Michigan State Football: Should we be worried about the Spartans?
By Phil Poling
Mark Dantonio and the Michigan State football opened the 2018 season Friday night against the Utah State Aggies. It did not go as planned.
Depending on when you tuned into the game – whether you were there for the opening kickoff or didn’t get situated until about two minutes in – your impression of the 2018 Spartans could vary.
After receiving the opening kickoff, sophomore quarterback Jordan Love led the Utah State Aggies right down the field – in a hurry, I might add – against their Big Ten opponent, punching in a score from 1-yard out with only two minutes and two seconds ticked off the game clock. Everything went according to plan for the visiting Aggies early on, as they led heading into the second stanza, 7-6.
The Spartan offense moved the ball well, but strugglto scoreing in the redzone early before ultimately scoring 20 in the first half. They outpaced the Aggies at the break, 20-14. Running back L.J. Scott failed to reach the endzone, but was an absolute workhorse fpr the Spartans tallying 23 rushes and adding three catches for a total of 141 yards.
What can we gather from the season opener for these respective teams, though? Will these performances become routine? Or was FrIday night’s game the exception? There’s plenty of time to work out the wrinkles, and this game is a great measuring stick for each team, but here are three takeaways from the Spartan-Aggie contest.