Couch: Michigan State football will learn true character, flaws against Notre Dame

Graham Couch
Lansing State Journal
Michigan State Spartans celebrate after defeating Western Michigan 28-14 on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

EAST LANSING – Of the things Michigan State’s football players say they’ve learned about themselves through the first two games, none is a more critical character trait than resiliency.

It was a hallmark of the Spartans’ great teams in 2013, ’14 and ’15 — when a big play by an opposing offense never seemed to faze MSU’s defense and, conversely, a bone-headed decision by quarterback Connor Cook was forgotten (by him, at least) before he got to the next huddle. 

Likewise, MSU’s lack of resiliency was a staple of the Spartans’ 3-9 season in 2016. If they allowed one big play, it became two. Heads dropped and adversity steamrolled.

“It’s been a big thing, it’s been a big offseason focus for us,” MSU junior linebacker Andrew Dowell said Tuesday. “We know we’re a resilient defense. And as a defense, we know we can trust our offense.”

What you know about yourself as a football team is tied to what you’ve been through. Resiliency is easy when you’re ahead or winning or you know you’re physically superior to your opponent.

Real resiliency comes after a defeat. Or after an opponent scores on two straight possessions. Or when something goes wrong and you don’t actually know that you’re the better team.

MSU will know if it’s a resilient football team Saturday night, when Notre Dame visits Spartan Stadium.

The Irish are 5-point favorites on the road because, more often than not during a 2-1 start, they’ve looked the part against decent competition.

But there is also justified intrigue and optimism surrounding the Spartans — signs that this team has the punch and playmakers to compete. And, yes, perhaps the resiliency, too.

It hasn’t been a perfect start for Spartans, who’ve fumbled seven times and lost four of them and couldn’t run the ball with any consistency against Bowling Green.

“Every time something’s gone wrong, we’ve responded,” senior center Brian Allen said. “Week 1, we were a little tentative with some stuff. Last week against Western (Michigan), I think we played pretty physical. Got after guys, had an attitude. We knew we were going to win that game from the start to the end.”

MSU doesn’t know that this week. 

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“We’re going to be playing better players this upcoming weekend,” Allen continued, “guys that are going to give us more of a challenge and be more of a challenge for four quarters. We’ll be playing the whole game. … We have to be perfect on Saturday if we want to win.”

Not actually perfect. Perfection in this case means a lot of young players taking the next step, including a group of wideouts who have played beyond expectations and a sophomore quarterback who’s caused a stir but is yet to beat anyone with his arm. That’s his next step.

“That’s something I’ve realized along with everyone else,” quarterback Brian Lewerke said. “That’s something I’ve got to do if we want to start beating teams like Notre Dame.”

Michigan State's Brain Lewerke throws a touchdown pass to LJ Scott during the second quarter on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Lewerke to this point has shown himself to be a gutsy kid, a natural playmaker and adequate passer. He’s rushed for 150 yards in two games and passed for 411. But most of his successful throws have been of the intermediate and underneath variety. At some point soon — probably Saturday — he’ll have to connect downfield. He has the arm for it. The question, as with many young QBs, is accuracy. That sometimes takes a while. Sometimes doesn’t happen at all. His feet alone won’t be enough against the Irish. If the buzz surrounding him sticks after Saturday, we’ll be sure that he’s the real deal.

Same goes for a large cast of receivers who’ve shown themselves ready for the moment. This Saturday night, though, is a bit of different moment. If they handle this, MSU has something cooking.

Same goes for the back end of the defense, which looked markedly improved and played with vigor and focus against Western Michigan after a shaky showing against Bowling Green. That group will surely be tested deep against Notre Dame, which has beaten better Spartan secondaries than this with that approach. 

Saturday will be just as telling of MSU’s prowess on the line of scrimmage, where the Spartans have been awesome against the run and, last week, were disruptive against the pass. MSU’s young defensive tackles, Raequan Willaims, Mike Panasiuk and Naquan Jones, are the key to that, especially against Notre Dame.

“They like to maul you,” senior linebacker Chris Frey said of the Irish offensive line. “Our D-line has to take on two guys or knock off a pulling (lineman).”

The alternative is to let 230-pound Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush get loose like he did last week in a 49-20 win at Boston College. He rushed for 207 yards on 21 carries. Notre Dame rushed for 597 yards on the afternoon.

MSU’s defensive strength thus far has been in stopping the run. Not this sort of run, though.

If MSU does it again this week, it’s a thing. Rush defense becomes MSU’s thing. 

Right now, what the Spartans know about themselves is all tentative.

“I knew coming in we were a young team,” Frey said. “But a lot of the young guys are making a lot more plays that what we expected.”

We’ll see if Frey says the same thing next week. By then, he’ll know.

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