Michigan State Football: Video analysis of MSU’s 27-24 win at Maryland
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press writer Chris Solari analyze the Spartans’ 27-24 win at Maryland on Saturday.
COLLEGE PARK, Maryland – Aidan Chiles’ groundbreaking day was coming to an end and his thoughts turned to the upcoming flight.
He was full of energy and enthusiasm, but he still felt exhausted. There was a lot to process from what had just happened.
“I’m tired and exhausted,” he said. “I want to go home.”
Just over a week after the Oregon State transfer flopped in his college debut in the starting lineup, Chiles put on the kind of performance early Saturday night that he had dreamed of bringing to the Michigan State football team.
He throws long touchdown passes. He evades pressure and creates in the run game. He leads a game-winning attack. He silences and stuns the hostile Maryland crowd, and he celebrates with his teammates, family and fans on the field at SECU Stadium.
And in doing so, we discovered a destination that experienced the same range of emotions and euphoria as after the Spartans’ 27-24 comeback win over the Terrapins.
Nick Marsh settled into a metal folding chair behind a table next to Chiles. Still wearing his white uniform and padding, he arrived after receiving a long hug from his mother as he ran to her in the stands after the final whistle. The moment felt fresh, yet surreal.
The 17-year-old wide receiver caught eight passes for 194 yards, the second-most by an MSU freshman. His quarterback, who turns 19 on Thursday, threw for 363 yards – the eighth-most in school history – and three touchdown passes. One of those was a 77-yard tying pass to Marsh on the exact same play and route the two had run for 57 yards earlier in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t until the second time that Marsh outran the two defenders chasing him to celebrate his first collegiate touchdown.
Marsh caught half of his passes for 151 yards in the fourth quarter, including two more in the final minute to set up Jonathan Kim’s 37-yard game-winning field goal with 1 second left. The passing connection coaches we talked about at training camp last month worked well in their second game together, pulling off a crucial road win in conference play.
“I don’t know how to explain it. The chemistry was just there,” Marsh said. “We train for moments like this. And when the time came, we were able to just execute. It feels really good to work so hard on something and then come out here and execute it in a game.”
And — for a week at least — the Spartans (2-0, 1-0) stand alone atop the Big Ten standings after winning the first and only league game of the weekend. They have two weeks off from the conference, hosting Prairie View A&M (3:30 p.m./BTN) on Saturday and traveling to up-and-coming Boston College next week before a four-game challenge with Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa and Michigan awaits them when they return to conference play.
Hunting season
Chiles struggled in his debut as a starter, a laborious 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic in which the sophomore completed 10 of 24 passes for 113 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns. MSU managed just 293 yards in that game, including just 33 in the fourth quarter, as the defense secured the lackluster win.
On Saturday, the Spartans’ offense managed 493 yards, their best performance since losing to Indiana on Nov. 19, 2022, when they managed 540 yards. They converted eight of 14 third down attempts.
“That shows the potential, not just of these two, but of the entire offense,” said new coach Jonathan Smith about Chiles and Marsh. “That we can achieve a lot, that we can be explosive.”
And although Chiles threw three more interceptions against the Terps, he converted 24 of 39 of his first three touchdown passes as a Spartan.
“I didn’t play out of fear,” said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Long Beach, California native. “Last week I basically lied to myself and told myself I wasn’t scared. But I was. It is what it is, my first start. I don’t see it that way, but I was scared, I know that. And today I went into it with the mindset of taking a deep breath and going for it.”
“That’s my thing. That’s what I always tell Coach Smith. That’s our thing, we say, ‘Go hunt.’ And today we went out and hunted.”
Chiles distributed the ball early and often, scoring a 9-yard touchdown to Montorie Foster Jr. in the first quarter after Maryland scored on the game’s first drive. He then answered another Terrapin touchdown with a 34-yard pass to Jaron Glover. The two starting receivers combined for 12 catches and 137 yards, with tight end Jack Velling adding three catches for 25 yards.
“Our goal was to get him to beat us throwing the football,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said of Chiles. “And you know what? He did that. … Today the kid showed us he can win at drop-back football.”
Still, Chiles wasn’t happy with his three interceptions. One of those came deep in MSU territory, giving the Terps (1-1, 0-1) short field for quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.’s 9-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, and one early in the third quarter that allowed tight end Michael Masaunas to throw into the end zone. Chiles’ third interception came deep in Maryland territory early in the fourth quarter when the ball slipped out of his hand and the drive ended after the first long pass play to Marsh.
“I always want to play better, no matter how good or bad I play,” said Chiles, who now has five interceptions in two games. “I feel like I dropped a lot of points with the second pick and then the first pick. I just missed that. I mean, you know, that happens, but I don’t like that. …
“I watched the film (of the FAU game) again. I played like a scared quarterback. I wasn’t scared today. I can say that for sure. I went out there and made mistakes, but I came back, flushed the ball and got it back.”
“Building something special”
Marsh’s own breakout game played a key role in that. The four-star recruit, who originally committed to Mel Tucker and his team, stayed true to his commitment to MSU, enrolling in January after Smith was hired and Chiles followed the Oregon State coach. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound River Rouge High product caught just one pass for 11 yards in the FAU win.
“That was a big moment for me. But I think that’s my game, that’s who I am,” Marsh said of his first college touchdown. “To be able to score in that moment is who I am. That was kind of a big deal for me, but that’s why we’re here.”
Chiles ended his sometimes harsh self-criticism by saying that he was “happy about the victory, a hard-fought victory.” The points he had collected meant that he “can’t really complain today.”
And before he boarded his flight back to East Lansing, he had one final message for MSU doubters.
“We’re building something special here,” Chiles said. “To all of you who didn’t believe in us, keep going, keep doing what you’re doing. I mean, if you don’t want to jump on this boat now, then it is what it is – you’re out now. Get on board or get out.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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