Interviews with Frenemies: Michigan State
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Two Big Ten teams meet Saturday looking for their first conference win of the season. So, how are things going in East Lansing? Well, we checked in with Oren “O” Basse of The Only Colors to take the temperature of the Michigan State fan base and preview Saturday’s game. Here’s what he had to say.
1. Jonathan Smith is only in his second year – I remember being in Detroit for the Penn State/Michigan State game back in 2023 just ahead of his hiring. He seems to already be on the hot seat though. What are your feelings about Smith as the Spartans are enduring a second straight disappointing season?
I went to a few games in his first year, even got to be on the sidelines taking pictures for a couple of them. Coach Smith seems to be completely incapable of showing an iota of emotion. Just complete monotone at all times – during the games and in the press conferences. It was frustrating to see and it became clear to me why his players are not learning from their repeated mistakes. So this year, I have not made the trip to East Lansing for any games. I am not sure how he has not been let go yet, but I think the new A.D that is in his first year will make a change this offseason.
2. Penn State and Michigan State have endured similar rough seasons. Penn State had a world of expectations entering the year. What were Michigan State’s realistic goals this season and what has gone wrong that has them winless in the Big Ten?
The three other writers on the TOC staff predicted 8-4, 7-5, and 5-7. Admittedly, two of those writers are chronically overly optimistic, not to say the other is a pessimist. I predicted 6-6. We heard the offense was going to be better (it hasn’t been), but the defense was still going to be a concern (that turned out to be an understatement). For me, I think a big part of why the team did not meet offensive expectations was the play of quarterback Aidan Chiles. He was replaced in MSU’s last game by Alessio Milivojevic and MSU suddenly had its most passing yards of the season. Chiles regularly had accuracy issues and struggled to sense when he was under pressure. Though when he did figure out he needed to take off running, his legs turned out to be his biggest weapon. Play calling was also inadequate and the offensive line has had a number of injuries (to a unit that wasn’t that great to begin with). Add it all up, you have a team that can’t win against a Power 4 program.
3. On offense, Michigan State has made a change at quarterback. We know about the talented wide receivers, especially former recruiting target Nick Marsh. How will the Spartans go about trying to get those guys the ball and how do you think the offense will fare against a Jim Knowles defense that finally showed some life for the first time in a month?
The MSU pass catchers are easily the best unit on the team. In addition to Nick Marsh, WRs Omari Kelly and Chrishon McCray as well as TEs Jack Velling and Michael Masunas have all had big games on the year. With a quarterback who can confidently go through his progressions, there is no reason for this offense to not get 300 passing yards per game. Based on the stats, it appears PSU is better against the pass than the run, unlike our last opponent, so maybe this will be a tougher outing for Alessio in his 2nd start. If MSU can get some semblance of a run game going early, then maybe the Nittany defense brings a seventh defender into the box, which could help the passing game.
4. Switching to defense, how will the Spartans attack an inexperienced starting quarterback?
The worst part of MSU’s defense is the secondary. Our base formation, like yours, is a 4-2-5. With the struggles from the DBs, we can’t really pull people away from there, so it really comes down to the DL winning 1-on-1s and/or the LBs getting through on blitzes. Jordan Hall and Wayne Matthews III, our 2 LBs, are probably the two best defenders on the team. Let’s see if we can dial up some exotic blitz schemes. If we can get some pressure and make Grunkemeyer worry about sacks, that will help our porous secondary not have to cover as long. That’s the only hope.
5. The best trophy in sports is on the line – what’s your prediction for Saturday?
I was surprised to see you predict an MSU victory. I don’t see it happening. 27-24 and Penn State still has hopes for a bowl game.
Good luck on Saturday.
We thank O for his time and you can read my take on the Nittany Lions in 2025 as well as more from the Michigan State perspective of this game over on The Only Colors.
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