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Defense Wins Rivalry, Offense Settles for Field Goals—All Five of Them
A weekly, unique recap show for each college football team that played a game. This unique look at what occured has a forward-looking approach and gets you what you need to know. For hardcore fans, casual onlookers and the gambler looking for an edge. Check out the Depth Dossier!
This is the Depth Dossier: the Michigan State Spartans, Week 10.
Michigan State's defense carried this rivalry game before the offense ever found the end zone, beating Michigan 15 to 6 without scoring a single touchdown.
Four takeaways, five sacks on quarterback Tommy Carr, and a Michigan offense held to 192 total yards and just 54 yards rushing. That's the formula that snapped Michigan State's six-game losing skid. Kicker Liam Boyd did the scoring himself, going five for five on field goals, including a 49-yarder in the fourth quarter that sealed it. Running back Brandon Tullis ground out 86 yards on 25 carries, and wide receiver Chrishon McCray caught six passes for 92 yards to give the passing game its few big plays. Michigan State held the ball for more than 38 minutes, and the defense simply never let Michigan breathe.
Let's dig into how suffocating this really was. Michigan State held the ball for 38 minutes and 7 seconds to Michigan's 21 minutes and 53 seconds. The signature moment came right out of halftime. Michigan State took over at its own 1-yard line and ran 17 plays over more than 10 minutes, covering 79 yards, but came away with only a field goal. It didn't produce a touchdown, but it kept Michigan's offense ice cold on the sideline for nearly the entire third quarter.
That drive also points to the one real flaw here. All 15 points came off Boyd's foot. Michigan State outgained Michigan 298 yards to 192 and forced four turnovers, yet kept leaving touchdowns on the table. Against a team with more firepower, that kind of red zone trouble would have been costly instead of just untidy.
The turnovers were the difference, though. Safety Devin Vaught picked off Carr in the first quarter to set up good field position, and defensive back NiJhay Burt delivered the knockout blow in the fourth quarter, intercepting Carr and then forcing and recovering a fumble on Michigan's very next snap. Two takeaways on back-to-back possessions late is about as thorough a way to end a comeback bid as there is.
Special teams tilted Michigan State's way too. Boyd's perfect day on field goals contrasted sharply with Michigan kicker Jacob Baggett missing a 26-yard attempt off the upright, Michigan's fifth missed field goal in three games. Michigan State did commit seven penalties for 70 yards compared to Michigan's two for 20. That sloppiness didn't cost them this time, but it's worth watching.
Now, onto the depth chart, because there's real news here. No in-game injuries were reported, which is a relief for a team that's been shorthanded at running back and in the secondary for weeks. Four running backs remained unavailable, and Michigan State didn't blink, with Tullis handling 25 carries for a career-high 86 yards and Kenneth Williams also getting work. Tullis has now carried a lead back's workload in back-to-back tough games, and until the other backs are cleared, this job is his to keep.
In the secondary, Vaught returned from the injury that kept him out against UCLA and delivered an interception in his first game back, a good sign for a thin room. Burt's two takeaways put him right in the conversation as a real difference-maker in the secondary, not just a complementary piece.
At kicker, Boyd's perfect day and game-sealing 49-yarder confirm he's the most automatic part of this offense right now. The bigger question going forward is whether the passing game and the backfield, even with Tullis emerging, can start turning long drives into touchdowns instead of field goals. This plan worked against Michigan, but that red zone inefficiency is the one thing standing between Michigan State and more comfortable wins down the road.
This was the depth dossier. For everything college football, be it depth charts, data or dossiers, head over to C F B Depth dot com. We will be back next week. This was an AI-generated podcast from content developed by real human beings passionate about college football.