Michigan State Football: Is This Defense the Best in the Big Ten?

The common refrain through the first half of the season when it came to the Michigan State Spartans sitting near or at the top of all four major defensive categories in the NCAA rankings was "Yeah, but they haven't played anyone yet."

This was to a large extent true.  Games against FCS Youngstown State, Central Michigan and Florida Atlantic were the kind where a Big Ten title contender is supposed to hold the overmatched opponent to around 200 total yards and a handful of points.  There isn't anything to learn from those games that is positive.  No news is good news.

What was harder to understand was just how good Michigan State's defense was once one considered its performance against two BCS conference opponents.  Just one glance at the scoreboard made it easy to write the Michigan State defense off after a lopsided loss to Notre Dame, falling 31-13.  Couldn't have been close.

A 10-7 victory over Ohio State in the first game of Big Ten play was similarly suspicious.  What was the cause of the Buckeyes' 60 minute offensive meltdown?  Defensive pressure?  A black hole at quarterback?  An incoherent offensive game plan by coordinator Jim Bollman?  Or was MSU really that strong?

We still don't have enough evidence to properly evaluate Michigan State's defense in comparison to teams like Alabama and LSU, both of which have already played a number of solid and very good BCS programs and have impressed on a national scale.  However, after Michigan State's defense summarily executed Michigan and the Denard Robinson-led offense last weekend, there is one thing that is becoming increasingly clear: The Spartan defense is for real and it is quite likely the best defense in the Big Ten.

Michigan's offense entered the game averaging 491 yards and 38 points a game.  The Wolverines left with 250 yards of total offense (80 of which came on the first drive) and 14 points.  Robinson entered with the fourth-best rushing yards per game (134) in the nation and the eighth-best total offense average (341).  He left with 165 yards of offense and 42 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry.  Finally, a week after only missing three third-down conversions in 17 tries against Northwestern, Michigan managed just three conversions in 15 tries.

In every measure of the game the Wolverine offense was held in check.  Sacks? Seven of 'em.  Tackles for loss? Ten.  Turnovers?  A pick-six to ice the game with just under five minutes remaining.  Total rush yards?  Eighty-two.  Completion percentage?  Thirty-nine percent.

What you don't get from just looking at the raw numbers is how disruptive the Spartan defense was.  After moving the ball downfield for a score on its first drive in 10 plays for 80 yards—most of that coming in the run game—the Michigan offense punted seven times in a row despite several drives starting between the Wolverine 30 and midfield.  The only other score came on a Roy Roundtree slant and broken tackle following a Spartan turnover; it was a one-play, 34-yard "drive," and longer than all but two of the Wolverines' non-scoring drives on the day.

Defensive tackle Jerel Worthy lived up to the monstrous hype surrounding him in this game and spent almost as much time in the Michigan backfield as Denard Robinson.  Defensive ends Marcus Rush and William Gholston were terrors off the edges, and on the few occasions Michigan backs made it past the first wave of defenders linebackers Chris Norman and Max Bullough were quick to tackle, both displaying a nose for the ball and the ability to play sideline to sideline.  For most of the game the Wolverine offensive line looked severely overwhelmed at the constant blitzes from all angles, and many of the Wolverines second-half run plays were over before they began.

The signs of this kind of front seven dominance were already there, we just failed to see them.  The Ohio State game now looks more like a great defense steamrolling a one-dimensional offense than simply a good defense letting a terrible offense piss all over itself.  

Michigan, like Ohio State, doesn't have much of an identity in the passing game as Robinson continues to struggle settling into coordinator Al Borges' offense.  The similarities between the game plan MSU used in both games is obvious: Bring constant pressure from different positions to keep the offensive line off balance, and leave cornerbacks on an island to deal with receivers while hoping pressure on the quarterback is enough to guard against the deep pass play.  

This puts the onus on the offense to quickly read blitzes and execute plays before overcome by pressure, something neither Ohio State or Michigan was able to do.

Just as Michigan State was able to keep Ohio State constantly behind the chains, MSU was able to force Robinson to make quick decisions in the passing game in windy conditions.  The question now is just how did Michigan State lose by 18 points to Notre Dame?

Notre Dame only gained 275 yards of total offense (a season low), but the Spartans gave up 126 yards rushing (4.8 yards per carry) to the Notre Dame duo of Jonas Gray and Cierre Wood.  Meanwhile, Tommy Rees completed 70 percent of his passes but only passed for 161 yards.  The Spartans even forced three turnovers in the game.

The raw numbers definitely show Michigan State being the same semi-dominant unit it has been so far in the Big Ten season.  The devil was in the details.  Michigan State allowed a kickoff returned for a touchdown and allowed a few long scoring drives but shut down most everything else; Notre Dame had six drives of less than 10 yards and three more of less than 30.  Penalties also hurt MSU: 12 for 86 yards*.  

However, the biggest problem for the Spartans was on the offensive side of the ball where running backs LeVeon Bell and Edwin Baker combined for just 53 yards on 17 carries.

*This same lack of discipline would come back to haunt Michigan State quite a few times against Michigan, as the Spartans committed 13 penalties for 124 yards, and five of them 15-yard personal foul penalties.  In fact, of the Wolverines' 20 first downs six were courtesy of Michigan State penalties.  While Michigan's offense was too overwhelmed to take advantage of the free yardage, other teams might not have the same problem.

What does this mean for the future? Back-to-back games against two of the Big Ten's best teams will be the kind of measuring stick the Spartans need to make a national impression.

Michigan State will host visiting Wisconsin next week in a rematch of the Badgers' only regular-season loss last year.  It remains to be seen just how much success the Badgers will have against this stout front seven.  However, it would seem that Michigan State will need to readjust its game plan, because if any team in the conference is capable of controlling the line of scrimmage and passing out of blitzing situations, it would be the Badgers, who are currently allowing just over one sack per game.

The week after Michigan State will travel to Lincoln to face off with Nebraska in the Spartans' last major hurdle in the Legend's division.  Nebraska, like Ohio State and Michigan is vulnerable to pressure by the front seven.  Taylor Martinez doesn't handle pressure well and is subject to the same mental breakdowns in the passing game; against Wisconsin earlier this year Martinez threw three crucial interceptions.  

If the Husker offensive line fails to hold the Spartan defense in check it could be a long day for Martinez.

What we know right now is Michigan State has made a strong case for being the best defense in the Big Ten.  Statistically, the Spartans are first in the conference in four of the five main defensive categories (rush yards allowed, pass efficiency defense, total defense and pass yards allowed) and second in scoring defense, sacks and tackles for loss.

If Michigan State's defense makes a strong statement over the next two weeks it won't just be the Big Ten talking about how good this unit is.  It will be the country.