Chestnut Hill, Mass. – Michigan State dropped a 23-19 heartbreaker on the road at Boston College in a game where a handful of preventable errors were likely the difference between resuming Big Ten play with an unbeaten record and returning to conference play with a 3-1 mark.

Afterward, SpartanMag staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk checked in from the press box at Bost College with the latest SpartanMag.com V-Cast.

V-CAST TOPICS

Aidan Chiles Struggled with decision-making: Chiles was the best thing that Michigan State had going during stretches of this football game, but bouts of inaccuracy and questionable decision-making overshadowed what could have been a road victory over a quality opponent had the sophomore quarterback had a better night. One play that Chiles would definitely like to have back was the first-and-10 interception in the final minute of the game where he threw a jump ball in the end zone to Montorie Foster against double coverage after completing the ball to tight end Jack Velling on three straight plays. Chiles didn’t need to throw the ball up for grabs in that instance with two timeouts remaining and downs to work with. As Michigan State moves back into Big Ten play, Chiles has to improve his decision-making and clean up some of the costly mistakes that have overshadowed to an extent many of the good things he has done for the Spartan offense.

Defense shows resilience: This was a good game for the Michigan State defense aside from giving up a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter and a 36-yard rushing touchdown earlier in the second half. This Spartan defense stared down several sudden-change scenarios in this game and rose to the challenge, more often than not. In the second half, the Spartans overcame a kick-return fumble near the goal line and forced a field goal. The Spartans also got the ball back for the offense late with a successful goal-line stand. And while Michigan State gave up more rushing yards than they’ve been accustomed to giving up to this point in the season, the Spartans got better against the run as the game progressed.

The Road Ahead: Michigan State had a real chance to improve to 4-0 on the year with a win at Boston College but failed to do so. That hurts because now, the Spartans are heading into the meatgrinder portion of their schedule with upcoming games against Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, and Michigan. After that, the Spartans face a November slate of games against Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, and Rutgers. A bowl game is certainly possible, but a win over Boston College would have helped a great deal given the difficult of schedule for Michigan State.  

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