Despite a tough road loss in South Bend, the Spartans found silver linings through explosive playmaking from Rodney Bullard and the gritty return of defensive anchor Jordan Hall.
Saturday night proved to be just a little too much for the Spartans to handle as Michigan State traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to take on the No. 3-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Although the game did not go the way Michigan State hoped, resulting in a 27-10 loss, there were still some major positives for the Spartans to take away.
Those positives should be used as building blocks and confidence boosters moving forward.
There are no moral victories in sports, so I’m not saying the Spartans should feel like they won something Saturday night. That’s simply not a thing. Michigan State lost, and for the first time in the Pat Fitzgerald era, the Spartans suffered a setback with plenty of work still to do.
However, while moral victories may be as mythical as unicorns and dragons, Michigan State did play well in several facets of the game. There are legitimate positives to take away from playing the No. 3 team in the nation on the road.
So, let’s look at three major areas the Spartans should be holding their heads high about following Week 3.
Rodney Bullard and Jayden Savoury Are Excellent
If there was one major positive to take away from the Michigan State offense, it was the play of the pass catchers.
Yes, Kenneth Williams had a costly drop on a wide-open potential touchdown that bounced off his hands with no defender within 10 yards of him.
But we’re not here to talk about Williams’ drop.
Instead, let’s focus on Rodney Bullard and Jayden Savoury, who once again excelled in their respective roles.
The tight end extraordinaire, Savoury, led Michigan State in receptions for the second consecutive game and continued to establish himself as the safety blanket for quarterback Alessio Milivojevic.
Notre Dame was relentless in its pursuit of Milivojevic, getting pressure on the quarterback early and often and forcing him to get the ball out of his hands quickly.
That’s where Savoury stepped up.
He finished the game with three receptions for 30 yards and continued to provide Milivojevic with a reliable target when the Irish pass rush started closing in.
Bullard finished with just two receptions as completions were few and far between, but one of those catches proved exactly why he remains Michigan State’s WR1.
His 53-yard diving, contested catch on a perfect throw from Milivojevic showed that his Week 1 performance was no fluke.
Bullard finished the day with two receptions for a team-high 66 yards.
Jordal Hall Is the Leader Michigan State Was Hoping For
Jordal Hall entered Week 3 having missed the previous game after suffering a right elbow injury against Toledo in Week 1.
Despite missing Week 2, Hall was suited up on the sideline before Saturday’s game and went through warmups, providing an early indication that he could be ready to return for the showdown with Notre Dame.
That proved to be the case.
As soon as Hall got between the lines, he was everywhere.
Hall even aggravated his elbow during the game and had to briefly come out, but according to the sideline report, he made it clear that it would take a lot more than that to keep him off the field. He returned to the game and continued making an impact.
Hall put on a display for a national audience, finishing with a team-high 12 tackles.
The next-highest total on Michigan State was Eli Coenen with five tackles, meaning Hall had 2.5 times as many tackles as the next-best Spartan.
Every time the Fighting Irish ran a play, it seemed like Hall was right in the middle of it, tracking down ball carriers and making his presence felt.
That type of leadership and production is something the Spartans will lean on heavily over the next nine games as the Big Ten schedule gets underway.
Rhys Dakin Could Be the NCAA’s Best Punter
Michigan State hadn’t gotten many opportunities to see punter Rhys Dakin in game action through the first two weeks.
Week 3 was a different story.
Dakin attempted four punts against Notre Dame, and things started terribly when his first punt was tipped off his foot by a defender, resulting in just 14 net yards.
From there, however, Dakin got back to his winning ways.
He flipped the field repeatedly, landing two of his next three punts inside the 20-yard line. Dakin averaged 45.3 yards per punt, with a long of 57 yards.
The Spartans are going to lean heavily on their special teams as the Big Ten schedule begins, and if Dakin continues to boom punts like he did against Notre Dame, opposing teams might want to get comfortable starting drives near their own end zone.
Michigan State may have left South Bend with its first loss of the Fitzgerald era, but the Spartans also left with legitimate reasons to believe this team can continue building toward something special.
