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    • The missed call ruined Michigan State’s chance for a compelling story against OSU
    Michigan

    The missed call ruined Michigan State’s chance for a compelling story against OSU

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

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    EAST LANSING – Well, that was fun for a while. No, really, that was it. And for the first time in forever, Michigan State football seemed to belong on the Ohio State University field.

    Keep that in mind as you move on from another Buckeyes loss – this time 38-7. Just don’t let the end result fool you. This wasn’t your typical Buckeyes brawl.

    Well, according to the numbers, sure. But the numbers do not reveal the dynamics or the human condition, and numbers do not explain the difficulties that young teams face when they are both new teams and inferior teams and an external force radically changes the momentum Game.

    And by external force I mean officials.

    No, they didn’t cost MSU a win. Any realist could imagine this Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.

    But they cost the Spartans and their first-year head coach Jonathan Smith a chance at something interesting, perhaps even compelling. Convincing things during a conversion, especially at the beginning of a conversion.

    The Spartans had something compelling on their hands against the Buckeyes when they moved the ball — again — and had a chance to cut the lead to three late in the second half.

    3 QUESTIONS: Aidan Chile’s commitment to Michigan State football is still a work in progress

    Before we get to the play and the blatantly bad decision by the referees, let us show from the record that realism matters in this area and that the Spartans, again, would not win.

    Not with all the talent on the Buckeyes’ side, not with the freshman receiver who catches passes with one hand (does Jeremiah Smith really need two more years of college football?), not with the advantage at most positions on the field.

    That’s beside the point.

    Moral victories matter.

    They have to do it when a coach takes over and a program is in shambles and adds about 60 new players in a single offseason.

    One of those players is Aidan Chiles, the second-year quarterback who has shown moments of brilliance in the first four starts of his career, but also moments of his youth where he didn’t see the defense and didn’t make the necessary throws to wide-open receivers.

    Still, Chiles had completed his first seven passes and 10 of his first 12 against Ohio State when he started on a delayed quarterback draw up the middle with three minutes left in the second quarter.

    MSU trailed 17-7. They were inside the Buckeyes’ 20-yard line and had already shown they could move the ball.

    Then OSU defensive lineman Tywone Malone grabbed Chiles’ face mask and twisted his helmet. Chiles lost concentration as he twisted his neck – who wouldn’t? – lost the ball and Ohio State recovered.

    The referees called a personal foul. That can’t happen. What really can’t happen is that there is no review system for personal fouls in college football, especially when personal fouls result in turnovers.

    Had they done so, or if the officials – all six of them – hadn’t missed the facemask, the Spartans would have had the first score from the 8-yard line. A touchdown makes it 17-14 and everything starts to change:

    Energy. Believe. Trust. Noise.

    Now there’s no guarantee of a touchdown, but the Spartans definitely deserve the chance to score. That opportunity was taken away from them and that’s a shame. There’s too much at stake.

    Yes, mistakes are made at every football game in America, by players, coaches and officials, and the Spartans made many of them themselves without anyone’s help.

    Chiles, for example, threw an interception in the third quarter that gave Ohio State a short field and officially turned the game into a rout. He nearly threw another one when, on third down, he let off what amounted to a fading step-back jump shot as three defenders slammed into him.

    He has to eat the ball.

    And he did that a few times in the first half. He also escaped the pocket and threw the ball away. He played just as controlled as he did this year. MSU gained nearly 200 yards of offense before the facemask. Chiles was confident and precise.

    But when the fumble happened and then it was a three-and-out after an MSU punt, Chiles took a sack and the drive stalled and Ohio State got the ball with a minute and change and Jeremiah Smith, the ridiculous one Buckeyes rookie, caught two passes with one hand, the second for a touchdown.

    That made it 24/7. That was it.

    And that’s what happens when the margin for error is negligibly small, when the talent gap is gaping. But for a while, the talent gap didn’t seem as big because of Chiles and the Spartans’ sneaky skills at receiver – Nick Marsh came on late in the first half and caught a few balls to move the chains.

    And the coaching that created misdirection, exploited the threat of the Chiles’ running ability and cut the Buckeyes to pieces. That was promising.

    GAME STORY: Michigan State football misses early opportunities and then collapses in a 38-7 loss to Ohio State

    But for every moment of promise, there were moments like stopping on fourth-and-1 or fumbling after driving almost the entire field, as tight end Jack Velling did inside the red zone in the second quarter.

    Or he dropped an interception in the end zone like Malik Spencer did, giving Ohio State another chance on fourth down. The Buckeyes converted. That made it 17:7.

    There was an alternate universe in the first half where the Spartans could have led at halftime or at least trailed by less than a point. A universe that felt real for a while.

    And then it wasn’t like that.

    No, the referees cannot be blamed for everything that went wrong and everything that went wrong in the second half. The Spartans are not prepared to beat teams like the Buckeyes.

    But they are not far from competing with them for at least more than half, and that might be the case if there were no face mask. Yes, these are the breaks in the game. Just don’t let one bad break mar the nearly two-quarters of enthralling football MSU played.

    Because it was like that. And that counts for something. We’ll see how important it is in the next few weeks.

    Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.

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    Caradoc Wyn
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