Though far from perfect, Michigan State's defense is addicted to stopping the run

In the game of football, there are a few adages that hold true almost every time. One of them is that it is hard to lose a game when the defense doesn't give up any points. From this point of view, the Michigan State defense got off to a great start on Friday night against the Broncos of Western Michigan.

While the Spartans weren't perfect, it is hard to find much fault in the defensive box score. The Green and White gave up just 217 total yards and 10 first downs. The Broncos did not run a single play inside the Michigan State 20-yard line.

The defense also did not allow a single point, as Western's Michigan only score came on a pick-six when former Spartan defensive back Tate Hallock intercepted a pass thrown by MSU backup quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and took it to the end zone in the fourth quarter.

"This is a good starting point for our defense," Spartan linebacker and junior captain Jordan Hall said following the game. "Not allowing any points defensively is a big accomplishment ... But there's still a lot of mistakes that happened out there today and a lot of ways we can improve."

Giving up the big play

The one area where the Michigan State defense struggled the most was in giving up explosive plays. Western Michigan had three pass plays of 30 yards or more and two quarterback scrambles of at least 10 yards. These five plays accounted for 142 of the Broncos' 217 total yards (65%).

One of these explosive plays came on the first play from scrimmage: a 35-yard deep ball along the sidelines against Spartan cornerback Joshua Eaton. When asked if this play was a result of the Michigan State defense not being quite "buckled up" early in the game, Hall pushed back.

"I'm just gonna correct you just a little bit there," Hall said politely to the media, but with firm confidence. "We're always 'buckled up.' Things don't always go the way that we plan, but that's a foundation of our defense: being able to respond when things don't go our way."

Apart from those five explosive plays, the Spartan defense did respond. Western Michigan only gained a total of 75 yards (1.44 yards per play) on the other 52 snaps. The Michigan State defense gave up only 29 yards on the ground which was good for 1.2 yards per carry.

The return of the pass rush

Another encouraging stat was that the much-maligned pass rush was credited with eight quarterback hurries and four sacks. In 2024, Michigan State went six full games during one stretch without recording a single sack. Friday night was a welcome change on this front.

Hall recorded a sack, as did senior safety Malik Spencer, defensive end Jalen Thompson and redshirt freshman Anelu Lafaele.

According to Hall and his teammates, getting more pressure on the quarterback is something that has been emphasized in the entire off season. According to redshirt junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren, the strong performance against the run and the pass rush go hand-in-hand.

Michigan State defensive lineman Jalen Thompson (9), left, and defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren (91) tackle Western Michigan running back Jalen Buckley (6) for a safety during the second half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Friday, August 29, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images