It’s 34-7 Minnesota. 

That was the highlight of the night for Michigan State’s offense. 

Following last week's defensive disaster in Washington, it seemed to be the offense’s turn to completely fall apart (although the defense certainly had its fair share of awful plays against the Gophers). There weren’t many - if any - bright spots to be found against Minnesota. 

“Offensively, when we do get the ball, we have to do something with it,” Head Coach Mel Tucker said. “When we don’t do something with it and put the defense back out there, that’s not playing complimentary football."

Michigan State's offense had a terrible day from the top-down. Redshirt junior quarterback Payton Thorne had an especially rough afternoon, tossing a pair of interceptions and losing a fumble. He finished with no touchdown passes and just 132 yards. 

“After a game like this, there’s not much to say,” Thorne said. “It feels terrible. It’s really not a good feeling.”

Thorne rarely made an attempt to push the ball vertically against Minnesota's defense, especially in the first half. Instead, he settled for short, quick passes and dump-offs, even in third-down situations. 

Michigan State’s rushing attack was also atrocious. On 14 attempts, the Spartans finished with just 46 yards on the ground, led by fifth-year senior Jarek Broussard. This is the second week in a row that MSU has finished with less than 50 rushing yards.

The struggles on offense did not help a defense that was already reeling. Minnesota absolutely dominated time of possession, 42:29 to 17:30. The Gophers’ offensive series consistently took up large swaths of time, giving the defense a chance to catch its breath on the sidelines. On the other hand, Michigan State’s offense made just brief visits for a majority of the game. 

It seemed that every time Michigan State found a positive play on offense, it was followed up with an incompletion or a short gain. In short, nearly every piece of MSU’s offense played a part in the stagnation.

“It was a little bit staggered, whether it be guys missing blocks, guys not running great routes, pass not being where it needs to be, it’s everyone,” redshirt junior wide receiver Tre Mosley said. “It’s not one guy, not one position group.”

The Spartan offense really only found momentum with Thorne under center at the beginning of the second half. MSU came out of the locker room firing, with Thorne dishing out passes to a variety of receivers. He moved the offense 70 yards down the field, finally threatening in the red zone. Down 17-0, it seemed as though Michigan State was finally ready to throw a counter-punch.

Then, on first down on Minnesota’s six-yard line, Thorne faked a handoff to redshirt sophomore running back Jalen Berger and hung onto the ball, running left on a QB keeper. Minnesota’s Thomas Rush tackled Thorne to the ground, punching out the ball in the process. 

The Gophers recovered the fumble and scored on the ensuing drive.  

“It feels like every time we’re rolling, there’s a setback,” Thorne said. “That’s just kind of what it felt like today.”

Worryingly, the choppiness and lack of rhythm on offense is not a new feature of Michigan State’s offense. 

In last weekend’s loss to Washington, the unit had long periods of stagnation, especially in the first half. The run game stalled out and the passing game was too inconsistent to present any real threat. The offense seemed to shoot itself in the foot any time it started gaining positive momentum. Broussard’s safety in the end zone last week was the most obvious example. Following a dramatic fourth-down stop by the defense at the goal line, the transfer running back from Colorado failed to make it out of the endzone, promptly giving Washington a pair of points and turning over possession. 

All of those concerning characteristics reared their head against Minnesota. If the offense can't muster some consistency and the defense keeps playing how it has been, MSU could be looking at a rough Big Ten schedule.