Following two tense matches against FAU and Maryland, MSU fans were able to relax early on in a dominant victory against PVAM. MSU remains undefeated at 3-0, with an important non-conference match against Boston College on the horizon. Let's review MSU's performance this week and stay tuned for the preview of the Boston College game.
Offense
QB: Chiles looked ok most of the game. But also had an awful interception. Three games in, and the TOs look to be a significant issue. What concerns me is the mix of bad throws and bad reads. Bad throws are easier to fix, sometimes the ball to sails or gets tipped. Bad reads are a progression issue. The INT in this game was a bad read. That needs to be corrected ASAP. On the bright side, we got our first glimpse of fellow transfer QB Tommy Schuster. He was brought to be a veteran security option, with a ton of experience. He looked the part, and showed that adding him was savvy move.
RB
Much more balanced splits this game. KLA has 31 snaps, 15 carries for 63 yards (74 PFF grade). Carter had 25 snaps, with 8 carries for 91 yards, including a long 60-yard TD run (62 PFF grade).
True Freshman Tullis (6 snaps, 3 carries for 13 yards) and Frazier (5 snaps, 1 carry for 5 yards) got limited action, but this is valuable experince. Players can participate in 4 games while maintaining their redshirt. This was a good use. I expect them to only play in blowouts or when KLA/Carter get banged up.
TE: All off-season, we've been hearing about the TE depth and use of 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE). This was on display today.
Velling - 39 snaps (2-42), Masunas - 26, Parachek - 20, Faleye - 12, Hopper - 7. And FB Coyne logged 10.
WR: With Alante Brown and Jaron Glover out, MSU went deep down the depth chart. It was good timing to have a massive advantage and let younger players get reps.
Marsh (2-27) and Foster (4-37) led the WRs with 44 snaps
Gates had 23 snaps (3-42) and Aziah Johnson had 20 snaps (2-50-1). Good to see some production here.
Jaelen Smith has 12
OL:
The OL injuries continue to mount, with Gavin Broscious declared out for the season.
Fincher likely joins the starting lineup after logging 45 snaps in this game.
Newman (56) and Miller (44) remain the vets leading the way in snaps.
It's good to see Ramil continue his injury comeback with 38 snaps.
Lepo is having a solid year so far and logged 33 snaps.
Rakeem Johnson is a True Freshman the staff loves. He came in after the Broscious injury and contributed 22 snaps. He likely competes for the starting role or at least the first man up.
Defense
Jordan Turner: The Wisconsin transfer continues to be an impact player, logging 7 tackes, 1.5 TFLs, and 1 Sack.
Charles Brantley: Continues his comeback arch, with a pick-6. Through 3 weeks, Brantley is ranked in the Top 10 for BigTen PFF ratings, with an 87.2
Ken Talley: Picked up right where he left off, adding another sack and TFL.
Cool stat from The Big Ten Huddle
Through 3 weeks, MSU has a 26% Blitz rate, among the lowest in the BigTen.
Despite a low blitz rate, MSU ranks near the top of the BigTen in HAVOC percentage, at 21%. HAVOC is the percentage of plays resulting in a TFL, fumble, interception, or PBU.
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