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Michigan State football stock watch: Run game, secondary keep floundering

chris solari, detroit free press
·4 min read
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EAST LANSING — Here are the Michigan State football players who helped or hurt their stock in the Spartans’ 49-20 loss to No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday:

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WR Jayden Reed: For the first time this season, after battling a number of injuries, Reed looked fluid and fast in his routes and as healthy. The senior caught four passes for 67 yards, including a pinpoint 20-yarder from Payton Thorne on the second play of the game and a 24-yarder through contact for a third-down conversion. Then Thorne hit Reed for an 18-yard touchdown in which the receiver made a leaping catch around the defensive back on a back-shoulder throw from Thorne at the front right pylon. He now has TD grabs in back-to-back games and 23 catches for 256 yards on the season.

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Oct 8, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Jayden Reed (1) makes a catch against Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Cameron Brown (26) in the first quarter of the NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium.
Oct 8, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Jayden Reed (1) makes a catch against Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Cameron Brown (26) in the first quarter of the NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium.

QB Noah Kim: In another garbage time cameo, Kim made the most of his opportunity once again. The sophomore backup entered late in the third quarter and finished the game in place of starter Payton Thorne, who went 11 of 18 for just 113 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Kim went 6 of 10 for 82 yards and moved MSU 80 yards late in the fourth quarter, finishing the eight-play drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Montorie Foster with 5:40 to play. Kim is now 14 of 19 for 174 yards with three touchdowns in four appearances this season.

DT Derrick Harmon: With Jacob Slade still out, the redshirt freshman made his fourth straight start and finished with five tackles. The powerful space-eater in the middle registered his first solo sack — the Spartans’ only one of the game and just their second in the past four games — and added another QB hurry. Harmon, who appeared to injure his left leg in the fourth quarter but returned a drive later, has 12 tackles his past two games.

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Michigan State Spartans guard Matt Carrick (56) helps quarterback Payton Thorne (10) up after he was sacked during second half action against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Spartan Stadium Saturday, October 8, 2022.
Michigan State Spartans guard Matt Carrick (56) helps quarterback Payton Thorne (10) up after he was sacked during second half action against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Spartan Stadium Saturday, October 8, 2022.

Offensive line: Much of the problems at running back can be tied to the struggles MSU has had with its six-man offensive line in opening holes and getting blown backward off the snap. But Saturday showed the major disparity between the Spartans and Buckeyes in the trenches. MSU’s total of 7 rushing yards was among the worst performances in program history. Quarterback Payton Thorne got sacked four times for a loss of 23 yards, getting dropped on a third down that knocked on its second possession and twice on back-to-back plays on second and third down of the Spartans’ first drive of the second half, and he was chased from the pocket repeatedly.

RB Jalen Berger/Jarek Broussard: With their blockers struggling, the two transfer running backs the Spartans brought in to replace Kenneth Walker III have yet to live up to their advance billing. Berger started again and ran for just 7 yards on five carries, while Broussard had 8 yards on three attempts. Though they have combined for 493 yards on the season, only 131 of those have come against Power Five opponents during MSU’s four-game losing streak. Senior Elijah Collins only got two carries but led the Spartans with 9 rushing yards.

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Oct 8, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Julian Fleming (4) makes a catch and scores a touchdown in the second quarter of the NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium.
Oct 8, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Julian Fleming (4) makes a catch and scores a touchdown in the second quarter of the NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium.

Defensive backs: MSU tried blending different coverages throughout the game, but it only seemed to confuse the secondary and allowed C.J. Stroud to throw for six touchdowns for the second straight year to go with 361 yards. Cornerback Charles Brantley distributed some big hits but they were sandwiched around coverage busts and getting beat one-on-one by Marvin Harrison Jr. for three touchdowns. Brantley and nickelback Angelo Grose got caught up in communication as the ball got snap that left both out of position and left OSU receiver Emeka Egbuka free to run down the seam wide open for a 69-yard TD. Backup safety Justin White got lost in midfield help on a 51-yard TD pass to Julian Fleming. Cornerback Ameer Speed got beat over the top for a 32-yard throw from Stroud to Harrison on a third-and-8 that led to another score.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football stock watch: Run game, DBs still struggling