Michigan State Football: 3 takeaways from impressive win at Northwestern

What a start to the season it was for Michigan State football on Friday night as the Spartans. On the first play of the season, Kenneth Walker III took a handoff 75 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone against Northwestern as Michigan State wouldn’t look back.

The Spartans padded their lead, climbing ahead 21-0 before Northwestern finally put a touchdown on the board in the second quarter and then another in the fourth, but it seemed like too little, too late. Michigan State came back and kicked a field goal on a long drive to take a 31-14 lead and Northwestern added a late touchdown to make it closer than it truly was.

Michigan State fans had to be pleased with what they saw from the offense with Payton Thorne looking solid, the offensive line creating big holes, and Kenneth Walker III having a monster debut.

What’d we learn from the Spartans’ opener in Evanston?

3. Scottie Hazelton has some work to do

The broadcasters said it best in the middle of the third quarter: Michigan State’s defense was bending, but not breaking.

Northwestern seemed to be moving the ball well down the field but the Spartan defense was holding up on key third and fourth-down situations. Plus, two missed field goals by the Wildcats hurt a comeback effort, but the defense got the job done, for the most part.

But there’s a lot of work to do if you’re defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton.

The second-year defensive coordinator has some solid pieces, but it was concerning to see Hunter Johnson burn the secondary every now and then and the middle of the defense get gashed for a couple of big runs. If Michigan State wants to build on this win, the defense needs to catch up.

And in no universe should Hunter Johnson ever complete over 30 passes for nearly 300 yards.