3&Out: On the opening night scene, Michigan State’s defense and what’s going on at safety
East Lansing, Mich. – Three quick takeaways from Michigan State’s 31-7 victory over Central Michigan on Friday night at Spartan Stadium, including takes on the defense, snaps counts and the gameday environment.
1. FRIDAY NIGHT WORKS FOR ME
This Friday night opening-game tradition is awesome. I kind of liked it there for a few years. Then I really liked it. Now I love it. It’s grown on me. It’s fabulous.
Although it’s usually against a mid-major opponent, I think it’s become one of the top three or four home football events of the season.
I love a good 30-degree game in November. But a 75-degree night game can be staged during a short window of time on the football calendar in our state. All the more reason for this beautiful little tradition that Mark Hollis created.
A few hours before kickoff, I had to run a couple of errands at Meijer. There was a football vibe at the store. I saw some Central Michigan students getting pre-game provisions. It seemed like everyone had a good football holiday jump, including the greeter.
Then I drove over to the stadium. I rolled down the windows and could smell the tailgating. There was the usual big crowd of white-shirted students walking down Shaw Lane toward the stadium.
Then I had to stop for a bus.
A bus? What the heck? I don’t remember a bus ever being out here when driving to a game.
Oh, wait. I forgot. This is a FRIDAY.
Yes it was. And East Lansing does opening-night Friday extremely well. And it’s pretty much unique to Michigan State. Not many schools open up at home on Labor Day Friday every year. (Well, technically, Michigan State doesn’t open at home every year. In 2021, the Big Ten made Michigan State open at Northwestern.) But, as long as the Big Ten allows it, Michigan State will continue doing it this way for the foreseeable future, and I think it’s terrific.
Labor Day Weekend is a three-day weekend. People love it, right? Well at Michigan State, in East Lansing, Labor Day Weekend has become a full-blown FOUR-day weekend.
I’ve always kind of liked the Friday night season opener. Then I got to where I really liked it. Now I love it. Sorry, but I’m putting it up there with Thanksgiving Thursday as a Lions fan. It’s become a holiday staple.
I heard someone on a local talk show predict a crowd of less than 60,000 for the game. That prediction was way wrong. The stadium was full. The stripe out was in effect. The student section is bigger than ever, and they were into it. Tailgating was extremely good.
The opponent brought some flavor, too. There’s always a little bit of a risk when playing a feisty in-state opponent like Central Michigan. But that’s good. It adds an edge to it.
Playing the season opener against Akron, like last year, is … okay. But if you’re going to play a mid-major opponent, we might as well increase the stakes and invite Central Michigan in for a scrap.
Central Michigan brought a few thousand fans – and it added to the buzz. Some of them were noisy and cocky before the game. That’s great.
CMU head coach Jim McElwain said all the right things after the game, saying he and his wife loved being at Michigan State when they were here when he was part of John L. Smith’s staff for two years. He thanked Michigan State for bringing Chippewa football to town for this game. The $1.7 million that Michigan State paid didn’t hurt, either.
The whole thing was terrific. I hope Michigan State, and the Big Ten, and FOX and whoever else is in charge of these decisions leaves this Friday night tradition alone and untouched for decades to come. It’s a hit.
2. MICHIGAN STATE’S DEFENSE LOOKED THE PART
Michigan State didn’t face the most diverse, balanced, talented offense in the world, but I Central Michigan offered some challenges. Michigan State did a good job of settling in, making adjustments, and keeping a lid on the Chippewas’ running quarterback and ball-control passing attack after some early issues.
I liked how the Spartans settled into a functional, sound-tackling, hard-hitting cover-four zone as the game progressed. The cover-four was working. It kept an eye on the running game, contained the QB runs, and decreased the chances of an explosive play getting out.
They were on the same page, and they were physical. After two seasons of ranking outside the national Top 100 in total defense, this was a refreshing performance by the Spartans. Michigan State surely had plenty of other coverages and blitzes installed for the gameplan, but they smartly kept it simple, and had the horsepower to dominate with it. Michigan State forced six three-and-outs on the night.
I realize that Central Michigan’s offense isn’t in the same galaxy as Washington’s, Ohio State’s, Penn State’s or Michigan’s, but the Spartans have had trouble playing this kind of defense even against the weakest opponents in recent years.
Friday’s performance doesn’t guarantee consistent success for the entire season, but we saw good speed at linebacker, size and physicality up front and same-pageness in the back end. They played the way a good defense is supposed to play in a season opener.
In the first quarter and a half, when Michigan State was struggling to find a rhythm, the Spartans avoided any major mistakes. They didn’t turn the ball over. They didn’t give up a big play. And then they found their rhythm and staged an encouraging exhibition.
Count McElwain among the impressed.
“They are going to give people problems in this conference defensively because they’re sound,” McElwain said. “They do some things that keep you off-balance. They are advanced in their cover schemes, which is his (Tucker’s) NFL background, as well as being with Kirby (Smart) and Nick (Saban), there’s a lot of similarities there when I was watching film, thinking about practices back in Tuscaloosa. This is a good defense and they are not going to give up a bunch of points or many yards all year long.”
3. SECOND STRING QUESTIONS
I’m still not clear on who the second-stringers are at the safety positions. Armorion Smith, who played 12 snaps in the dime defense, is likely one of them, but it’s hard to know the rest of the pecking order at safety.
After Friday’s game became a blowout, we saw reserves check into the game along the defensive line, at cornerback and linebacker. However, Michigan State stuck with starting safeties Jaden Mangham and Malik Spencer for the entire game. Maybe the coaches felt Spencer and Mangham needed all the live reps they can get together.
Mangham experienced a teaching moment when he allowed a 12-yard over route to cross his face for a touchdown in the second quarter. Central Michigan sent criss-crossing routes into the safety level.
When the crossing receiver from Mangham’s side of the field crossed him and headed toward Malik Spencer’s side, Mangham needed to know that another crosser was likely coming from the other direction. He was an instant late in looking for it, and by that time he couldn’t change direction fast enough to run with that second receiver.
“We definitely will see that play again as the season goes along,” Mangham said. “I just have to be ready for it. I just have to improve on it, study more, watch more film, break it down. I just have to stay on top of it, but I feel confident.”
Spencer and Mangham are second-year players. Their learning curve is steep. Although the game was well in hand in the fourth quarter, those two safeties were able to get another possession or two of communication experience.
Meanwhile, Michigan State kept its play counts low for defensive tackles. Simeon Barrow played 41 of Michigan State’s 69 snaps on defense. Maverick Hansen (27), Derrick Harmon (20), Jalen Sami (19) and Deandre Butler (15) spread the work.
I feel like the back-up safeties could have used some extra work, too. But the coaches are well aware of that, and obviously felt that it was more important for Mangham and Spencer to continue to get live reps as a duo. Basically, the last two or three CMU drives were practice time for Mangham and Spencer. I’m sure it was time well-spent.
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