Michigan State football: Rambling, unfiltered thoughts on win over FAU

Michigan State football escaped Friday night with a win over Florida Atlantic and here are my rambling, unfiltered thoughts.

You’ll never apologize for a win. Michigan State football certainly won’t after it escaped with a 16-10 win against Florida Atlantic in its season opener. Moments after the final whistle, here are some rambling, unfiltered thoughts from game No. 1.

The defense was outstanding

Give the game ball to the entire defensive unit. Michigan State was excellent at all three levels. Aside from a miscommunication on FAU’s lone touchdown, Michigan State was swarming. Khris Bogle confirmed some of the hype we had heard out of camp with 2.5 tackles for loss. The Spartans forced 10 total, with seven sacks.

FAU ran the ball 47 times for just 132 yards. The Spartans stood tall when they needed to, holding FAU to 2-of-14 on third down and 2-for-5 on fourth down. The defense picked up the offense multiple times in the fourth quarter of a one-possession game. If it weren’t for back-breaking penalties (more on that later), this could have been a shutout. Even though it seems clear that FAU will not be an offensive power this season, MSU did exactly what it needed to against an opponent like this. They dominated.

The penalties were ridiculous

Cam Fancher invited many of these penalties with his exploitation of the quarterback slide rule. The Spartans were also on the wrong side of what felt like every borderline call. At the same time, MSU’s lack of discipline was jarring. The TV broadcast mentioned early in the game that the defensive staff was aware of Fancher’s tendency to slide late. Nevertheless, the Spartans seemed completely surprised. It was an issue all night. And it was an issue for multiple players. Malik Spencer was ejected for targeting. Dillon Tatum was whistled for a horse collar a few yards out of bounds. And Jordan Turner was flagged for removing his helmet on the field. That can’t happen, especially with veterans like those players that are supposed to be leaders. MSU got away with it because of their opponent. But that won’t be the case for the rest of this season.

The offense was clunky

I expected a slow start on offense because of all the new pieces. But this performance failed to meet even my reduced expectations. Aidan Chiles completed just 10-of-24 passes and looked shaky in the second half. His best ball of the night, rolling to his right, and finding Aziah Johnson on the right sideline, was followed by an underthrown out-route at the goal line that FAU took the other way.

Chiles couldn’t get on the same page with his receivers outside of the pocket. He was consistently off-target on throws down the sideline. MSU’s lack of a reliable running game didn’t help. But it appears as if the concerns at receiver are valid. Montorie Foster coughed the ball up in the red zone while no other receiver had more than one catch. Chiles’ first interception was a poor decision, and he put the ball on the ground again in the first half after hesitating on what appeared to be a designed quarterback draw. Maybe this FAU defense will end up being as good as 2022 Georgia, but I doubt it.

With that in mind, MSU needs substantial improvement on that side of the ball to do anything of note this season.

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams might be RB1

I thought Nate Carter had all-conference potential coming into this season. But man, it just wasn’t there for him tonight. Averaging 2.5 yards per carry on 19 attempts isn’t good enough. There are going to be games when the ground game isn’t working. But when your counterpart goes for 101 yards on nine attempts, it’s fair to raise some questions. Lynch-Adams looked so much more decisive in his decision-making. He hit the gaps hard. And he made the FAU defense feel him. Oh, and his 61-yard score was by far MSU’s most explosive play of the night. Nate Carter is still a valuable asset for this team, but in this scheme, Lynch-Adams might be the better fit.

Ryan Eckley is a weapon

It did not take long for Michigan State’s punter to pick up where he left off in 2023. Ryan Eckley downed his first punt at the FAU one, which led to a Michigan State safety. Credit him with those two points. On the night, he kicked six times for 297 yards. That’s 49.5 yards per kick, meaning Eckley is – literally – flipping field position on his punts. That’s going to be a luxury for a Michigan State football team that might need every one of those hidden yards this season.

Jonathan Smith… be smarter, dude

Perhaps Jonathan Smith was a little too amped up for his first game. I don’t have any other explanation for his decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 up six midway through the fourth quarter. That’s a kick Jonathan Kim makes 99 percent of the time. Your defense is balling out. At that point in the game, FAU probably only has two possessions left anyway. You might as well force them to score on both. Furthermore, it wasn’t like MSU’s offense was in any sort of rhythm. You’ve got to kick that and extend the lead.

Most of the drama that ensued late in the game wouldn’t have mattered if MSU had taken the points to go up nine. I don’t expect that to be a theme with Smith. Friday night was out of character. Let’s hope the same can be said for MSU’s offense and lack of discipline.