Michigan State offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren talks USC, improvements and injuries
MSU's Brian Lindgren speaks about avoiding complacency even with a 3-0 record, the plan if certain starters cannot go, and the Spartans' first road test versus USC.
Michigan State enters Big Ten play on Saturday to face its biggest test yet of the 2025 season. For MSU's first road game of the season, the team will travel to Los Angeles to take on the No. 25-ranked and undefeated USC Trojans. The game is scheduled for an incredibly late kickoff in the Eastern Time Zone at 11 p.m. (8 p.m. Pacific Time) and can be watched on FOX.
The MSU offense has seen success so far this season. After a poor offensive performance in a Week One victory over Western Michigan, the undefeated Spartans are coming off back-to-back 40-plus point outbursts.
Even though the team sits at 3-0 and has had relative success on the offensive side of the ball this year, second-year offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren understands the importance of getting better and rejecting complacency.
“It is definitely nice to be 3-0, but we have a lot of things to clean up on all parts,” Lindgren said earleir this week. “There are so many good lessons to learn from each of these games, and we have a big week of practice ahead of us. Coming up, we have a big game against a tough opponent on the road (in USC).”
An issue the Spartans may run into versus the Trojans is the effectiveness of the USC offense. So far this season, the Trojan offense ranks No. 1 in yards per game with 604 and points per game with 55.
For a Michigan State defense that has struggled to start the year, this may force the MSU offense to be on the field more than the Spartans would like. If the MSU defense struggles one again, it's probable that the MSU offense will have to match or exceed the production of the Trojan offense.
Lindgren knows that his team will need to be efficient and effective to be successful this week.
“I think playing complementary football is going to be huge for us,” Lindgren said. “That can be said every game for us and how we operate. Us being able to stay on the field and moving the chains is going to be massive. Being efficient on first down is an emphasis for us this week. If we get ourselves into second-and-long situations against this team, they have a very talented front seven. Those guys are extremely active and force a lot of negative plays, a lot of sacks and they get to the quarterback really well. For us to stay on schedule will be big. Likewise, they have an explosive offense. If we can keep those guys off the field and use the clock to our advantage, that will be big.”
