Opponent Preview: 2022 Michigan State season recap

Michigan is getting ready for its next game with in-state rival Michigan State.

The Wolverines enter the game 7-0 and ranked 4th in the nation. It is no secret the Spartans have come short of their expectations heading into the season, they are 3-4 with all 4 losses coming in a row.

These aren't the same Spartans that beat Michigan last season. With changes to the roster and scheme, including a big one on defense just last week, some Michigan fans may not be aware of the 2022 Spartans.

Let's start with some roster changes with departing players and incoming transfers.

All 4 Spartan draft picks made NFL rosters.

Kenneth Walker is having success taking over as the Seahawks' starting RB. Jalen Nailor is in the Vikings two-deep. Heyward is the Steelers' third TE behind former Wolverine Zach Gentry.

All six of the players I have listed have been contributors or even some of the better players on the 2022 Spartans. Most impactful has been Jacoby Windmon, who leads the team with 5.5 sacks and has 1 of the Spartans' 2 interceptions on the season.

Jalen Berger and Jarek Broussard have been the top two backs for MSU, but have not come close to duplicating the production of Kenneth Walker. Berger has 367 yards and 5 touchdowns while Broussard has 191 yards with 2 touchdowns.

Ameer Speed was brought in to help boost the Michigan State secondary that struggled last season but has not been able to make a major impact so far. The Spartans' pass defense ranks 110th in the nation.

Daniel Barker has 12 receptions but may have fallen behind Maliq Carr on the depth chart.

Here is how Michigan State's schedule has shaken out so far.

The game against Washington never felt as close as the score suggests, but MSU did fight back at the end to make the game close. That loss was the start of a 4-game losing streak that included blowout losses to Minnesota and Ohio State.

Michigan State's last game before the bye was a double-overtime win over the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is dealing with its own issues this season, bad losses led to the firing of long-time head coach Paul Chryst and the promotion of defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to interim head coach. Still, the win over the Badgers was a big boost to the morale and mood around the football team in East Lansing. The Spartans are more confident coming into this rivalry game against Michigan than they were just a few weeks ago.

Last week Michigan State made a change to their defense going from a 4-2-5 to a standard base 4-3. The obvious benefit was to Jacoby Windmon, the former linebacker who had been playing DE for the Spartans so far this season. Against Wisconsin, back at linebacker, Windmon earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors with 11 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, and 1 forced fumble.

With the Spartans getting injured players back coming out of the bye, it will be interesting to see if Windmon will remain at linebacker or play more of an EDGE role against the Wolverines.

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