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Thu, December 30, 2021, 11:15
PM4 min read
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Press writer Rainer Sabin answers three questions after Michigan State football defeated Pitt,
31-21, at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta:
What was life after
Kenneth Walker III like for MSU’s offense?
It’s
impossible to overstate the impact Kenneth Walker III made on MSU in
his lone season in East Lansing. The Wake Forest transfer invigorated a dormant
rushing attack that ranked among the worst in program history during coach Mel
Tucker’s inaugural year. He opted out of Thursday's Peach Bowl to set his
sights on an NFL career. In 12 games,
Walker left his fingerprints all over the Spartans’ offense.
He ran for 1,636 yards, the second-highest total in the country.
He also scored 18 times as he sprinted into the school’s record books and onto
the national stage. Walker’s amazing ascent
(1,636 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns) culminated with the Doak Walker Award
given to the nation’s best running back and the Walter Camp Player of the Year.
His vision allowed him to find holes when there didn’t appear to be any. His
power helped him shed tackles. This isn’t a talent that could be replaced.
Walker’s
replacements — Jordan Simmons, Harold Joiner and Elijah Collins — struggled to
gain traction. Together, they accounted for 46 rushing yards on 24 carries,
which averaged out to 1.91 yards per attempt.
Their
struggles became more evident when Michigan State bogged down in the red zone,
an area of the field where the Spartans thrived with Walker. Entering Saturday,
the Spartans had the highest touchdown conversion rate (66.7%) in the Big Ten
once they ventured inside the 20-yard line. But they only punched it across the
goal line once in three red-zone trips
That
placed an increased burden on Payton Thorne, who delivered in crunch time and
accounted for a career-high 354 passing yards and MSU's three offensive
touchdowns.
Did a Pitt QB's injury
validate the opt-out decisions?
In
this new age of college football, perhaps no topic sparks more fervor than the
recent trend of players skipping bowl games to preserve their health for a shot
at the NFL. The old guard argues these draft hopefuls should cross the finish
line with their teams instead of bailing on them with one more opportunity to
play. The non-traditionalists contend the College Football Playoff has turned
bowls into exhibitions and players shouldn’t risk their pro prospects by
exposing themselves to potential injuries.
The
debate raged in advance of the Peach Bowl, where Walker and Pitt quarterback
Kenny Pickett elected to sit out the game. The two headliners were conspicuous
by their absence and the sizzle surrounding the matchup disappeared. But their
decisions were validated when Pickett’s replacement, Nick Patti, was knocked
out with a left-arm injury after crashing into out of bounds during a 16-yard
touchdown run in the first quarter. Patti was later spotted in a sling as
Pickett, a Heisman Trophy finalist, watched from above. Could that have
happened to him?
The
question may have crossed his mind and Walker’s, too. Certainly, others were
thinking those thoughts as the debate about opt outs continued.
What does this win
mean for Michigan State?
The progress MSU made in Tucker’s
second season has been nothing short of remarkable. A
year after crashing to a 2-5 record that triggered a roster overhaul, the Spartans achieved
double-digit victories, qualified for New Year’s Six bowl and handed rival
Michigan its only loss. The future seems bright in East Lansing, and the
promise Tucker showed prompted a pair of MSU boosters to lock him down with a
$95 million contract extension.
Tucker began to offer some major
dividends Thursday when he led the Spartans to an improbable comeback victory.
An
offense without Walker managed to find a pathway to end zone as Thorne
spearheaded a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives. A relentless pass rush
stymied Pittsburgh's passing attack, which was blunted after Patti was
sidelined.
Is
this win a bellwether for what's in store in 2022? It's too early to tell. But
a loss would have stung a program that flirted with a third defeat in its last
five games. Instead, the
resilient Spartans found a way.
By doing so, they changed the mood of their fanbase heading into the offseason. Sure there will be skeptics who wonder about a rushing attack that was toothless without Walker. And there will be doubters wondering about MSU's suspect pass defense rarely tested by Pitt's third-string quarterback. But by and large, the majority of MSU's supporters will relish a fantastic 11-2 season that no one could have predicted. They'll recognize this program overachieved and has positioned itself for a better tomorrow.
