EAST LANSING – Aidan Chiles admits the mistakes coach Jonathan Smith called “self-inflicted” have been “frustrating.”
Particularly after Michigan State football showed, at least for four drives, the ability to counterpunch with Ohio State’s juggernaut offense. And after a couple near-stops on defense tilted momentum the other direction.
It becomes equally tantalizing and maddening for Chiles to think about the what-ifs of how Saturday’s 38-7 loss to the third-ranked Buckeyes might have gone had a few different things happened on both sides of the ball.
“We know we can compete with all these teams,” the sophomore quarterback said Tuesday. “We just gotta execute. And we haven’t been able to do that so far.”
For Chiles and the offense, it came down to getting stuffed on the Spartans’ first drive of the game and two fumbles lost in ensuing possessions, all coming at or inside Ohio State’s 20. One came from Chiles, who lost the ball as his facemask was grabbed and went uncalled. Another came on a long pass to tight end Jack Velling after MSU’s first touchdown.
“It crushes you,” offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said Tuesday. “I just think if we’re able to push some of those in, then it’s a totally different game coming out of half. You never know.”
Instead of seven points, Chiles felt, it could have been 28 – or at least getting a few field goals to lessen the disparity.
“Too close,” said Chiles, who was 8-for-11 for 115 yards in the first half but threw his eighth interception of the season in the third quarter. “I mean, you talk about it right now. We see it, we see everything we need to do. … They’re good defense, and we were driving the ball. We know we could drive the ball. Now, we just have to put it end zone.
“That’s the biggest thing. Or just get points up on the board in general. We can’t leave a drive without points.”
Those turnovers came a week after Chiles’ three interceptions proved costly in a 23-19 loss at Boston College. The Spartans (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) enter Friday night’s game against No. 6 Oregon (9 p.m. ET/Fox) tied for 123rd in the country in red-zone offense, converting 66.7% of their chances, and 104th in scoring at 21.8 points a game.
Defensively, the Ducks allow just 18.8 points (37th) and 266.8 yards a game (16th). They are tied for 117th in red-zone defense, with opponents converting 33.9% of the time on third down (tied for 43rd).
The Spartans’ missed chances Saturday did not end on offense, either.
MSU’s defensive struggles on third down also persisted for the second straight game. After the Eagles’ converted 4 of 8 of their third-down attempts in Boston College’s second-half comeback, the Buckeyes went 8-for-17 on third down and 3-for-4 on fourth down Saturday.
One of MSU’s third-down stops was a dropped interception in the end zone early in the second quarter by safety Malik Spencer, with Ohio State up 3-0. The Buckeyes went for it on fourth-and-goal and scored a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will Howard to Gee Scott in front of Spencer that made it a 10-point hole for MSU.
“We always preach next-play mentality,” linebacker Jordan Turner, who had an interception later in the quarter, said Tuesday. “So if something doesn’t go our way, we gotta flush it and get ready for the next play, because we can’t let that snowball into the rest of the game.”
The Ducks (4-0, 1-0) possess an explosive offense that has traits similar to Ohio State’s. Oregon is tied for 66th in red-zone offense, held down by struggles the first two weeks in closer-than-expected wins over Idaho and Boise State, and ranks 19th in third-down conversion percentage at 50%. That includes going 13-for-21 on third down the past two weeks in wins over Oregon State and UCLA.
“From Game 1 to Game 4, those guys have continued to improve and played really, really well,” Smith said Monday.
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said to correct those defensive issues, the Spartans need to “coach better, we gotta rush better, and we got to cover better – those are the three things.”
“You get in a game against a quality opponent, you gotta get off the field,” Rossi said. “We had some opportunities and takeaways, and they didn’t go our way. And then we had some opportunities on third down. You get one or two of those takeaways and you get some of the third downs, then you’re getting the ball back for the offense, and they get an opportunity to go put points on the board. So that was kind of like the thing that coming out of the game that we felt like we needed to do better. It’s not one thing, it’s all three. And it’s starting with coaching.”
Chiles also was critical of MSU’s overall second-half performance against the Buckeyes. After showing late-game tenacity throughout the first four weeks, the Spartans wilted after things started to go awry. Of their 246 yards against the Buckeyes, 190 and their only touchdown came in the first four drives. MSU managed just 56 yards on its final 28 plays.
“We gotta keep battling,” Chiles said. “I think we did that in the first half. I think we came out in the second half and came flat. We didn’t compete like we should have competed. I feel like, yeah, they were up, but I think we still gave that game away.
“We could have competed way better than what we did. Win or loss, I think we should have fought a little harder.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Next up: Ducks
Matchup: Michigan State (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) at No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0).
Kickoff: 9 p.m. Friday; Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon.
TV/radio: Fox, WJR-AM (760).
Line: Ducks by 24.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: ‘Frustrating’ issues persist with Oregon next
