueling series that almost always ended in points.
Offense off to another slow start
At the end of the first quarter, Michigan State had one total yard of offense.
At the end of the second quarter, the team had just 45 yards.
The offense looked completely out of sorts through the first 30 minutes. Payton Thorne threw for just 30 yards and an interception, typically throwing behind the sticks even on third down.
The rushing game was just as bad. On nine attempts, MSU managed just 15 total yards on the ground.
Every positive gain in the first half seemed to be followed by an incompletion or a rush for no gain. Michigan State could not create any sort of momentum, consistently shooting itself in the foot after solid plays.
Even after a fumble recovery in the second quarter, MSU’s offense failed to take advantage, punting after just a pair of first downs.
Struggling situationally
In key situations, Michigan State failed to make any sort of timely plays - namely, on third down.
Defensively, the Spartans stopped just one third down attempt from Minnesota – the Gophers converted five times. The constant conversions kept MSU’s defense on the field for large stretches, wearing out a unit that was already off of its game.
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The failure to sustain drives was perhaps the greatest weakness of MSU's offense in the first half – the Spartans were 1-5 on third downs.
Thanks to the lack of a ground game, Thorne was often forced into passing situations on third down. Minnesota's secondary stifled a solid Spartans receiving core, forcing Thorne to dump it off to a running back or receiver just beyond the line of scrimmage.
