Michigan State Football: Report card from win over Western Kentucky

It didn’t take long for Michigan State football to take a lead against Western Kentucky on Saturday night. After a quick drive from Bailey Zappe and the Hilltoppers, an 88-yard punt return touchdown by Jayden Reed set the tone.

The score was 7-0 before fans could even blink and the Spartans made another solid stop on the next Western Kentucky possession and got the ball back quickly.

Michigan State went on to take a 21-3 lead before Western Kentucky’s first score and the Spartans controlled the game from start to finish. There were some second-half offensive and defensive hiccups, but overall it was a pretty comfortable win.

Which position group deserved the highest grade in our weekly report card?

Offensive Line: B-

Not great, not terrible. That seems to be the theme of the offensive line this year.

Chris Kapilovic has this group trending in the right direction, but it’s a slow trend. The Spartans have struggled up front against loaded boxes and Kenneth Walker III hasn’t been able to find a ton of running lanes — he’s creating a lot on his own. It’s never a good sign when your running back is changing the direction of a play in his head before he even gets the handoff.

The pass blocking was solid all night as Payton Thorne was kept upright and didn’t take any big hits but the run blocking could use a lot of work.