Snap counts, PFF grades: Vastly improved passing game for Michigan State vs. Maryland

Snap counts, PFF grades: Vastly improved passing game for Michigan State vs. Maryland

Michigan State picked up a win last week, but there wasn’t much reason to, especially on offense.

This week the Spartans recorded another victory and this time there was reason to be satisfied, especially in attack and especially in the passing game.

The Spartans came back to beat Maryland, 27-24, on Saturday to mark the first Big Ten victory of the Jonathan Smith era. And compared to a narrow Week 1 win over FAU, the Pro Football Focus numbers showed a marked improvement.

* Aidan Chili’s 74

* Lucas Newman 74

* Tanner Miller 74

* Montorie Foster Jr. 69

* Jack Velling 62

Nick Marsh61

* Ashton Lepo 59

* Brandon Baldwin 53

* Nate Carter 47

* Gavin Broscious 46

* Jaron Glover 39

Stanton Ramil 36

*Michael Masunas 33

Dallas Fincher28

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams 27

Antonio Gates Jr. 17

Aziah Johnson 9

Brennan Parachek3

Ademola Faleye 2

Tyneil Hopper 1

* Malik Spencer 68

* Charles Brantley 68

* Nikai Martinez 62

* Cal Haladay 54

* Angelo Grose 49

* Jordan Turner 47

* Jalen Thompson 41

* Khris Bogle 41

* D’Quan Douse 40

Jalen Satchell 29

Anthony Jones28

Ken Talley27

Maverick Hansen 27

* Alex VanSumeren 25

* Ed Woods25

Darius Snow 25

Wayne Matthews III 24

Jordan Hall 22

Jeremiah Hughes 22

Chance Rucker 17

Ade Willie 4

Ru’Quan Buckley 2

Aveon Grose 1

* After his eight-catch, 194-yard, touchdown breakout, Nick Marsh is now the fourth-highest-rated freshman receiver in the country with a receiving grade of 79.8. Only Auburn’s Perry Thompson, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Nebraska’s Jacory Barney Jr. are rated higher. His offensive grade on Saturday was Michigan State’s best.

* Michigan State’s passing grade as a team went from 48.0 in Game 1 to 77.9 in Game 2. Aidan Chiles had three big-time throws against Maryland, and his yards per attempt (9.3) was nearly double what it was in the Spartans’ opener.

* Darius Snow was Michigan State’s highest-rated defender, with three tackles that were rated as “stops” (a failure for the offense) and three catches against six targets.

* As a team, Michigan State has the fourth-best tackling rating in the Big Ten at 80.5, with 15 total missed tackles through two games.

* The Spartans’ biggest step back from Week 1 to Week 2 was in pass blocking. The Spartans went from five pressures and no sacks in the opener to 19 pressures and two sacks on Saturday against Maryland. Michigan State’s pass blocking grade is the lowest in the Big Ten.