Michigan State got a win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday, but the afternoon came with two reminders that tested the Spartans in different ways: the absence of Jordan Hall and a second-quarter stretch where the defense lost its edge.
Hall, a two-time captain and the program’s leading tackler last season, missed just the second game of his Michigan State career as he dealt with a right-arm injury from last week’s season-opening win over Toledo. He finished that 30-20 victory after getting hurt in the first quarter, and head coach Pat Fitzgerald said he was “really close” to playing against the Eagles. Still, the medical staff did not clear him.
“I expect if we practiced tomorrow, he'd be ready,” Fitzgerald said Saturday night after MSU’s 35-7 win at Spartan Stadium.
Without Hall, the Spartans leaned on a different linebacker mix. Senior Dion Crawford, a transfer from Buffalo who sat out the Toledo game, started alongside third-year linebacker Brady Pretzlaff. Seniors Caleb Wheatland and Cam Stodghill also saw time.
Hall’s absence mattered because of everything he brings to the defense, not just the tackles. He has more experience in Joe Rossi’s system than anyone else on the roster, and he is usually the player wearing the green-dot helmet that carries the sideline communication. Pretzlaff handled that responsibility for most of the game and said the work in practice helped make the adjustment manageable.
“Even last week with Jordan going down for some of the game, I got the green dot a little bit,” Pretzlaff said. “We all kind of have it in practice so it's something that you're ready for, you're used to kind of hearing it and trying to relay it to everyone.
It's something I've got to continue to get used to, having it, for situations like that. But I think the preparation led to it just being another thing that was just kind of habitual for me.”
Fitzgerald said he didn’t see any breakdowns in communication, though he wanted more talking from that side of the defense overall.
The Spartans eventually controlled the game, but Eastern Michigan made them work longer than the final score suggests. MSU was up only 14-7 at halftime after a second-quarter “lull,” as Fitzgerald described it, when the defense lost some of its usual physical bite.
That was the Eagles’ best moment of the day. Eastern Michigan put together a 13-play, 78-yard drive that ate 6 minutes, 50 seconds off the clock and ended with its only touchdown.
Amaeron Blue opened the series with a 13-yard run, and the Eagles kept pounding away with gains of 16, 8, 10 and 9 yards before quarterback Noah Kim scored from 4 yards out. Of the 78 yards on the drive, 67 came on the ground.
“The physicality piece, that's kind of the brand of ball that MSU is known for,” Pretzlaff said. “I grew up watching it, and that's what we're really trying to get back to playing.
Our physicality wasn't where it needed to be on that drive, and we corrected it and moved on and responded. That's what you guys can expect out of us.”
Michigan State answered over the final 30 minutes, blanking the Eagles the rest of the way and allowing just 57 total yards in the second half.
Pretzlaff, making his second career start, finished with eight tackles and shared the team lead with safety Devin Vaught. Crawford added seven stops. Wheatland recorded four tackles and a half-tackle for loss, and Stodghill delivered a notable pass breakup downfield.
Eastern Michigan finished with 219 total yards and dropped to 1-2. Kim, the first of three former MSU quarterbacks the Spartans will face this fall, played all 60 minutes and completed 16 of 26 passes for 118 yards.
Pretzlaff said the defense’s preparation made it easier to handle the sudden loss of Hall, and he also pointed to the veteran linebacker’s influence during the week.
“I think the coaches do a great job of getting everyone prepared for every situation,” Pretzlaff said. “So, you never really know when a situation like (losing Hall) is gonna come up, but you just trust your preparation and what the coaches get you ready for to be able to go out and compete and dominate in that situation.
“I think Jordan himself has been a great leader throughout this week. It's hard for a guy like that who has played so much and is so passionate about the game to go down. He's done a great job of himself kind of taking on a coaching role and getting us ready … so it's been great to see that.”
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Charles Taplin added his first collegiate touchdown to the mix, while several freshmen got their first non-special teams snaps in game action. The bigger long-term takeaway, though, may have come at nickelback, where a new competition is beginning to take shape and could become one of the more interesting depth-chart battles to follow as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
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The defense still left room for concern after giving up plenty of yardage in the first half, but it did respond better after intermission and added a forced fumble to the mix. That kind of uneven outing is hardly a finished product, yet it was enough to nudge the mood from frustration toward cautious optimism. For a fan base that has been waiting for a reason to believe, this was at least a small but meaningful step in that direction. [Read more 🡒]