Michigan State football grades vs. Indiana: Offense gets passing grade for timely plays

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Chris Solari rates Michigan State football on a scale of A to F after the Spartans’ 24-21 win at Indiana.

THE GAME: Michigan State football’s late TD holds up in wild 24-21 win at Indiana

Offense: C+

When MSU needed big plays, quarterback Katin Houser delivered. The redshirt freshman, despite missing some receivers badly with passes and others who were wide open and didn’t get throws, had a career day with 245 yards and three touchdowns on 26-for-41 passing with two interceptions. He completed 16 of those throws to Maliq Carr and Montorie Foster and used his legs to create at times and to extend plays at others. Carr put together his best performance of his career, finishing with 10 catches, 100 yards and two big-time touchdowns, including on MSU’s first drive. Foster’s highlight-reel 29-yard scoring grab, one of his seven for 93 yards, was the team’s catch of the year until Carr’s pinball game-winning 36-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Nate Carter’s third-quarter injury ended his day with 42 rushing yards, but senior transfer Jaren Mangham had his best game as a Spartan with 23 yards on 13 carries and five catches for 33 yards, including three first downs. MSU did all that despite losing starting center Nick Samac to a leg injury in the first quarter.

Defense: B-

This is graded on a curve with the injuries before and during the game on the defense. The Spartans allowed 258 yards through three quarters, but Brandon Wright, Jalen Sami, Aaron Brule and Simeon Barrow all got hurt in the final quarter. All but Wright returned to play through the pain and fatigue as Indiana put up 144 yards in the fourth, including 104 on the ground. MSU sacked Indiana quarterback Brendan Sorsby three times and hurried him two others, though the Spartans’ front seven lost him at times in the run game. The Hoosiers had two pass plays over 15 yards, a 38-yarder and a 24-yarder from Sorsby to Donaven McCulley, but Indiana’s top receiver had only one other catch and Sorsby finished 19-for-34 for 192 passing yards. Even though the Spartans gave up 402 total yards and 210 yards rushing, they also had four three-and-outs and forced a critical turnover on downs late in the third quarter.

Special teams: A

Barrow’s second blocked field goal in the past four games, coming at the end of the first half, proved to be a major difference-maker. Redshirt freshman Ryan Eckley put together perhaps his most consistent punting performance, averaging 51 yards on four attempts and landing three inside the Indiana 20-yard line, one of which pinned the Hoosiers at their 1-yard line. And when the Spartans needed Jonathan Kim, he delivered a 43-yard field goal in his only attempt. He also had four touchbacks among his five kickoffs.

COUCH: 3 quick takes (from afar) on Michigan State’s 24-21 win at Indiana

Coaching: C+

The good is clear: Harlon Barnett and his staff went on the road with fewer than 50 scholarship players due to injuries and other attrition and somehow came out with a second win in the past three weeks. They’ve done an impressive job keeping players motivated and engaged despite the turbulence since Mel Tucker’s firing and the volatility of the roster. The bad starts with the near-disaster at the end, as Indiana caught MSU off-guard and with field-goal personnel after a fourth-and-1 timeout with 18 seconds to play, bringing on its offense to pick up the first down and take a deep shot on the next play. It worked out, because Tom Allen’s short-term winning gamble ultimately backfired with Sorsby being called for intentional grounding, the Hoosiers having to burn their final timeout and kicker Chris Freeman backing up 5 yards from his original spot and missing a kick that could have sent the game to overtime. The Spartans’ offense also continued to try and run the ball in the middle after Samac’s injury despite averaging just 2.1 yards per carry. But also credit Jay Johnson for taking the training wheels off for Houser to throw 41 passes.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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