Can Michigan State football improve offense vs. Maryland? Will they even get the chance?

Looking back at Michigan State football’s 24-0 home loss to No. 10 Indiana and looking ahead to the Spartans’ road game Saturday at Maryland.

3 things we learned

Ugly numbers: Mark Dantonio was shut out twice as MSU head coach, by Alabama in the 2015 College Football Playoff and last season at Wisconsin. Mel Tucker’s Spartans shutout home loss to the Hoosiers was the program’s first at Spartan Stadium since losing 31-0 to Michigan in 1985, George Perles' third season. The Spartans' 66-point margin in back-to-back defeats is the program's worst two-game stretch since MSU lost by 68 combined points in the last game of the George Perles era in 1994 to Penn State and Nick Saban’s first game the next year. It is the worst consecutive losses in the same season since 1946 defeats to Kentucky and Michigan by a combined 73 points.

A LOOK AHEAD: How MSU is approaching Maryland, which is in COVID-19 shutdown

GRADES: Spartans were bad in every way vs. Indiana

JEFF SEIDEL: There's no QB1 controversy for MSU: Payton Thorne should start

Thorne time: A week after taking four snaps at Iowa, redshirt freshman Payton Thorne took over at quarterback for Rocky Lombardi with 9:22 left in the second quarter and saw his first extensive action. Thorne played the remainder of the game, ripping off a 38-yard run on a read-option and directed MSU’s offense to 170 yards in his seven drives but failed to find the end zone. He finished 10 of 20 passing for 110 yards but was sacked three times despite showing ability to move from the pocket and throw on the run.

More of the same: MSU's 73.8 yards per game on the ground ranks 121st out of 124 Football Bowl Subdivision teams playing this fall. The Spartans used four running backs who combined for 46 yards on 14 carries against Indiana, and the team finished with 60 total yards rushing after gaining just 59 yards at Iowa and 50 against Rutgers. The outlier was the 126 yards at Michigan.

Next up

Matchup: Michigan State (1-3) at Maryland (2-1)

Kickoff: Noon, Saturday; Maryland Stadium, College Park, Maryland

TV/radio: BTN, WJR-AM (760).

Line: Maryland by 4.

MORE COVID IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

Ohio State at Maryland canceled

SEC teams hit hard; FAMU cancels delayed season

Know the foe: The Terrapins have been one of the surprises of the Big Ten since turning to Alabama transfer quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. The brother of Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa threw for 394 yards in a 45-44 overtime win over Minnesota, then followed with 282 yards in a 35-19 road thumping of Penn State. The younger Tagovailoa is completing 67.4% of his passes for 770 yards with six touchdowns to four interceptions, three of them coming in his first start, a blowout loss to Northwestern. He has receivers Brian Cobb, Dontay Demus Jr. and Jeshaun Jones, who have combined for 38 catches, 593 yards and five TDs. Running back Jake Funk averages 112 yards per game with two touchdowns, while Tagovailoa has scored twice and is a threat to run as Maryland averages 156 yards per game on the ground. Defensively, the Terps have been gashed for 474.0 yards and 35.3 points a game.

3 things to watch

Will it happen? The big question remains whether this game will be played. The Terrapins shut down all team activities Wednesday due to an elevated number of COVID-19 cases within the program. It forced them to cancel Saturday’s game with No. 3 Ohio State. Coach Mike Locksley reportedly moved the remaining players into a hotel nearby campus in College Park, Maryland. The plan was to continue the Big Ten’s daily testing requirements to figure out who else may have the coronavirus, and Locksley expected the team to leave the hotel Sunday. That also does not account for potential disruptions for MSU, both with potential COVID issues in its program and possible orders from the state.

Who’s the QB? Thorne’s first extended look gives Tucker a bona fide quarterback controversy four games into his tenure. Lombardi started the first four games and threw for 300-plus yards in his first two before struggling the past two games. The fourth-year junior now has thrown seven interceptions and six TDs this season after adding two more picks in going 3 of 7 for 21 yards before getting pulled Saturday. In Lombardi’s 20 appearances, he is 143 for 294 (48.6%) with 12 picks and nine touchdowns and is 2-4 in six starts. For the season, he is 68 of 119 (57.1%) and averaging 222.5 yards per game.

HOW'D THEY GET HERE? MSU's offensive struggles started with spring disruptions

Midway point: The Spartans are among the nation’s worst in a number of categories as the truncated Big Ten season hit its midpoint. The Spartans are 118th in scoring (15.3 points per game), 121st in turnover margin (minus-2.25), 111th in time of possession (25:57) and 109th in total offense (323.8). They also rank 95th in first downs, as well as third- and fourth-down conversion percentages. Defensively, MSU is 85th at 33.8 points allowed per game.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: What we learned, what to watch at Maryland