Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 17-7 win over Maryland

Graham Couch
Lansing State Journal
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, right, congratulates LJ Scott, left, after his touchdown during the first quarter on Saturday, November 18, 2017, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on Michigan State’s 17-7 win over Maryland on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

Michigan State re-established its identity, its place in the Big Ten

Ohio State last week shattered much of what Michigan State’s football team had come to believe about itself. The Spartans took a lot of that back Saturday against Maryland, re-establishing their identity and securing their place in the Big Ten. 

Not at the top yet, but as a factor and a program on the rise, just as everyone thought before their dreadful trip to Columbus. As a team that can handle adverse weather conditions. A team that isn’t so fragile that a disappointing loss trips up its feel-good season and program momentum. 

MSU beat Maryland decidedly, 17-7, in weather that forced the Spartans to win with their play up front — rushing for 273 yards, allowing just 83 on the ground — rather than the passing game that propelled them past Penn State two weeks earlier. The snow globe-like conditions made this a true physical test of where MSU stood physically against the Big Ten’s bottom tier. 

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MSU proved it’s way better than the Maryland-types in this league. That’s an important statement for a young offensive line. Because only once before in this Big Ten season have the Spartans pushed their opponent around offensively. That came a month ago at Minnesota. 

One of the most important signatures of the Mark Dantonio era of MSU football is the Spartans’ ability to get over both big wins and bad losses, to be mentally strong enough not to let one week impact the next. That’s part of what made last season so out of character. That character has been restored. MSU showed that Saturday in burying last week to get to 8-3 and 6-2 in the Big Ten.

The last of LJ Scott at Spartan Stadium

If it was, the Spartans’ junior running back reminded us again that this was never really a three-headed backfield. It’s him and, if he screws up, then Gerald Holmes or Madre London.

Scott rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. He’s the go-to back. He ran with purpose. He was both shifty and explosive, coming within a shoelace of breaking a long touchdown run a couple times. 

Scott has barely more than 700 yards on the season. That won’t bother his NFL draft stock much. I’ve seen him listed as high as a second- or third-rounder, no lower than a fourth- or fifth-round guy. He’s got all the tools for the NFL, even with his propensity to fumble. His production this season was largely limited by a young offensive line. 

I think he’s gone after this season. It’s not a bad legacy if that’s the case. He was the go-to back on the Spartans’ 2015 Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff team and played an important role in the 2017 program revival. He also was a landmark recruit for Dantonio, the first from Ohio to be coveted by Ohio State and choose the Spartans instead.

The Spartan Stadium crowd was disappointing

MSU’s fanbase has supported the Spartans tremendously well all season. This was an easy team to like, a reclamation season that was fun to get behind. Fans came back in the freezing rain to watch the Spartans knock off Penn State. There were about 30,000 in Spartan Stadium at the end of that game. At the end of Saturday’s game, there might have been 10,000 — and this game wasn’t completely decided until the final few minutes.

It was wet and cold, just above freezing, and windy at times. The opponent wasn’t much to write home about. The Big Ten championship was out of reach. The Spartans weren’t quite good enough, it turned out. Ohio State hammered that point home last week.

I’m not knocking any individual fan who wanted to stay home and be warm and dry. A La-Z-Boy, a nearby fridge and a big screen TV is a helluva a cozy football afternoon. People should do what they want to do. But I thought, collectively, more would turn out to send this team off. This team deserved more.

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