Oren from The Only Colors stopped by.
It’s game week again! This time it’s on Friday! Since Purdue is playing Michigan State I asked the folks over at The Only Colors to swap some questions and, unlike Illinois, they agreed to do so. Thanks to Oren for answering these and having some fun with them.
Purdue is having a notoriously bad season, any chance Michigan State can help us out and stumble through a loss?
Yeah, real good chance. It would not even be a stumble. This team has lost 6 of 7 since starting 3-0 against lesser teams. MSU losing another game is very much in the realm of possibility. Let’s call it 55/45 MSU since it is in East Lansing.
Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles has more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (10) this season. I know it’s unfair to put this all on the QB, so what explains his struggles this season?
You can put a lot of this on him, whatever you don’t put on the offensive line. Aidan Chiles definitely has ball security problems. There have been a number of fumbles in addition to the interceptions. But the interceptions have been for various reasons. There have been the bad luck ones, like his very first pass of the season, where he hit his receiver in the hands but the guy bobbled it and the defender stole it. There have been the bad decisions where Chiles forces a pass into double (or more) coverage. And there have been the bad passes where Chiles simply misses his mark (by a lot). There’s a lot for him to clean up before next season.
When running the football it seems MSU is just about evenly split carries between Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams and Nate Carter. Can you tell our readers a little bit about each of those runners?
Coming into the season, Nate Carter was expected to be the guy at running back. Everyone else on the depth chart was a freshman recruit or someone from the portal who did not do much at their previous school. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams is in the latter category. KLA did have a good season last year playing for UMass, but then again, it was at UMass, and it was his fifth year of college. So there were not a ton of expectations for him coming to MSU. Then the first game of the year happened, and he has looked like the better RB of the two for most of the season. But for the most part, they are the same type of runner. Neither of them will dazzle you with moves but they both have the ability to accelerate fairly quickly, and on the rare times that the OL actually creates an opening, they can get through it in a hurry and even pick up YAC by knocking down the first LB or DB to get in the way.
On the defensive side of the ball, which unit is the strength of this Michigan State team?
Coming into the season, I would have said the LB room. They have been the best unit the last few seasons. Cal Haladay was the main reason why. However, his play has taken a serious backslide this season. So my answer now is the DL. They are not great but they have a couple guys that have been playing well, D’Quan Douse and Khris Bogle. Those two are also 6th year players, go figure. The DBs also deserve some recognition here. They have had a high number of INTs and PBUs, though they have also been burned plenty.
Has Sparty ever tested positive for PEDs? I’m just saying that physique is suspicious to me.
This question is silly. Everyone knows the ancient Spartans were the founders of physical fitness and had solved the mysteries of exercise science centuries before health clubs were a thing. No, Sparty does not use PEDs. He has looked like that since antiquity.
Which unit on both offense and defense has been the one you’ve worried about the most this season?
Offensive line. That is easy. On the other side, the LB room has been problematic but not nearly as bad as the OL. New coach, a lot of turnover on the roster. Things could have been worse, but they could have been better too.
How has this season gone compared to your expectations coming into the season?
I was optimistic and said 7-5 before the season. That is no longer possible so it has not met expectations. MSU needs to win their last 2 games to be bowl eligible. If that does not happen, I will be very disappointed.
If Purdue comes away with a victory, how would you expect that it happened?
Turnovers and stupid penalties. And unaggressive offensive play calling. And bad tackling.
Finally, what’s your prediction for Friday’s game?
I’ll say MSU wins 17-14. Not expecting a pretty game. Can’t wait to play you guys in hoops. That should be a lot more fun.