Michigan State football is facing its biggest weekend of the year so far.
While June had plenty of big weekends for recruiting, it also didn't feature a massive game with postseason implications and recruiting. The Spartans will be facing a solid Boston College team, led by Bill O'Brien, while also hosting a slew of top targets in the 2026, 2027, and 2028 classes.
A win for Michigan State on Saturday will go a long way.
I already spoke about the Spartans' advantages over Boston College on Saturday, but the Spartans are also facing some disadvantages.
1. Passing offense vs. inexperienced secondary
Unfortunately, the passing game is an advantage that Boston College has over Michigan State's defense, on paper. I say "on paper" because the passing numbers from the opener deserve an asterisk since they came against an FCS opponent.
Boston College passed for over 450 yards in the opener with five touchdowns on 31-of-39 completions. Starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan is reportedly banged up, however, and missed some practice this week, which could help the Spartans' inexperience secondary.
I am just not looking forward to another Lewis Bond outburst like the one he had against Michigan State's secondary a year ago (six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown).
2. Placekicking
Is this a lame advantage? Maybe, but it's one of the most distinct advantages that Boston College has over Michigan State. The Spartans were down to their third-string place-kicker in the opener against Western Michigan and had to rely on punter Ryan Eckley to attempt the only field goal (46 yards) which missed wide left.
The Spartans are reportedly getting Martin Connington back against Boston College, but he has never played a game at the collegiate level before.
As for Boston College, the Eagles have junior Luca Lombardo, who hit a 48-yarder and all nine extra point attempts in the opener. Advantage, Eagles.
3. Return game
I couldn't find any other distinct advantages that this Boston College team has over the Spartans that would be worth pointing out because the Eagles played Fordham, but the run defense almost appeared here after allowing just 16 yards on 27 carries. But Michigan State's run game was effective in the opener, so that's strength vs. strength.
Boston College's return game was impressive against Fordham, however, and is worth mentioning. The Eagles had three different punt returners record a return of 20-plus yards. Sure, it was just Fordham, but that's impressive. Lead returner Isaiah Farris had six returns for 45 yards.
Luckily, Ryan Eckley knows how to pin a punt deep.