Michigan State Didn't Measure Up, Must In Next Two Weeks To Salvage Season

Michigan State doesn't measure up against Ohio State; Spartans need to right ship in next two weeks vs. Wisconsin Badgers & Penn State to salvage season

In the week leading up to Saturday’s game against Ohio State, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio called the match-up against the heavily favored Buckeyes a “measuring stick” for the Spartans as they looked to find out where they stand against one of the nation’s best.

But when the final seconds ticked down at the end of Saturday night’s 34-10 loss, it was abundantly clear that the answer as how the Spartans measured up was simple.

They didn’t.

It’s a reality that the Spartans are forced to face as they move forward this year and with games against No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 10 Penn State over the next two weeks, Michigan State needs to quickly find a way to prove it is capable of matching up with the Big Ten’s best.

Michigan State was outclassed in just about every aspect of Saturday’s game, from the talent level between the two teams to the coaching and execution. After the defense allowed the Spartans to hang around through one quarter, Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day repeatedly exploited Michigan State’s flaws in the second quarter, putting the game out of reach by halftime.

“They’ve got good players and that’s why we’ve said it’s a measuring game, when you come down here, you’ve got to measure up, when they come up there, we have to measure up,” Dantonio said following the game. “We’ve been in these games before, close enough to win them, but not so much today, although in the first half, we were hanging or making it interesting.”

But the disparity seen on the field during Saturday’s loss can be directly linked to a Michigan State coaching staff that hasn’t measured up in recent years on the offensive side, in terms of in-game coaching and player development.

Coming off of an offseason with a lot of questions and second guessing Dantonio’s decision to keep his coaching staff in tact, the Spartans needed to show signs of significant improvement from a year ago. Instead, Michigan State, particularly offensively, looks very much the same when matching up with the quality teams on its schedule.

Michigan State now sits at 4-2 and with two tough conference games looming over the next two weeks, the Spartans now face a make or break type of moment in their season, something Dantonio said will define his team.

“We’re halfway through, we’re a 4-2 football team, at the end of the day, that’s what we are, we’re 4-2,” he said. “As I said earlier, we’ll be defined in what we do next. “We go to Wisconsin, that’s our next challenge, they’re very good as well. We’ve got to get out mindset right… look at the whole think in detail and say this is where we’re at and get ready to go. I truly believe that you’re defined by how you handle problems and how you handle your next challenge, so regardless of whether we won this football game or lost it, that was going to be a challenge. What do you do next?”

But that question is one that needs to be posed to the Spartan coaching staff as the offense has produced little in the team’s two losses, despite senior quarterback Brian Lewerke looking like he’s returned to form from his breakout season in 2017.

When the Spartans travel to No. 8 Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon they will still have an opportunity to prove that they can hang with some of the Big Ten’s best. But going up against a defense that can make a case to be the best in the conference and an offense that features the best running back in America in Jonathon Taylor is another daunting task for a team looking to right the ship.

One week later, the Spartans welcome in one of the biggest surprises in the Big Ten, Penn State, which has looked dominant on offense on its way to a No. 10 ranking through six weeks.

Lewerke admitted that he and his teammates are looking ahead to Wisconsin, knowing that another loss (or two) would derail this season for Michigan State.

“We’ve still got a top 10 team next week and another really good team after that, who will probably be in the top 10 by the time we play them,” he said. “Penn State’s really good, Wisconsin’s really good, so we have to group back together and get going.”

The Spartans are in the middle of what is without a doubt the toughest part of their schedule, something that they should be and are embracing.

But if Michigan State again proves incapable of matching up against in the next two weeks, 2019 will go down as another lost season that once started with high hopes and expectations, and the blame for that lies at the top of the program.

Remember to stay tuned to Spartan Nation for all of the latest news on the 2019 Michigan State football team!

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