The bye week is now over and the dust has settled a bit since Michigan State's 47-10 loss to Indiana on Nov. 2, so it may be a good time to reflect and analyze the game without emotions completely taking over.

To call a spade a spade, the game against the Hoosiers was embarrassing, and Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith acknowledged that after the conclusion of the contest.

It was a demoralizing defeat that could set a team back pretty far if things aren’t learned from it quickly. That is not the mentality MSU has under Smith, though — and luckily for the Spartans, they have two weeks to fix things up with the bye week now over and game prep for this Saturday's game at Illinois taking place this week.

Michigan State just faced a team that, in many ways, represents what the Spartans aspire to be. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti parachuted into a program with virtually zero expectations this season and has proceeded to beat the confetti out of every team on its schedule. There was a clear plan Cignetti had coming into the year, bringing over several players and coaches from his previous coaching stop, James Madison, who had familiarity with the system, along with veteran transfers from elsewhere, and they’ve performed at the highest level.

With its win over Michigan this past Saturday, the Hoosiers improved to 10-0 for the first time in program history. Still, we shouldn't compare Indiana's situation to Michigan State's at this point in time. Cignetti has been able to win now with many veteran transfers, and now he is tasked with finding sustained success moving forward. Of course Smith also wants to win as many games as possible in 2024, but it is important to note that MSU is building the program for the future, and that requires patience.

Smith may need more time to put the program he wants together, and that’s all right (for now). It’s well documented how his tenure at Oregon State began and the job he did turning it around a dormant program. Smith inherited a puzzle with pieces that may not even fit together, found a way to work with it, and has seen mixed results thus far. Not every new coach had the luxury Cignetti had of bringing half a roster over to escalate a rebuild, and not every rebuild is the same.

With that all in mind, there are some very real concerns with how this Michigan State team is playing right now, and those issues should be discussed.

In a weird way, I think it was important to have a loss like this against an Indiana program that the Spartans aren’t historically used to losing to, especially not in blowout fashion. And against a team that was in the same position as MSU 12 months ago. The Spartans lead the all-time series against the Hoosiers 50-19-2.

Of note, the Big Ten now has four teams ranked in top-five in the Associated Press top-25 poll: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana. MSU has already played all of those teams except for the Nittany Lions.

Here are three eye-opening themes from Michigan State's loss to Indiana that perhaps weren't even seen in losses to Oregon and Ohio State.

Michigan State has been outmatched at the line of scrimmage in many of its games this season — on both sides of the ball. The disparity popped off the screen against the Hoosiers, giving up 15 (!) tackles for loss on offense and generating zero quarterback pressures while on defense.

Defensively, the Spartans have just one sack in Big Ten play and that was versus Maryland way back on Sept. 7. MSU is one of two teams in the entire country to not have a single sack in their last three matchups. Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi typically does not blitz often, but something needs to change schematically, as the defensive front is just not doing enough to keep the team in games late. The run defense has been solid, but in the new age of college football, defending the pass is integral and getting pressure on the quarterback is a must.

On offense, the line caught the injury bug early in the year — losing guards Kristian Phillips and Gavin Broscious for the season — and haven’t found their footing since. Quarterback Aidan Chiles was running for his life all game versus the Hoosiers until an injury sidelined him and the running game went from a strength against Michigan to non-existent against the Hoosiers. Indiana has some very solid talent on the line, but for much of the game it felt like a JV versus varsity scrimmage.

Running the ball has been an issue for the Spartans much of the year, as Michigan State currently ranks 109th out of 133 FBS teams in rushing yards per game (117.8).

Now, the common denominator is that the Hoosiers have looked like this most of the season, and they may just be that good. The lines didn’t look nearly as outmatched in the Spartans' previous two games before Indiana — against Iowa and Michigan, respectively — in which they played competitive games and perhaps they’ll look better in the remaining games this year. But to play with the conference’s best moving forward, they Spartans need to find help on both sides of the trenches, and in a hurry.

The Aidan Chiles experience has been something to behold so far in his young Spartan career. We’ve seen the great flashes, and they are indeed great. It's been a long time since a player at the quarterback position in East Lansing has displayed the elusiveness and play-making ability of Chiles. Some of the throws he makes inside and outside of the pocket are NFL caliber. His ability to make things happen with his legs is equally as impressive. He still has a bright future in East Lansing, make no mistake about that.

