Spartan Defense Regains Identity; Dominates Terps
11/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
Michigan State could have held Maryland to minus-568 yards, and it wouldn't have made up for what happened against Ohio State seven nights earlier.
However, the Spartan defense reaffirmed long-held beliefs about itself by throttling the Terrapins in Saturday's record-smashing 37-15 victory. Unlike the previous nine games, in which MSU's explosive offense set the tone, the defense dictated the terms this time.
Generally speaking, a team is asking for trouble when it's forced to settle for too many field goals, as was the case for the Spartans on their first four scoring opportunities. While placekicker Michael Geiger turned his season around by converting his first three field-goal attempts, MSU held a tenuous 9-7 lead when his try from 47 yards fell short.
And even after tailback Jeremy Langford ran for his first of two touchdowns late in the second quarter, Michigan State's lead was an unconvincing 16-7 at halftime when it realistically could have been well out of the Terrapins' reach.
The nine-point advantage was actually safer than it looked, however, because the defense was only halfway through composing the statement cornerback Trae Waynes earlier in the week predicted it would make in Maryland's Byrd Stadium.
"Yeah, we knew how we were going to play and we just wanted to get out there and get a win," Waynes said after the game.
Head coach Mark Dantonio was pleased with the way the Spartans didn't let one loss become two.
"Getting over the disappointment from last week is big," he said. "You've got to be able to rebound, and that's easier said than to do. When you start kicking field goals instead of scoring touchdowns in the first half you sort of get the feeling that they're hanging around. But, we played very well defensively the entire game and much better in the second half offensively."
The Spartans allowed the Terps to convert just one third down in the first half, and things didn't go any better for them in the second as they went 2-for-13 on third downs overall.
For the second time in three games, strong safety RJ Williamson broke things open in the third quarter with his 22-yard return of an interception, deflected to him by middle linebacker Taiwan Jones, for a touchdown and 23-7 lead. Williamson did much the same with a 29-yard pick-six in the win against Michigan.
As the offense got on track in the second half and eventually amassed 240 yards through the air and 242 on the ground, the MSU defenders were smothering the Terrapin offense to the tune of just 6 yards rushing on 17 attempts and 246 passing yards. Free safety Kurtis Drummond and cornerback Darien Hicks also had interceptions and wideout Aaron Burbridge recovered a fumble on special teams after Maryland muffed a punt.
The Spartans allowed 312 fewer yards than they did against Ohio State in a 49-37 loss that will likely keep them out of the Big Ten title game. But, it's not a matter of too little too late as MSU still has its sights set on the four College Football Playoff New Year's bowls. The Orange, Peach, Fiesta and Cotton are the equivalent of the prestigious BCS games that didn't host the National Championship under the previous system.
"We have a lot to play for," Dantonio said.
It was important, therefore, that the Spartans to re-establish themselves, especially on defense, according to senior defensive end Marcus Rush, who made his school-record 50th career start even more memorable by sacking Maryland's C.J. Brown - the son of former MSU quarterback Clark Brown - twice.
"Our team definitely needed a win tonight and it was huge to play well as a defense, especially, just to reassure ourselves of who we are and establish ourselves as a defense again," Rush said. "Every defense is going to have its bad games, and getting that W while playing well as a defense is going to make us feel a lot better and we're going to be a lot more confident."
Not that the defense was rattled, even in the wake of giving up seven touchdowns to the Buckeyes, said coordinator Pat Narduzzi.
"The media made it sound like the defense was broken," Narduzzi said. "We played a pretty good football team a week ago that played flawlessly, so we don't base anything off one game. If guys play the way they should and make plays, this is the way it should be.
"We expect it every week. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Our guys had confidence going into Ohio State and they had confidence coming out of Ohio State. Outside of our building, I don't know what they thought, but inside our building our guys know what they can do. We didn't lack confidence coming into this game, and we never have."
That attitude is reflected in a nine-game conference road winning streak, the longest in MSU history.
It was also summed up by the play of Williamson, who got beat on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brown to wideout Daniel Adams in the second quarter. Williamson demonstrated resilience by regaining his job after missing three starts earlier season, and again within a span of 23 minutes against the Terps. "As a defensive back, our coaches tell us all the time that you have to have a short memory," Williamson said. "They have players on scholarship just like us and throughout the game people are going to make plays. They made a great play, but you have to keep your head up and fight through the adversity and that's what I did.
"It was a good defensive call by Coach Narduzzi, a great push by our D-line, good pressure, the ball was tipped (by Jones) and I did the easy part by making the catch and running it in."
Williamson wasn't the least bit surprised by the way the defense responded.
"Our coaches stressed all week that we needed to find our identity back, play with a chip on our shoulder and make this a statement game," he said. "We know we didn't play Spartan football against Ohio State. After watching film we know we could have been a lot better in areas throughout the game.
"Plays were made on us and we didn't make plays, but this week I think we did that. Stopping the run first and foremost was the most successful thing for us. When you make a team one-dimensional, it makes the game a lot easier. Great effort by our defense and great effort by our offense; we came out with a vengeance."
The Spartans' three offensive touchdowns against Maryland put them at 55 for the season to break the school record of 54 set in 1978. Meantime, MSU upped its league-leading number of forced turnovers to 28. Having the offense and defense back in sync bodes well for the remaining two regular-season games and postseason play.
"It just brings momentum," Williamson said. "I think we got the wheel rolling again by having a dominant performance like that. Even though the goals we had set for ourselves at the beginning of the year probably won't be there as we wanted them to, we still have a chance to get into what used to be called BCS bowl games.
"That's what we're looking forward to. All we can do is take care of ourselves and don't worry about anything that's not in our control."
