V-Cast: Progress, penalties, and costly injury at guard for Michigan State in win over Prairie View A&M
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State coaches and players insisted throughout the week leading up to their 40-0 win over Prairie View A&M that they didn’t believe in trap games, and that the Spartan football program would respect every team on their schedule and prepare accordingly. With their play on the field, the Spartans demonstrated that they can handle success like their road win at Maryland without a let down the following week.
After Michigan State’s latest victory, SpartanMag.com staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk reflected on the good and the bad in a Week 3 performance against an overmatched FCS opponent in the latest V-Cast.
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Penalty Flags a Problem Again: Michigan State came into this game averaging 11 penalties per contest, and the Spartans were flagged 11 times on Saturday. It was clear from his postgame press conference and his body language that head coach Jonathan Smith is getting tired of the penalty problem that doesn’t want to go away for the Spartans. Smith has made it clear to his players that the Spartans are going to get burned by penalties as games get tougher in the weeks ahead. Michigan State players are listening, but they continue to struggle on the penalty front.
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Injuries on the O-Line: Injuries continue to be a problem for the Michigan State offensive line, which lost yet another starter at the right guard position when Gavin Broscious was carted off the field during his team’s win on Saturday. Hard working veteran Dallas Fincher, who has split time with Broscious at right guard since Game 1 starter Kristian Phillips was lost for the season, should be able to provide Michigan State with functional play at right guard, but the Spartans cannot continue to sustain injuries at the position and avoid significant fallout.
Run game is still a work in progress: Michigan State isn’t getting the kind of consistency that Smith and his offensive coaches would like to have in the run game, but the Spartans continue to do enough good things on the ground to generate confidence in the potential of the run offense moving forward. Saturday’s game marked the most productive game to this point in the season for veteran running back Nathan Carter, who totaled 91 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. Carter’s 60-yard touchdown run was well blocked, with H-Back Tyneil Hopper creating space at the point of attack, and wide receiver Montorie Foster blocking well on the perimeter. Carter’s touchdown run was one of three rushing touchdowns on the day for Michigan State. Quarterbacks Aidan Chiles and Tommy Schuster also scored rushing touchdowns for the Spartans.
