Week 2 is going to tell us a lot about Michigan State football, and that's definitely a good thing.
Unlike Week 1, we're actually going to learn about what this team is made of. You're just not going to take a ton away from a 23-6 win over Western Michigan. The Spartans won convincingly, but it could've been way more lopsided, and a lot of that was due to a lack of creativity with play-calling in the second half.
The Spartans will have a chance to make a statement against a Boston College team that stole a win in the final minutes a season ago in Chestnut Hill.
I think the Spartans pull off the big win. And here's why.
1. The run game
Michigan State's run game was more than effective in Week 1, as the offensive line dominated when Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis were carrying the ball. They're going to have the advantage in the run game again, especially after seeing Boston College account for under 100 yards on 38 carries against an FCS opponent.
The Spartans should have a legit rushing attack and Boston College will be one-dimensional, which will play right into Michigan State's favor.
2. More offensive weapons
Compared to Boston College and also compared to a season ago, Michigan State has more offensive weapons at its disposal than the Eagles.
That's not to say Boston College doesn't have any dudes because Lewis Bond is just that, but Michigan State has Nick Marsh, Omari Kelly, Chrishon McCray, Evan Boyd, Jack Velling, Makhi Frazier, and Brandon Tullis to utilize offensively. A year ago, they were depending on some former walk-on receivers to play extended snaps on the road against Boston College. This weaponry improvement is going to be a shock to the Eagles.
3. Front-seven will cause problems for Dylan Lonergan
In the opener, I was pleasantly surprised to see a more aggressive approach defensively. Joe Rossi drew up several blitz packages against Western Michigan, and it made the Broncos uncomfortable all game long, leading to just over 200 total yards of offense and zero offensive points.
Bill O'Brien has already said Michigan State will be one of the best defenses the Eagles will see all year, and this is Lonergan's first-ever road start. He's going to face plenty of pressure coming from blitzing backers and just an overall much more effective defensive line than he saw against Fordham -- and the Rams still finished with two sacks and four tackles for loss.
Michigan State's front-seven is going to have Lonergan and Co. playing behind schedule for most of the game.