A win's a win. Early in the season, Michigan State football is always trying to sort out the depth chart, and you don't know what kind of team the Spartans will be until Weeks 2 or 3. Fortunately for Jonathan Smith and Co., the biggest growth usually comes between the first two weeks.
That means Boston College should see a better version of Michigan State next week.
That's a good thing, especially because the Spartans sputtered in the second half of what looked like a potential blowout after 30 minutes of action. This team still has things to work on.
Here are my biggest concerns from the sleepy Week 1 win.
1. Second-half offense
Whether it was the play-calling or the poor execution, there was just nothing good about the second-half offense. The Spartans didn't score a single offensive point in the second half after scoring 21 with ease in the first half. That was either due to intentionally conservative play-calling or just poor play-calling.
Either way, that can't happen moving forward or it's going to be a long season.
2. Pass protection
While the run blocking was much improved in the opener compared to any point last season, the pass protection by the guys up front was not up to par.
Aidan Chiles was running for his life a little too much, and he threw a lot of quick passes because he didn't have time to look down the field. At one point in the second half, Chiles had attempted nearly 20 passes and was under 100 yards still. That's just not going to cut it, but it wasn't all on him.
Plus, that complete whiff on a blitzer by Brandon Tullis in the second half was disappointing. Pass protection needs to be better in the trenches and also from the running backs.
3. Deep throw awareness
I was rather impressed with Michigan State's pass defense, for the most part. But there were a couple of plays in which Western Michigan quarterbacks tossed the ball in the air on a prayer, and Michigan State's defensive backs got lost and gave up long catches. It happened twice as the Spartans gave up 35 and 42-yard passes.
That awareness is something that needs to come with more confidence back there, but seeing some new starters get burned on deep balls was not something I was thrilled with seeing.