Rehash & Analysis: Washington's aerial game demolishes Michigan State, 41-7

East Lansing – A nightmarishly dark week for Michigan State football didn’t get any brighter on Saturday as No. 8 ranked Washington demolished a beleaguered Spartan team, 41-7, at Spartan Stadium.

Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix and his array of talented receivers torched Michigan State for 473 yards on 27-of-35 passing with four TDs in just three quarters of work.

The blowout loss puts nasty punctuation on a week that began with Mel Tucker being suspended without pay while being investigated for a sexual harassment complaint.

Acting head coach Harlon Barnett was met with boisterous support from the Spartan Stadium crowd when he brought the Spartans out of the tunnel prior to kickoff. Former Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio, working as an advisor to Barnett, was among the last coaches to come out of the tunnel for pregame, and he received a crazy ovation when his image appeared on the Spartan Stadium videoboard.

But Michigan State would have no happy moments once the game commenced. Washington sawed through Michigan State’s defense for touchdowns on five of the Huskies’ seven possessions in the first half, taking a 35-0 lead into intermission. 

Penix was 20-of-25 for 375 yards at halftime.

Washington lifted Penix at the end of the third quarter.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Any sane observer knew the Spartans would have a hard time keeping Washington under 35 points and 500 yards in this game. The Spartans needed to have a big day on offense, spearheaded by a quality run game, in order to stay competitive. But the running game came up empty, and the Spartan pass game could only offer brief flickers of productivity.

The result was complete domination by the Huskies (3-0) and major disappointment for a Spartan team that was jacked up by a loud home crowd at the outset. 

Michigan State had no running game and shaky pass protection as junior quarterback Noah Kim took a beating while trying to mount anything positive. 

Michigan State tackled poorly in the first quarter and was unable to prevent Washington from finding wide open windows in the pass game.

Michigan State broke the shutout with a 99-yard drive engineered by second-string QB Katin Houser. Houser capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run on a zone read keeper, diving across the goal line to cut the lead to 41-7. Houser found WR Christian Fitzpatrick on a skinny post for 61 yards on that drive.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Kim was held to 136 yards passing on 12-of-31 accuracy. He was intercepted once, when a slant pass intended for Tre Mosley was picked off in the first half.

Washington out-gained Michigan State 536-208.

Nathan Carter appeared to be playing through upper body pain and was held to 28 yards on 11 attempts.

Stud Washington receiver Rome Odunze, a 6-foot-3 flier with a great catch radius, had eight catches for 180 yards.

Michigan State sophomore safety Jaden Mangham intercepted a Dylan Morris pass early in the fourth quarter near the Spartan goal line.

Wide receiver Montorie Foster turned in catches of 20 and 30 yards on Michigan State’s last drive of the first half.

Washington’s 536 passing yards tied 2021 Purdue for the second-most against Michigan State all-time. Baylor’s 603 passing yards in 2015 ranked first.

Washington’s 713 yards of offense is the most ever allowed by Michigan State.

TURNING POINT

On Washington’s opening offensive play, cornerback Dillon Tatum was influenced upfield on an out route and was late in reacting to get as deep as the deepest when WR Jalen McMillan sailed into his lane. The coverage bust resulted in a 39-yard reception.

Washington dissected Michigan State’s pass defense with ease the rest of the day, regardless of what coverage the Spartans selected. 

OF NOTE

Michigan State converted a third-and-one with a Kim quarterback sneak in the first half, which seemed to delight some fans who were critical of the Spartans’ fourth-and-short failures out of the pistol in the opening game against Central Michigan. 

Fans booed a third-and-17 draw play from Michigan State’s 8-yard line midway through the second quarter with Michigan State trailing 21-0. That was the only major negative reaction from fans, other than a mostly-empty stadium by the start of the fourth quarter.

INJURIES

Junior linebacker Darius Snow played in his first game since being lost to a lower body injury in the 2022 season opener. He saw limited snaps as a reserve.

Senior tight end Tyneil Hopper went down with a lower body injury with 6:43 to play. His right knee appeared to be rolled up on as he tried to battle forward through a crowd of Huskies on a middle screen. He was carted off the field. 

Hopper, a transfer from Boise State, gained nine yards to the Washington 3-yard line on the play.

Deandre Butler, a defensive tackle transfer from Liberty, went down with an injury with 4:29 to play.

Michigan State running back Jalen Berger did not play.

Michigan State listed 16 players as out prior to the game: running back Jaren Mangham, defensive back Caleb Coley, Berger, defensive back Semar Melvin, linebacker Ma’a Gaoteote, linebacker Quavian Carter, defensive tackle Jarrett Jackson, linebacker Harold Joiner, running back Joseph Martinez, defensive end James Schott, defensive end Ken Talley, defensive lineman Tunmise Adeleye, offensive lineman Cole Dellinger, offensive guard Gavin Broscious (season), offensive tackle Stanton Ramil (season) and defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren (season).

WHAT’S NEXT

Michigan State will play host to 3-0 Maryland next week at Spartan Stadium in a critical game in terms of team direction for the remainder of the season. 

Barnett needs to scrape this team off the turf and keep them motivated and organized for Big Ten play.