Friday night's win over Western Michigan wasn't exactly pretty, especially in the second half, but Michigan State found a way to suffocate the Broncos en route to a 23-6 win.
The Spartans got out to a 21-0 lead in the first half, and then the second half started, and the offense forgot how to finish drives. They were able to move the ball down the field a few times, but there were some miscues and fumbles that halted a couple of drives but the play-calling was vanilla.
Michigan State will take its 1-0 record into next week against Boston College.
Aidan Chiles had a decent performance on Friday night, completing 17-of-23 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. His six completions weren't all his fault, but he did misfire on a couple of wide-open receivers, missing Brandon Tullis deep (it likely would have been a completion if it were a receiver running the route) as well as Chrishon McCray down the sidelines. He also overthrew a wide-open Omari Kelly deep in his own zone.
Still, there were a couple of drops, but he didn't break 100 yards until midway through the second half. It wasn't his best game, but he looked noticeably more comfortable.
However, Chiles gave himself a modest grade for his performance.
Aidan Chiles: "I could be better. C+" is what grade he'd give himself.
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) August 30, 2025
A C+ grade isn't too far off, but it shows that even he wasn't pleased with how he played. He probably was closer to a B/B-, but Chiles giving himself a C+ shows that he feels like he has a lot of work to do. He doesn't want to just complete a majority of short passes, he wants to take shots down the field and also use his legs as a weapon.
Next week should be closer to an A-/B+ grade, and Michigan State will be in good shape.