MSU's Early Responses Shows Identity Being Forged With Fitzgerald
In this story:
EAST LANSING -- Michigan State has lacked an identity of substance since Mark Dantonio's retirement.
Mel Tucker's idea featured plenty of flash and high-profile recruiting pursuits, but that didn't go anywhere when he didn't have Kenneth Walker III on the team. Jonathan never made his plan all that clear in his two years at MSU. Through two games in the Pat Fitzgerald era, it seems like the seeds of a resilient program have been planted.
Responses in First Two Games
Yes, the first two games this season have been against MAC teams. Yes, anything other than a 2-0 start for the Spartans against Toledo and Eastern Michigan wouldn't have been a good sign. Those two statements can be true and coexist with the fact that Michigan State has shown a tendency to get off the mat.
Think back to that 71-yard touchdown run early on in the fourth quarter against Toledo last week. MSU had been in firm control of that game, but some missed offensive opportunities allowed the Rockets to stick around and eventually erase a 13-point lead. The next offensive drive was going to have a dramatic impact not only on the season opener, but on the season.
Michigan State's offense came up clutch there, going 70 yards in seven plays. The touchdown was also on fourth-and-one. Offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan rolled the dice a little bit with a rollout pass, but Rodney Bullard Jr. got open in the back of the end zone. Bullard then made a great catch on the ensuing two-point conversion that, very importantly, pushed the lead from five points to seven.
It wasn't quite as obvious against Eastern Michigan, but the Spartans' dominant second half was hardly an accident. The Eagles' only touchdown drive happened just before halftime, getting them within one score of MSU. The 14-7 score at the break was hardly encouraging. A common theme inthe postgame press conferences was that the third quarter was a major point of emphasis this week during practice.
"Our big thing was responding in the third quarter," defensive tackle Eli Coenen, who already has 3.0 sacks this year, said on Saturday after the EMU win. "Which I thought we did, you know, coming out and smacking them in the face. That's what we needed to do, and I think that's what we did."
It was perhaps MSU's worst quarter against Toledo, but it may have been its best against Eastern Michigan. Michigan State outgained the Eagles 137-46 during the frame, and the Spartans used that momentum to ultimately outgain Eastern Michigan 329-57 in the final 30 minutes.
Things change week to week, but there is still something promising about MSU seeing an issue, addressing it immediately in practice, and then patching it right away. We'll see if this team can do when Notre Dame, Michigan, or Washington is on the other side, but it's a start.
Responses on Individual Level
Another thing to like is that playing time on this team is truly earned. There isn't necessarily a locked-in starting lineup or rotation that changes only when there's an injury. One example of this from Saturday was wide receiver Charles Taplin.
He didn't play at all during Michigan State's opener against Toledo, but he got called upon for eight offensive snaps against EMU on Saturday. That's still not much time, but Taplin definitely maximized it. He made three catches for a team-high 65 yards and a touchdown.
That score was the first of Taplin's college career: a 38-yard deep shot, and really the first time MSU's passing game took the top off an opposing defense this year. Another one of Taplin's catches converted a fourth-and-11 on another drive that ended in a touchdown.
"Tap had a great week of practice," Fitzgerald said when asked what made the Spartans turn to him on Saturday. "He's been coming on, and you guys heard me say last week when I got up here: I want to play more guys."
"That was stressed to the players -- 'I want to play you. I want to get you out there.' You've got to earn that trust in practice. He's been grinding, and a lot of guys have, but his number was called, and he stepped up big time in two situations. Really happy for him, really proud of him. Just a young player that's continuing to grow, and we've just got to continue to feed in and pour into him and develop him fundamentally, technically, and in his confidence."
Taplin didn't play in the first game, which felt like a real surprise after he seemed to get starting reps in the spring and in fall camp. He responded, and now Fitzgerald and the staff have him as an example of how to move from the bench to the field.
Getting Michigan State back to its old early-to-mid 2010s glory under Dantonio will probably take a bit. MSU probably doesn't have the overall talent to hang with Notre Dame next week, so some patience is very much necessary. Still, it feels like there is a path and a clear vision now.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow jacobcotsonika