The Spartans needed some late game heroics, but they eked out a 40-31 victory against Indiana and that enabled homecoming activities to finish in a festive manner.
Indiana attacked the Spartans Passing Defense
It was hardly mentioned prior to last Saturday’s game, but Indiana’s Passing Offense was ranked #20 in the land (Top 15 percentile), averaging an impressive 309 Yards per game and they took the Spartans to the wire.
What went under reported was the fact in 3 previous victories, Indiana had compiled more than 1000 Yards Passing, including 326 Yards Passing vs Ball State…an “eye glazing” 441 Yards Passing vs Eastern Illinois…and 252 Yards Passing vs UConn, but assuredly Indiana wouldn’t be able to throw for nearly 300 Yards vs the Spartans highly regarded Defense, would they?
I must admit I disregarded Indiana’s impressive passing stats because Ball State, Eastern Illinois, and UConn were non Power 5 Schools and Indiana Quarterback, Michael Penix was a Redshirt Freshman who had only played in two games, so I made a clumsy mistake that Michael Penix would falter under immense pressure on the road at Spartan Stadium. But Michael Penix proved me wrong, and he proved that numbers and stats don’t lie, and he also proved his skills are real.
Preparing for two Quarterback’s:
For their part, the Spartans coaching staff knew Indiana would commit the majority of their offensive plays to throwing the football, but which Quarterback would the Spartans prepare for? Would they prepare for Michael Penix who started vs Ball State and Eastern Illinois? Or would they prepare for Peyton Ramsey who started vs Ohio State and UConn when while Michael Penix was recovering from an undisclosed injury?
Arguably the Spartans had to prepare for two Quarterbacks and that’s a problem because “practice reps” are limited. Of course, late in the week Michael Penix got the starting call, and the Spartan Defense rolled out the Michael Penix game plan on gameday, but there was a sense the Spartans Defense was a bit tentative, a bit unprepared for Michael Penix and the unique unbalanced formations he was directing.
When lining up, the Spartans seemed indecisive.
Of course, with just 4 days of prep between games, it’s hard to prepare for one Quarterback, but trying to prepare for two Big Ten caliber Quarterback’s with totally different skill sets is nearly impossible and the Spartans nearly paid a dear price.
As it turns out, Michael Penix was better than advertised. In his first two starts vs Ball State and Eastern Illinois, Penix completed 63% of his passes for an average of 276 Yards per game, yet it was hard to conceive that Michael Penix could replicate those stats vs the Spartans, but in reality, Penix did better.
Penix of course was an inexperienced Redshirt Freshman with just two games on his resume, and he was forced to sit out two games vs Ohio State and UConn due to injury. Yet with time to ponder his return to the starting lineup, the game seemingly “slowed down” for Penix, and he was beyond impressive vs the Spartans.
Penix completed 33 of 42 passes (79%) including 3 Touchdowns and Zero Interceptions. Penix threw mostly, quick hitting, short passes, averaging just 6.8 yards per: short but efficient. At one stretch, Penix compiled 20 consecutive completions and he was playing against the Spartans Defense which was ranked #5 in all the land, including the fact the Spartans Passing Defense was ranked a very solid #23 in the land yielding just 176 Yards per game, yet Penix put the Spartans Passing Defense on their proverbial heels.
Think about that? It’s nearly impossible to complete 33 of 42 passes in pregame warmup, yet Penix completed 33 of 42 passes (an incredible 79%) in game conditions, at game speed, finding seems and windows and he did all that without an Interception. He also completed 20 consecutive passes at one point, second best in Big Ten history (the record being 22 consecutive passes established by Chuck Long way back in the day). Phenomenal.
Of course, Indiana was forced to throw because they were simply unable to run vs the interior of the Spartans Defensive Line. Indiana only compiled 70 Yards Rushing, on 28 attempts for an meager average of just 2.5 Yards per attempt. Yet Indiana was able to protect their Quarterback for the most part, just one Sack, and so Penix made the Spartans Defense pay a price, but what is surprising to me is that Michael Penix was able to avoid Interceptions while throwing 42 passes all over the lot.
The Spartans Offense is finding a rhythm just in time to compete for the Big Ten East:
Last season, the Spartans Offense ranked a dismal #116 (the bottom 10 percentile in the land) when measured against 129 Division 1 Schools averaging 342 Yards per game including just 125 Yards Rushing…217 Yards Passing…a meager 19 Points per game…and after 5 games, the Spartans record was 3-2 overall including a razor thin victory vs Utah State, and a record of 1-1 Big Ten including a 10 point loss at home to Northwestern.
Fast forward to 2019. While the Spartans Offense is still a work in progress, nevertheless they are finding a rhythm and gaining confidence. The Offense is averaging 414 Yards per game, including 145 Yards Rushing…269 Yards Passing….31 Points per game, and while those stats aren’t heroic, nevertheless the Offense has improved dramatically since 2018.
Of course the Spartans record is 4-1 overall including a painful 3 point loss to Arizona State, but as it relates to the Big Ten, the Spartans have a record of 2-0 which means the Spartans are now tied with the Buckeyes for first place in Big Ten East.
Let’s review the final three and half minutes:
With the odds against them, the Spartans found a way to win.
With just 3:27 remaining on the game clock, Matt Coghlin kicked a 44 Yard Field Goal to give the Spartans a 31-24 margin, but Indiana had scored 10 points in the 2nd Half and they were eager to get the football.
