Saturday’s trip to Wisconsin will tell Michigan State football plenty about where this season is headed.
The Spartans enter at 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten after dropping consecutive games by a couple of scores, including last week’s 31-13 home loss to Nebraska. Now comes a Wisconsin team that has picked up serious steam after knocking off then-No.
13 Penn State on the road. The Badgers are 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play, and they bring a handful of players MSU has to account for if it wants a chance in Madison.
The first issue for the Spartans is at quarterback, where Wisconsin’s Colton Joseph brings a very familiar kind of challenge. This is the second straight week Michigan State’s defense will see a first-year transfer quarterback with real run threat after facing Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea, a UNLV transfer, last week. Joseph, who came from Old Dominion, was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year last season after piling up 2,624 passing yards, 1,007 rushing yards and 34 total touchdowns in 12 games.
MSU defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said he expects Wisconsin to lean more heavily on designed quarterback runs for Joseph than Nebraska did with Colandrea. Rossi also noted that Joseph is more of a downhill runner who can break tackles, while Colandrea was more elusive. The Spartans haven’t recorded a sack in back-to-back games, so keeping Joseph contained and cutting off his rushing lanes has to be a priority.
Joseph has been dangerous, but he’s also shown a knack for giving defenses chances. He threw three interceptions last week against Penn State and also had a pick-six against Notre Dame.
For the season, Joseph has five interceptions, and he had 10 last year at Old Dominion. Michigan State hasn’t forced a takeaway in two weeks, and if the Spartans are going to pull this one out, they probably need to get Joseph to cough it up at least once or twice.
Wisconsin’s top target in the passing game is a name Michigan State fans know well. Slot receiver Tyrell Henry, who played for the Spartans in 2022 and 2023, leads the Badgers with 307 receiving yards and 24 catches. No other Wisconsin player has more than 11 receptions.
Henry’s production has swung wildly from week to week. He exploded for 14 catches and 160 yards in Week 3 against Eastern Michigan, then Penn State held him to two grabs for 14 yards last weekend, both season lows. That makes this a key assignment for Michael Richard and Nikai Martinez, who have seen the most action at nickelback for MSU.
Up front, both teams have interior defensive linemen who can change the game. Michigan State usually lines up Ben Roberts closest to the center, and he has been playing well of late. Wisconsin counters with sixth-year senior Hammond Russell IV, who figures to be a major test for the Spartans’ guards and star center Trent Fraley.
Russell made one of the biggest plays in Wisconsin’s win at Penn State when he got 1-on-1 with the Nittany Lions’ center, drove him back in pass protection and got close enough to tip Rocco Becht’s pass into the air for an interception just outside Penn State’s own red zone. Russell also has 1.5 sacks this season.
Another Badger worth tracking is weakside EDGE rusher Sebastian Cheeks. He leads Wisconsin with 2.5 sacks, including one against Notre Dame and a half-sack at Penn State.
That already puts him close to his sack total from last season, when he finished with 3.0. Cheeks has also added 14 tackles, a pass breakup and two forced fumbles.
His role lines up with what Michigan State gets from its own rush end spot, where Kenny Soares Jr. and Anelu Lafaele - a former Badger - have handled most of the work. Wisconsin’s defense also comes from Mike Tressel, the former longtime MSU assistant who once served as the Spartans’ defensive coordinator.
On the linebacker level, either of Wisconsin’s starters could have made the cut here, but true sophomore Mason Posa stands out. He looks like a difference-maker on tape: decisive, fast and very much the kind of middle linebacker that can wreck an opponent’s rhythm.
Posa has 31 tackles, which is four behind fellow starter Cooper Catalano for the team lead, along with a tackle for loss and an interception against Eastern Michigan. Last season, he posted 61 tackles, 4.0 sacks and two forced fumbles, earning multiple Freshman All-American honors.
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