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Michigan State Football Defeats FAU 3 Quick Wins on MSU’s 16-10 Victory

Vaseline August 31, 2024

1. Aidan Chiles debut is a reminder that great QBs are usually experienced QBs

EAST LANSING – Aidan Chiles’ debut for Michigan State on Friday night went about as I expected. He had a few moments where you could see his talent. And plenty more where you could see he’s not ready to carry an offense. Like few true sophomores making their first career starts.

And this is a violation that needs some attention right now.

Chiles finished 10-for-24 passing for 114 yards with one rushing touchdown and two interceptions, one of which was his own fault. He didn’t appear to have the ground game or the playmakers around him to do more. Not without more time and reps. He’ll get those. But don’t take the handoff if you’re betting on the game until then, as he advised last week. Players are often the last to know their true potential.

MSU’s 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic on Friday night gave the Spartans room to grow offensively. A lot. Chiles is part of that. Nothing that happened suggests he lacks the talent to do so. He’s just young. And youth at quarterback doesn’t often translate to winning. Especially on a team that doesn’t have enough other advantages.

2. A strong, but somewhat undisciplined showing from MSU’s defense

On defense, you can only play against the quarterback in front of you. For most of Friday night, that was the one-dimensional Cam Fancher, whose passing (or lack thereof) made it difficult to fully evaluate coordinator Joe Rossi’s crew.

The threat posed by Fancher and the Owls — primarily through Fancher’s feet and a few late, penalty-inducing slides — was handled deftly by the Spartans, aside from a couple of aggressive penalties that extended FAU possessions (and one late one that somehow didn’t) and a missed coverage in the end zone late in the third quarter.

The best news for MSU’s defense in Week 1: There were no red flags. Only yellow ones. And aside from several undisciplined personal fouls, the Spartans were largely disciplined in containment and gaps and in how well they tackled in space. And they seemed to be decent in coverage, aside from Fancher’s lone touchdown pass and one late fourth down, though it’s hard to know for sure.

I was impressed with the Spartans up front. Guys like Khris Bogle and D’Quan Douse were disruptive. Bogle was consistently in the backfield. Ken Talley had a couple big moments, too. Anthony Jones made a huge play on Fancher on fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Jordan Hall seemed to be on every play and was effective on the line in third-down packages. Linebacker Jordan Turner, who had an undisciplined moment that turned out to be off target, came up with a crucial stop on the final drive. They allowed the Owls to enter the red zone three times and turned them away twice — once with an interception and then, early in the second half, by putting a lot of pressure on Fancher.

MSU’s defense produced its first points of the Jonathan Smith era, with a first-quarter safety of Douse and finished with seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss, two INTs and a forced fumble.

While MSU’s offense struggled to find any consistency, MSU’s defense made sure that the finishing, while a little risky, wasn’t daunting. It was a strong start on that end. They understood the assignment and got it done.

3. MSU’s ground game is still developing, but Kay’ron Lynch-Adams is impressing

One of these years, MSU’s offensive line will knock its opening-game opponent off the ball. But not this year.

Too often, MSU’s running backs were found in the backfield. And when the Spartans really needed a yard — or a field goal (ahem) — while on fourth-and-1 at the FAU 9-yard line, leading 16-10, Kay’ron Lynch-Adams was stopped before he could take a step.

Lynch-Adams was the Spartans’ leading rusher on Friday. And not just his well-blocked up-the-middle 63-yard touchdown run, which was the line’s best moment. Lynch-Adams evaded more defenders than Nathan Carter, even though Carter didn’t have much room to run.

This was a red flag performance for MSU’s offensive line. Not that they can’t grow as a unit this season. But it won’t get any easier next week at Maryland or two weeks from Boston College and certainly not after that. And this passing game is going to need some help.

I don’t know what the answer is other than development over time and figuring out if Lynch-Adams gets more carries, which gives them the best chance.

But aside from that 63-yard score — a masterclass in blocking by center Tanner Miller and a terrific hit-the-hole run by Lynch-Adams — MSU’s two running backs rushed 28 times for 86 yards and it felt more like a grind than that.

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.