MSU managed to hold on despite facing challenges such as an interception on the first pass, the early ejection of a key player, untimely penalties, questionable coaching decisions, struggles to convert crucial opportunities, premature whistles by the referees, and injuries to some starters. The key factor in the victory was a solid defensive performance throughout the game, complemented by an offense that made just the right plays, including one explosive moment.
FAU's defense executed a successful strategy by predominantly employing press-man coverage. They were confident in their defensive backs' ability to keep up with our wide receivers, and their confidence was justified. Unfortunately, the MSU wide receivers struggled to break away from the press coverage. Even when the MSU receivers managed to gain some advantage, Chiles consistently overthrew them. Despite his inconsistent performance that night, Chiles demonstrated glimpses of his potential, particularly in his scrambling and designed running plays, reminiscent of Stanton's style. While Chiles did overthrow many passes, the responsibility for the inaccuracies can be attributed to both the quarterback and the wide receivers.
Utilizing man coverage and positioning defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage made it challenging for MSU to effectively run the ball. With the exception of one play, KLAs long TD run, FAU's defense performed admirably by generating turnovers and successfully halting MSU on several crucial 3rd and 4th down attempts. Disregarding the long run, our average yards per carry stood at approximately 2.5, which is quite poor.
An inherent risk of employing man coverage is that the defensive backfield may have their backs turned to the quarterback, creating opportunities for running plays. Although Chiles demonstrated decent mobility in the pocket, there was a lack of effectiveness in terms of scrambling. However, the Owls' strategy to contain the run was ultimately successful.
The MSU play calling was intentionally vanilla, keeping plays, motions, and schemes for games we really need. We cut it too close, but I don't blame the coaches for trying to keep things close to the chest.
PFF Snap Count Week 1 vs FAU:
QB Aidan Chiles 64
OL Kristian Phillips 64
OL Luke Newman 64
OL Tanner Miller 64
WR Jaron Glover 60
OL Ashton Lepo 59
WR Montorie Foster Jr. 56
TE Jack Velling 52
RB Nathan Carter 45
OL Brandon Baldwin 44
OL Stanton Ramil 25
WR Aziah Johnson 21
RB Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams 14
WR Nick Marsh 11
WR Alante Brown 10
TE Brennan Parachek 5
FB Jay Coyne 5
TE Ademola Faleye 3
Snap Notes
OL: We went deep with a 6-man rotation, emphasizing depth and rotation. I anticipate we may see 7-8 players in the upcoming weeks.
RB: I was surprised by the RB split between Carter with 45 snaps and KLA with 14 snaps. Carter has earned the staff's trust and excels in pass protection, accumulating 19 carries. However, KLA showed promise with only 9 carries in 14 snaps. I believe he should receive more opportunities to touch the ball.
WR: Foster and Glover are clearly the top two receivers. It was encouraging to see Marsh getting some playing time. Unfortunately, Brown suffered an injury in the second half. Aziah Johnson had a strong Spring and Summer, moving up the depth chart. I'm eager to see Gates in action in the upcoming weeks.
On Defense, MSU showed massive improvement from the Tucker era. Granted we played a QB who can't throw. But we still got a ton of pressure, created turnovers, and rotated players to keep guys fresh.
PFF Snap Count
S Nikai Martinez 74 - Way to come in early and ball out.
Nickle Angelo Grose 72 - see note below
CB Charles Brantley 65 - see note below
LB Cal Haladay 65
CB Ed Woods 53
LB Jordan Turner 48
DE Khris Bogle 46
DE Jalen Thompson 40
DE/DT D’Quan Douse 39
S Aveon Grose 31 - Looks to be the next man up with Tatum injured
DT Alex VanSumeren 30 - Awesome to see him finally healthy and on the field
LB Jordan Hall 29
Rush Anthony Jones 28 - Young player, playing early
DT Jalen Satchell 25 - good reps for a transfer
DT Maverick Hansen 24
LB Wayne Matthews III 22
S Dillon Tatum 21 - Injured (Sad)
DE Ken Talley 20 - good reps and made an impact
CB Chance Rucker 18
DE/DT Quindarius Dunnigan 14 - made an impact on limited snaps
CB Ade Willie 12
S Malik Spencer 10 - ejected early in game.
DT Ben Roberts 9 - good reps for a transfer depth piece
S Khalil Majeed 7 - expect him to play more with Tatum injured
LB Darius Snow 7
DT Ru’Quan Buckley 5
There were some performances worth highlighting.
Angelo Grose: Horrible news coming out of the game that Dillon Tatum is likely out for the year. I'll have another post about this. I give a ton of credit to Angelo Grose, who I've been a hater of, for stepping up for a massive game.
PFF Grades: I think PFF can be directional. Single-game sample sizes aren't great, but they paint a picture of performance.
Nikai Martinez: Following Spencer's ejection and Tatum's injury, transfer Nikai Martinez was brought into the game early. He delivered the 3rd highest PFF grade for MSU, recording 6 tackles and an interception.
Ken Talley: Despite low expectations as a rotational player behind Bogel and Thompson, Talley exceeded expectations in just 20 snaps. He showcased his disruptive skills with a half sack and a half tackle for loss, earning the highest PFF grade.
Wayne Matthews: Amidst a competitive LB unit with transfers like Turner and returners such as Hall and Haladay, Matthews demonstrated his worth.
Summary of Game Production:
My main observation is that out of the top 12 performers, 6 were transfers this season and 2 were transfers from the previous cycle. The coaching staff identifying 6 players who immediately made an impact is a positive sign.
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