Nick Lundberg 0:10
Welcome back, everyone. My name is Nick Lundberg, and this is the sports roundtable. Your end-of-the-week sports update on all things Michigan State. We are live from Impact station at Holden Hall with Carter, who's a sports contributor to Impact. How are we doing today? Carter?
Carter Frye 0:23
Good. How about you, Nick?
Nick Lundberg 0:24
Pretty good. Pretty good. So let's just jump right into it. Before we talk about that, God awful loss. This past weekend for football. Let's get into some of the other sports. We had women's soccer beat Purdue three one over the weekend a bright spot for Michigan State. But with the win, they moved to seven one and three on the season. And I wanted to shout out Justina Gaynor, who was named Dora soccer national team of the week honorable mention after she scored a pretty beautiful goal on Sunday to help beat Purdue and carter. What are your thoughts?
Carter Frye 0:56
On women's soccer? I mean, obviously, they look good this year. The offseason, they had a great I mean, they had a great season last year, the offseason coming into this year. There's a lot of hype they, you know, first-time coach last year, Jeff Hoss, Jeff Hossler did a phenomenal job with the team last year. And it's definitely carrying over into this year, their seventh one and three. And I'm very excited to see how they do the rest of the year.
Nick Lundberg 1:19
Yeah, we I cover for The State News, women's soccer. And so I've been with the team all year, and it seems like especially obviously I really think Jeff Hossler is that guy like he's I didn't I coming into the season, I did not know he was a second-year coach because he talks like he's a 10-year vet. But he's just he's a great coach, in my opinion. But whenever the team seems to, there's a trend this year where the team will, they'll have a really good stretch, they'll play a scoreless draw like they did in Oakland and the Iowa two games ago. And then liberals come right back out. And just and then just sweep the next couple of opponents and play very, very beautiful soccer. So that's just it's it was good to see them come bounce back against Purdue after a draw at Iowa. So we'll see what happens for them down the road of the season. But the other soccer team had a big win last night. They after drawing after they started the season pretty, you know, pretty, just not good in general. They drew one to one at number 16 iu last Friday. And then yesterday, they beat excuse me Tuesday, they beat Michigan to win the Big Bear trophy after losing five of the last six games.
Carter Frye 2:35
No, it was a huge win for them. And obviously for a team that has had their ups and downs this year. Seeing the excitement at the Martin last night was absolutely or the other night was absolutely, really fun to see. And I'm hoping that we'll continue this momentum into you know, the heart of the big 10 schedule. I mean, we have St Mary's coming up as well, kind of thrown in there. But as we get into the heart of the year, getting that win against Michigan is for sure is hopefully a kickstarter for them.
Nick Lundberg 3:03
Yeah, after losing the last five of the six games against them this year, it seemed like they had something to prove coming out in the game. They scored in the first eight minutes from Mercer and then they scored in the last eight minutes to close it out from stout. And the goalie Owen Finnerty actually transferred from Michigan to MSU to play this year. And he had a clean sheet. And so I know it must have felt good for him. But as seeing pictures of the Martin just absolutely packed out kind of made me wish I was there less. Or a couple nights ago, I was mad that I saw that they won and I didn't show up. Because I looked. It looked pretty live. It looked fun.
Carter Frye 3:43
Yeah. And even just being there in the student section would have been amazing because they were going absolutely nuts get rushed in the field afterward. And yeah, just huge win for men's soccer.
Nick Lundberg 3:51
Yeah, it was much needed this year. They move to three, four and two on the season. They'll face Wisconsin, truly going into big 10 play at home at the Martin on Sunday. And this team seems to be turning a corner but we'll discuss we had just have to wait and see how they do going through big 10 play. But moving on to volleyball after a very good start from Leah Johnson the first year head coach after Cathy George retired last year started nine and two on the year but the last couple of games they faltered a little bit losing to number three, Nebraska and Rutgers on the road. Tough matches to start big 10 play, but they'll continue their four game road stretch tonight at Maryland. Hopefully they can. The I feel like they need to take at least one of these games. These next two on the road. Big 10 Play to truly get like keep their foot on the pedal this season.
