Michigan State football: 3 takeaways from season-opening win over CMU

Michigan State football is back, and their redemption for last year’s 5-7 campaign is underway. After week one, what are some takeaways?

Well, the first game of the season is over for Michigan State football, and it’s 1-0. This game was the tale of two halves, with the first being very, very bad. Hence, the three takeaways focus on the Spartans’ first half and their notable improvements in the latter half.

1. The first half was… concerning

I had a lot of decisions to make in how to phrase the first half. Concerning, not great, disturbing, distressing, depressing, maddening, you name it. They all made the list.

From the start, this game felt off. Alante Brown got carted after the opening kickoff (he returned by the second quarter), and then the Spartan offense took the field.

Nathan Carter gained over twenty yards on his first carry, but then everything went off the rails. The Spartans drew an offside on fourth down to make it a short-yardage situation. Naturally, MSU ran out of shotgun on fourth down and failed. Until two minutes into the half, Noah Kim overthrew ball after ball, and the offensive line could do nothing. On short-yardage spots, Jay Johnson called shotgun runs. To the surprise of no one, it did not work.

On defense, the Spartans allowed a long first drive, aiding Central with missed tackles and ill-timed penalties. On third-and-goal from the 15, Derrick Harmon was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct. Thankfully, the defense came together, being aided by the turf on fourth down. After this, the defense looked solid, until they harmed themselves yet again. On Central’s scoring drive in the second quarter, two facemask penalties on back-to-back plays gave CMU enough field position for a great throw and catch to score.

Jonathan Kim looked good at kicker, converting a 48-yard field goal and the extra point. The two-minute drill had a mixed set of results. Noah Kim missed a wide-open Maliq Carr but then hit impossible windows to Jaron Glover twice to set up a Nathan Carter touchdown run.

That said, a 10-7 Michigan State halftime score against Central Michigan (4-8 in 2022) is very concerning.

2. The second-half offense makes the Spartans dangerous and intriguing

Once again, I have many choices in what to call a half. The second half had scoring, explosive plays, and freshman seeing the field, everything that I wanted to see from this team at the start of the game.

After his two-minute drill, Noah Kim came out of half looking like he did not take a break. Kim was sharp, with the vertical passing game suiting his strengths. Jay Johnson made a crucial switch to vertical passes and Kim dropped it into a basket. While not perfect, the second half Kim is what the Spartans need for 2023. Courtesy of @JASF_Detroit on X, Kim’s 279 yards would have ranked third among Payton Thorne’s single-game yardage in 2022.

One of the main things helping Kim was his receivers’ big-play ability.

Jaron Glover had his two catches during the two-minute drill, and his yardage led the team. Christian Fitzpatrick had a 72-yard catch-and-run after making the corner covering him look absolutely silly. Tre Mosley recovered from a drop to provide quality yardage for MSU. Maliq Carr came back from a rough start (0-for-5 on targets, including a pair of drops) to score the final touchdown for the Spartans.

I have yet to mention the player that I believe has the highest upside in the Spartan receiver room: Tyrell Henry. He caught his first career touchdown Friday, coming down with the ball one-handed, while being interfered with, in his Odell Beckham Jr. impersonation. Henry also provided a spark with a jet sweep pop pass, providing another first down. On special teams, Henry was so close to breaking one time and time again. That leads me to my bold prediction: Tyrell Henry will have a return touchdown this year. I’m sold on the Henry hype train.

Katin Houser only had a series for the Spartans, and for now, he proved why Kim started Friday night. Houser was sacked and nearly threw an interception on his final two dropbacks.

The offensive line was not great, but they were missing starting center Nick Samac for a majority of the game for injury precautions. That said, they were noticeably better in the second half. Kristian Phillips, Ashton Lepo, and Ethan Boyd all provided some quality reps with the Spartans.

Nathan Carter and Jalen Berger will be a dangerous tandem at running back this year. Carter had the explosive runs, and Berger had quality catches and a touchdown run tonight.

The only concern from Kim’s play is that if he cannot figure the horizontal rhythm throws out, teams will figure him out and plan for it rather quickly. For now, against Central Michigan and Richmond next week, it should be OK. The Spartans and Kim have two weeks to figure this out.

3. The Spartan defense, namely the defensive line and secondary, is back?

On defense, the Spartans refused to surrender a point in the second half, turning Bert Emanuel Jr.’s upset dreams into a nightmare.

Dillon Tatum was all over the field, providing excellent coverage and being our best open-field tackler. Cal Haladay had an interception on a drive where he made every tackle. Jacoby Windmon came up with a sack on third down. On the last drive, discipline issues reared their ugly head, but the backup Spartans were able to stand tall and prevent a CMU last-second score.

The Spartans made excellent open-field tackles, with Malik Spencer, Armorion Smith, and Angelo Grose all shining alongside Tatum. Marqui Lowery provided a deflection in coverage, and Charles Brantley had the best game in the secondary among players not named Tatum.

A few Spartans made their debuts on defense tonight, with Tunmise Adeleye receiving a lot of playing time. Dre Butler provided some good reps in the defensive interior. A few additional Spartans to make their first snaps tonight were Chance Rucker and James Schott.

While I know I mentioned the secondary and defensive line mainly, there was a good debut at linebacker tonight. Jordan Hall saw a lot of time in the second half and had a few quality coverage snaps, but did allow a catch on the final drive. With Darius Snow out, Hall is seizing this opportunity.

I find it hard to judge the Spartan defense completely, as Central Michigan is not exactly a powerhouse on offense. The Chippewas ranked 84th in yards per game last year, per Sports Reference.

The second half has changed me, and I am a much happier, different man than I was when I wrote takeaway No. 1.

The Spartans will look to take their momentum into their next game, where they host Richmond.