Pat Fitzgerald was hoping his team would grow a lot from Week 1 to Week 2, and the Spartans showed some improvement in finishing drives, but there’s still a lot to clean up. Michigan State held on to win 35-7 to improve to 2-0 to begin the Fitzgerald era.
Michigan State looked good early, hit a speed bump in the second quarter, and then finished strong with a nice third quarter and some impressive drives in the fourth.
Still, it feels like this team has a lot of room to grow.
What’d we learn from another up-and-down game against a MAC opponent?
1. The defense needs Jordan Hall
We already knew how important Jordan Hall was to this defense, but we got to see firsthand just how loose the unit is without him on the field. Eastern Michigan was able to kind of control the line of scrimmage in the second quarter and the Eagles rushed for over 100 yards in the first half which is the main reason things were so close at halftime.
It’s clear that the defense needs its captain and leader out there or else assignments get missed — and so do tackles. He’s the calm, confident leader on the defensive side of the ball and while Brady Pretzlaff and Kenny Soares Jr. are solid in the front-seven, they need some help.
There’s no reason a team like Eastern Michigan should average 5.0 yards per carry against MSU.
Hopefully Hall is healthy for the Notre Dame game or else things could get really ugly.
2. Cam Edwards showed just how good he can be
The Cam Edwards hype in the offseason was palpable so when he rushed for 98 yards on 27 carries in the opener, fans had to temper their sky-high expectations for the UConn transfer — at least temporarily. He was bottled up for the most part and didn’t have any real explosive runs, but he quelled any concern that fans had about his debut with a 150-yard outing against Eastern.
Edwards had 21 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns and made some plays that you wouldn’t see from a Michigan State running back last year. He was bobbing and weaving his way through defenders and showed both power and finesse. He showed just how good he can be this year.
Michigan State has something special in Edwards.
3. Michigan State has yet to put 4 full quarters together
In Week 1, Michigan State got off to a quick start and scored on its first drive and really kind of controlled the first half with five scoring drives (four ended in field goals unfortunately). The third quarter of that game was disappointing which leaked into the fourth quarter with a one-point deficit. The rest of the fourth was all Michigan State as it scored the final 11 points and won 30-20, but that third quarter nearly cost the Spartans the game.
Against Eastern Michigan, the Spartans looked half asleep in the second quarter and Fitzgerald was not happy during his halftime interview on the Big Ten Network, but whatever he said in the locker room at the half worked. The Spartans went on to shut Eastern Michigan out in the second half and score 21 points of their own.
Alessio Milivojevic was shaky in the first half but relaxed and looked much more comfortable in the second half, and Edwards had a similar game.
Michigan State needs to put a complete four-quarter effort together and it’ll be a pretty tough out in Big Ten play.
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