Noah Kim, Nathan Carter lead Big Ten passing, rushing yards

Noah Kim and Nathan Carter are your Big Ten leaders in passing and rushing yards, respectively, through two games.

Coming into the season, Michigan State had question marks at the quarterback and running back positions. With a new quarterback in Noah Kim and a transfer running back in Nathan Carter, no one knew what to expect.

Fans were concerned for both of these positions through the first half of the game against Central Michigan but since then, it seems like Michigan State and its fans have less to be concerned about. This has been because of the second-half starts that Kim and Carter have had in both games. In both games, Kim and Carter got off to slow starts offensively but kicked it into gear in the second half.

Each of their performances in the second half has not only put Michigan State fans’ concerns away, it has brought some attention to both of these players and that’s because their total yardage through two games paces the Big Ten. Kim leads the Big Ten with 571 passing yards and Nathan Carter has 224 rushing yards.

Top of the @bigten. @_natecarter5 x @noah_kim12 pic.twitter.com/VcUOcaQ6Q3

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) September 12, 2023

When you take a closer look at each of Kim’s and Carter’s games, you can see why they are leading the Big Ten.

Noah Kim

All Michigan State fans remember the first half of the Central Michigan game. You could see and hear fans calling for Katin Houser to replace Noah Kim. It seems like he heard that loud and clear and really took over after the Spartan offense went tempo toward the end of the first half. After some bad drops, Kim hit on some deep balls that seem to be a big part of Jay Johnson’s offense.

While in the first game, the accuracy percentage wasn’t great, this was not the case in the second game. He went 18-for-22 and it seemed like he was locked in much sooner in the game. Through his performances against Central and Richmond, Kim has racked up the yards and now leads the Big Ten.

Nathan Carter

It seemed like when Carter stepped onto the field and took that first handoff from Kim, things were a little different than last year. You could see a little bit more of an explosive runner and one that could get extra yards after contact. This is exactly what Carter brings to the table.

While Berger last year was solid, Carter just seems to have a little bit extra to his game. He not only has speed but he also barely ever falls back or loses a yard. It seems like when he gets the ball, he isn’t tackled in the backfield even when the offensive line hasn’t gotten the push fans have wanted. We have seen Carter burst for a long run in the first and second games which shows his explosiveness. Through his first two games at Michigan State, Carter has run for 224 yards.

Both Carter and Kim were in positions of question heading into this season but so far, it seems like both of them have shown up and showed out.

There might be some readers of this article that say, well look at the teams that they have played. Some might even say that they have been in games longer than other starters in the Big Ten. While you can make these arguments, you also can make that argument for other players in the Big Ten. For the majority of the teams in the Big Ten, they have not played good teams and Michigan State is one of those teams.

With that being said, Kim and Carter still both lead the Big Ten in total yardage.