Non-Negotiables for Michigan State Against USC

Here are the things MSU absolutely must do to have a chance against the Trojans on Saturday.

Michigan State's Omari Kelly, right, runs after a catch as Youngstown State's Brandon Chambers Jr. closes in during the second quarter on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Spartans certainly have their work cut out for them on Saturday. Playing against a ranked team on the road, especially across the country, is never easy. That doesn't mean that Michigan State stands no chance against No. 25 USC, though.

But there are certainly a few things for MSU that need to go right. On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, we go through what those things are and how, without them, the Spartans' chance of victory drops dramatically.

Below is video of the full episode.

Watch here:

On Monday, Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith spoke to the media to discuss the upcoming game with the Trojans and also the team's 41-24 win over Youngstown State last Saturday. Below is a partial transcript of Smith's opening statement.

Jonathan Smith

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith speaks to the media about an upcoming game at USC on Sept. 15, 2025. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

"OK, kind of like each week here, recapping a couple of thoughts. Offensively, you know, 10 possessions, I think we scored seven times on those 10. 

"I did think, again, watching the tape, Aidan (Chiles) did a solid job. Completing pass, eyes up, smart with the ball, another good game running it. 

"But in general, the running game, we got to get better, first and second down. You know, credit to the opponent schematically a couple of those, but we've got to break a couple of tackles, one of them with the safety kind of delaying, misidentification took place too many times, and we're just not getting the type of movement we want to get, so we've got to get improvement on that in the run game. 

"Defensively, I thought they did a nice job of stopping the run. These guys were leading the country in running the ball, especially with the quarterback (and) his capabilities of running it; I did like that part, except on the long one, 66-yard play, I want to say. First of all, we're misaligned, unique formation, give 'em some credit, we're misaligned, we don't got anyone in the B-gap. We're not aligned correctly in the second area, we've got an opportunity to at least get him down, it's going to be a 30-yard play, we can't do that, so we've got to get better there. 

Michigan State kicker Martin Connington (29) readies to kick a field goal as Ryan Eckley (96) holds against the Youngstown State Penguins on Sept. 13, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

"It was good to have Nikai Martinez back, getting a taste of it, he played, you know, maybe half of it, so it was great to see him out there, we do want to continue to improve going forward. Fourth down, third down, on that side.

"Special teams continues to be a positive, obviously huge return from Omari (Kelly); I do think the blocking on the thing, the decision-making on the punt return unit was critical. Martin (Connington) had a solid game, (Ryan) Eckley was only out there one time, that's usually a good thing."

Michigan State's Nikai Martinez celebrates a defensive stop against Iowa in the first quarter on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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