Malik McDowell ejection, more injuries on bad night for Michigan State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Michigan State knew it wouldn’t have injured linebackers Riley Bullough and Jon Reschke available.
The 16th-ranked Spartans suffered a number of other losses throughout Saturday night’s 24-21 overtime loss to Indiana. The biggest one had nothing to do with anyone getting hurt.
Defensive tackle Malik McDowell received a personal foul flag and was ejected for targeting for a hit late in the fourth quarter on Hoosiers quarterback Richard Lagow’s go-ahead touchdown pass to Mitchell Paige. McDowell must miss the first half of the Spartans’ game against BYU next Saturday, per NCAA rules.
McDowell tweeted after the game: “I’m too ruff for football!!”
He wasn’t the only one upset about the call.
“I heard about it from all of our assistant coaches, but I really can’t comment on that. Didn’t see it,” MSU coach Mark Dantonio said. “I know that it was in question. That’s all I’ll say.”
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Dantonio also wouldn’t speak about injuries, but they weren’t hard to spot.
Cornerback Darian Hicks injured his hip early in the second half and did not return. Long snapper Collin Caflisch (leg), running back LJ Scott (leg), defensive tackle Raequan Williams (arm), offensive lineman Brian Allen (arm) and linebacker Chris Frey (arm) all left the game at one point or another.
“I think if anything, it brings the team closer,” quarterback Tyler O’Connor said. “We’ve always been a next-man-up kind of program. And there’s a lot of good players here, and we think we have more depth than we’ve ever had.
“But, yeah, it hurts to see Reschke go down, to see Riley not in and things like that.”
Bullough missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. The senior captain had an ice bag on his right shoulder underneath his shirt and both of his arms tucked inside it after MSU’s win at Notre Dame on Sept. 17. Dantonio said Bullough had been dealing with the injury previously but “further injured it” against the Irish.
Starting Star (weak-side) linebacker Reschke is expected to a “significant period of time” with a left ankle injury, Dantonio said. The junior also missed the Furman game with an injury and played with a heavily taped left hand against Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Layne makes seven: MSU used wide receiver Justin Layne occasionally throughout the game after he made his debut in the first quarter. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver from Cleveland was targeted twice times by O’Connor, though he did not have a catch.
“I think he’s got good talent,” Dantonio said. “He can do some different things – certain special teams as well – so we’ll begin to work him in that area as well. He can be a deep-ball threat also.”
Layne joins fellow receivers Donnie Corley and Trishton Jackson, offensive lineman Thiyo Lukusa, defensive tackle Mike Panasiuk and defensive ends Josh King and Auston Robertson as true freshmen who have played for MSU this season. All seven played against Indiana.
Remembering Hicks: During pregame warmups, MSU players honored former linebacker/safety Mylan Hicks by wearing black T-shirts with “Hicks 6” on the back. The Spartans also wore black socks and black cleats, as well as sporting a 6 numeral and circle on the back of their helmets as a tribute to Hicks.
The Detroit native was shot and killed last Sunday in Calgary, Alberta. He played at MSU in 2010-14.
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