Excuse the language, but there’s a reason for beginning with it in this Nebraska football preview.
“I’m pissed. I’m pissed,” Michigan State Coach Pat Fitzgerald said following the Spartans’ 27-10 loss at Notre Dame Saturday. Fourth-ranked (now third) Notre Dame, it should be noted.
Anyway, Michigan State suffered from “self-inflicted wounds,” said Fitzgerald.
Why begin something about Nebraska’s next opponent, Saturday in East Lansing, with that quote? It reflects the passion Fitzgerald has brought to the Spartans in his first season as their coach.
One more quote. Rewind to Big Ten Media Days in late July…
“I wouldn’t say I have a chip on my shoulder,” Fitzgerald said. “I wouldn’t say our team has a chip on its shoulder. I would say we have a bag of chips on our shoulders. I’ll leave it at that.”
So, to use the metaphor, one chip has been knocked out of the bag, by a very good team.
Despite Fitzgerald’s passionate “self-inflicted wounds” comment, the Spartans “don’t beat themselves,” Coach Matt Rhule said Monday. They’re “the lowest in the league in penalties, they don’t turn the ball over.” Actually, they rank second in the Big Ten (and sixth nationally), with 10 penalties for 105 yards. They’ve had two interceptions and one lost fumble.
By comparison, Nebraska has 20 penalties for 175 yards, one interception and one lost fumble.
The Spartans, with victories against Toledo and Eastern Michigan, “run the football,” said Rhule. They average 150.7 rushing yards per game. Running the ball is the Spartans’ “DNA,” Husker defensive coordinator Rob Aurich said during Tuesday’s media availability.
Cam Edwards, the 5-foot-11, 206-pound Connecticut transfer, is far and away Michigan State’s leading ball carrier. He has rushed for 288 yards and three touchdowns on 60 carries, four times as many as the next ball carrier. He runs behind what Rhule called a “big, powerful offensive line.”
Even so, the Spartans have given up nine sacks for 65 yards in losses.
Nebraska is familiar with quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, who came off the bench in last season’s 38-27 loss to the Huskers and completed 6-of-7 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. He has completed 47-of-71 passes for 540 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions this season.
“He’s really good in the system,” Rhule said.
Wide receiver Rodney Bullock Jr. has 12 catches for 182 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Jayden Savoury has 11 catches for 129 yards.
Defensively, edge rusher Kenny Soares Jr., a transfer from North Carolina State, is a “great player,” said Rhule. Soares has 1.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack, an interception, a pass break-up and hurry. Safety Devin Vaught has 18 tackles, including 10 solo, and linebacker Jordan Hall has 17 tackles, also 10 solo.
“I think he’s as good a player as there is in the Big Ten,” Rhule said of Hall. “When you can put Hall on the field and you can put Soares on the boundary, you have two dynamic players that can anchor things. Their one safety (Vaught), too, is a tackling machine. He’s all over the field.”
Linebacker Brady Pretzlaff has 17 tackles, defensive lineman Eli Coenan three sacks.
One more statistical reference: Michigan State ranks first in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in kickoff returns, which includes former Husker Kenneth Williams’ three returns for 90 yards.
As mentioned earlier, Fitzgerald is in his first season as Michigan State’s head coach. He was Northwestern’s coach from 2006 to 2022. After being let go — a controversial firing — he was a volunteer assistant at Loyola Academy in Illinois.
Also as noted, and reflected in his comments, Fitzgerald, who has a long-time connection with Rhule, is passionate about his job, as the Huskers will see Saturday, late afternoon, when they are favored to knock another chip out of the bag on his team’s shoulder.
