Following a bye week, Michigan State is looking to find itself defensively heading into this weekend's road matchup against the Illinois Fighting Illini. In the 47-10 home loss to the now No. 5-ranked Indiana Hoosiers before the bye, the Spartan defense gave up 385 total yards.

MSU junior defensive back Nikai Martinez, junior linebacker Wayne Matthews III and co-special teams coordinator/rush ends coach Chad Wilt spoke about the defense's progress during the bye week and looked ahead to Saturday's upcoming matchup at Illinois.

The Spartans currently stand with a 4-5 record overall on the season (2-4 in Big Ten play), needing to win two of their last three regular-season games (at Illinois, versus Purdue and versus Rutgers) to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2021. Wilt and head coach Jonathan Smith know the importance of the final three-game stretch, and they are aware that the Spartans have a lot to play for throughout the remainder of the season.

“Absolutely a lot to play for, and Coach Smith has talked to the guys, we really want to be playing our best ball in November," Wilt said. "We talk all the time about being our best at the end."

One thing that has plagued the Spartans this season is the inability to create sacks. The Spartans have tallied 15 sacks in 2024, but the defense has not recorded a sack since Sept. 21 against Boston College. Wilt mentioned that MSU has to create more pressure heading into the remainder of the season.

“We know that we’ve been lacking a little bit on that and that’s been a challenge for our guys," Wilt said. "Every week has a unique pass rush plan. We’re building that every week, regardless of who the quarterback is, we’ve got a good plan for how we want to put that together."