Former Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is having a rough season with Michigan State.
Coming into Saturday’s game against the Gophers, Rossi’s Spartans’ defense is last in scoring in the 18-team Big Ten Conference (32.5 points per game) and 15th in total defense (380 yards per game).
Last week, Rossi moved from his regular perch in the coaches’ booth down to the sideline for Michigan State’s 31-20 loss to then-No. 25 Michigan. That’s where the former Minnesota defensive coordinator will be on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, who is 3-5 this year and 8-12 overall in East Lansing, liked Rossi’s presence on the field. “We needed to obviously fix some things defensively,” he said. “I did think the effort defensively — those guys played with passion throughout the night.”
Michigan State still allowed 276 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground while losing its fifth straight conference game. At 0-5, they sit in the conference basement with Purdue and Wisconsin.
Rossi left Minnesota after the 2023 season, but Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said they stay in touch via text messages and bump-ins while on the recruiting trail.
“They play exceptionally hard,” Fleck said of Rossi’s group. “Coach Rossi did a tremendous amount for this program at University of Minnesota, and (I) have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done. He’s got an unbelievable family. He’s a great husband, great father, just an awesome man.”
Not planned
Against Iowa last weekend, Fleck said the game plan was to punt the ball out of bounds and not allow Hawkeyes returner Kaden Wetjen get his hands on the ball.
But punter Tom Weston kicked only two of his seven punts out of bounds, and Wetjen was allowed four returns for 80 total yards, including a 50-yard return for a touchdown. One of Weston’s punts was a touchback, and another was shanked for a net of 13 yards.
“It wasn’t just offense, it wasn’t (just) defense, it wasn’t just special teams — it was all three,” Fleck said about the 41-3 loss to the Hawkeyes. “That is not a good formula to win, especially when you are playing a team like Iowa, who is so good in all three, and forces you to play really precise.”
Minnesota fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten play.
Taylor’s prognosis
Fleck offered no update Monday on the heath status of running back Darius Taylor, who left the blowout loss to Iowa after one carry and three total snaps.
If Taylor can’t play against Michigan State, and with backup A.J. Turner out for the season, the U will likely stick with redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi and graduate transfer Cam Davis in the backfield.
Minnesota has averaged 1.8 yards per carry in games against Iowa, Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers. The Big Ten outlier is 5.3 yards per carry in a tape-to-tape victory over Nebraska. Taylor put up 148 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown against the Cornhuskers.
The Spartans are 14th in the Big Ten in rushing defense (149 yards per game), so Minnesota should still muster a ground game this weekend.
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