Michigan State Defensive and Special Teams Grades: Week Two

Mr. Faber is back in action to grade out the Michigan State defense following its dominant Week Two performance, where the Spartans held the Eastern Michigan Eagles to just one first-half touchdown before shutting them out completely in the second half.

The offense has already been graded, and when the Spartans win 35-7, there isn’t much to be overly harsh about.

Now, we’re flipping to the other side of the ball and taking a look at a Michigan State defense that looked significantly improved from its Week One scare against Toledo, when the Rockets took a fourth-quarter lead thanks to a 71-yard touchdown run and a 60-yard touchdown reception.

The Spartans cleaned things up in Week Two, and it showed.

The defensive line looked extremely passionate on Saturday, getting after the quarterback at an outrageous clip.

Interior defensive lineman Eli Coenen recorded two sacks, bringing his season total to 3.0 and putting him atop the Big Ten in sacks.

In total, the Spartans got home to the quarterback four times in Week Two.

After Coenen’s two sacks, Kenny Soares Jr. — Mr. Spartan himself — recorded his first sack as a Spartan. That added to what has already been an impressive start to his season after he recorded an interception in Week One.

Anelu Lafaele and Keahnist Thompson also combined for a sack, with each being credited with half a sack on the takedown.

The rushing defense was a little shaky at times, allowing two runs of more than 15 yards, but it was stout when it needed to be and ultimately contained Eastern Michigan. Once the Spartans built a comfortable lead, the Eagles’ running game all but disappeared.

Brady Petzlaff once again showcased why more people need to start learning his name.

Petzlaff finished the game tied for the team lead with eight total tackles, while Dion Crawford recorded seven tackles, the third-most on the team.

And that production came without Michigan State’s best linebacker, Jordan Hall, who was ruled out before kickoff while dealing with lingering injuries from Week One.

The rest of the linebacker room stepped up in a big way.

Caleb Wheatland got in on the action as well, finishing with four tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss.

After a dismal Week One performance from the cornerbacks, Week Two proved to be a much different story.

Charles Brantley went from being burned for a 60-yard touchdown in the opener to recovering a fumble and locking down his receivers against Eastern Michigan.

Tre Bell finished with three tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss. Nikai Martinez recorded five tackles and a pass deflection, while safety Devin Vaught tied for the team lead with eight total tackles.

The Eagles’ lone touchdown came on a rushing touchdown by quarterback Noah Kim, but the secondary tightened up and did not allow Eastern Michigan to consistently find open passing lanes.

That was a major improvement from what we saw in Week One.

Special teams did exactly what was asked of them.

Liam Boyd traded in his five field goals from Week One for five extra points in Week Two and nailed every one of them without needing to attempt a field goal.

Rhys Dakin was asked to punt twice and finished with 101 total net yards, including a 59-yard punt that unfortunately rolled into the end zone.

That kept the group from earning a perfect A+, but Dakin also pinned the Eagles inside the 20-yard line on his other punt.

Overall, it was another strong performance from a Michigan State defense that looked more disciplined, more aggressive and much more comfortable than it did in Week One.