The Falcons football team fell in their season opener to the Michigan State Spartans 35-10 Saturday afternoon. The loss ended the team’s three game winning streak going back to the end of last season.
However, the team was still proud of how they competed.
“The defense did everything that we asked them to do,” Falcons head coach Mike Jinks said. “I’m proud of that defensive unit. We asked them to be tough, we asked them to be physical, we asked them to swarm to the ball, and we did those things. We’ve just got to clean up some of the silly penalties and I think, as time goes on … We want to see them play that ball and make that pick on that play.”
The team started off the game with a field goal from junior kicker Jake Suder in the first quarter to take an early lead. However, Michigan State followed with five consecutive touchdowns through the second and third quarters to go up 35-3. The Falcons did finish off the scoring early in the fourth quarter with a fumble recovered for a touchdown by sophomore defensive back Cameron Jefferies, but Michigan State took the first game of the new season 35-10.
While the Falcons were able to outscore Michigan State in two of the four quarters, the team was unable to overcome the deficit in the second and third from Michigan State. The team feels they will need to play more consistently on offense to be able to support the defensive efforts.
“We talked about wanting to protect the defense and slow the game down, not play with as much tempo,” Jinks said. “In order to do that, it makes no difference if you’re not converting a first down.”
The Falcons ran for a total of 64 yards on 24 attempts, averaging 2.8 yards per carry. However, compared to the 4.7 yards per carry Michigan State had in the game, the team knows the rushing game is something they will need to build on throughout the season.
“We were going to commit to the run, and they stopped it,” Jinks said. “When they do that, we’ve got to take our shots, and we came up with a couple of big plays earlier, we just didn’t make enough.”
However, the team will try and take the positives they can away from the game and move forward to the next game in the season.
“It is what it is,” Jinks said. “We’ll learn from it and we’ll move forward.”
The team will next play in their home opener Saturday night against the South Dakota Coyotes.