After the ensuring Kick Off, IU started at their 22 Yard Line. They marched 78 Yards in 6 plays to tie the score 31-31 and that series only consumed 1:27 on the game clock. So, Indiana was not intimidated, and this was not the type of game the Spartans wanted to go into Overtime because Indiana was clearly gaining momentum in an unfriendly stadium.
So, with just 2:00 Minutes remaining on the stadium clock, the Spartans accepted a “free spot” on the ensuing Kickoff at their 25 Yard Line…75 yards from the End Zone.
Could the revamped Spartans Offense handle the pressure? We were about to find out.
As it turned out, the Spartans were in fact able to handle the pressure and they needed just two plays to go 74 Yards.
On the very first play from the Spartans 25 yard line, Brian Lewerke rolled left, and using unconventional mechanics they don’t teach in Quarterback camp, while sprinting left and throwing off balance, Lewerke let the football fly and on the receiving end was Darrell Stewart who went “high” to grab the football away from Jaylin Williams who went equally high in the air, but Stewart won the battle. Ball rested 1st & 10 at Indiana 31 Yard Line and 1:39 remained on the stadium clock.
On the very next play, Brian Lewerke found a seam and ran diagonally across the field, right to left. Lewerke sprinted toward the left corner of the End Zone where he was tackled at Indiana 1 Yard Line by Marcelino Ball. Could Lewerke have forced his way into the End Zone for a score? That’s debatable, but it’s also inconsequential. At that point, the football rested 1st & 10 with 1:03 remaining on the stadium clock, and in “Crunch” time, 1:03 is an eternity.
The Spartans Offense was measured and methodical
The Spartans called timeout to craft a plan to bleed as much time as possible off the stadium clock to ensure Indiana had virtually no further opportunities to score.
Mark Dantonio had made his decision at that point, he would center the football squarely between the Uprights, bleed the clock and let Matt Coghlin win the day with a Field Goal.
So, on the ensuing “snap” Brian Lewerke took a few steps to his right and accepted a 3 yard loss, thereby ensuring the football was centered directly between the uprights. Indiana called a Time Out with just 00:52remaining on the stadium clock and the football rested 2nd & Goal.
On the ensuing play, Brian Lewerke pushed for a single yard, downing the football “dead on” the PAT hashmark, and so the football rested 3rd & Goal, and the Spartans called another Timeout.
The teams took the field after Timeout and lined up with just 00:08 remaining on the stadium clock: the Spartans would attempt a game winning Field Goal from essentially the same “spot” as a PAT. The football was snapped…placed…and Matt Coghlin Kicked the football through the uprights and the Spartans took the lead 34-31 with just 00:05 remaining.
But the game wasn’t over, and the Spartans had more work to do.
On the ensuing Kick Off, Indiana accepted a free spot at their 25 Yard Line.
Precious little time remained. Indiana was desperate. On the first play, Michael Penix completed a pass to Donovan Hale for 6 yards to the 31 (and the hook and lateral was in play) whereby Hale pitched to Nick Westbrook for a loss of 5 yards to the Indiana 26, eventually Penix ended up with the football, losing 18 more yards to the 8, a fumble ensued and Spartan Safety, Michael Dowell recovered in the End Zone to increase the margin to 40-31 in favor of the Spartans with no time remaining!
Game Over…it wasn’t the way you draw it up on the White Board, but the Spartans found a way to win, and sometimes, finding a way to win is enough
Now we go to Ohio State:
I will cover Ohio State in more detail later in the week, but let’s take a quick look at the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes have already been installed as 20 point favorites and by every measure, Ohio State is a national power. The Buckeyes are averaging an “eye glazing” 52 points scoring per game, while yielding less than 9 points per game. The coaching switch from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day has not only been seamless, but it has resulted in a better Defense than Ohio State has deployed in a few years and of course the Buckeye Offense is still in the Urban Meyer mode as a national power
So what are the Spartans chances?
Daunting? Absolutely!
Impossible? Absolutely not.
The Spartans Rushing Defense is amongst the best in the country by way of yielding just 55 Yards per game, and so with respect to the Buckeyes who have been able to run wild in 5 previous games, the Spartans have the best Rushing Defense the Buckeyes have faced so far…or that the Buckeyes will arguably face this season.
And when it comes to passing, Justin Fields, the Buckeyes newest Quarterback is amongst the national Elite, but I believe the Spartans answered the challenge of one the most formidable Passing tests they will face this season. After all, Michael Penix completed 79% of his passes for 3 Touchdowns and Zero Interceptions, and yet the Spartans found a way to win.
By every measure, OSU, Quarterback Justin Fields is Elite, but is he capable of completing 79% of his passes for 3 Touchdowns and Zero Interceptions?
At the bottom line, the Buckeyes have amongst the best Offenses in the land, yet the Spartans Defense is amongst the best in the land. Of course, the Buckeyes have an Elite Defense, yet the Spartans Offense is coming of age, and against all odds, the Spartans found a way to win last weekend. Sometimes, that’s enough. Finding a way to win is how Champions are built.
We’ll take a deeper look at the Buckeyes in a few days, but the Spartans are tied with the Buckeyes with a record of 2-0 Big Ten and both are tied for 1st place in the Big Ten East.
While some will say the Spartans have to play Ohio State and that’s a problem for the Spartans, on the other hand, the stats tell us Ohio State has to play the Spartans this coming weekend, and for the Buckeyes, that’s a problem. As we witnessed last weekend vs Indiana, the games are still played on the football field.
