Notre Dame vs Michigan State recap: 3 things we learned

What did we learn from Saturday night’s Notre Dame vs Michigan State game in South Bend?

Michigan State went into hostile territory on Saturday night, taking on 18th-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend and the game started off the exact opposite way the Spartans were hoping it would. Notre Dame took the opening kickoff 100 yards to the house, showing flashbacks of the 2015 season’s lackluster special teams play. Then, a flag appeared.

The Fighting Irish were flagged for an illegal block in the back and that gave Michigan State a second chance. They allowed the first touchdown on a scrambling run by DeShone Kizer, but Tyler O’Connor aired it out in the second quarter a little more, hitting true freshman Donnie Corley for a 38-yard touchdown.

Michigan State went for two and took an 8-7 lead in the second quarter and momentum was on the Spartans’ side. The Spartans scored another touchdown right before the half on an R.J. Shelton run and the momentum was on Michigan State’s side big-time, up 15-7.

Mark Dantonio’s team came out the same way, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 36-7 lead. Gerald Holmes and LJ Scott had nice rushes and got the ground attack going.

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Kizer answered a long Holmes touchdown run with a quick, easy drive, capping it off with a 15-yard touchdown pass to a toe-tapping Equanimeous St. Brown. Another touchdown on a lengthy drive, in terms of yardage, pulled the Irish within two scores early in the fourth quarter and Michigan State was sweating it out.

The Spartans held on to an eight-point lead and won the game 36-28. Here’s what we learned from the big win.

1. Conservative play can doom Spartans

This has been a problem for Michigan State over the past few years. The play-calling can be so inconsistent throughout the game and the coaching staff gets in the ‘play to not lose’ mode, running the ball on first and second down and then passing on third and long. If Michigan State is going to be an elite team in 2016, it needs to put the pedal to the metal and step on opponents’ throats for the win. Conservative play, as you saw, can doom Michigan State.

2. DeShone Kizer is elite, when he wants to be

Kizer did everything he wanted to do in the second half against Michigan State’s secondary and ended up with 344 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He tried to stick to the short game early on and got away from his game, but he aired it out in the second half and looked like an elite passer. When he wants to be, he can be an All-American.

3. Michigan State’s secondary has a lot of work to do

After looking solid through two-plus quarters, the Spartan secondary was in major struggle mode in the late-third and early-fourth. Kizer did whatever he wanted to against a secondary playing soft zone defense and it showed the weakness of the team. There’s no way the team should have allowed Notre Dame to get back into it that easily, but Michigan State’s secondary had a meltdown. Lots of work to do for this unit.

Highlights

Michigan State will have yet another tough matchup next Saturday as the Spartans host No. 9 Wisconsin and Notre Dame will play Duke at home.