Michigan State football: What we learned during bye, what to watch vs. Penn State
Chris SolariLooking back at Michigan State football’s bye week and looking ahead to the Spartans’ game Saturday against Penn State:
Three things we learned
Collecting thoughts: Coach Mark Dantonio gave the Spartans most of last week off to heal after seven straight weeks of games, culminating in the 38-0 loss at Wisconsin on Oct. 12. MSU still has a number of offensive linemen out, most notably Kevin Jarvis, as well as wide receiver Jalen Nailor and cornerback Shakur Brown. The Spartans resumed practice Thursday and Friday before Dantonio gave them the weekend off heading into the Penn State game.
MSU mailbag:Are Dantonio, his assistants approaching the hot seat?
Losing on bye: MSU lost two more players to the NCAA transfer portal last week, with wide receiver Cam Chambers and tight end Noah Davis both planning to leave the program. The two redshirt juniors were part of the 2016 recruiting class, which has gone from 20 plays to seven remaining. Chambers is one of eight four-star recruits from that class to leave through transfer, dismissal or declaring for the NFL draft – the only one remaining is defensive tackle Naquan Jones. Both Chambers and Davis have been buried on the depth chart and injured at times during their four seasons.
In the field: While Dantonio’s players took time off, his coaches hit the road recruiting. Ten assistants scattered across the state and into Ohio, Washington D.C., Georgia and other states working on adding pieces to the next two recruiting classes. NCAA rules deem this an evaluation period for coaches, meaning they can go scout practices and games, as well as visit with high school coaches, but they cannot talk to prospects.
Next up: Penn State
Matchup: Michigan State (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) vs. No. 6 Penn State (7-0, 4-0).
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing.
TV/radio: ABC, WJR-AM (760).
Line: TBD.
More from Seidel:MSU's offense and Dantonio both carrying the air of defeat
Know your foe: The Nittany Lions are off to their second 7-0 start in the past three seasons under coach James Franklin after holding off Michigan on Saturday night, 28-21. First-year QB Sean Clifford has been efficient, throwing for 248.9 yards per game with 16 TDs and two interceptions, and has run for 269 yards and three more TDs on a team-high 70 attempts. He had three touchdown passes and 182 yards against the Wolverines, his second straight game under 200 yards passing, and ran for PSU’s other score. His top target is Orchard Lake St. Mary’s graduate KJ Hamler, a junior who has seven TDs among his 32 catches for 563 yards and is a big-play threat in return game. The Nittany Lions are running the ball by committee, with freshman Noah Cain has 329 yards on 62 carries with six TDs, and Journey Brown and Devyn Ford each have more than 200 yards and 30 carries. PSU is ranked No. 12 nationally in total defense (282.1 yards per game), allowing the third-fewest points per game at 10.0 and tying for fourth with 28 sacks. Micah Parsons leads the Nittany Lions with 45 tackles, while Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Brown each have 5.5 sacks.
Three things to watch
Spartan psyche: MSU historically has been a strong bounce-back team after a loss under Dantonio, but the Wisconsin game got away from them in a hurry. The Spartans lost back-to-back games just once a year ago, and their last extended losing streak was a seven-game slide in 2016 in which they finished the season dropping nine of their last 10. Other than that year, MSU’s only other three-game skid in Dantonio’s 13 seasons during the 2007 and 2009 seasons.
More:Here's why Michigan State's rushing attack has been ground down
Bye, game, bye: Dantonio identified the next four weeks during the summer as a potentially challenging period in MSU’s season. The Spartans played two tough road games against top-10 teams, took a week off, host another top-10 team, then take another week off before hosting resurgent Illinois. MSU has won five of its last six against the Nittany Lions, including a comeback 21-17 victory last year at Penn State to retain the Land Grant Trophy.
Who’s playing? With the Spartans’ hope of winning the Big Ten is all but gone, coaches could begin to assess some of the younger players who are expected to be contributors next season. MSU will lose seven starters on defense and three on offense in 2020. Assistants have discussed the need to get those second- and third-string players more snaps earlier in the game alongside the starters.
Contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.