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    • MSU football falls painfully to Oregon: 3 quick shots
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    MSU football falls painfully to Oregon: 3 quick shots

    Vaseline Posted on

    1. Aidan Chiles isn’t the reason MSU lost this game, but his fumble was crushing

    EUGENE, Ore. – I don’t think Michigan State had a chance to win this game given everything else we saw Friday night.

    But Aidan Chiles didn’t give himself and his team the chance to see how the game could have unfolded had the Spartans struck first – as they were in position to do, when Chiles fumbled near the goal line and ball turned to Oregon. instead of.

    Chiles is relatively inexperienced and doesn’t have a solid running game to help him or a veteran offensive line to protect him – but he needs to kick this inconsistent habit quickly. It’s expensive and increasingly demoralizing. This particular fumble was the worst of his eleven turnovers to date (eight interceptions and three fumbles). Because it was just a matter of protecting the football. Basic stuff. And it was such a missed opportunity.

    The game ultimately got away from the Spartans – whose defense, for the first time really, struggled to tackle in space and whose offense went nowhere after that first drive until very late. So the final score was what it was: 31-10 in favor of Oregon. A slow but seemingly certain death after that clumsy thing.

    Chiles doesn’t have as much upside around him as Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. And Gabriel, making his 54th career start at his third different school, threw two interceptions in or near the end zone on Friday night. Oregon, not trusting Gabriel, then put together a seven-play, 55-yard touchdown drive without throwing the football.

    MSU doesn’t have that luxury. This season is all about Chiles, who made his sixth career start on Friday. He’s so gifted that sometimes it seems like he’s ready for that—temptingly enough. But he isn’t.

    The interceptions when he tries to make plays when MSU needs him to make plays – understandable. The fumble against Ohio State after his head was pulled around by his face mask — more explainable to Chiles than to the officials who missed the call.

    But on first and goal from the 2-yard line in a scoreless game, having just completed a 44-yard pass to Nick Marsh on fourth down, stunning the crowd and finding yourself on the cusp of the end zone …

    That can’t happen. Not on your first start or your sixth. Or in high school football.

    I’m sure Chiles knows. He’s said the same thing about fewer brutal turnovers. But he has to play the way he understands.

    2. MSU’s defense takes a step back

    Oregon could prove to be the best offense the Spartans face this season. Maybe the Ducks are ready to roll now. We’ll learn more next week when they host Ohio State.

    MSU’s defense certainly didn’t put up much resistance.

    Aside from two stunning interceptions that prevented the touchdown – by Malik Spencer and then Charles Brantley – this was one-way traffic all night.

    Oregon’s 214 rushing yards were a season high against the Spartans. The Ducks converted 8 of 12 third and fourth downs with their first unit, and because they averaged 7 yards per play with their starters, they didn’t run into those crucial downs as often.

    What stood out is MSU’s poor tackling — most notable against slick Ducks running back James Jordan, who carried 24 times for 166 yards, with six carries of 13 yards or more. Tackling in space has been a strength of this MSU defense thus far. Maybe this group was just exhausted: they were on the field for 60% of the game and it felt like 80%.

    They likely won’t face an offense as explosive again this season as what they experienced at Oregon and Ohio State over the past two weeks. Still, this performance was worse Friday night than against the Buckeyes, both statistically and visually. Time to regroup.

    3. A much-needed bye week

    The only real positive MSU can take away from Friday night is that it has 15 days before its next game and the two opponents the Spartans absolutely cannot beat are in the rearview mirror.

    A 3-3 start was always very likely halfway through the season. It just doesn’t feel great right now. The hard truths about where the Spartans stand have been revealed by Oregon more than anyone else lately.

    This team needs to get away from this season. Fans probably too. Let MSU basketball and hockey and Les Miserables at Wharton Center take center stage next week.

    If the Spartans can find their mojo again at home against Iowa in two weeks, their world will feel a lot more hopeful.

    I don’t know if a bye week has ever been better timed.

    Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch.

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