Michigan State football: What to watch for and a prediction vs. Prairie View A&M

Saturday’s Prairie View A&M vs. Michigan State football game may be a little lopsided, but here’s everything you need to know.

The Michigan State football season rolls on against Prairie View A&M. The Spartans will be hosting an HBCU for the first time at Spartan Stadium on Saturday. While Michigan State will come into the day as a heavy favorite, there are still plenty of things to work on.

Here’s everything you need to know as MSU tries to improve to 3-0 in the Jonathan Smith era.

Can Michigan State avoid a hangover?

The challenge for Smith (or any coach) in this situation is to make sure his team remains focused. That challenge is especially difficult this week given the spot in the schedule. The Spartans are coming off a gritty road win at Maryland. Next week, they’ll travel east to take on Boston College in what has unexpectedly become an intriguing game. This is a classic “sandwich” spot for MSU.

While this Prairie View team might not be good enough to seriously scare MSU, the preparation and execution in this spot should be interesting to monitor. Under Smith, we’ve yet to see how the Spartans come back after a big win or how they play with a premiere opponent on deck.

Regardless, there’s no reason for the Spartans to mess around here. Prairie View hasn’t played an FBS opponent yet this year, but their two opponents have. After beating the Panthers, Texas Southern got steamrolled by Rice, 69-7. Prairie View’s other opponent, Northwestern State, lost by 34 to Tulsa.

With that in mind, the goal for MSU this weekend is simple. Start fast. Get into cruise control. Move on to Boston College.

Turnovers and penalties

If Michigan State aspires to go places nobody expects them to, they’re going to have to take better care of the football. That starts with Aidan Chiles. The sophomore quarterback has thrown four interceptions and lost a fumble through his first two games. While some of that is to be expected with a new quarterback and so many moving pieces, it’s not sustainable for winning.

As a team, MSU survived three turnovers in each of their wins. But as the schedule gets tougher, so will the need to play mistake-free football. Saturday represents the opportunity to put together a clean game for this offense. This is an opponent that Michigan State football should be able to move the ball against at will. With that in mind, Chiles needs to work on playing for the next play. If nobody is open, throw it away. If protection breaks down, step up in the pocket and look to scramble.

Aside from the turnovers, MSU also needs to clean up the penalties. While there was improvement against Maryland, there were still plenty of untimely, drive-killing mistakes. MSU does not want to head back on the road next week with a turnover and penalty problem. Ball security and clean football have to be the main points of emphasis this week for Smith.

Staying healthy

Lost amidst the good vibes two weeks into the season is the health of the Spartans. So far, Michigan State football has lost three defensive backs, a receiver, and a starting offensive lineman to long-term injuries. A couple other players are banged up and may sit out this Saturday as a precaution. While there isn’t much to do to avoid injuries in the game of football, the Spartans can limit their exposure to them by getting ahead on Saturday.

With a physical team in Boston College on deck, combined with the brutal stretch in October ahead, MSU could really use a light day for its starters. That makes it even more important to start fast and keep the foot on the gas. Aside from securing the win, coming out of this game healthy must be MSU’s No. 1 priority.

Prediction

We won’t know what the spread is in this game until Saturday morning (Update: it’s Michigan State -40.5). If I had to guess, I’d expect Michigan State to be between a six and seven touchdown favorite. The step up in competition for Prairie View’s opponents has not gone well.

I wouldn’t expect anything different on Saturday.

It feels silly to offer a guarantee a week after Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame as 29-point underdogs. But this isn’t the same level of competition the Panthers are used to. Michigan State’s depth across the roster should be overwhelming.

I expect Smith to lean heavily on a running game that has been inconsistent so far this season. The Spartans can churn the clock and fine-tune their fundamentals on their way to a comfortable victory. Chiles throws fewer than 15 passes, and MSU eclipses 200 yards on the ground. Tommy Schuster plays the fourth quarter along with several freshmen and sophomores.

Final Score: Prairie View A&M 3, Michigan State 49