For the second time in four games, Michigan State was within reach of an unexpected away win.

The Spartans (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) were unable to finish this time, suffering a 23-19 loss to Boston College (3-1, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday night at Alumni Stadium.

Here are brief insights and observations from the game:

* Despite all of its weaknesses, this team continues to show grit. The offense used option No. 4 at right guard to start the game, while a redshirt freshman walk-on receiver logged some snaps in the first quarter. Injuries have weakened the Spartans at key positions, and they keep making brutal, self-inflicted mistakes, but they don’t give up. It was a game they definitely could have won, but didn’t deserve to because of bone-crushing errors.

Two turnovers on the first two touches of the second half, which gave Boston College 10 points in 13 seconds, could not unsettle the Spartans. Trapped at the 2-yard line, they put together their longest drive of the season and regained the lead late in the fourth quarter. The Eagles took the lead again with less than 90 seconds to play, and Michigan State quickly got within field goal range.

The difference was that the final mistake was too late to recover. Aidan Chiles was intercepted in the end zone with 36 seconds left, the Eagles’ clock ran out and coach Jonathan Smith suffered his first loss as Spartans coach. What could have been a 4-0 start that turned heads during a brutal stretch that began against Ohio State and at Oregon was washed away on a rainy night on the road.

* It remains very clear what Michigan State has in Chiles – a game-changing talent who also looks like he just turned 19. The dazzling plays weren’t enough to compensate for critical mistakes in his fourth career start. Chiles was elusive in the open field with his legs while moving the chains in key spots, but he also threw three interceptions. The first two were wide for tight end Jack Velling and the third was a poor decision.

After getting the ball back with 1:28 left, Chiles was 3-for-3 on passes of 6, 21 and 12 yards to Velling. The Spartans were at the Boston College 36 with 42 seconds left, two timeouts and within range of kicker Jonathan Kim, who was already 4-for-4 on the night. They moved the ball and going into double coverage on Montorie Foster after escaping pressure was obviously not the right decision. Chiles finished the game 17-for-35 for 241 yards, zero touchdown passes, three interceptions and ran for 57 yards and a touchdown. He continues to show progress and has tremendous talent but needs to take better care of the ball after already having seven interceptions and a fumble this fall.

* Behind a makeshift offensive line, a disappointing running game struggled again. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams led the team with 15 carries for 61 yards, 38 of them in the fourth quarter, including 19 on a huge third-and-15. Five of Nathan Carter’s nine carries yielded zero or fewer yards while he was frequently ambushed by defenders in the backfield. With a young quarterback on the road and a depleted group of receivers, the running game should have been consistently impressive, but it didn’t.

* With their top two right guards – Kristian Phillips and Gavin Broscious – both out for the season due to injuries, the Spartans made a reshuffle that included no Dallas Fincher, who played that spot last week against Prairie View A&M. Left tackle Brandon Baldwin moved to the right guard position and was replaced by redshirt freshman Stanton Ramil, who was already pushing for the starting position. Luke Newman remained at left guard and Tanner Miller at center. It was not a good night for the offensive line, which didn’t generate enough movement in the run game and struggled on defense but stuck with its starting lineup.

* When one of the three starting receivers is a redshirt freshman with zero catches in his career, you have a problem. Next, a sophomore walk-on was in the spot and on the field in the first quarter with just five offensive snaps in a blowout against an FCS program. That sums up the Spartans’ post-Boston lineup.

Starters Jaron Glover and Nick Marsh were both out, as was Antonio Gates Jr., while Alante Brown missed his third straight game. With four of the top five or six receivers on the roster missing, Jaelen Smith got the starting job and walk-on Jack Yanachik played snaps in the first quarter.

Despite the absences, there were opportunities in the passing game that the Spartans were unable to capitalize on. Chiles missed two long throws to Foster early before converting a third to set up the first touchdown. He outrebounded the fifth-year senior again on what would have been an easy touchdown in the third quarter before a field goal. Velling was a frequent target, but missed throws prevented him from making a bigger impact. Foster led the team with 87 yards on four catches, while Velling was six for 77 and Aziah Johnson was three for 59 in his first career start.

* We’ll see how Michigan State’s defense fares against Ohio State next week, but the changes so far under coordinator Joe Rossi have been notable. The Spartans were pushed around a bit early, but they did more than enough to win the game. They limited Boston College to 292 yards and 2-for-4 in the red zone while making great stops both after a sudden change and at the end of a drive. Linebacker Jordan Hall’s performance against quarterback Thomas Castellanos on fourth down and goal from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter was great, but still not enough.

The top seven players remain in a strong rotation as Khris Bogle continues to shine and fellow ends Quindarius Dunnigan and Anthony Jones and linebacker Jordan Turner all recorded a sack on Saturday while limiting Castellanos on the ground. Cornerback Charles Brantley turned in another strong performance while continually using all of his generously stated 170 pounds to make tackles in the open field and another pass breakup. Castellanos’ game-winning 42-yard touchdown throw to Logan Bond came about when Angelo Grose slipped in coverage for the only passing play of at least 30 yards for the Eagles.

* Michigan State outplayed Boston College on special teams, but one mistake was the deciding factor. Lynch-Adams took over as deep man on kickoff returns after Johnson made two ill-advised decisions to take the ball out of the end zone at Maryland and then made the same mistake himself. That mistake was more costly and came as Michigan State was trying to extend its lead early in the second half.

Lynch-Adams picked the ball off from a yard down and it deflected, resulting in a fumble that Boston College recovered at the 5-yard line. The Spartans held the Eagles to a field goal, but still had three open points before Chiles threw an interception on the next snap.

Kim was arguably Michigan State’s player of the game, making 4 of 4 field goals, including a 51-yard kick late in the first half despite the weather. A fifth attempt could have tied the game in the final seconds, but he didn’t get the chance. Ryan Eckley punted just twice, kicks of 50 and 48 yards, including once under heavy pressure in the end zone.

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