Michigan State has now dropped two games in a row. The Spartans lost to Maryland by a final score of 31-9 on Saturday.
Turnovers, penalties and miscues cost the Spartans against the Terrapins, and Maryland was able to walk away with a convincing victory.
MSU had five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles lost) in front of the homecoming crowd at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Acting head coach Harlon Barnett continues to preach discipline, and hopes the Spartans are able to find it soon.
"Eleven penalties last week, six this week," Barnett said. "That's better, but not what we want. You can't play in this league, any team in this league, and have that many penalties and turnovers. The turnovers got us also. From my understanding, we led in yards and time of possession, and all that kind of stuff, but those are just stats that obviously don't mean as much as the turnovers and the penalties.
"I said 'discipline' is gonna be the word for the rest of year, I said that earlier this week, and we're going to continue to talk about it and preach it and push it. Eventually, we're gonna get it, and you're going to see the results very, very soon."
Barnett was asked specifically about what the Spartans can do moving forward to limit the turnovers. He noted that ball security is something that the Spartans have put emphasis on ever since fall camp.
He and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson and the rest of the staff will look to get the issues corrected.
"You've got to value the football," Barnett said. "And we do ball security almost every day with the offense. Matter of the fact, the offense even started teaching the defense how to do it during summer camp because we were teaching them tackling. So, ball security, high and tight. So as far as the fumbles are concerned, high and tight.
"The interceptions, I'm sure Coach Johnson will get them better at just understanding that you don't have to make the hero play, so to speak. You can just throw it away, get it out of your hands. And you understand, those guys are competitive. They want to win. They're trying to do the right thing, trying to make plays and doing their job."
The turnovers by the offense put a lot of stress on the defense. Michigan State's defensive unit was often faced with the task of having to defend short fields. For the most part, the Spartans were able to weather the storm defensively, but it eventually became too much.
Senior nickel back Angelo Grose made an impressive interception in the end zone in the third quarter, and there were other standout plays, but ultimately, the Spartans didn't get enough stops.
Barnett was pleased with the unit's performance overall, and understands that it is the defense's job to defend no matter where the opposing team starts with the ball.
"We know on defense, you've got to go out there and, like we said, put the fire out," Barnett said. "Not a lot, just depending on the game, or what have you. I've been on a lot of staffs with the Michigan State defense, and even as a player, to be honest with you, where it's Michigan State defense. We have to go out and play. Nobody cares what the situation is, short field, whatever it is, we've got to go out there and compete and play like Spartan Dawgs. That is the mindset.
"So, you're not looking at the other side of the ball saying, 'Come on,' all this kind of stuff. You go out there and compete. It's another chance to go out and play the game that you love and compete. So, that's how we talk to the guys about it, and they'll continue to do that. I was encouraged by the defense in the second half, very encouraged."
Barnett was complimentary of Maryland, and knows that the Terrapins earned the win. However, he is also well aware that the turnovers, missed opportunities and mistakes by Michigan State made a significant impact on the final result.
"It's a combination of the two," Barnett said when asked if Maryland won the game with its play or if Michigan State lost it due to the errors. "Don't get me wrong, they're a good team. They did some things to put themselves in a position to win by creating turnovers and all those things. At the same time, we helped them. But they're a good team.
"They helped themselves by, sometimes people have opportunities to make plays, like catching an interception and they drop them or something like that. They were making the plays. So you can't just say, 'us.' It wasn't them beating us or us being ourselves. It was a combination of the two ... until it got out of hand at the one point, I thought we could come back and get them."
Michigan State starting quarterback Noah Kim (redshirt junior) struggled against Maryland. He completed 18 of 33 passes (55%) for 190 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was often off-target on his throws, but also had a couple throws that were right on the money, but the receivers were unable to haul it in.
It was the second consecutive game in which Kim was unable to find a rhythm or sustain success. Barnett and the coaching staff were looking for a "spark," so the Spartans replaced Kim with redshirt freshman quarterback Katin Houser in the fourth quarter.
Houser completed six of his 10 passes for 75 yards and led the Spartans down the field before ultimately throwing an interception himself. True freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt also got into the game late.
Barnett maintains that Kim is the Spartans' "guy" at quarterback moving forward, however.
"Not so much performance, more so just trying to get the spark," Barnett said when asked why the decision was made to put Houser in for Kim. "Let's try to find another spark, try to spark it, and do it that way. But Noah's our quarterback. He's our guy, (unless) there's some changes that I don't know about, and I do know about it. So, he's our guy and sometimes you're just trying to (get a) spark and see if we can find something to help us get going. That's what that was about, more than anything."
In addition to quarterback, Michigan State could soon have many question marks throughout its roster. Now that Michigan State has played four games, players can opt to sit out the rest of the year and preserve a redshirt. Also, head coach Mel Tucker's termination is set to become effective as of Tuesday, which will open up a 30-day transfer window for those looking to jump into the transfer portal.
When asked about the players' current mindsets and emotions, Barnett said that the players have been supporting each other and sticking together. There are a lot of guys left who want to see this season through.
"We have a team of competitors, and so when you're a competitor, you always are trying to get better and to right the ship, so to speak," Barnett said. "I asked them in (the locker room). I (said) to anybody that feels like, 'Hey man, this is over. I'm out of here.' I said, 'You can raise your hand. No love lost, and then you can move on. It's no problem.' Nobody raised their hand. So, that's a good sign. Then other guys repeated it ... So, competitors gonna compete. And I told them, I hate losing. And so, we're gonna do whatever we can, and whatever we have to, to get in the win column. It's gonna start with discipline, like I've been saying."
Barnett also said that things were "buzzing" late in the week in practice and that the players were excited to play this weekend.
Still, it would be foolish to not expect some movement on Michigan State's roster in the very near future.
Barnett also praised the play of true freshmen Jordan Hall (linebacker) and Chance Rucker (cornerback), who saw extended playing time due to injuries to other players.
"The future is bright with those two guys," Barnett said about Hall and Rucker. "Really, really good football players."
After they missed Saturday's game, Barnett noted that he expects redshirt junior linebacker Jacoby Windmon (who he called "day-to-day") and junior cornerback Charles Brantley to return to action soon.
