Three Major Keys for the Spartans to Beat Illinois

The season is falling fast for Pat Fitzgerald and his Michigan State Spartans.

And although the games might look atrocious on paper — and even to the naked eye — the Spartans are actually closer than many people think.

The major loss of Cam Edwards for the season, along with Jordan Hall missing the last six quarters, has hindered Michigan State on both sides of the ball. Heading into games without your top offensive and defensive weapons is never going to make winning easy.

Still, if the Spartans can come together as a team this weekend, there may still be hope for this season.

So, what are the three keys to a Michigan State victory over Illinois?

The Spartans are the worst team in the Big Ten in scoring. They also remain the only team in the conference that has yet to score 100 points this season.

Last week, it appeared as though the offense was capable of moving the ball. The same could be said against Nebraska, and there have even been stretches against Notre Dame where Michigan State's offense showed signs of life.

Yet the same problem that plagued the Spartans in Week 1 continues to haunt them: finishing drives.

Moving the ball between the 20-yard lines means very little if Michigan State can't turn those opportunities into touchdowns once it reaches the red zone.

Along with that, Fitzgerald has increasingly adopted an aggressive, go-for-it mentality on fourth down, which has sometimes hindered Michigan State's ability to simply put points on the board.

If the Spartans truly want to beat Illinois, they have to score. More importantly, they have to find a way to finish drives by getting the ball into the end zone.

I'm not even asking for two sacks.

Just one.

Michigan State needs to get to former Spartan quarterback Katin Houser.

Houser has been sacked just six times through five games, so bringing him down behind the line of scrimmage certainly hasn't been easy.

Michigan State recorded six sacks through its first three games defensively, but the Spartans have failed to record a single sack over the last two games.

If Michigan State wants to win this game, creating chaos in the backfield is mandatory. Getting to Houser and wrapping him up at least once could provide a major momentum swing for a struggling defense that has allowed 62 points over the last two games combined.

One big defensive play could be exactly what the Spartans need.

Michigan State's inability to contain, spy or simply account for opposing quarterbacks who can make plays with their legs has been astonishing.

Last week, Wisconsin quarterback Colton Joseph absolutely took advantage of the Spartans' defense. There was seemingly no stopping him.

Joseph finished with a game-high 141 rushing yards on just 13 attempts.

The week before that, Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea led his team — and the entire game — with 66 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

Houser isn't necessarily known as a premier running quarterback, but he already showed Michigan State what he can do with his legs, rushing for 42 yards and finishing just seven yards shy of leading Illinois in rushing.

The Fighting Illini will do everything they can to win this game, and in my opinion, that could include unleashing Houser's rushing ability.

If the Spartans want to win, they have to do a much better job of containing him.

These three areas could ultimately determine whether Michigan State finally gets back into the win column or suffers another frustrating loss.