Michigan State football: Knee-jerk reactions to win over CMU

Michigan State football picked up a win over Central Michigan to open the season, but it wasn’t exactly pretty.

Michigan State football overcame a sloppy first half to comfortably beat Central Michigan 31-7. It was our first look at the Spartans in 2023.

Here are some instant, non-filtered, knee-jerk reactions.

1. Michigan State’s defense is improved

Central Michigan’s offensive prowess remains in question. Bert Emanuel Jr.’s athletic ability was on full display Friday night. As good as he is, the Spartans were better. MSU’s defense looked confident, aggressive, and fundamentally sound against the Chippewa offense. There were mistakes. There were penalties. But in totality, this looks like a far more confident and competent unit than we saw a year ago.

The Spartans held Central Michigan to 123 yards on the ground. Their secondary continuously held up, causing Emamuel Jr. to hold on to the ball. They made tackles in space. They made plays in the backfield. But most of all, they held their own while the offense sputtered in the first half. On top of that, they clamped down after the Spartans were able to get a lead.

Central Michigan is far from the best offense this unit will face all season. But this group passed their first test with flying colors on Friday night.

2. The vertical passing game is MSU’s best offense

The first half was ugly on offense. The first half also featured a heavy emphasis on the running game. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Michigan State’s only touchdown drive came at the end of the half when they entirely ditched the running game. This felt like the drive where everything slowed down a bit for Noah Kim. He got some help with a tremendous over-the-shoulder grab by Jaron Glover (more on that later). But even on an incomplete Hail Mary to end the half, Kim’s throw from 50 yards out was spot on.

Kim struggled a bit with some touch throws in the first half. On throws down the field, he was right on the money. Maliq Carr dropped a long pass early in the game. The Hail Mary could have been caught. Later, Kim hit Christian Fitzpatrick for 72 yards. The highlight of the game was a one-handed catch from Tyrell Henry on a fade route. This is who MSU has to be on offense.

Furthermore, they need to embrace it. They need to use the running game to keep the defense honest. It’s clear that Kim has a great feel for his deep ball. It’s their best chance of gaining chunk yards and stressing the defense.

3. Michigan State needs to lean on youth at receiver

As expected, Tre Mosley and Montorie Foster saw a lot of snaps at wide receiver. Both were fine. The most impressive plays of the night came from underclassmen. Glover had a couple of really nice catches. Fitzpatrick ran a filthy route to open up the longest play of the game. Henry had the best catch of the game.

Given the struggles that MSU had in the running game, it’s obvious that they are going to be a pass-first offense.

For them to maximize their potential, they have to play these younger receivers. If that means snaps have to be taken away from veterans, so be it. These guys have talent on an offense that needs all the help it can get. Hopefully the positives we saw from this group on Friday are only the beginning.

4. The offensive line is a problem

I’ll preface this argument by saying that I was impressed with Central Michigan. Their defensive front should be one of the — if not the — best in the MAC this season. At the same time, Michigan State can’t be satisfied with their offensive line play. Jalen Berger and Nathan Carter made some plays on their own. For the most part, though, they were not running through huge holes at any point during the game.

Most concerning for MSU was their inability to pick up first downs in short-yardage situations. The Spartans were stuffed twice on 4th-and-1. That can’t happen against inferior competition.

Some growing pains are to be expected. Michigan State football is undoubtedly experimenting with different combinations to see what works best. But this was not an impressive performance from a running game that has two very capable backs. MSU has to find a way to be more forceful along their offensive line.

5. Noah Kim is QB1

Look, I’ve been very open about my belief in Noah Kim. I’ll be the first to admit that the first half was rough. But even through that, the coaching staff stuck with him. He made them look smart with some really good throws in the second half. He was missing high early. Perhaps an indication that he was nervous. But after he settled in, he looked solid. At no point was there a scripted series for Katin Houser.

Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal said that Kim had known he’d be the starter for “a week or two”. It was only one series. Sweeping conclusions shouldn’t be drawn. But Houser did not look ready when he was out there. It doesn’t appear as if this competition was as close as we thought.

The fact that Houser didn’t get into the game until it was decided should be an indication of where things stand.

6. Special teams were adequate

Bryce Baringer propped up a special teams unit that was otherwise terrible in 2022. I was curious to see how it looked without him. They looked competent. There were two mistakes. Jonathan Kim can’t send kickoffs out of bounds. But Hank Pepper made a good snap and simply made an effort mistake trying to down a punt inside the five.

Outside of that, things were flawless.

Ryan Eckley did a great job punting. Kim made a field goal that felt enormous at the time. Central didn’t gain any significant field position advantages in the return game. It was all you could ask for. That’s good news for a Michigan State team that can’t afford mistakes in 2023.