The Michigan State Spartans got off to a fast start in the first quarter against the No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers, but the visitors rattled off 47 unanswered points and buried the Spartans by a final score of 47-10 on Saturday.
The biggest question coming out of the game is the health of Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles, who exited the game in the third quarter following a sack. He did not return. However, Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith said after the game that he expects Chiles to be available for the Spartans' next game against Illinois on Nov. 16. MSU has a bye week next week.
Indiana out-gained Michigan State 385 yards to 205 yards, including outrushing the Spartans by a tally of 122 yards to minus-24 yards on the ground. The bulk of the negative yards was due to seven sacks by the Hoosier defense. But Michigan State running backs Nate Carter and Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams combined for just 16 yards on 14 attempts (1.14 yards per carry).
The Spartan defense got off to a great start by forcing the high-powered Indiana offense into three-and-outs on their first two possessions. The Hoosiers managed just 10 yards of offense on those first two drives.
In contrast, the Spartan offense started strong. On Michigan State's first drive of the game, Chiles and company marched 52 yards down to the Indiana 26-yard line before having to settle for a Jonathan Kim field goal to give the Spartans an early 3-0 lead. This was the first time the Hoosiers had trailed so far this season. It was also the first points IU had allowed in the first quarter during the 2024 season.
On the first drive, true freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh snagged a beautiful 33-yard pass from Chiles on the sidelines for a first down, which broke the Michigan State record for true freshman receiving yards in a single season, previously held by Cody White (490 yards).
On the Spartans' second drive, Michigan State made effective use of the running back screen pass, picking up chunk plays of over 10 yards on a pair of well-designed plays.
Marsh was incredible once again, snagging a ball out of the air while falling out of bounds. This time, his feet were in the end zone, and the Spartans led 10-0 in the first quarter.
Marsh finished the game with five receptions for 78 receiving yards, which gives him 553 yards so far in the 2024 season. Not only does this yardage total surpass White's 490 receiving yards in 2017 when he was a true freshman, but it is also more than B.J. Cunningham's 528 yards that he had as a redshirt freshman in 2008. Marsh stands alone in the MSU program record books.
But starting with Indiana's third drive of the game, the momentum swung in favor of the Crimson and Cream, never to return to the Spartans. The Hoosiers began to move the ball efficiently through a combination of swing passes to the perimeter and runs up the middle.
The Hoosiers then finally got points on the board via a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kurtis Rourke to tight end Zach Horton a few seconds into the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive, a pass from Chiles was first tipped and then intercepted by the Indiana defensive back Amare Ferrell. The Spartan defense forced another three-and-out, but the offense wound up pinned deep in its own territory following the Indiana punt.
After just a five-play, 20-yard drive, the Spartans were forced to punt as well. Then Indiana was able to dial up a few explosive plays, and in just four plays, took the lead on a one-yard run from running back Ty Son Lawton to make the score 14-10. That was all the points the visitors would need, but it certainly was not the last time the Hoosiers would score.
Three plays later, Chiles threw his second interception of the first half on a third-down play, which was picked off by Ferrell once again, to to give the Hoosiers excellent field possession at the Michigan State 37-yard line. The Hoosiers found the end zone six plays later when Rourke found wide receiver Elijah Sarratt to extend their lead to 21-10.
Both teams would get the ball again in the final two minutes of the half, but neither team was able to advance the ball.
At the half, Indiana had just a 196-178 advantage in total yards, but the Hoosiers allowed just 15 yards on the ground (0.8 yards per rush). Indiana's ability to make the Spartan offense one-dimensional was one of the major storylines of the game.
The start to the second half was an unmitigated disaster for the Green and White, and things went downhill from there.
The Spartans' first possession included two failed screen passes and a sack. Indiana then blocked the Spartans' punt and if it were not for the heads-up play of Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley to bat the out of the back on the end zone, Indiana would have had a quick touchdown instead of a safety. The Hoosiers went up 23-10 at that point.
But Indiana was able to score a touchdown on the ensuing six-play, 65-yard possession to take a commanding 30-10 lead. This time it was an 18-yard pass from Rourke to wide receiver Myles Price.
The Spartans showed some life on the next drive, advancing 30 yards and into Indiana territory before turning the ball over on downs.
It was on this drive that Chiles got up slowly after a sack and left the game. Backup quarterback Tommy Schuster played the remainder of the game, but any hope of a Spartan comeback was extinguished when Chiles was observed walking up the tunnel with a towel over his head.
The Hoosiers went on to add a field goal and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter before bringing in the backups and running out the clock. Indiana out-gained the Spartans 189 yards to just 27 yards in the second half.
Michigan State drops to 4-5 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. The Spartans will have an extra week to lick their wounds before heading to Champaign-Urbana to face the Fighting Illini on Nov. 16.