What continues to be questioned for Chiles, though, involves his decision-making ability and overall awareness. After a hot start against the Hoosiers where he was leading the team down the field — Michigan State scored the first 10 points of the game, which was the fist time Indiana trailed all season — he threw two bad interceptions to IU defensive back Amare Ferrell before the aforementioned injury in the third quarter sidelined him for the rest of the game. It was a step in the wrong direction following a stretch where he had limited the turnovers.

Is it a product of his overall nature as a player or can he be nurtured to make better decisions? Interceptions are bound to happen for a new starter, but there hasn’t been much progression in terms of just throwing bad interceptions and contributing to turnovers since the first game of the year. Chiles has also lost several fumbles as well this season. MSU has more turnovers right now (18) than offensive touchdowns (17) on the season, and the quarterback plays a big role in that.

What makes Chiles such an intriguing prospect is his ability to make plays and many times he’ll take risks in trying. Perhaps that is just who Chiles is — a risk-taker. Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, for years, has been at or toward the top of the NFL’s interception leaderboard, but his positives heavily outweigh the negatives.

For Chiles, the pendulum still leans the other way. The effort, work ethic, skill set, and want to-be great are certainly all there in the young man, that is for certain. But is it time to accept the fact he's going to always make some mistakes? Perhaps. He still has plenty of time to improve, though, and he will almost certainly do that.

In a blowout loss like the one versus the Hoosiers, it’s hard not to look at the coaching and play-calling from offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren (and Smith) and ask what more could have been done. Obviously, there was a disparity in level of play that became evident throughout the contest, specifically in the trenches.

A 13-point deficit early in the third quarter felt nearly impossible to overcome after a hot start to the game - this means there were little in-game adjustments made to the original game plan. After the Hoosiers found themselves down 10-0 early, it was pretty evident that Cignetti and his staff made adjustments, and after that, Indiana started to dominate.

It wasn't hard to see that the run game didn't have it early on, as MSU finished with minus-36 net rushing yards on the day against the Hoosiers (yes, quarterback sacks had a lot to do with that, but MSU never got going on the ground). It’s a part of Smith and Lindgren’s DNA as offensive coaches to establish the run in order to set up their passing attack, but there needs to be more creativity when things go south. Additionally, true freshman Nick Marsh had to be more involved after his stellar start, which included a 33-yard gain and an 18-yard touchdown reception. MSU needs to find a way to get the backs and receivers more touches in space.

The offensive line did no favors in this game in terms of setting up a stable offense, but things were working in the first quarter. Maybe the injury to Chiles killed the team's confidence, but things seem to go downhill even before that. Maybe they were just tired. But dating back to the Michigan game, it felt like offensive play calling has become too predictable. That can work if the right personnel and playmakers are in place, but the Spartans aren't there just yet.

The good news is that Smith and Lindgren have reputations as being creative offensive play-callers, and they get two weeks to figure out what is working and what is not by the time the Spartans kick off versus Illinois.

As mentioned before, next up, Michigan State will travel to Champaign to take on Illinois on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time/1:30 p.m. Central Time. The Spartans enter the game with a record of 4-5 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini currently sit at 6-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

Illinois — also coming off a bye week — has seen its 2024 season reeling a bit following a strong start to the season. The wins that propelled the Fighting Illini to a top-25 ranking earlier this season (Kansas and Nebraska) don't look quite as good now, and the team has lost two games in a row to Oregon and Minnesota, respectively.

The Fighting Illini have given up 377 yards of rushing in their last two contests and the Spartans need to find a way to move the ball there in order to have success. The injury Chiles sustained against Indiana thankfully isn't expected to keep him out of this game, and he should be involved in the run game as well.

The Spartans are still depleted in their defensive back room and now may be without cornerback Charles Brantley, who ended up in a walking boot and crutches after sustaining a left ankle injury versus Indiana. Fellow defensive back Malik Spencer’s status is up in the air as well. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer is an efficient passer and typically won’t make a lot of mistakes, so their availability may be crucial in this game.

Spartan fans just have to hope there’s more aggression on both sides of the ball for MSU on Saturday. There needs to be some pressure applied on Altmyer, and on offense, the Spartans need touchdowns when in the red zone — an issue that has plagued Michigan State all season long.

A bowl game is still very possible for this team by winning two of its final three games, and it would create some much needed momentum going into the offseason. A solid showing at Illinois would be huge for this team's confidence and trajectory moving forward.

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