Carter Frye 4:44
Yeah, and I mean they're, you know, you look at the record, they are nine and four at the moment. But you know, their best win is probably either navy or VCU and you know they lost North Carolina Duke and now that we're getting into big 10 play they start off with two straight losses. So, as we keep going through and seasons really getting into full swing here, it'll be interesting to see how you know, if they're able to, you know, match up to, you know, the big 10 competition.
Nick Lundberg 5:10
And it's always interesting with new with first year head coaches because to see them do well like we saw this with Mel Tucker last year, even though it was a second year to see them do well with that maybe not all of their guys there yet. And we're going to talk about that with football too, especially this week, but to see volleyball do well with basically all of Cathy George's players under Lea Johnson, It's kind of a testament to how I wouldn't I maybe I'm speaking a little too soon, but how good of a hire it is. Because to do that, well, I mean, they haven't really had a true test yet. Besides, they've lost like they lost the ACC road trip, they lost to Nebraska and Rutgers they haven't. So they haven't really won a true true test yet. But to see them do well, or at least beat the opponents they should be with. Basically, her kind of just figuring out things as she goes is very promising. And I hope that she can keep it up for the team sake because and especially since they're moving back to Breslin, because they're gonna get, they're getting a lot of hype. And if to make a move like that to come from genossen, which is kind of you know, the old, old school, old style stadium, everyone knows they're there to kind of the Breslin the newer, more hype around the team around the move, and just to have them kind of keep that excitement going, being a good team playing in a new place is always good for the sport, of MSU volleyball and the school.
Carter Frye 6:36
Absolutely. And with, you know, when you are beating the teams that you're supposed to be and losing to the teams that you know, are more decent, it's not the worst, you know, position to be in because if you are losing two teams, you're not supposed to be that's, you know, where you're really in trouble. So, you know, there's definitely still potential with this team. And I'm excited to where, you know, this is definitely a solid jumping-off point and in the seasons to come hopefully, volleyball can build off this and become a true big 10 powerhouse.
Nick Lundberg 7:04
And moving on to basketball. Their season starting to ramp up as they started practicing this week for men specifically, we have a couple of injuries early on, which to a team that's already pretty, I would say skinny rotation-wise is not a good start. But Malik Hall has a toe injury that Izzo said would keep them out for about a week and I'm not really worried about that too much. But what I am worried about is Jay Akins who we heard about a couple of weeks, two weeks ago, he sustained an injury that they would they said originally would be a stress-strain, not a fracture, but a stress-strain as I think it is, but they said he would be about for about three weeks, and that was two weeks ago. And then Izzo just came out and said that he's going to be out for another month, which is kind of concerning, considering he's only a sophomore and he still has a lot of developing to do in his game. And the fact that he relies so much on his athleticism to you know, to hit for his game is a little concerning.
Carter Frye 8:01
Obviously, he had a great year last year but this year is my I'm expecting him to kind of have an AJ Hoggard type year like he had last year where you know, kind of stepping up and becoming the dog of the team. But yeah, the injury situation definitely a little worrisome but you know, Malik Hall he's out for a week he should be fine you know, he's probably the closest thing we have to someone who could be you know, a star in the conference this year. You know, he from to me he does it all so hopefully everything's fine with him. And Jaden Atkins he's healthy. I think this is his year, we saw so many explosive plays from him last year where you just went okay, this kid can play fly. Yeah, I mean some of those like almost dunks some of those blocks he had you know, Chase downs. Yeah, I mean that he had Breslin in shock mode quite a bit last year.
