3 Mid-Season Observations of Michigan State Football

College football season is flying by. Michigan State is now halfway through its year, and nothing has gone the way this team expected.

After six games, the Spartans have dropped four straight, have eight players out for the season with injury and five players have either entered the transfer portal or left the program. MSU also has a diminishing 2024 recruiting class, and lost its head coach. It’s an understatement to say the season is not going as planned after many expected the Spartans to improve from a 5-7 record in 2022.

Although half the season remains, it feels like the air has already been taken out of the sails of Spartan fans. Already with four losses, Michigan State has yet to play Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, who are all Top 10 teams in the country. The path to a bowl game feels nearly impossible, and many fans are already looking ahead to basketball season.

Halfway through the season, here are my observations watching Michigan State:

1.) Notable Defensive Improvement Since 2021

Let’s start with a bit of a positive note. Michigan State’s defense has played well outside Week 3 against Washington, who has arguably the best offense in the country. This past offseason, the Spartans added depth through the transfer portal and recruiting and it has shown. MSU went from being the worst pass defense in the country two years ago to the upper half of the nation in pass defense so far through 2023.

While Michigan State has a negative turnover margin as a team, its defense has forced nine takeaways already this season, including six interceptions. With junior cornerback Charles Brantley injured, the Spartans currently start three sophomores and a true freshman in the defensive back spots. True freshman Jordan Hall has performed well the last two games as a starting linebacker as well.

The Spartans are allowing 24.3 points per game, but if you take away the points given up by the special teams, the MSU is only allowing only 20.8 points per game. That number could be even smaller if Michigan State wasn’t minus-six in turnover margin this year. Many of the Spartans’ 15 giveaways on offense have set up opponents' field position in plus territory. The bottom line is, MSU’s defense is holding its own, which we couldn’t say in years past.

2.) Special Teams Have Cost Spartans 2 Wins

Special teams has arguably been the biggest issue so far for the Spartans this season. While kicker Jonathan Kim has been exceptional, the other special team units have dropped off drastically.

Let’s start with the punt unit, which has given up two touchdowns in the last two games, scores that ultimately decided those games. The Spartans are 116th (of 130) in the country in punt defense, and punters Ryan Eckley and Michael O’Shaughnessy have not consistently flipped field position. As for the kickoff units, MSU ranks 106th in kickoff coverage and 83rd in kick return in the country. This doesn’t include the now-infamous play of Rutgers recovering a pooch kickoff against Michigan State that ultimately allowed the Scarlet Knights to take the lead and win the game.

It seems like the Spartans are one of the most penalized programs in special teams situations as well. Mistakes are made by every team, but this amount of miscues from Michigan State’s special teams unit falls squarely on the shoulders of special teams coordinator Ross Els and the rest of the coaching staff for their inability to get things cleaned up.

3.) Katin Houser Could Be Quarterback of the Future

The key word in this observation is that Houser “could” be the quarterback of the future. This is congruent on whether the redshirt freshman decides to stay at Michigan State amidst a likely coaching change and, potentially, if a new coaching staff wants to keep him or bring in another QB.

It only took one game to convince MSU’s fanbase Houser should be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, but what he does after the season is more important. Like any young quarterback, there are growing pains to work through with the freshman. However, for a four-star quarterback with a strong pedigree, you’ll live with those growing pains for the rest of this season.

If Houser starts for Michigan State the remainder of this season, the Spartans potentially have their quarterback of the future. That would not only calm the fanbase, but could help MSU draw interest from candidates in its coaching search. Houser is proof that Michigan State still has young talent that the previous staff brought in, and won’t be as tough of a rebuild as the 2020 incoming staff had to undertake.

True freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt is another four-star recruit who has lots of potential. He could be another intriguing piece for a new staff to build around if Houser ends up leaving. Regardless of preference, the quarterback room has a bright future if they can retain either one of Houser or Leavitt.

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