Michigan State reached 3-0 for the first time since the 2021 season with its 40-0 victory over Prairie View A&M on Saturday. Cornerback Charles Brantley had the highlight of the game, taking an interception 100 yards, end zone-to-end zone, and breaking a decades-old program record in the process.
In his third career start, quarterback Aidan Chiles had a turnover-free, efficient day under center. The sophomore went 12-for-19 through the air for 179 yards and a passing touchdown, along with a six-yard touchdown run on the Spartans’ opening drive.
“There’s still room to improve, but [we] put up points today,” Chiles said after the game. “Can’t complain about it. I thought offensively we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds, but overall, we can move the ball. We know we can move the ball.”
Those “self-inflicted wounds” would be the penalties.
Michigan State still struggled with penalties as the offense was flagged seven times and the team overall was penalized 11 times. MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said that he told his team that 11 total penalties would not cut it in bigger games. Both he and Chiles were pleased with how the Spartans performed on Saturday, but that there are still issues to fix.
“We talked about it before, penalties, we need to get rid of those," Smith said. "Then, being able to just finish in the red zone. That’s one of the things that really happened today. We got penalties in the red zone that hurt us a little bit — [and we] couldn’t score. Coming out of the [halftime break], we had a few penalties inside the 25 [yard line] and that’s going to hurt us when we play bigger games.”
Four of MSU’s seven offensive penalties were while the Spartans were in the red zone. One holding call on offensive tackle Brandon Baldwin nullified a second rushing touchdown from Chiles. That drive instead resulted in a field goal.
“I don’t really know right now [on how to deal with the penalties],” Chiles said. “We’ve got to get into the game plan this week and maybe [offensive line] Coach [Jim Michalczik] has a plan, maybe [offensive coordinator] Coach [Brian] Lindgren, Coach Smith has a plan. But whatever they do, I feel like it will work and we’re going to figure it out together.”
Despite the penalties and injuries to wide receivers Jaron Glover and Alante Brown, Chiles was still able to throw the ball quite well. His 12 completions went to six different players, with redshirt freshman Aziah Johnson stepping up for two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Those two catches were Johnson’s second and third career receptions, the first being against Florida Atlantic — and the touchdown was his first.
“AZ [Aziah Johnson] came out, did what he had to do, caught a couple big passes [and] gained a couple yards,” Chiles said.
Johnson’s touchdown catch was from 17 yards out and his other catch in the third quarter went for 33.
“I feel like we have depth in the receiver room,” Chiles said. “We can use these guys in many different ways and you’ll see it sooner or later.”
Chiles ended up leading five drives for 24 total points before he made way for his backup. Three ended in touchdowns, alongside one field goal and one punt on a drive that began inside MSU’s five-yard line. Near the end of the third quarter, North Dakota transfer quarterback Tommy Schuster was able to get in for the remainder of the game.
Overall, there is still a lot to like about an offense that has improved from week-to-week so far.
“[I like] how explosive we can be if we can put everything together like we said we were going to in the beginning," Chiles said. "If we finish in the red zone without the penalties, I mean, I think we can be a very dangerous team – I think we are a very dangerous team, I just don’t think people have seen how really dangerous we can be.”
Brantley might be one of the first players in football history to get two pick-sixes in one drive.
Well, kind of.
The first was called back due to a roughing the passer penalty and was a heck of a lot easier than the second one was.
“I was more [focused] on responding to the first penalty that we got,” Brantley said. “I was like, ‘OK, we got a pick-six, they called the flag. OK, we’ve got to respond now.’ And they drove us down.”
Brantley’s second opportunity came with just over a minute in the first half and the Panthers facing third-and-3 on MSU’s 27-yard line. Prairie View quarterback Cameron Peters launched a pass to the end zone, with Brantley leaping from the goal line to get the pick. His momentum carried him back about five yards deep in the end zone, and he took it all the way down the field, weaving in and out down the field, for a touchdown.
He was helped out on the return by blocks from defensive backs Armorion Smith and Nikai Martinez.
The entire play took an exhausting 25 seconds.
“I was thinking about putting a knee down [in the end zone for a touchback] because just yesterday we were in a meeting and [defensive coordinator] Coach [Joe] Rossi said, ‘If you catch an interception and your progression is going backwards, take a knee,’” Brantley said. “I took a look to my left and my right, and I didn’t see anybody. I thought, ‘I’m gonna take this out. It’s time to go.’”
The return was officially marked at 100 yards, but it covered approximately 105 yards in length. Even that number doesn’t include all the weaves and curves it took to reach the end zone. Even then, the officials had to make sure Brantley wasn’t down at the one-yard line. He was asked after the game if he would have been happy with the return if he was ruled short.
“Nope," was the one-word response.
In the end, it broke a record set by Michigan State Hall of Famer Dan Bass back in 1978 when he took back an interception 99 yards for a touchdown against Wisconsin.
“It means a lot to me, but I know I’ve got more in the tank,” Brantley said.
The redshirt junior also had the last pick-six for Michigan State prior to Saturday, which came against CJ Stroud’s Ohio State Buckeyes in October of 2022. Brantley said the level of the opponent puts that touchdown above the recent one.
That pick-six is just a few weeks younger than Michigan State’s last shutout, which came against Akron that September. Brantley broke up three passes in that game and had one in this one, as well.
Thriving in the new system under Rossi, Brantley will certainly have the attention of offensive coordinators and quarterbacks after back-to-back games with an interception.
Regardless, as is often the theme with Smith’s football team, Brantley is looking for ways to improve.
“We [the defense] still had a bunch of penalties [four for 48 yards],” he said. "We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up. We’re just going to improve every week, keep coming out [and] dominating as best we can.”
The next game will be the biggest challenge yet for the Spartans, as MSU will travel east to face Boston College at Chestnut Hill. It will serve as Boston College’s “Red Bandana Game” with kickoff set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ACC Network.
The Eagles are currently ranked No. 24, but will likely be unranked when Michigan State arrives, as they fell on the road 27-21 to No. 6 Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
Join the discussion on this article in our premium forums by clicking here.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and Instagram.
For video content, including our Red Cedar Radar podcast, find us on YouTube and subscribe.
