Beating Boston College was on Michigan State football's agenda on Saturday night, and the Spartans took care of business and added that to Jonathan Smith's list of accomplishments.
The 42-40 double-overtime win over Boston College may have been the best game of the Smith era, at least atmosphere-wise. The Spartans found themselves down by seven at halftime which was alarming considering Smith's teams are notorious for having quiet second halves offensively. That wasn't the case against Boston College as the Spartans scored 28 points in the second half and overtime periods combined.
With the win, Michigan State improves to 2-0 on the year with all the momentum on its side.
So let's reveal three of my hottest takes after the win.
1. Aidan Chiles is a top-five QB in the Big Ten
Before the season, we didn't see many lists with Aidan Chiles in the top half of the Big Ten, in terms of quarterback rankings. Heck, we barely saw him in the top 10. Simply put, experts and casual college football fans had given up on Chiles.
In the great words of Lee Corse, "Not so fast!"
The Spartan dual-threat had arguably his best game as a starter, combining for five total touchdowns and over 250 all-purpose yards in an incredible winning effort in double overtime. He didn't panic in the extra frames and had a hand in both scores in the overtime periods, including the game-winning 2-point conversion to Omari Kelly in the corner of the end zone. He was sharp, he was calm, and he was confident all night long.
This is a top-five quarterback in the Big Ten, at least. Argue with a wall.
2. Ryan Eckley is going to be an NFL draft pick
Not often do punters get selected in the NFL draft, but Ryan Eckley is going to follow in the footsteps of Spartan legend Bryce Baringer. The talented junior punter from Florida took over for Baringer and has done nothing but replicate the success his predecessor had.
On Saturday night, he put on a show for a national audience, pinning Boston College inside its own five two times on three punts, and the third was downed inside the 20. He averaged about 55 yards per punt against Boston College, completely flipping the field three times.
NFL teams drool at the opportunity to take legitimate special teams weapons like this in the later rounds. He will be a draft pick in 2027 after his senior year.
3. Pass protection has gotten worse
A year ago, Michigan State had horrendous pass protection. The Spartans couldn't seem to stop anyone, especially if the defense drew up some blitz packages. On Saturday night, the same issues persisted as Chiles was running for his life the entire game.
Chiles was sacked four times (which is a lot for a dual-threat), but thankfully he kept calm and didn't let the constant pressure force him into any truly poor throws.
The pass protection has seemingly gotten worse from last year.