3 Things Michigan State Must Do against Nebraska

Earlier this week, MSU head coach Jonathan Smith announced that starting left tackle Stanton Ramil will be out for about a month. That's a big void to fill, as the person playing LT is the one responsible for protecting quarterback Aidan Chiles' blindside.

One of two players will start there for Michigan State: redshirt freshman Rustin Young or redshirt junior Conner Moore. Young filled in for Ramil after he left the game against USC, but that might be because the coaching staff didn't want to make Moore shift from right tackle, where he's mostly played at MSU, to the left side. Moore played left tackle at Montana State last season.

If Moore goes to the left side instead of Young, that will likely mean Ashton Lepo will fill in for Moore at right tackle. There shouldn't be much of a drop-off there, as Lepo started all 12 of Michigan State's games last year at right tackle.

Stay On-Schedule on Offense

By "on-schedule" here, I mean that Michigan State cannot afford to get into situations where it needs to force things to get past the sticks and get first downs. If there's one thing Nebraska is bad at, it's stopping the run (108th in FBS). But, if there's one thing Nebraska is good at, it's stopping the pass (first in FBS).

MSU needs to be able to reliably get some nice gains on first and second downs to avoid third-and-longs. With how good Nebraska's secondary is, the Spartans would be asking a lot out of Chiles and his wide receivers if it gets to third-and-10.

I'd expect to see a large amount of Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis on first and second down. That makes it more likely that if and when the Spartans are on third down, they only need two or three yards, which opens up the playbook a lot more.

Pressure Dylan Raiola

It's the biggest complaint many have with Michigan State so far: it can't get opposing quarterbacks on the ground. Well, to beat Nebraska, it's gonna require a sack here and there. MSU didn't record a sack in either of its two games against power-conference opponents (Boston College, USC).

Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola is a gettable quarterback. He can use his legs to escape pressure, but he's still a player who tends to try and hold onto the ball and make a play. He's been sacked 10 times this year, tied with MSU's Chiles for the fifth-most times in the Big Ten.

While he holds onto the ball a bit longer than others, the other thing about Raiola is that he will punish opposing defenses if they give him the time to hold onto it. He has plenty of talent in his arm and generally makes good decisions, which is why he has 11 passing touchdowns and only one interception in four games this season.