Nick Lundberg 8:49
He did and for his size for that amount of bounce he has is pretty, pretty insane. But hopefully he gets better soon. And we can see more of those dunks as and when the year starts and I really want to see him take like you said, an AJ Hoggard type from last year type leap in his game because we know the athleticism is there. We know his bounces there but the thing and we saw parts of his game, like develop through our own eyes like he became more confident as jumpered dribbling passing just I want to see him build more on those parts of his game because we know that he plays great defense he's always all over the ball and he can jump out of the gym but I want to see more of development passing wise and the offense shooting and just kind of just some things that he doesn't have to rely on his athleticism for.
Carter Frye 9:40
Yeah, and you mentioned you know, thin rotation I mean is Izzo looking at an eight or nine-man rotation without any injuries. So once you know injuries start cutting in you know, probably around mid-season I think we'll be struggling to feel guys might even have to bring in you know, some other like some of the football team, yes. I mean, Keon Coleman and Maliq Carr might get to see some significant playing time this year if the injury bug sticks with state this year.
Nick Lundberg 10:10
Yeah, because we definitely don't have a lot of bodies. As I mentioned that Carson Cooper, he's a freshman coming in this year as he was originally planning on redshirting him but since the kind of the lack of bodies which is been the offseason that was a highly contended philosophy from so it's not really big into the transfer portal for any big men but and that might come back to bite him this year with I mean to injuries early on. I mean, Malik is he's more I think they're moving him more to a three three spot this year. Who knows they could have him with the lack of if like let's say Mady or Jaxon Kohler gets injured two guys you're gonna play big minutes at the big the big spots you can you Maliq Hall has the versatility to move them down but if these guys are injured and need to have a lack of bodies it's pretty it's it can be concerning but we'll see how the season plays out it's still very early so there's a lot of speculation can be made but nothing set in stone.
Carter Frye 11:09
And the big 10 has a lot of good big still in the way that are you know Hunter Dickinson, Zach Edey are still very much here so it'll be a whole new hole in the game that hopefully is oh can rectify somehow before the season starts.
Nick Lundberg 11:22
Yeah, the gauntlet as someone like to say but moving on to the another winter sport hockey is also getting going. And I want to talk about how their first-year head coach Adam Nightingale has been doing very well recently on the recruiting trail. Recently he just landed Riley Patterson from the North York Rangers he flipped a Michigan goalie commit a couple weeks ago Munn the arena the renovations are finally done. It's state of the art I had people friends at the state news go cover and from other places and telling me just I went to actually went in there for I worked the btn I worked the Akron game and we were catered food at mon and we walked in. And before it was like really done and we saw them working out and I just thought this is man this is such I don't know if you've gotten the chance to check it out yet. I thought a couple photos online.
Carter Frye 12:13
I have not checked it out in person, but it looks sick.
Nick Lundberg 12:16
It's beautiful. It really seems like it is NHL's state of the art. Like just training facilities when you walk in it's like kind of like the Breslin center how it shows off all like the history of Michigan State hockey and pet recent history hasn't been kind to Michigan State hockey. But I really think that with this hire of Nightingale, he's kind of it seems like he's turning a corner at least through recruiting because no one was this excited, at least in my, in my opinion, past few years about Dan Cole being at the helm. And just the season in general, even though we it's kind of like football, we came off like a terrible season, like last year, and just like kind of like two years ago with MSU, football and then all of this hype, just because one coach is just guarding so much recruiting hype, and you can do a lot through that. And just there's a lot of excitement throughout the program. And there's a reason to have cautious optimism because the team still really like obviously, with any first year head coach, there's a lot of work to be done. But there is good reason to be excited about the future of MSU hockey with Coach Nightingale.
Carter Frye 13:24
Yeah, and I think there is kind of an interesting parallel between the big three sports going this year now hockey, basketball, and football. The feelings going into this season, you know, and the feeling for football right now is kinda, you know, it's lukewarm, but the future looks very bright. Like is those got quite a few recruits coming in 2023 2024 Tucker, you know, all the hype is about how he's been recruiting for those classes and how they're going to come in and do some damage. And now hockey, you know, they're following suit hired a new coach, and, you know, recruiting, you know, taken off and hopefully, yeah, we have a really competitive hockey team and a couple of years.
