Michigan State’s trip to Notre Dame offered a much clearer look at who the Spartans trust when the opposition level rises.
Against Toledo and Eastern Michigan, there was still some room for sorting things out. At South Bend, that window closed fast.
In Michigan State’s 27-10 loss to the No. 3 Fighting Irish, the snap counts told a more revealing story about which players are climbing the depth chart and which ones are sliding.
One of the clearest trends came at tight end, where second-year player Jayden Savoury is starting to look more and more like the team’s TE1. Savoury had already flashed in camp, but he opened the year behind Brennan Parachek in the season opener against Toledo and then matched him the following week. On Saturday, he moved ahead of Parachek, logging 31 snaps to Parachek’s 20.
That was technically Savoury’s lowest snap total of the season, but the raw number doesn’t tell the whole story. Michigan State only ran 45 offensive plays against Notre Dame, a sharp drop from 88 against Toledo and 72 against Eastern Michigan. On a percentage basis, Savoury was on the field for 44% of the snaps against Toledo, 57% against Eastern Michigan and 69% against Notre Dame.
The reason for the rise is pretty simple: Savoury has been the most effective tight end in the passing game. He now has 11 catches for 129 receiving yards, both second on the team.
Against Notre Dame, he added three catches for 30 yards. With Michigan State completing only nine passes against the Irish secondary, that was a solid return for a young tight end who looks like he belongs in the “must-keep” category for the staff this winter.
Another notable development came on the defensive front, where Trey Lisle saw a much bigger role than he had in the first two games. Lisle played only eight defensive snaps total against Toledo and Eastern Michigan combined, but he jumped to 26 snaps in the loss to Notre Dame. There weren’t any standout moments attached to the heavier workload, though Pro Football Focus credited him with two pressures.
That increase wasn’t the result of an injury ahead of him on the edge, either. Kenny Soares Jr. and Anelu Lafaele were available Saturday and didn’t appear to leave the field for medical attention.
Lisle also seemed to slide inside at times, giving Michigan State another look along the defensive line. At 6-foot-6 and 254 pounds, the former SEMO transfer remains one of the more intriguing long-term pieces on the roster.
The running back usage also suggested the Spartans may be settling into a clearer top two. Cam Edwards and Marvis Parrish were the only backs to get carries against Notre Dame, while Jaziun Patterson was limited to five offensive snaps and Brandon Tullis did not play.
Patterson’s usage has dropped every week. He went from 25 offensive snaps against Toledo to 10 against Eastern Michigan and then to five against the Irish.
Early on, it looked possible that Patterson could beat out Parrish for the RB2 spot, but that battle now seems to be moving in Parrish’s direction. Parrish, a sophomore, offers a higher ceiling than Patterson, a fifth-year senior, which helps explain the shift.
Inside, Michigan State’s defensive tackle rotation also leaned a little differently in South Bend. Mikeshun Beeler and Derrick Simmons were among the few defenders whose snap totals went down against Notre Dame even though the Spartans played 16 more defensive snaps than they did the previous week against Eastern Michigan.
Beeler dropped from 26 snaps against EMU, a 49% share, to 19 against Notre Dame, which was 28%. Simmons slipped from 24 snaps against Eastern Michigan to 23 against Notre Dame, but his snap share still fell from 45% to 33%.
Some of that may tie back to Lisle’s expanded role, but Michigan State also used its top two interior linemen, Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen, more heavily in an effort to slow Notre Dame’s run game. The tradeoff was fewer opportunities for Beeler and Simmons. Roberts’ snap share rose from 47% against Eastern Michigan to 59% against Notre Dame, while Coenen’s climbed from 58% to 71%.
That shift will be worth watching as Big Ten play begins next week against Nebraska. If Michigan State keeps going with a more top-heavy defensive tackle rotation, the distribution up front could keep changing.
In Other News...
Jayden Reed Injury Had Michigan State Fans Fearing The Worst
Jayden Reeds injury in a Week 2 game had the kind of immediate impact that makes former Michigan State fans hold their breath. When the Green Bay Packers wide receiver was carted off the field, the scene quickly turned from concern to full-blown alarm, especially with how serious it looked in real time.
The initial fear eased a bit after the Packers said Reed had feeling and movement in all extremities and would remain under observation. Reed later added a social media update of his own, saying he is doing better and appreciative of the support, a reassuring sign for everyone who has followed his journey from East Lansing to the NFL. [Read more 🡒]
Former Spartans Made Jim Harbaughs NFL Debut Even Sweeter
Jim Harbaughs first game in charge of the Chargers had an unfamiliar feel for a coach who spent so many years around Michigan football, and it got even more familiar in the wrong way once the Raiders started making plays with help from some former Spartans. Quarterback Kirk Cousins found receiver Cody White for two touchdown catches in the Week 2 matchup, giving Michigan State fans a little extra reason to track a game that already carried plenty of history.
White was hardly alone in leaving a mark on the result. Jalen Nailor and Connor Heyward were also part of the Raiders contribution in the win over Harbaughs Chargers, adding another layer to a result that connected the NFL back to East Lansing in a hurry. For Michigan State followers, it was the kind of pro-football reminder that former Spartans keep showing up in meaningful spots, especially when the spotlight is on a familiar opponent. [Read more 🡒]
No. 1 Michigan State Let This Rivalry Match Slip Away
Michigan States unbeaten start came to an abrupt end in Ann Arbor, where the No. 1 Spartans fell 3-1 to Michigan in a rivalry match that changed in a hurry after halftime. Emerson Sargeant gave the Spartans the opening goal, but they could not add to it, and Michigans defense got enough help from goalkeeper Malia Zillman, who finished with eight saves, to keep the pressure from turning into an answer.
The bigger concern for Michigan State was how quickly the game got away from it once the momentum shifted. Michigan found a way to break through and then kept the Spartans on their heels the rest of the way, handing Michigan State its first loss of the season and underscoring how thin the margin can be in a rivalry game, even for a top-ranked team. [Read more 🡒]