Winners, Losers From Michigan State's Week 2 Win over EMU
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EAST LANSING — A great second half from Michigan State was the big separator in a 35-7 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
The Spartans were able to get a lot of different players into the game, meaning a lot of players had opportunities (for better or for worse). Here are the three players who looked the most impressive, and three who didn't play quite as well:
Winners/Risers
DL Eli Coenen
Defensive tackle Eli Coenen may just be Michigan State’s best player on defense. Pat Fitzgerald named him the team’s top defensive player against Toledo, and he very well might do the same thing for the Illinois transfer’s efforts again versus Eastern Michigan.
Coenen had a pair of sacks during his second game as a Spartan. He’s already up to 3.0 of them on the season, which is pretty impressive through two games as a 3-tech. It’s even more impressive, given that nobody for MSU had more than 2.5 sacks in all of last season.
WR Charles Taplin
One of the surprises of the day was second-year receiver Charles Taplin. After he didn’t see the field at all during Week 1 against Toledo, Taplin got highly involved against EMU. This was the first game of Taplin’s career where he really got a significant portion of the snaps, and the young speedster took advantage.
Taplin finished with three catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. That score was the first real successful deep ball of the season, stretching out for 38 yards. Another catch was for a conversion on a fourth-and-11. Taplin had been getting starting reps during much of spring and fall camp, but Saturday was the first time he really got to show why.
CB Charles Brantley
After very much being on the losing side last week, corner Charles Brantley is in the winning circle for Week 2. He wasn’t noticed as much against Eastern Michigan, which is a good thing for a corner. When he was noticed, it was because he forced a fumble during the third quarter that turned a first down for EMU in Spartan territory into a turnover.
That play feels like it’s of the “get right” variety for Brantley. He probably won’t be the star corner he was at Michigan State during the 2024 season, but Saturday was a step in the right direction for the sixth-year senior.
Losers/Fallers
Offensive Line
The offensive line was supposed to be improved this year. Through two games, any progress has been marginal. There really weren’t consistent holes in the run game again on Saturday to start, and the protection for starting quarterback Alessio Milivojevic wasn’t great, especially during the first half.
Linebackers (sans Jordan Hall)
Eastern Michigan’s run game was far too effective on Saturday, especially during the first half. The Eagles were averaging 6.8 yards per carry at halftime, excluding sacks. Much of the blame for that isn’t necessarily on the interior defensive line (though it was part of it), but the tackling in the second level wasn’t great on Saturday.
A big part of that is likely the absence of linebacker Jordan Hall on Saturday. That type of injury to that type of player is tough to absorb, but the impact felt a little too obvious.
QB Alessio Milivojevic
Milivojevic could’ve been a lot better on Saturday. There were a couple of times where he missed some open receivers downfield (though the deep ball to Taplin was nice), and there were a couple of sacks he took that felt on the unnecessary side.
His statline was still respectable, but this was definitely not one of his better performances. Things only get more difficult with a road game at No. 3 Notre Dame on deck next Saturday.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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