Nick Lundberg 14:00
And then they have an exhibition this weekend against the US National Development Team program in which I believe is where Nightingale came from. So it'll be interesting to see how those guys play against his guy is now at Michigan State. So that's that's kind of a cool little exhibition game, but for sure. Going into talking about football. I just want we have to do we really have to? I think we do. But we we definitely do, unfortunately. But I wanted to mention something. We were talking about this on the way here. I never leave games. Like I love to stay at stick it out as a true fan. But after that first quarter last week, I I had to leave I couldn't I just I couldn't take it. It was just too. It was it was too ugly.
Carter Frye 14:44
Yeah, I have a halftime rule. And I think I would have broke it had I not been in the press box and I had to stay the whole game. But yeah, there was quite a few points in the third and fourth quarter where I was just like can I just leave and get out of here it was I would have felt the same. This is terrible. You know, I at least I was warm inside and I wasn't out there in the cold with everyone else. So that was definitely a plus. But yeah, it was really just, like, just you just feel defeated afterwards, you just don't have any answers. You just don't know what to think all the your U of M friends are clowning on you exactly. You just have no defense. You just got to take its sucks.
Nick Lundberg 15:21
Yeah, it does, because you're coming off a very tough loss to Washington, who it was on the road. So that game, I give a little more leeway than this game for obvious reasons. But because Washington, they had more skill on the outside, it was on the road, it was after a win. Because usually, you know, after loss teams, at least good teams bounce back on the road way out west to exactly the time change and everything this time around, you're at home against a familiar foe and a big 10 opponent. They don't have their top wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, and it just it was the same thing against Washington, but except the only difference was the offense was worse this time around. I mean, when I was from what I watched live is the same thing. We couldn't get off the field on third down, as that's been a problem throughout the past two years with Hazleton and we'll we'll talk about, we'll talk about our opinions on him in a minute. But the defense couldn't get off the field on third down, they run the soft coverage, of course, again, just doesn't seem to ever work, couldn't get a pass rush. I read something about Jacoby Windmon, he would talk to the media and he said that he did not expect Tanner Morgan to get out of the pocket and run as much as he did. And so I feel like that's kind of telling to the way they got ready for the game. And then there they allowed 100 yards on the ground from their running back. I believe he had like two touchdowns as well. But all overall defensively just was very, very ugly.
Carter Frye 16:51
The one thing Hazleton said that I, you know, somewhat agree with and gives me some hope is that it's a lot of little things, adding up to a big thing. And we can go in and fix all those things, because I still think there was potential with this team. And obviously, the defense is dealing with injuries sustained early on. And I again, I'm not convinced that that's not a conditioning issue, especially with all the cramping we saw week one. So I think the offseason, just prepare, you know, preparation coming into this year. I don't know was that, where's where it should be at? And, I mean, this week we came in, after a big loss against Washington, I would think that we would have been humbled a little bit more and like, okay, we gotta buckle down and win this, but I didn't get that feeling it was more just kind of like, Oh, we're gonna go out. They just were out there. They were just out there. You know, like they had the same confidence they did against Washington, which I thought they were overconfident coming into the Washington game like, Oh, we're gonna win this. Get you to know, get their butts whooped. And then they come back and now you know, get their butts whipped at home against Minnesota and Minnesota is you know, decent team, but we should be beating them.
Nick Lundberg 17:58
Yeah, it's for sure that a score 34 to seven is just not acceptable. And it's not even indicative of how bad the game was. That should have been a 60-to-nothing game. Honestly, that was it was there was just not pretty, but I'm moving over to the offensive side of things. It was just it was even worse than at some of these stat lines are just I can't I don't even want to say.
