The Michigan State Spartans lost their third straight game on Saturday, losing to visiting independent Brigham Young 31-14.
The Michigan State Spartans (2-3) dropped below .500 for the first time since 2012 on Saturday with a 31-14 loss to the Brigham Young Cougars (2-3) on Saturday.
Michigan State scored first, going 72 yards in 15 plays and 7:03 to take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The rest of the first half was a defensive struggle, neither team scoring for over a full quarter. The Cougars got a drive going in the middle of the second quarter but failed to convert on fourth down and one at the Spartans’ three-yard line. Brigham Young would get on the board on the final play of half on a 35-yard Rhett Almond field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.
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In the second half, the Cougar offense got going and scored on back-to-back 13-play touchdown drives of 73 and 70 yards, each capped off by a Taysom Hill touchdown—the first on a four-yard pass to Colby Pearson and the second on a 12-yard run—to take a 17-7 lead in the third. The Spartan offense continued to sputter, failing to score on six straight possessions.
Early in the fourth quarter, Michigan State quarterback Tyler O’Connor was pulled and replaced by junior Damion Terry. Terry threw an interception on his first possession and the Cougars turned the short field into an eight-yard run by Jamaal Williams to increase the lead to 24-7. Terry led a 10-play, 75-yard drive and scored on a one-yard run to cut the lead to ten on the Spartans’ next drive, but Brigham Young responded with a touchdown of their own to increase their lead to 31-14 and salt the game away.
Quarterback controversy in full swing
When Tyler O’Connor was named the Spartans’ starting quarterback for their season opener against Furman, it was no surprise. O’Connor had been Connor Cook’s backup in 2015, leading the Spartans to an important win over Ohio State when Cook was injured and took most of the first-team reps in camp. However, in recent weeks O’Connor has come under fire for his unimpressive performances, particularly his three-interception game in Michigan State’s 30-6 loss to Wisconsin on September 24.
After O’Connor led Michigan State to only seven points and 103 yards through three quarters against BYU on Saturday, head coach Mark Dantonio opted to pull O’Connor and put in junior backup Damion Terry, a dual-threat change-of-pace quarterback who also played in the Ohio State game a season ago. Terry threw an interception on his first drive but led the Spartans to a touchdown on his second and the offense equaled the production it produced under O’Connor, seven points and 103 yards, in one quarter with Terry at the helm.
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Complicating matters is the fact that when O’Connor was pulled near the end of the Wisconsin game, it was four-star redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke who replaced him. He completed only two of four passes for 26 yards and ran for 16 yards on one carry in limited action, but his playing style is more similar to the pocket-passing quarterbacks Michigan State has deployed during the Mark Dantonio era.
With O’Connor being pulled for the second time this season and Michigan State’s chances for a Big Ten championship likely gone, there will likely be questions about the starting quarterback position for Michigan State as they prepare to take on Northwestern next week. A Lewerke-Terry tandem is not of out the question, especially considering that Dantonio has deployed two-quarterback systems before, and Dantonio might consider it time to start preparing for the future by starting one of the current backups who will be leading the offense in 2017, maybe even four-star true freshman Messiah deWeaver, who has not played a down yet this season.
Cougars dominate ground game, Spartans struggle
Brigham Young dominated the ground game, especially senior running back Jamaal Williams, who ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. As a team, the Cougars ran for 260 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Number-two back Squally Canada carried six times for 50 yards as well.
The Spartans, on the other hand, ran for a combined 85 yards and averaged only 2.7 yards per carry. Gerald Holmes got the majority of the carries, rushing 15 times for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Hicks, Sadler honored by Cougars and Spartans
One week after wearing his number six on their helmets, the Spartans honored former Michigan State defensive back Mylan Hicks on Saturday by painting his number on the Spartan logo at midfield, as they did for former Spartan punter Mike Sadler, who died in a car accident this summer, against Wisconsin. The Cougars participated in honoring Hicks and Sadler by placing roses at the three and six-yard lines before the game.
Spartans still miss linebackers, lose more defensive players
Michigan State came into Saturday’s game without starting linebackers Riley Bullough and Jon Reschke. Late in the first half, Shane Jones had to be helped off the field and Brian Bullough left with an injury in the fourth.
All-American defensive tackle Malik McDowell also left the game in the second half and was seen his ankle taped on the trainer’s table, and starting center Brian Allen was also injured and left the game a week for the second week in a row.
Elsewhere In The Big Ten:
#2 Ohio State (5-0, 3-2) handed Indiana (3-2, 1-1) their first Big Ten loss, winning 38-17 at home. #4 Michigan (5-0, 2-0) was handing it to Rutgers (2-3, 0-2) at the time of writing, leading 57-0 in the third quarter.
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Iowa (4-2, 2-1) ended their two-game losing streak by beating Minnesota (3-2, 0-2), 14-7. Maryland’s (4-1, 1-1) undefeated run came to an end with a 38-14 loss to Penn State (4-2, 2-1) and Purdue (3-2, 1-1) defeated Illinois 34-31 in overtime (1-4, 0-2). Northwestern (2-3, 1-1) and undefeated #12 Nebraska (5-0, 2-0) did not play.