Deep Spartan defense turns focus to Week 2 test vs. Boston College, not 2024 loss

East Lansing — Coming off a season-opening shutout on the defensive side of the ball, Michigan State enters Week 2 with a chance to make a statement, welcoming Boston College to Spartan Stadium on Saturday night in primetime. 

In holding the Western Michigan offense to 217 total yards and forcing a few key fourth down stops in its own territory, the Spartan defense was sterling in the opener. The only points surrendered came via a pick six. 

But now a bigger test awaits in Week 2. 

With a deep, talented rotation on defense — around 30 players played on Friday on that side of the ball — paired with a veteran safety grouping and a general familiarity with the opponent, the Spartan defense should be ready to contribute to a big early-season win against the Eagles, a team that stole a win on some late-game heroics against MSU in 2024. 

“It leaves an imprint on you,” head coach Jonathan Smith said on Monday. “They stormed the field afterwards. Guys remember that. And that’s not in a disrespectful way, they had a nice win and they should celebrate the thing. But I think those that were there have some added juice to play well this weekend."

And for as much as the Spartans do remember last season’s loss, it hasn’t been dwelled on, even if it is certainly fueling some. 

“You keep certain aspects of it,” Hall said. “Of, that is a game that got away. But I believe if that’s your approach, ‘We need to win this game because we lost it last year,’ that approach isn’t good enough to win a football game.”

In pitching a defensive shutout in the opener, Michigan State showed its approach, leaning on depth, rolling numerous players in and out of the game, especially on the defensive line and in the linebacking corps. 

The line changes were particularly pronounced amongst the front seven, where the Spartans have  a glut of players the coaches want to get on the field. On the defensive line, Jalen Thompson, Alex VanSumeren, Quindarius Dunnigan, Grady Kelly, Ben Roberts, Aisea Moa, Derrick Simmons, David Santiago and Lafaele Anelu all played significant snaps. 

And while a defensive line rotation is not uncommon, what the Spartans have done at linebacker is less so. Hall, who wears the green dot, and Wayne Matthews led the way, along with the likes of Semaj Bridgeman, Darius Snow, Brady Pretzlaff and Marcellus Pulliam, all linebackers that Joe Rossi and his defensive staff are comfortable using, and plan to. 

And lower snap counts for defenders across the board had Spartan defenders feeling fresher and more locked in when they were on the field, helping them make plays. 

“That helps with keeping guys fresh and allowing them to play every play 100 percent,” Hall said. 

In the secondary, MSU did rotate slightly less. Transfer cornerbacks Josh Eaton and Malcolm Bell earned the starts on the outside, and played a majority of the snaps there. Others, like Chance Rucker, Ade Willie and freshman Aydan West rotated in, and Willie played significant snaps at the nickel position. 

And with veteran safeties Armorion Smith and Malik Spencer, Michigan State has two “football junkies” filling in the gaps and managing communication from the back end. 

That safety duo will soon become a trio, as Nikai Martinez gets healthy from an injury in camp. He’ll certainly crack the lineup when healthy, either at the safety spot or potentially rotating into the nickel position. 

“You’ve just got a wealth of knowledge back there,” secondary coach Blue Adams said. “If you’re able to get out there to practice and just listen, you’ll hear those guys chattering away.”

And whatever arrangement of Spartan defenders are on the field, the Boston College offense, which head coach Bill O’Brien wants to be a chunk play machine, has the tools to pose plenty of challenges. 

Albeit playing Fordham, the Eagles offense dominated through the air in the opener en route to a 66-10 win. Alabama transfer quarterback Dylan Lonergan completed 26-of-24 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. His backup, Grayson James, entered and went 5-for-5 for 190 yards and an additional touchdown, good for 38 yards per completion. 

Wideout Lewis Bond, who went for 102 yards and the late go-ahead touchdown against MSU a year ago, had 11 catches for 138 yards in the opener. 

The lone area that Boston College showed some weakness offensively was running the ball. Not only do the Spartans not have to deal with the playmaking Thomas Castellanos at quarterback — he terrorized Alabama as Florida State’s quarterback in a Week 1 upset — but the Eagles rushing attack went for 106 net yards on 2.9 yards per carry in the opener. 

Lacking a quarterback run threat, it seems like the Eagles might not be a fearsome rushing attack, and MSU showed the sort of talent and depth on the defensive line to gum up the works worse than Fordham could. 

But given that Boston College still managed five passing touchdowns and more than 450 yards through the air while not rushing well, just stemming the tide up front won’t be a cure all against O’Brien’s pro-style offense. 

“They do a lot of things schematically, pushing the ball down the field,” Adams said. “They’re zone run. Not as much quarterback run stuff anymore, because of the guy that left, who was a menace. But, they still present some things in terms of getting the ball down the field that’s paired to their run game really well. We’ve gotta be on our Ps and Qs with that.”

There is also an undeniable human element to Saturday’s showdown. 

It’s a return matchup from a 2024 game, one which the Spartans led, 19-16, inside the final two minutes in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. 

Then, with 1:40 to play, Bond won on a vertical route from the Spartans 42 yard line on a 3rd and 1, got behind his defender, caught a pass from Castellanos, and ran past Spencer to score the game-winning touchdown. 

For a team that finished the 2024 season 5-7, letting in that touchdown ostensibly cost the Spartans a bowl berth. 

It’s a loss the Spartans defense hasn’t necessarily forgotten, but isn’t dwelling on. They studied the film as normal in the offseason, and they’re not bringing it back up this week. They learned from it, and then more or less flushed it. 

There will be some emotion to harness, surely, but the Spartans defense is focused on the test they have this weekend, and not the one they failed in 2024. 

“It’s definitely something that we feel like we could’ve finished that game a lot better last year, but I mean last year is kind of behind us a little bit,” Hall said. “We’ve moved forward.”