Carter Frye 18:23
I was live tweeting the game and at the end I had to post the final with like the Player Stats and I'm going through typing Peyton thorns like yardage and Jeric resizer. And like, oh my god, this is 23 yards. You're oh my god.
Nick Lundberg 18:35
Your lead receiver is Cade McDonald with 31 yards and you had Jayden Reed back.
Carter Frye 18:41
How was that possible?
Nick Lundberg 18:42
That's just unacceptable. I mean, McDonald No, no offense, like no offense to him, but he he going into the season, he wasn't even on the top five of the depth chart receiving-wise. And now you've got him in there as your lead receiver with your first home Big Ten game, your first big team game of the year. That's just it's it's not acceptable for a team that wants to it has the expectations that it has.
And then coming in another thing I want to say is that I really don't understand the coming out with Jerek Broussard as your running back one because I think that his role and I haven't really seen this from the offensive series him catching passes out of the backfield. And basically, he's not the shiftiest player, but he runs he's, he's small, but he runs like he's six. He just he likes to just run over people. And when you're putting him in a position where you have three, like huge defensive linemen in his face when you just run them up the gut. It's not going to go anywhere because the offensive line this year hasn't looked good either. They haven't gotten any push they haven't really had any push against Washington or Minnesota to create those holes they were in the first two games for Berger and Broussard and that's how we're all their stats from this year came from but I really think that even though Berger younger then Broussard and he has less experience I think that it's smarter to go with him because I feel like he's just the more complete back for at least the first and second down because throwing like I just I want to see them use Broussard in a different way because it hasn't been working how they've been using him this year.
Carter Frye 20:15
Yeah, I'm totally with you on making Berger the number one back-end thing with Jerek Broussard. If when I watch him for some reason, he reminds me of Matt Forte and I'm a Bears fan and what was Matt Forte a pass catcher I first and foremost so you're dead on they should be using him more you know in the backfield and when they want to, you know, option out for a screen or something like that. And yeah, their offense it's they're not doing anything. It's there's no game plan. And all I heard this week, you know, more on the defensive side, but every you know, excuse I hear from the coaches was like, Oh, we weren't expecting them to do that. Or oh, our game plan didn't match up. Like even if your game plan doesn't match up, you got to change that on the fly on game day. You can't just you know, the first score oh, our game plans don't match up well we'll try again next week. No, you got to change and you got to do something about it. You got to make you know changes on the fly. Mel Tucker, I great recruiter. And obviously, I still have full confidence but his coat is on the field coaching is beginning to worry me just a tad.
Nick Lundberg 21:18
Yeah, it's similar to kind of how the lions play. I don't know if we've had the Lions fans but different but similar, like new head coaches bringing all this hype, and then you've got there on the field coaching offensively last year, it was great. I mean, but Kenneth Walker didn't make that a lot easier for Jay Johnson. Though I feel like the play calling is still good. It's just the defensive development from the secondary over the offseason. And then the lack of development from Thorne and my like, from last year to this year, and just the way the lack of I mean, besides Keon Coleman, I can't really think of anyone who's really taken that jump. I mean, maybe you can mention Spencer Brown, who showed a little like, showed a little bit last year and has come in and done. I feel like a pretty solid job this year.
But the only one who's really taken a jump because the biggest thing with Thorne was his decision-making. And this year, he has around more than five interceptions. He's around six or seven, I believe. That's the one thing people wanted to see get better from him was his decision making and just hasn't been there this year. And the only person you can really say that has developed from last year to this year is Keon Coleman. And we didn't really see him last game. So it's just it's kind of concerning. The way the onfield like they said the game management is going because they said at least in the Washington game they made like, at halftime they made adjustments which obviously didn't work, but at defensive side, but it just seems like they came out there at least last week in the week before just and just were shell shocked about just they couldn't stop them. And it didn't look like they were really trying to stop me there.
Carter Frye 23:05
And like the game wasn't totally out of reach. until the second half. I obviously at halftime it was like, you know, pretty much give up mode. But you felt the sense of giving up kind of ended at the end of the first quarter. Like they were just like, Oh, we're overmatched today, and it was really difficult to watch if you are a Spartan fan.
