Michigan State football grades for MSU’s performance at Maryland

Columnist Graham Couch grades Michigan State’s performance in the Spartans’ 27-24 win at Maryland on a scale of 1-10.

OFFENSE: 7

Relative to last week, this score could be a 10. Quarterback Aidan Chiles bounced back from a shaky debut and showed his immense talent and some moxie — and also some inexperience — with a 363-yard, three-touchdown, three-interception performance. Freshman receiver Nick Marsh burst onto the scene with eight catches for 194 yards, including a 57-yard grab and 76-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Senior Montorie Foster and Jaron Glover had six catches apiece and Jack Velling had three impactful receptions. The running game and offensive line remain inconsistent, but there were more flashes of productively this week than last. Overall, an offense that mustered just 16 points at home against Florida Atlantic, put up 27 on the road at Maryland and made some big plays when it really mattered.

DEFENSE: 7

This was a decent measuring stick. Maryland’s offense might not be the greatest show on turf, but the Terrapins are a capable group, with a gifted top receiver. MSU’s defense won its share of battles at key moments and continued to show many of the attributes they did in the opener — tackling well in space, not letting one or two bad plays spiral, a knack for pressure in big moments. They had seven tackles for loss and one critical interception — a Darius Snow-tipped pass caught by Chuck Brantley — and held Maryland to 339 total yards. This is a good defense. There will be a few tougher tests. But if this group stays relatively healthy, it’s hard to imagine them not being a worthy matchup for most, if not all of their opponents. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: 6

That MSU won the game on a 37-yard Jonathan Kim field goal helps this grade. That was a pressure kick and it capped a program win. There were also some less auspicious moments — including the kickoff after MSU tied the game, when the Spartans only had 10 men on the field and then Kim kicked the ball out of bounds. MSU also had personal-foul and delay-of-game penalties on two different punts. It wasn’t a clean effort. But there were other positives. Kim made a 50-yarder after a Maryland offsides penalty gave him another shot after he was wide left from 55 yards out. Ryan Eckley was great on two of his three punts and averaged 51.3 yards per kick. And the coverage of Maryland’s only attempted return pinned the Terrapins deep. 

MORE: Couch: A program win for MSU football – as Aidan Chiles and Nick Marsh show the way back to relevance

COACHING: 8

The offensive approach was outstanding, from start to finish. Brian Lindgren called a game that got his young quarterback in rhythm and got some of MSU’s playmakers feeling involved and struck the right balance of patience and taking chances on big plays — two of which hit in the fourth quarter. There were no iffy fourth-down decisions (though I might have kicked the game-winning field goal on third down, in case something went wrong with the snap). Defensively, Joe Rossi’s crew continues to play with confidence, aggression and timeliness and tamped down the undisciplined penalties. The special teams organizationally didn’t have the best day and Jonathan Smith said he and his staff need to be better there. Overall, MSU looked considerably more capable in Week 2 than it did in Week 1. That’s a win for this coaching staff.

BOTTOM LINE

MSU couldn’t have asked for a better game and day in some ways. The Spartans’ young playmakers showed up. The defense did, too. There’s enough to work on to stay humble. But it’s a massive road win, a program win, the first of the Smith era. And MSU suddenly looks like it’ll have a shot against more of its schedule than we thought, in part thanks to the Spartans’ own performance and also some of what went on elsewhere. 

MORE: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s 27-24 win at Maryland

— Graham Couch