The Michigan State football team hosted Purdue on Friday, Nov. 22 in its last time out. After a strong first-half effort, and shaky second half, the Spartans improved their record to 5-6 with a 24-17 victory over the Boilermakers. Now, MSU hopes to get a sixth win on the 2024 season and earn bowl eligibility with a victory against Rutgers this Saturday in East Lansing for senior day (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on FS1).
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights are 6-5 overall on the 2024 campaign. After starting the season 4-0 — with convincing wins over Virginia Tech and Washington — Rutgers dropped four in a row, then won its next two contests, and is now coming off a dramatic loss to Illinois in the final seconds last weekend, 38-31.
The Spartans’ defense, which allowed only a field goal in the first half against Purdue, had to hold its own as the offense scored all 24 of its points in the first half last week. The Boilermakers’ offense scored on back-to-back drives to start the second half. Eventually, Michigan State settled in and forced a punt, an interception and a turnover on downs.
For the Spartans, playing on senior day will be a test of the team’s resiliency —something that has become a hallmark for the Spartans in recent years. The game this weekend, however, is different. The Spartans are aiming to clinch their first bowl berth since the 2021 season when Michigan State beat Pittsburgh 31-21 in the Peach Bowl. The Spartans are in a “must-win” scenario this Saturday to keep their season alive.
Ahead of Saturday's game, Michigan State redshirt senior linebacker Cal Haladay and sixth-year senior defensive tackled Maverick Hansen reflected on their college careers, while defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi broke down the defense.
Haladay is a proven leader both on the field and off. The Elysburg, Pennsylvania native has had his ups and downs on the field, but embodies the traits of a true “Spartan.” Haladay, who put the game on ice for the Spartans with a pick-six in the 2021 Peach Bowl, now has the opportunity to secure the second bowl game appearance of his career.
Haladay, who has stayed at Michigan State for his entire collegiate career — an increasingly rare choice in today’s era of NIL and transfers — spoke about why he chose to remain “home” in East Lansing.
“I’ve treated this as my home," Haladay said about Michigan State. "I just felt like it was home. I didn’t feel a need to leave. I felt like this was the best situation for me. For people leaving, that’s what they need. If that’s what people (transfers) need to do, then that’s what they need to do. I had a lot of friends that ended up transferring, but I still talk to people all the time (who have left). It’s still a good relationship (with the players who left), but we just kind of went our separate ways."
Haladay knows that when his time in East Lansing is done, he will leave the program in good hands with head coach Jonathan Smith, Rossi and the rest of the staff.
“I think we have a lot of potential, and there’s a lot of growth that can happen in a short period of time.
“I think within a couple of years, we (Michigan State) are going to be a very good team, with a culture that people want to play for and be around. That’s just what the brand of football is going to be, I believe. That’s what Coach Smith has been trying to do, and it’s just going to become more prevalent as time goes on.”
Another senior who has impacted the Spartan program both as a player and a leader is Hansen. The sixth-year graduate senior interior defensive lineman from Farmington Hills, had a similar path to Michigan State that Haladay had: recruited by Mark Dantonio, played for Mel Tucker and now plays for Smith.
It may be surprising to some that Hansen spent six years at Michigan State, but he mentioned that he “loves this program,” and even that may be an understatement.
“I've given everything I had for the last six years to this place, and I don’t regret any of it," Hansen said. "This is my program. I wear the Green and White with pride.”
Originally, Hansen was recruited as an athlete under Dantonio, meaning he could have played either side of the football, but Michigan State wanted him to play defensive line. Hansen remembers his National Signing Day like it was yesterday. He mentioned that he originally planned to sign as an offensive lineman with Central Michigan. Things quickly changed when Dantonio, Michigan State's head coach at the time, called Hansen. He was in his first-hour class at Harrison High School when he recalls Dantonio asking the highly anticipated question: “Do you want to be a Spartan?”
“You see where I am, so it was awesome,” Hansen reflected. “They ended up sending me off for a few hours so I could pick up a Spartan hat and everything because I didn’t have a hat for Signing Day.”
Hansen detailed his recruiting process further, saying that whenever he started to get scouted by the Spartans, which was around his sophomore year, he and his mom would make it a priority to see MSU play.
“I always told my mom, any game that we get an offer to (attend) at Michigan State, let’s go to it," Hansen said. "I probably went to two or three my sophomore year, three or four my junior year, and my senior year I was probably at four (games), too. Any time (Michigan State) would send me tickets, I would take advantage of it.”
Rossi, the Spartans’ defensive coordinator, also spoke to the media earlier this week, and he spoke about what he has seen from his defense.
As mentioned, the Spartans' defense had to step up when it mattered most against Purdue. When the offense posted zero points in the second half, it was the defense that sealed the victory over the Boilermakers. This was quite the feat, considering the defense is very thin due to injuries, especially in the defensive backfield. At one point, the Spartans had three true freshmen playing in the secondary at the same time. (Jaylen Thompson, Andrew Brinson and Justin Denson).
“That wasn’t good for my ulcers,” Rossi said with a laugh about the young defensive backs playing. "They went out and did their job. There are things they’ve got to be better at, but just for the future, I think it’s a very good experience.”
Unfortunately for the Spartans, injuries have plagued both sides of the ball relentlessly all season long. For a true freshman, playing time may be the goal, but as Rossi mentioned their is a fine line to walk when it comes to getting them experience and hurting their confidence.
“The worst thing you can do for a young player is overload them and have them do too much," Rossi said. "If that happens, they’re going to make tons of mistakes and their confidence is going to wane."
Against Purdue, the defense looked much improved compared to what it had shown in prior weeks, as the Spartans sacked Purdue quarterback Hudson Card three times. This marked the Spartans’ first sack since Week Four when they played Boston College. When Rossi was asked about the frequency at which the Spartans sent a blitz versus Purdue, Rossi said, “I’m a big believer in doing what you’ve got to do to win the game.”
He went on to expand on those thoughts.
“There’s going to be games where we blitz a lot, and there’s going to be games where we don’t blitz a lot," Rossi said. "I’m not the guy who is like, ‘We blitz all the time, or we never blitz.’ We just game plan. What do we have to do this week? What gives them problems? What helps give us an advantage? In that game (against Purdue), we felt that some of those pressures and blitzes were going to give us an advantage. I think for the most part, the guys did a good job.
The Spartans, who will be honoring their seniors this Saturday at Spartan Stadium, have a chance to get to six wins and. Rutgers, who is 6-5 and looking to build on a solid season, will be trying to spoil those bowl hopes.