Oregon vs. Michigan State: Game Grades, Analysis for Ducks and Spartans

In the first game with legitimate College Football Playoff implications, No. 5 Michigan State came out on top with a 31-28 victory over the No. 7 Oregon Ducks on Saturday night in Lansing.

The Spartans were effective on both sides of the ball, using their strong defense to stifle the usually high-powered Ducks, while their offense used balance to move the chains and chew up the clock.

Here are complete game grades from Michigan State's three-point victory over Oregon. 

Positional Unit	First Half	Final Grade
Pass Offense	C	C+
Run Offense	D	C-
Pass Defense	B	C+
Run Defense	A-	C-
Special Teams	B	A
Coaching	C	C-

Oregon Ducks Grade Analysis

Pass Offense

Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. fought through the lingering finger injury he suffered in Oregon's season opener against Eastern Washington, but it was easy to see that he was bothered by it all night. He was bothered even more by the Michigan State secondary, however, which showed no signs of missing former defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi.

Adams threw two bad interceptions in the first half, but he calmed down in the second half, throwing a nice touchdown pass late in fourth before finishing with 309 yards.

Run Offense

Running back Royce Freeman was Oregon's most consistent presence on the ground: He ran for 92 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. But the Spartans largely bottled up the running game as the Ducks failed to register a single run of 20 yards or more. 

Pass Defense

Michigan State didn't hit any huge plays in the passing game—quarterback Connor Cook's longest completion went for just 28 yards—but the Ducks didn't do much to disrupt his rhythm. The Spartans only had 192 yards through the air and two touchdowns as they specifically targeted Ducks defensive back Reggie Daniels. But it was the efficiency that Cook brought to the field that hurt the Ducks as he completed a comfortable 62.5 percent of his passes. 

Al Goldis/Associated Press

Run Defense

Oregon's defensive front held up better than expected against Michigan State's powerful run game in the first half. After Spartan Madre London ripped off a 62-yard run in the first quarter, the Ducks allowed only 29 yards on the Spartans' next 15 carries. But that changed dramatically in the second half as Michigan State wore down the Ducks' front seven. The Spartans ran for 197 total yards, which was key as they pulled away for the victory. 

Special Teams

Oregon punter Ian Wheeler didn't get any action last week as the Ducks offense steamrolled Eastern Washington, but he was needed badly against the Spartans, and he played poorly. The redshirt sophomore averaged just 30.7 yards on three punts against the Spartans on Saturday night. 

Bralon Addison more than made up for that though when he returned a punt 81 yards for a score at the beginning of the third quarter. The Ducks could have used another play or two like that from the special teams, but they came up just short.

Coaching

It feels like Oregon is still trying to find a comfort level with its new quarterback, and the Ducks played like it against the Spartans. 

The offense started to find a rhythm late in the game, which sparked a near-successful rally down the stretch. But that adjustment came too late as the Spartans had built a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter. 

Positional Unit	First Half	Final Grade
Pass Offense	B-	B-
Run Offense	C-	A-
Pass Defense	A	A
Run Defense	A	A+
Special Teams	C	F
Coaching	A	A

Michigan State Spartans Grade Analysis

Pass Offense

Cook provided the steady hand that the offense needed in the first half, completing 11 of 16 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a bad interception late in the second quarter, spoiling an opportunity for the Spartans to steal the momentum. But he made up for that by playing a mistake-free second half as he finished the game with 192 yards and two scores.

But it's the emergence of Aaron Burbridge that should have Spartans fans most excited. Without Tony Lippett and Keith Mumphery on the perimeter, Michigan State needed someone to step up, and Burbridge did against the Ducks, hauling in eight catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. 

Run Offense

Michigan State looked to establish the ground game early, and that proved to be a winning decision when London ripped off a 62-yard run on his first carry of the game. But the Spartans had trouble finding lanes after that, averaging less than two yards per carry to close out the half. But that was just an investment that was cashed in during the fourth quarter, when the Spartans offensive line pounded the deflated Oregon defensive front. 

True freshman LJ Scott helped to seal the game, running for two second-half touchdowns (one of which went for 38 yards) to fuel a strong game from the deep running back corps. 

Pass Defense

Oregon gained big chunks of yards through the air, particularly in the first when Adams threw for 173 yards, but the Spartans secondary was aggressive and picked off two passes before the break. One of the top plays of the game came in the first quarter when safety Montae Nicholson ripped a completion from an Oregon receiver's hands to register the pick. 

Adams was able to find a rhythm in the second half, but the Spartans didn't give up a pass play of longer than 30 yards despite playing some aggressive one-on-one coverage.

Al Goldis/Associated Press

Run Defense

Nothing was more impressive than the performance of Michigan State's defensive front. 

Oregon's high-powered run game was absolutely stonewalled by Shilique Calhoun and Co., gaining just 123 yards on 43 carries. The Ducks averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, and while Freeman was able to find a few lanes, the Spartans completely shut Adams down. The dangerous dual-threat quarterback netted just six yards on 14 carries.

Special Teams

Michigan State's special teams were a mixed bag in the first half. Michael Geiger missed an early chip-shot 28-yard field goal, but that was countered by some excellent punting from Jake Hartbarger, who averaged 54 yards on two punts. But things completely bottomed out in the second half when Hartbarger's punt was returned 81 yards for a touchdown by Addison. 

Coaching

Unlike Oregon, Michigan State looked like a team that new exactly what it wanted to do, and it executed that plan perfectly. Even though the running game wasn't moving the chains in the first half, head coach Mark Dantonio stuck to the ground in the second half, and the lanes opened up down the stretch. One of the biggest keys to beating Oregon is keeping its offense off the field, and that's exactly what the Spartans did as they clung to the three-point victory.