3 Up, 3 Down: Michigan State finds offensive balance in win over Rutgers

The Spartans are one win away from securing bowl eligibility!

Michigan State got itself back on track to earn a bowl bid with an upset victory last week against Illinois, and the Spartans stayed on track today with a 27-21 win over Rutgers.

Since losing four in a row earlier this season, Michigan State has now won three out of its past four games, as the Spartans look to finish the 2022 campaign on a high note.

Here are three positives and three negatives from today's game against the Scarlet Knights:

Three Up

1.) MSU run game comes alive

Michigan State has been desperate to get its running game going all season long, and they finally fired on all cylinders on the ground today. The Spartans' two-headed backfield finally showed what we expected from them this season, with Jalen Berger rushing for 83 yards on 15 carries and Jarek Broussard adding 80 yards on 11 carries. Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson got creative in the run game as well, dialing up some play-action, bootleg runs for quarterback Payton Thorne, who rushed for 33 yards on five carries. As a team, Michigan State averaged six yards per carry.

What made this even more impressive was that Michigan State was missing two starters along the offensive line today, left tackle Jarrett Horst and right guard Matt Carrick. Backup and rotational O-line piece Geno VanDeMark was also unavailable today. Yet, the Spartans got a good push up front all afternoon and it paid dividends.

2.) Jayden Reed, Daniel Barker were steady weapons

Michigan State was hit or miss in the passing game today, but when they hit, they hit big. Senior wide receiver Jayden Reed led the way with four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. It's been a bit of feast-or-famine with Reed this season, but he was a difference-maker for MSU today.

Also, tight end Daniel Barker had one of his best days in a Spartan uniform with four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Barker was expected to be a receiving weapon all season for Michigan State, but that hasn't quite materialized the way MSU thought it would.

Thorne wasn't terribly sharp today, completing just 54 percent of his attempts, but he was good enough to keep Michigan State's offense balanced. The redshirt junior finished with 256 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

3.) Defense bends, but never breaks

This wasn't a banner day for Michigan State's defense, more on that below, but the Spartans stiffened when they needed to and kept Rutgers from putting many points on the board, which is the ultimate goal.

The Scarlet Knights weren't equipped to attack Michigan State down the field, and MSU used that to its advantage. Defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton was heavily criticized early this season, with good reason, but Michigan State's staff has done a pretty solid job on that side of the ball over the past four weeks or so. Given the injuries and suspensions that MSU has suffered on defense, that makes the improvement we've seen even more impressive. 

Three Down

1.) MSU's run defense was porous

The injuries, suspensions and lack of depth on defense took its toll today, as the Spartans struggled mightily to stop the run against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights rushed for 257 sack-adjusted yards today, and gashed MSU for 6.3 yards per carry.

Michigan State has run out of guys to play defensive end, and is using defensive tackles on the edge. Meanwhile, the Spartans rotated Dashaun Mallory, Avery Dunn and Simeon Barrow in the interior of the defense, but those guys are having to play a lot of snaps.

As mentioned above, Michigan State's defense stiffened when it needed to, but the amount of rush yards they yielded today is a concern.

2.) Penalties, poor execution leave points on the field

Michigan State had two drives that ended near or inside Rutgers' 30 yard line, and it was due to penalties or poor execution by the Spartans.

In the first quarter, MSU faced a 4th-and-1 from the Scarlet Knights' 18 yard line, and Thorne sailed a throw beyond the reach of tight end Tyler Hunt, who was wide open on the play. Then, midway through the third quarter, the Spartans drove into Rutgers territory up 21-7. However, a holding penalty put Michigan State well behind the sticks, and they turned it over on downs again at the 31.

The missed opportunities didn't cost Michigan State in this game, but the Spartans need to finish these drives into opponents' territory with at least three points. As a bonus positive, Spartan kicker Ben Patton went 2-for-2 on field goal attempts today.

3.) Accuracy woes return for Payton Thorne

We touched on this earlier, but some of the accuracy woes that plagued Thorne in September returned this afternoon in East Lansing. There was a steady, 8-10 mile per hour wind at Spartan Stadium, so maybe that had an effect.

Whatever the reason, Thorne sailed quite a few of his throws today, and that was concerning to see given the way his season started. This hasn't been the season that the redshirt junior expected to have, but he's shown some improvement in recent weeks, and it would benefit him to finish this season well. Regardless, it won't be a surprise if there is an open competition for the starting job next spring.