Michigan State football stock watch: Who’s rising after Boston College win?

After picking up a big win on Saturday night, Michigan State football had some major stock-risers and fallers. Who are they?

What a game and win for Michigan State football as the Spartans advanced to 2-0 on the season.

We saw Jonathan Smith’s squad outscore his opponent in the second half, which has only happened once since he took over in 2024. Additionally, also saw the defense get a much-needed stop on the 2-point conversion.

That being said, some stocks rose, and some fell during the game. Who’s on the rise and who’s falling?

Stock up

• Aidan Chiles

This is one of the, if not the, best performances that we have seen from Aidan Chiles during his time with the Spartans. We did see some of the “old Chiles” in missing some deep throws, but we saw the moments that make him special. When it was time to make the big throw or big play with his feet, he did a majority of the time.

While the end of regulation wasn’t great, with the quarterback taking back-to-back sacks and getting injured, he came back for overtime and did everything his team needed to, including the game-winning throw.

This was a legacy game for the junior gunslinger.

• Second-half offense

Where has this been under Smith? An offense that typically performs very poorly flipped the script and looked good in the second half. This led to Michigan State football outscoring Boston College, coming up with big play after big play. You also have to give credit to Brian Lindgren and his play-calling, as I thought it was pretty good in the second half. Also, can we mention how the game-winning two-point conversion was drawn up? Immaculate.

• Nick Marsh

Every Michigan State fan, including myself, will never understand why Nick Marsh wasn’t on any preseason lists. There is no true explanation for why that is but if anyone watched Saturday’s game, his name better be coming up in conversations because as Michigan State fans know he’s an elite wide receiver.

• Armorion Smith

The secondary didn’t look great in Saturday’s game but one player that did ball out was Amorion Smith. He deserves a ton of credit for his performance as he was all over the field making big plays. Very much needed in Saturday’s game.

Stock down

• Pass protection

For the second week in a row, pass protection is on this list. There were moments that it was alright, but Chiles is still running around way to much and that needs to be fixed. The pass protection might not be completely fixed for this year as we might still see Chiles do some running but it continues to be an issue.

• Defense

In Week 1, the defense was great. In Week 2, the defense was not good. There were some good defensive stops in the second half but as the game continued on, the defense struggled to get stops. Even though they did struggle, they did get the biggest stop of the game which eventually won them the game so you do have to give credit to them there.

Overall, this was a game that could be the difference this team between making a bowl and missing a bowl.

Last year, this game lost Michigan State football its momentum and was never able to find it again. This could be the complete opposite of last year. This could be the moment that propels Michigan State, but we won’t know that until later this season.

For the time being, enjoy this win as Michigan State is 2-0 on the year.