Following the Spartans’ 38-7 loss against third-ranked Ohio State on Saturday night, Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay projected the steely resolve he has shown as a four-year starter.
“I thought we were in this game the whole time,” Haladay said. “They made some explosive plays and we were responding, but we needed to execute better and finish drives. On third down, we need to get off the field. I feel we were in this game until almost the end.”
The beginning of the game had a different feel for Haladay and the defense as compared to the three previous years. Saturday night was the first time in Haladay's career that the Buckeyes did not score a touchdown on their first possession versus the Spartans.
Michigan State's defense held Ohio State to a 30-yard Jayden Fielding field goal on the opening drive.
“I think we came out and we were ready to play,” Haladay said. “ I think we were up to the challenge and we were competing every play. We were playing with energy. We were flying to the ball. We just needed to execute a little better. We needed to get off the field on third-down. I think that was the biggest thing for us in the first half.”
Ohio State converted three third-downs on their second drive via Buckeye QB Will Howard passes. The first two found OSU WR Emeka Egbuka and the third went to WR Jeremiah Smith. That drive ended with a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to TE Gee Scott JR, putting Ohio State ahead 10-0.
Haladay would not even entertain the suggestion of a “talent gap” between the Spartans and the Buckeyes that needed to be closed in seasons to come. He stressed that it was more of an execution issue than a talent issue.
“Again, I think we just needed to execute better and clean up some things to get off the field,” Haladay said. “We needed to give the offense the ball back instead of being on the field as long as we were. I think the game was a lot closer than the score dictated. They made more plays than we did and that’s just kind of what happened.”
In his postgame comments, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day seemed to agree that the game was much closer than the final score.
"The turnover battle was huge in this game," Day said. "If we don't get those turnovers, maybe it is a different game for sure. That's the game. We've got to make sure we are winning those situations.
"I thought the atmosphere was excellent early on," Day continued. "They came out and they played really hard. Jonathan (Smith) is doing a really good job of putting his culture and thumbprint on the program here. I have a lot of respect for him and his staff."
Moving forward, this loss has not changed Haladay’s confidence in this defense nor in his team as a whole.
“It’s a team game,” said Haladay. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re not turning our backs on each other. We’ve got to stay together as a team. We’ve got the same goals. We just need to make sure we get the details right. That was the main focus of the week — to be consistent and get better. This week we are going to use the same process and strive to get better.”
Haladay said the team is still confident.
“We made some mistakes, but we are going to just get better," he said. "They are one of the best teams in the country – especially on offense. They are very explosive, but I think we’ll be able to learn from this. We’ll be ready to go for Oregon next week.”
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