Nick Lundberg 23:26
Yeah, just the keep chopping. There wasn't a lot of chopping done. But I do want to. I'm a pretty optimistic person. And I believe that once Tucker really gets his guys throughout the high school ranks in here I feel like real change will come. But right now, the thing I'm concerned because I'm more concerned than I usually am with that performance because he has this. It seems like he has this kind of Dantonio trust in the coaching staff.
And Hazleton, as you said mentioned that the team is close, like just little things that you got to clean up. But you got to show me like in one of these games like obviously Ohio State, that's a very, very, very difficult test, which I doubt that will show me anything but like, You got to show it against Wisconsin, you got to at least show up against Michigan because they're obviously not Ohio State that can be contested, but I don't think that they're on the Ohio State level. I think you got to show me at least against Wisconsin, you got to show me there's something different
Carter Frye 24:30
Wisconsin we definitely have to make that competitive game at the very least. And if we go out against Maryland and do the same thing we did against Washington and Minnesota, like I don't know that I watched another game
Nick Lundberg 24:42
There's a good chance that happened. I know I wanted to get into it because their QB tell, you know to his brother yes to his brother. He's questionable and so as I believe he's their top receiver, Rakim Jarrett. I saw that on Twitter last night that they're that they will be a game-time decision as a decision. Yeah, so that's gonna be that a little. And I mean, that's concerning, because the past few times, it's like they've talked about, like, the lack of preparation has been there. So I kind of am concerned that if these guys are out or even in, how are they game planning for who's gonna be there and what's gonna, what's gonna go on, especially on the road to in Maryland is three and one and they just gave, they gave Michigan a good test on the road with, you know, to his brother and Jared out there, but I just, it's concerning.
Carter Frye 25:35
And he didn't even play the final drive against the Michigan game. He wanted to come back in, but you know, just still hurt. So if he, because he felt 100 He says he feels 100%. And the funny thing is, I saw on Twitter, like the coach said, like, Oh, I think my injury update was, you know, is along the standard of other big 10 coaches. So I think some people were a little like, okay, like, you're really gonna say he's a game day decision. Like, because there's I think they're just trying to mess with you know, yeah, and that's what the game you know, MSU's game plan a little bit, so they're probably both gonna play, especially since so yeah, he, he seems like he's gonna play for sure.
Nick Lundberg 26:08
Yeah, he's, he's pretty. He's pretty special. He has a good arm too. So I mean, if MSU wants to make a good bowl game this year, or at least a respectable one, I feel like it's a must when they're coming in. The line for Maryland is currently at the time of this recording. Minus seven. So we'll see how that swings for all you betters out there. But game in Maryland, only seven? Yeah, our past two games. That was a little I feel like that's a little generous, but was with these injuries.
Carter Frye 26:37
You know, you're into sports gaming out there. Look out.
Nick Lundberg 26:42
Yeah, exactly. This might be a little; this might be a little bit of a trap. Trap. Bad game. But yeah, just I feel like this is just a must-win.
Carter Frye 26:49
Yeah and you talking about them getting a good ball game, you might be getting a little ahead of yourself making a ball game might be the goal that you know, coming out because you want to say oh, you know, we can still maybe get the six and six. Look at the schedule. Where are we gonna get four more wins with Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan all coming up.
Nick Lundberg 27:07
Very tough October stretch for sure. So I mean, it's, it's in Tucker's hands. So We'll see
Carter Frye 27:15
In tuck, we trust exactly. In Tuck, we trust.
Nick Lundberg 27:18
So we'll see. We'll see what happens. But that's about all the time we have today. Thank you, Carter, for coming on. It was great chatter. Thanks for having me. And thanks, everyone, for listening. We'll see you next Friday for another edition of Sports Roundtable. Peace out
Transcribed by https://otter.ai