Michigan State football winners/losers: Stock soars for QB Aidan Chiles, WR Nick Marsh

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Here are the Michigan State football players who helped or hurt their stock in the Spartans’ 27-24 win Saturday at Maryland.

Winners

■ WR Nick Marsh – The freshman’s fourth-quarter performance made MSU’s offense look like an entirely different beast for defenses to handle. Marsh ran through and away from defenders for a 57-yard catch to start the final period, then delivered a 77-yard, game-tying touchdown on the exact same route as the first. But he wasn’t finished, adding two more chain-moving catches in the final minute to set up the game-winning field goal, finishing with four of his eight grabs and 151 of his 194 yards receiving in the fourth. Marsh got separation all day on short and intermediate routes as well, but the downfield element he added to the passing game was most beneficial for …

■ QB Aidan Chiles – After languishing through a lackluster MSU debut against Florida Atlantic, Chiles (like the offense) looked like an entirely different beast. His connection with Marsh was clear, as the sophomore delivered a perfect strike as he absorbed a huge hit on the first long throw in the fourth quarter. On the second, with pressure again closing, Chiles launched a missile 51 yards through the air to hit Marsh in-stride over the top of two defenders. Chiles’ second TD, a 34-yard deep post pass to Jaron Glover, showed more pocket presence. Even though he threw three interceptions and now has five on the season, Chiles’ 363-yard, 24-for-39 day is exactly the type of performance the Spartans hope to get more frequently.

■ Brian Lindgren – So much of what Chiles did came off the rhythm MSU’s new offensive coordinator established in the first half, something Lindgren had mentioned in the week between games as an area he needed to do a better job on. The play-calling early was very intentional, starting with a swing pass to Montorie Foster Jr. on the first play and then throws to Glover and Marsh on the next two plays as part of an eight-play, 84-yard drive on the Spartans’ first possession. Foster’s 9-yard touchdown on the slant finished that one, and Lindgren gave Chiles plenty of chances to use all three of his top receivers and tight end Jack Velling in a variety of routes both underneath and down the field.

Losers

■ Offensive line – Coming off a first game in which they gave up a ton of pressures off the edge, the Spartans entered the Maryland game without starting right guard Kristian “Big Dooley” Phillips, who is expected to be out the rest of the season. That injury caused a ripple effect on the interior of the line, which struggled to prevent backfield penetration in the run game from every angle all afternoon. Coach Jonathan Smith said it is imperative that MSU must run the ball better moving forward after finishing with 130 yards on 30 attempts.

■ Secondary – The injuries continue to mount in the defensive backfield. Already without Dillon Tatum and Khalil Majeed entering Saturday, the Spartans watched both cornerbacks Chance Rucker and Ed Woods leave the game with injuries. One of their replacements, LSU transfer Jeremiah Hughes, also suffered an apparent upper-body injury midway through the fourth quarter but returned to the field. Prairie View A&M visiting next week gives defensive coordinator Joe Rossi an opportunity to give younger defensive backs playing time, because MSU will need the depth when it heads to Boston College and then hosts Ohio State in the following two weeks.

■ WR/KR Aziah Johnson – With Alante Brown out after suffering an upper-body injury that likely will keep him out until at least November, MSU moved Johnson into the kickoff return role. However, the redshirt freshman twice ignored his teammates’ urging to accept a fair catch and took kickoffs out of the end zone, each return going 16 yards and pinning the Spartans’ offense 9 yards back from where they would have started had Johnson taken the touchback. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams replaced Johnson after the second one as the deep back, with Nate Carter sliding into Lynch-Adams’ spot as the upback. Johnson did play nine snaps on offense at receiver, and he could see more time if Glover’s injury is significant.

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

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