MSU defense’s next test: Grounding Western Kentucky’s ‘Air Raid’ offense
EAST LANSING – In perhaps the ultimate test of bending but not breaking, Michigan State’s defense spent play after play pushing back against Nebraska’s offense.
The Spartans’ offense went from overpowering to hibernation in Saturday’s second half. For the final 30 minutes of regulation, their defense endured 23 minutes and 18 seconds, totaling 51 snaps on the field. They gave up 241 yards, 175 of those through the air, but just 10 points.
That performance left MSU in position to tie the game on Jayden Reed’s punt return with inside 4 minutes to play and beat the Cornhuskers, 23-20, on Matt Coghlin’s 21-yard field goal in overtime.
“We told them, ‘You’re built this. This is what defense is all about,’” coach Mel Tucker said after his team improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in Big Ten play. “Defense, it doesn’t matter what’s going on on offense. Your job is to get the stop. It doesn’t matter how long you’re out there, you keep going out there.”
The next challenge will be stopping Western Kentucky’s “Air Raid” offense and prolific quarterback Bailey Zappe when the Hilltoppers visit Spartan Stadium on Saturday. Western Kentucky (1-2) has yet to play a Conference USA game but took both Indiana and Army to the wire the past two weeks.
The Hoosiers escaped with a 33-31 road win as WKU posted 458 yards of offense, with
Zappe going 31 of 44 for 365 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions.
WKU’s offense ranks third in the nation at successfully converting 57.7% of their third downs. The Hilltoppers have not lost a fumble, and their 41.7 points a game are tied for 14th in the nation.
Zappe ranks second in the country at 408 passing yards per game, third in passing efficiency and sixth with 13 touchdowns. Coach Tyson Helton on Monday said scoring early is critical in facing MSU.
“I do think offensively, it’s gonna be an emphasis for us that, hey, we got to start fast,” Helton said. “If we can go up to Michigan State and start fast and try to get an early touchdown and get that momentum in our favor, where we’re not having to play catch up, I think that’ll benefit us a lot.”
MSU’s offense produced just 14 yards on 15 plays — five three-and-out drives — that forced its defense to shoulder the burden Saturday against Nebraska. The Spartans’ ethos all season has been to give up short passes by playing soft coverage and trying to avoid big yardage plays. It worked, though Nebraska taxed them physically in a much different manner than Miami did a week earlier in the South Florida heat.
“I actually felt pretty fresh going into overtime, honestly, especially coming off a game like Miami and playing in that heat,” said safety Xavier Henderson, who had a career high 17 tackles Saturday. “It was perfect football weather out there, and Spartan nation was out there hyping us up. We felt the juice, that adrenaline was pumping, and we felt good.”
It will be a different task facing Zappe and the Air Raid scheme, a pass-dominant offense which runs out of the shotgun with four wide receivers and is similar to the run-and-shoot. Zappe ranks eighth nationally with a 73.1% completion percentage, third with 29 completions per game and 22nd averaging 14.07 yards per completion.
And MSU’s pass coverage has been its biggest statistical concern on defense, the 265.8 yards per game the Spartans allow ranking 107th in the Football Bowl Subdivision but just five touchdowns through the air. It helps that they average 4.0 sacks per game, fifth-best in the nation.
“I tell you what, they’re doing a great job defensively,” Helton said. “When you watch them, they’re flying around and tackling. Their looks are tough — they’re not just lining up and you know what you’re getting there, they’re keeping you guessing.”