Three Up, Three Down: Spartans thumped by Ohio State in 4th straight loss

Michigan State has lost four consecutive games by double-digits for the first time since 2002...

Michigan State is the only Big Ten program still seeking its first win over a Power 5 opponent after the Spartans were beaten soundly by Ohio State on Saturday, 49-20.

MSU's four consecutive losses by double-digits is the longest such streak since 2002, under then-head coach Bobby Williams.

While the loss to the Buckeyes was fairly lopsided, we take a look at the positives and the negatives of Saturday's game in our Three Up, Three Down.

Three Up

1.) Jaden Mangham discharged from hospital, returns to team

True freshman safety Jaden Mangham suffered a scary injury late in the first quarter against the Buckeyes, when he collided violently with Ohio State tailback TreVeyon Henderson on a tackle.

Mangham was strapped to a backboard and left the field on a medical cart before being taken to the hospital. Fortunately, the freshman was discharged shortly after and MSU head coach Mel Tucker and several players mentioned that Mangham returned to the locker room and sidelines in the second half.

Of course, a player getting injured would never be considered a "positive takeaway", but it was great to hear that Mangham is going to be alright after that scary hit.

2.) Charles Brantley's pick-six

We all know about Michigan State's struggles in pass defense, and there's no reason for me to regurgitate that here.

With that prerequisite out of the way, the Spartan secondary finally got one monkey off their back when sophomore cornerback Charles Brantley grabbed Michigan State's first interception of the season.

There was a miscommunication between OSU quarterback C.J. Stroud and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on the play. Stroud threw quickly to the flat, while Egbuka took off downfield.

Brantley, whose eyes were in the backfield reading Stroud, took one step forward for an easy interception and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. The sophomore corner is a hard hitter and sure tackle, and I like his game despite the struggles this secondary has gone through. I still think there's potential for him to develop into a good cornerback for Michigan State.

3.) Jayden Reed looked like his old self

The Spartans' struggled offensively, but Reed looked like the player we saw give opponents fits a season ago.

The senior wide receiver was targeted seven times, and he finished with four catches for 67 yards and a score. The touchdown came on a classic, back-shoulder connection between Reed and quarterback Payton Thorne. The ball was a little under-thrown, but Reed made a superhuman adjustment to the ball, reaching back and reeling it in.

This season hasn't gone the way Reed or any of us expected it would. The senior missed the Washington game do to a cut on his back suffered vs. Akron, and seemed limited these last two weeks, but he looked back to normal against the Buckeyes.

Three Down

1.) Spartans surrender over 600 yards of offense

Most, if not all, of us knew that Michigan State's defense was in trouble against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have the talent and scheme to make good defenses look bad...and the Spartans don't have a good defense.

With that being said, MSU couldn't even slow Ohio State down when their starters were in the game. The Buckeyes did not punt until the fourth quarter, when their backups entered the game.

C.J. Stroud threw for 361 yards and six touchdowns while completing 21-of-26 pass attempts. Michigan State was no better at slowing the run, as the Buckeyes averaged 5.2 yards per carry on their way to 237 rushing yards.

The Spartans have allowed 600 yards of offense in back-to-back years against Ohio State, and this was the seventh time they've allowed over 500 yards under Tucker and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton.

Yes, Michigan State needs more high-end talent on the defensive side of the football. But nothing the coaching staff has tried to combat the Spartans deficiencies on that side of the ball have worked.

2.) MSU's O-line was completely overwhelmed

Ohio State was consistently able to pressure Thorne while rushing just four and dropping seven back in coverage. As a result, Thorne often had no where to go with the ball, and he was sacked four times.

The Spartans were also stuffed in the run game again, gaining just 38 sack-adjusted rushing yards on 16 attempts (2.4 yards per carry).

We thought we'd see more Elijah Collins this week, but he had just two carries for nine yards. Jalen Berger was limited to seven yards on five carries, and Jarek Broussard had eight yards on three carries.

When your offense is based on establishing the run and setting up play-action, the numbers above just aren't going to cut it. Michigan State has major problems at offensive line, and there's no quick fix for that.

3.) Kicking struggles continue

Midway through the season, Tucker and the Spartans still don't know which kicker they can trust.

True freshman Jack Stone is 1-for-3 on field goal attempts, and missed an extra point in yesterday's game. One of his missed field goals was blocked, but it would be hard to trust Stone in a big spot right now.

Tucker sent Auburn transfer Ben Patton out against Maryland last week for a field goal attempt, and he missed as well.

Michigan State is really missing Matt Coughlin right now.


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