Michigan State finally unleashes offensive weaponry vs. Wisconsin

The Spartans got their receiving weapons involved in the second half vs. the Badgers, and MSU's offense came alive as a result...

Michigan State’s win over Wisconsin in double-overtime last weekend accomplished two things. First, it kept the Spartans alive in their bowl eligibility quest as they continue through their tough Big Ten schedule. Secondly, it gave Michigan State much-needed momentum going into their bye week ahead of the biggest game of the year against bitter rival Michigan.

The Spartan offense finally showed some explosiveness in the second half and overtime. Michigan State ran only four plays in the overtime periods, but two of them went for touchdowns. MSU also got an explosive play went quarterback Payton Thorne hit tight end Maliq Carr in stride for a 72-yard gain, on a drive that eventually led to a touchdown.

However, Michigan State’s first half woes continued against the Badgers. The Spartans have routinely gotten off to slow starts offensively this season. While MSU did score in the first quarter, they were held to just seven points in the opening half.

Let’s break down what we saw from the Spartans offense throughout the day:

First Half

Michigan State’s first two offensive possessions weren’t threatening at all, and coordinator Jay Johnson was conservative with his play-calling. The Spartans drove down the field on their second possession, but they didn’t throw a single pass once reaching the red zone.

MSU reached the Badgers’ two yard line, but back-to-back inside zone runs to Elijah Collins on third and fourth down were stuffed by Wisconsin, forcing a turnover on downs.

Mel Tucker’s decision to go for a touchdown instead of the field goal was the right decision, but Johnson needed to be more aggressive with the play call. It was mind-boggling that Michigan State didn’t turn to weapons like Jayden Reed, Keon Coleman, Daniel Barker or Maliq Carr down by the goal line.

Luckily for MSU, Wisconsin threw an interception shortly after the turnover on downs, giving the Spartans another chance to put seven points up on the board. Johnson switched from a zone blocking to gap blocking run scheme, and Coleman threw a great outside block to spring Jalen Berger for a 12-yard touchdown.

It was nice to see that little adjustment from Johnson, but Michigan State couldn’t build off that success for the remainder of the half. Thorne still didn’t seem comfortable and wasn’t always setting his feet on throws. Reed came up big, with 75 yards receiving in the half. He seems to be coming back into normal form after battling an injury.

The Spartans trailed 14-7 heading into the locker room.

Second Half

Thorne got into a rhythm in the second half, and you could see more trust between him and the offensive line. A 97-yard drive in the third quarter boosted the confidence of the offense. Utilizing Barker and Carr on this possession ultimately led to the touchdown, with Collins punching it in from a yard out to tie the game.

The touchdown to force overtime came after a 65-yard drive, and Coleman was the primary playmaker for MSU on that possession.

The worst part about Thorne battling through injuries early this season is that Michigan State hasn’t been able to get the ball to its best playmakers on offense. In the second half against Wisconsin, however, Thorne threw to them all, and the Spartans’ offense came to life.

While we’ve heaped some praise on the team and coaching staff for some adjustments made, but the last drive to end regulation was very poor game-management. There had to have been a misunderstanding between Tucker and the offensive coaches.

Michigan State reached Wisconsin’s 36 yard line with 34 seconds remaining, and the Spartans then ran the ball twice and threw a screen. It seemed like they were playing for a field goal, except that they ended up using all of their timeouts and ended up with a running clock situation as they rushed the special teams unit on to the field.

Putting a backup long snapper and a new transfer kicker in that kind of situation didn’t go well, as you can imagine. The snap was low, causing holder Bryce Baringer to roll out and throw an interception to end regulation.

Tucker said in the postgame interview the Spartans were playing to win down the stretch, but the play-calling on that final set of downs was atrocious and cost MSU a legitimate shot at winning in regulation.

Overtime

Reed throwing a touchdown to Coleman on a reverse-pass on the first play of overtime was very exciting. While Wisconsin’s senior cornerback Jay Shaw had a very good chance to intercept the underthrown ball, Coleman’s extreme athleticism took over, the sophomore came back to the ball to make an incredible catch over Shaw.

After the Badgers tied the game with a touchdown of their own, Michigan State linebacker forced his sixth fumble of the year, giving the Spartans another chance at ending the game.

A run play for Berger, a false start and then a screen to Reed for no gain made it 3rd-and-12 for the Spartans. With the kicking situation being what it was, Thorne opted to target Reed in the end zone and put the game away. Reed, as he usually does, came up huge with another incredible catch to win the game.

Despite the four-game losing streak, Michigan State had a ton of fight in them against the Badgers. There were multiple times the Spartans could have rolled over and let the game get out of hand, but they didn’t.

We’ll see what this victory has done for the confidence of this team, and which Michigan State squad shows up to battle the Wolverines on Oct. 29 in Ann Arbor.