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Michigan State Football: Report card from win over Western Kentucky

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State's Payton Thorne, left, and Kenneth Walker III celebrate after beating Western Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211002 Msu Wku Fb 225a
Michigan State's Payton Thorne, left, and Kenneth Walker III celebrate after beating Western Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211002 Msu Wku Fb 225a /
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Michigan State’s Payton Thorne rolls out on a pass play against Western Kentucky during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211002 Msu Wku Fb 177a
Michigan State’s Payton Thorne rolls out on a pass play against Western Kentucky during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211002 Msu Wku Fb 177a /

Quarterback: A

Payton Thorne looked like a star on Saturday night.

It’s one thing to bounce back from a season-worst performance in the final two quarters against Nebraska with a decent showing and it’s another to look just as dominant as Thorne did against Western Kentucky.

The sophomore quarterback passed for a career-high 327 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-30 completions as he was constantly making really strong throws all night. He didn’t have any egregious misses and he averaged 10.9 yards per attempt. I honestly can’t think back about a single throw that looked off all night. He had to throw it away a couple of times and had a couple of drops so he could have easily been 24 or 25-of-30.

Thorne essentially out-dueled Bailey Zappe with his 88 quarterback rating compared to his counterpart’s 69. He also rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan State is in good hands at quarterback this season.

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