Jonathan Smith aims for a complete game for Michigan State after fourth quarter failures plague Spartans

For the second-straight game, Michigan State football has struggled to close out games in the fourth quarter, following losses on the road to USC and Nebraska. MSU head coach Jonathan Smith's focus is simple as the Spartans prepare for another Big Ten matchup against UCLA on Saturday (homecoming game scheduled for noon Eastern Time on the Big Ten Network).

“I think the team continued to show some resilience, but it's back-to-back weeks where we've got to finish in the fourth quarter better,” Smith said on Monday. “Back-to-back games, we had opportunities to finish things in the fourth quarter, and we got outplayed, out-coached in the fourth (quarter).”

Coach Smith didn’t soften the frustration that came from Saturday’s 38-27 loss against Nebraska. After taking a third-quarter lead, the Spartans hurt themselves through offensive inconsistencies, turnovers, missed opportunities, and breakdowns on special teams. The play on special teams was one of the more costly issues in the game.

“A lot that hurt us in that game,” Smith said about special teams. “Obviously, you give up a punt block for a touchdown, it can be tough to overcome … If three guys are misidentified, that starts with our preparation as coaches. Schematically, we have to look at some things.”

That single play resulted in seven points for Nebraska, and gave the Cornhuskers a 14-0 lead early. It shifted the momentum away from MSU, forcing the Spartans into a position where they had to claw back from a 14-point deficit. Smith is focusing on players' attention to detail, but puts a lot of the accountability on himself and the coaching staff’s preparation.

Special teams lapses didn’t help the Spartans throughout the tough matchup, but breakdowns came from multiple directions. Smith pointed out the inefficiencies on third-down plays. 

“You start with (us going) two of 14 on third down,” Smith said. “One, that’s a terrible percentage, and that’s too many third downs in general. Well, what’s leading into that? Our first- and second-down efficiency, lack of run game efficiency, really throughout (the game). We’ve got to do it better.”

Nebraska's defense leads the country in passing yards allowed per game, which put pressure on quarterback Aidan Chiles to move the offense unit in the passing game, especially in hurried situations. Meanwhile, Nebraska entered last Saturday's. game versus MSU as the second-worst run defense in the Big Ten, yet held the Spartans to just 84 rushing yards and an average of 2.2 yards per carry. Smith said the struggles for the Spartans to run the ball start with coaching as much as they do with the execution on the field.