Grades for Michigan State's performance against Penn State

Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch grades the Spartans on a scale of 1-10.

OFFENSE: 8

MSU’s offense put together two great drives to open the game, both for touchdowns, one of them 99 yards, setting the tone and making it clear there would be no hangover from last week. Payton Thorne did throw a pick-six, but he was otherwise terrific in difficult weather conditions, completing 19 of 30 passes for 268 yards and two touchdown passes, while plunging into the end zone for another. Kenneth Walker was back to being the force he’s been all season, carrying 30 times for 138 yards and a score. MSU tallied 204 yards on the ground, in total, for a balanced attack, while converting 12 third and fourth downs and possessing the ball for more than 36 minutes. This was exactly the offensive performance the Spartans needed Saturday.

DEFENSE: 6

Perhaps this grade is on a curve. No one is expecting the 2013 Spartans or 1985 Chicago Bears to show up anytime soon. MSU’s defense and its depleted defensive backfield hung in there Saturday, while coming up with four sacks and forcing three fumbles and holding the Nittany Lions to 5-for-13 on third downs and a modest 374 total yards. Considering what we saw last week, that’s dynamite. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: 5

I don’t know what a fair grade is here. Kicker Matt Coghlin is clearly hurting. He managed to knock in his only field goal try, from 22 yards out, but it looked painful. Teams usually don’t carry more than one scholarship kicker, so it’s a problem when that guy is injured and it was a problem Saturday, made worse by the snow. Punter Bryce Baringer had his worst day of the season, with three punts for a total of a 100 yards, including one ill-timed shank in the fourth quarter with MSU leading 23-20. Penn State’s Devyn Ford on several occasions looked close to breaking free for a big return, but never quite did. MSU didn’t try to return much, which was understandable considering Jayden Reed was playing hurt.

COACHING: 8

You have to give Mel Tucker and this staff credit for having this team in the right frame of mind all week and Saturday, after what happened last week in Columbus. Tucker credited the maturity of his players, but the tone is set at the top. I thought offensive coordinator Jay Johnson, for the most part, called a game that took advantage of the conditions. And MSU’s defense, after it gave up a couple touchdowns on back to back drives, didn’t let the wheels come off. This was a good day for what’s clearly a good staff and a head coach who had a heckuva week financially. 

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BOTTOM LINE

The Spartans have put themselves in a position where they’ll either play in a New Year’s Six bowl game or play on New Year’s Day in Florida. Not bad for a team picked by no one to have the kind of season it did — 10-2 overall, 7-2 in Big Ten play. MSU has just about maximized its potential and that’s all you can ask from a team and from a season.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.