Quick Hitters: Early breakdown and initial thoughts on Michigan State

The Indiana football program looks to bounce back after a disappointing loss last weekend when Michigan State comes to Memorial Stadium for senior day.

Indiana is 3-7 overall and 1-6 in Big Ten play.

Michigan State enters at 3-7 on the season and 1-6 in Big Ten play.

Here are some early thoughts on the Spartans and the matchup.

Michigan State brings bottom of the barrel offense to Bloomington. There’s no sugarcoating it, the Michigan State offense has struggled this season. It currently ranks last in the Big Ten and 127th in the country in points per game (16.7). Michigan State has scored 0, 3, 9, 12, 16 and 24 points in Big Ten losses this season. Its lone win was against Nebraska, scoring 20 points. The Spartans rank 12th in the league in total offense and 13th in rushing offense — so, the Indiana defense may have a nice bounce-back opportunity on Saturday.

Third down will be where a lot of momentum swings happen. While Michigan State struggles on offense from top-to-bottom, third downs could be where a large majority of the momentum swings happen. The Spartans rank 13th in 3rd down conversions — just 31.9 percent on the year. Indiana’s offense on the other hand is middle of the pack converting on 38.3 percent of its 3rd downs. Both defenses rank in the top-8 of the league in defending 3rd downs, but the Spartans are in the top-fourth of the league, allowing just 32.8 percent. While 3rd downs will be critical, Indiana needs to find success on 1st and 2nd downs and could avoid numerous 3rd downs altogether as the Spartans rank just 12th in the Big Ten in first downs allowed.

Potential for dual-quarterback attack for the Spartans … but no real punch. Michigan State’s quarterback situation has been less than ideal this season as three different quarterbacks have played significant snaps. Katin Houser has taken over the starting duties but has just three touchdowns in six appearances this season. In five starts, he has thrown for a high of just 165 yards and is completing just 57 percent of his passes. Sam Leavitt has played in spurts over the last few weeks and has shown a little bit more of an ability to get out of the pocket an make plays. But, Leavitt has still struggled in the passing game, going 15-of-23 for just 139 yards. He has completed 65.7 percent of his passes, however. The Spartans are looking into potentially keeping Leavitt’s redshirt in tact, however. So, his status is up in the air. As a quarterback room — even dating back to Noah Kim, the original starter this year — the Spartans have thrown for 2,033 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Indiana secondary should be much more capable of defending a passing attack that is limited to short or very intermediate routes.

Jaden Mangham a weapon in the defensive backfield. With the increased passing threat down the field for Indiana, the Hoosiers need to watch out for Jaden Mangham. Mangham has four interceptions on the year, four passes defended and one fumble recovery. He has a great frame and good length paired with his athleticism and will likely be matched up with Donaven McCulley for the Hoosiers. If he’s able to limit some of the recent explosive plays from McCulley, it will put a lot of additional pressure on some of the other wideouts to step up, something we’ve seen in limited bursts this year.

SEE ALSO: ‘The defense let this team down today. That’s the bottom line. Period.’: Indiana football wastes terrific offensive performance with defensive disaster

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