MSU Football: Video analysis of MSU’s 23-19 loss to Boston College
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and MSU sportswriter Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press analyze the Spartans’ 23-19 loss at Boston College.
CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts – Aidan Chiles strutted onto the field, the lead he had helped build melting away in the persistent rain Saturday night.
The second-year quarterback provided a flurry of well-timed plays for Michigan State, and had just orchestrated an 18-play, 89-yard drive that ended with Jonathan Kim’s fourth field goal. It took more than nine minutes for the Spartans to get back ahead of Boston College.
Less than three minutes later, the Eagles made up for it. Veteran Thomas Castellanos dismantled MSU’s secondary and put his team ahead. And he let his inexperienced MSU opponent score a touchdown with 1:28 left and 75 yards from the goal.
A quick 6 yards. Then another 21. Then another 12, all to Jack Velling. Chiles took advantage of what the Eagles defense gave him in the middle of the field and pushed the Spartans to within 36 yards of the end zone with 49 seconds left. A fresh series of downs to work on and two more timeouts.
But Chile’s pack of mistakes refused to go away, just like the persistent drizzle.
He watched Montorie Foster run a long route. He shook himself off an oncoming pass rusher and then looked back to his original position. But the momentary hesitation to avoid the pressure allowed a second Eagles defender to cover his intended target.
Foster, a receiver who had offers from Division I basketball, jumped. Chiles’ pass again flew past his fingertips and landed in the arms of Max Tucker in the back of the end zone.
Ball game. Boston College 23, MSU 19.
“We know we gave this game away. We gave it away and that hurts,” said linebacker Jordan Turner, drying off the weather before a long flight home. “Everyone on the team is hurting.”
The Spartans (3-1) beat the Eagles 368-300. Chiles completed 17 of 35 passes for 241 yards without scoring a touchdown through the air, ran for 57 yards and scored MSU’s only touchdown on a 1-yard run. Velling caught six passes for 77 yards and Foster had four catches for 87 yards.
More: Michigan State Football should have beaten Boston College. That should hurt a little
“Aidan looked great,” Velling said. “You could see him confident and he played with the pride that he has. You could see that tonight. We moved the ball great on the last drive. It just happened.”
But Chiles continues to be plagued by turnovers. In addition to the last interception, he threw two more interceptions and now has seven in his first four starts, with just four touchdown passes. Chiles also missed and skipped over an open Foster a couple of times, which could have led to potential touchdowns.
More: Michigan State football grades vs. BC: Aidan Chiles’ game is breathtaking and head-shaking
“Things like that change the game,” Jonathan Smith, the new MSU coach, said of the missed shots. “But the guys kept fighting the whole time.”
The Spartans (3-1) stumbled for the first time in Smith’s early days. They will visit No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday (7 p.m./Peacock), then face a short week of preparation before traveling to the opposite coast Friday night to play No. 6 Oregon on Oct. 4.
Going into this difficult phase with a 4-0 lead would have given us a lot of confidence, rather than a bitter defeat against the Eagles (3-1). But blaming it all on Chile would not be fair.
MSU was missing four of its top five wide receivers, with Alante Brown and Jaron Glover along with Nick Marsh and Antonio Gates Jr. on the holdout list. MSU’s two best right guards, Kristian Phillips and Gavin Broscious, are also out for the season.
Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams’ fumble after an ill-advised decision to return the kickoff out of the end zone in the second half cost the Spartans three points, thanks to one of two Boston College defensive stops inside MSU’s 10-yard line. That field goal was almost immediately followed by Chiles’ second interception of the day, on the Spartans’ first offensive play of the third quarter on a pass that sailed behind Velling.
Although coordinator Joe Rossi’s defense played excellently over the final three quarters, one of the few lapses came a play after the interception. Treshaun Ward’s 36-yard touchdown run turned a seven-point MSU halftime lead into a 16-13 deficit less than three minutes into the final period.
And with a restructuring of the offensive line that saw Brandon Baldwin move from his normal spot at left tackle to the third right guard in the starting lineup, the constant penetration into the backfield continued to impact both the running game (especially Nate Carter) and Chiles.
“We were down a few players tonight and (Chiles) is struggling. … If he keeps his approach, he’s going to continue to improve,” said Smith, who brought the 19-year-old from Oregon State. “I think he has a dynamic game in him. I mean, there was a part of the game where I felt like he was our only opponent on offense, the way he was fighting through and moving forward.”
“He carries a heavy burden. And we must find ways to continue to help him.”
The defense did just that, keeping MSU in a tight battle. Early in the fourth quarter, Turner Castellanos forced a third-down fumble at the second goal line that BC recovered. The Eagles tried fourth down from their 1, but fellow linebacker Jordan Hall shot a gap and beat Castellanos back, tying the score at 16-16.
“I wasn’t going to kick a field goal there. This isn’t Boston College,” first-year coach Bill O’Brien said. “The ball’s on the 1-yard line, the game’s tied. We’re not kicking a field goal there, so we called a play. We thought it would work; (the Spartans) played it better than we executed it.”
Chiles and the MSU offense took over at their own 2-yard line and then moved to the BC 9 before the drive stalled with two incomplete passes. Kim kicked his fourth field goal of the game, a second missed opportunity in the red zone, and scored seven points instead of three.
Castellanos responded by driving the Eagles 75 yards in six plays, capping it off with a 42-yard touchdown pass over hobbled MSU defensive backs Angelo Grose and Malik Spencer. That came after he tackled their backups when Grose and Spencer briefly went to the bench earlier in the drive.
Shows what an experienced quarterback can do in a crucial moment.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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