After a dramatic and frustrating weekend, Michigan State football is onto Illinois, who is playing some great football this year under Bret Bielema and should be a good test for an MSU squad that could use a good win over a solid opponent.
During their preparation, Spartan leaders Payton Thorne and Xavier Henderson spoke to the media to briefly reflect on Saturday’s events (although they could not speak to the infamous tunnel incident) as well as their thoughts on a formidable Illinois team.
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Thorne: "It's a unique situation. Obviously the season hasn't gone how we wanted. But we're all we got in the room. No one's coming in to help us or save us. It's all of us moving forward together."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
Henderson says leadership is "crucial" right now. "We gotta stick together as a team." Says the young players can't quit. "We got four games left we can take advantage of."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
Henderson on the U-M rivalry: "All the fuss is for the external, the people not playing in the game. Shoot, the game might be more stressful on the people watching it than the players."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
Thorne calls Illinois' defense "outstanding" and says MSU doesn't "have time to think about anything other than them."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
Thorne on MSU's offense: "We're not executing at a high enough level, not at all. Second half especially" at Michigan. "You look back on the mental errors, half the time it wasn't even physical stuff."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
Thorne said on the second fourth-and-1 at Michigan's 5 he had the option for a sneak "and I didn't do that. That's on me."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
Henderson on MSU's defense: "We feel good about our progress so far. We know we're not where we need to be. It's part of us getting healthy, but I think we're getting to where we understand what we're good at." Says secondary playing with more confidence.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 1, 2022
