![]() This is probably the best coach who could have been brought back from the Tucker years, so this should be a positive for the team. He has been on the MSU sidelines for four seasons. Hawkins played for MSU in the late 80s and early 90s under George Perles and earned All-Big Ten honors twice before playing nine seasons in the NFL. First, though, we got news this afternoon that new HC Jonathan Smith is retaining at least one member of the prior regime in WR coach Courtney Hawkins. A big piece of the puzzle was announced over the weekend, and we will get to that in a minute. BOTTOM LINEĪt 3-7, MSU is playing out the string in November, before one of the more consequential Decembers in program history.The Spartan football coaching staff is getting closer to becoming complete. You can second-guess a few coaching decisions, but a magician couldn’t have changed this outcome. MSU is a banged-up team, short on seasoned high-end talent. Still, there’s only so much that can be done against Harrison. There might have been more help in coverage on his two touchdown catches - Chance Rucker especially could have used it (though that matchup will be a good learning experience for him). MSU’s coaches could have navigated that differently, either having him play more earlier in the season (last week, especially) or not using him at all until last week, so he could have played the last four games of the season.ĭefensively, covering Marvin Harrison Jr. The Spartans were also hindered by not having true freshman QB Sam Leavitt, who smartly decided to shut it down for the season to preserve a year of eligibility. MSU just doesn’t have the players to sustain anything offensively. The scripted game plan out of the chute worked well offensively. Unfortunately for the Spartans, three plays later they punted from the 43. The fake punt call in the second quarter was well-timed and well-executed, giving the Spartans a first down at the Ohio State 47-yard line. RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 38-3 loss at Ohio State COACHING: 4 ![]() MSU’s defense kept battling and kept the score from getting embarrassing in the second half, which shouldn’t go unmentioned, though Ohio State took its foot off the gas late. There are some promising young pieces on this MSU defense, but they weren’t ready to be difference-makers against a Buckeyes offense with several NFL players - including perhaps the top player in college football in Marvin Harrison Jr., who gave MSU’s young defensive backs fits (as he does everyone), catching seven passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on five of their six first-half possessions and the Spartans made the least-threatening quarterback Ohio State has had in some time look like a Heisman Trophy contender. They don’t have the playmakers right now to bother an opponent of Ohio State’s caliber. The Spartans ended with just 182 total yards and never appeared capable of reaching the end zone, in part because they were 2-for-14 on third downs. MSU ultimately scored just a field goal, bringing its offensive point total against its three top-tier opponents this season to 10. Unfortunately for the Spartans, it was inconsistent and never continued beyond the Ohio State 35-yard line. MSU’s offense showed some life out of the gate, the sort of execution and juice needed to hang around in a game like this. Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch grades Michigan State's performance in the Spartans' 38-3 loss at Ohio State on a scale from 1-10.
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