“They were more physical than we were at the point of attack,” Fitzgerald said. “We did not fit gaps right, we did not run our feet and tackle the way that we’re coached to do it and that’s something we’re just going to obviously emphasize and get a heck of a lot better at as we work at it.”

While these deficiencies haven’t altered the outcomes of any games up to this point, it’s bound to catch up to the Spartans against increased competition. The margin for error will shrink and so will the self-inflicted shortcomings if MSU wants to compete in the Big Ten.

The Spartans defense looked promising on the opening drive, holding Eastern Michigan to a three-and-out, the same way they did against Toledo. However, in the remainder of the first half, EMU brutalized MSU on the ground, picking up several chunk plays that allowed the Eagles to control the tempo.

EMU was able to consistently move the chains, keeping the Spartans defense on the field and preventing any rhythm offensively. Runs that should’ve been blown up in the backfield or halted at the line of scrimmage, turned into frustrating positive gains.

The problems became especially apparent in the second quarter when the little gains turned into gains of 10, 13, 16 and 20 yards apiece. It wasn’t even a particular player on the Eagles doing the damage; it was three different players. 

The running back duo of Braydon Bennett and Amareon Blue, along with the occasional quarterback scramble from Ex-Spartan Noah Kim, all combined together to attack MSU’s lack of physicality. 

This stretch was part of what Fitzgerald described as the team’s second-quarter lull; something that cannot happen going forward.

“We got a ton of work to do,” Fitzgerald said. “We can’t allow a lull to happen. We cannot be out-physicaled and we’ve got to get a lot better and I look forward to working on that this week.”

Despite allowing 107 first-half rushing yards, the Spartans run defense overhauled its intensity and intention in the second half and looked like a completely different unit.

“[We] talked a lot about physicality and it’s a lot of props to Coach Rossi and his adjustments made at half,” sophomore linebacker Brady Pretzlaff said. “... [credit to us] taking on the challenge to be more physical and play our ball the Spartan way.”

That physicality adjustment sparked instant change, which immediately displayed on the scoreboard. MSU came out of the half with a 14-7 lead and went on to score 21 unanswered points. Yes, the offense improved, but it was the defense shooting gaps and getting to football back in the hands of the Spartans.

What EMU had found on the ground in the first half had vanished as MSU held the Eagles to -6 rushing yards throughout the total second half — a difference of 113 yards.

For Fitzgerald and Rossi’s defense, the response showed growth and provided a positive sign, but the slow start is something to question until it’s solved. The second-half demonstrated what this defense is capable of, even without its star senior linebacker Jordan Hall, who didn’t play due to injury.

“I don’t want to minimize not having that big of a fixture of our defense out there, but it’s next man up in tally,” Fitzgerald said. “Those guys that went out there, I think learned a lot throughout the course of the game. I thought they played much better in the second half, and we need to continue to reinforce those guys playing that way.”

MSU moves to 2-0 before venturing to South Bend against No. 3-ranked Notre Dame. The game is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.