The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas by a score of 31-7 on Friday night in the 2023 season opener at Spartan Stadium.
Following the game, MSU head coach Mel Tucker gave his thoughts on how his Spartans looked to open the 2023 campaign.
"I'm happy for how our guys played with effort," Tucker said to open the press conference. "Obviously we have a lot to clean up ... We started off slow, but we kept chopping. We were able to execute in all three phases and get the win. So, it's a good start for us."
First-game jitters?
The Spartans were able to pull away from the Chippewas with a strong second-half performance, but the offense especially struggled to get on track early. Michigan State trailed Central Michigan 7-3 with under two minutes remaining in the first half.
When asked to explain the slow start, Coach Tucker felt that nerves may have impacted his team in the early going. Despite the slow start, Tucker said that he liked the way new starting quarterback Noah Kim played, even in the first half.
"I just thought that we had some jitters out there," Tucker said. "It was just first game out, new team, new season, at home, (there was) a lot of nervous energy. (Noah Kim) threw some good balls but there were some drops early on. It would have been a different (first) half if we had executed a little bit better."
Coach Tucker did not seem overly surprised or concerned about the slow start. Tucker also gave Central Michigan credit for playing hard, physically and for "getting after it." Tucker knows that things won't always go as planned, but he was impressed with his team's ability to bounce back after the early struggles.
"Football is not a game of perfect," Tucker said. "We talk as a staff, and we talk to the team about this being a four-quarter game and expecting this to go all the way down to the wire. And if it doesn't, it doesn't, but that was our expectation.
"It was a tough game. We know that we need to get better, and we will do that. We're going to watch the film. The players were happy after the game and so were the coaches. It's always good to get a win. It's not easy to get a win. I told them (both the players and the coaching staff) that I was proud of them."
Explosive plays
The Spartans were facing a key third-down play, down by four points late in the second quarter when Kim lofted a deep pass down the sideline, which was hauled in by redshirt freshman receiver Jaron Glover for 32 yards. Kim then hit Glover again for a 33-yard gain. Michigan State went on to find the end zone one play later on the legs of running back Nathan Carter, and the Spartans never looked back after that.
"(It was an) explosive play, and you need to have some explosives, obviously," Tucker said when asked about Glover's catch, which seemed to energize the offense. "When he (Glover) was getting recruited, we knew he had a really good skill set. He is fast and he has really good hands.
"He had a good spring and fall camp, and we expected him to make some plays. That was one of the questions we had going into the season, what receivers do we have that can make plays? We were not surprised because he does that in practice quite a bit."
After a fashion, the Spartan offense put up several explosive plays. Kim completed six passes of at least 15 yards to five different players. In addition, the Michigan State running backs added three explosive runs of their own, including two 30-plus yard runs from Carter, the redshirt sophomore and University of Connecticut transfer, who made the start for the Green and White in the backfield.
"(Carter) came out and he was running hard," Tucker said about his new starting tailback. "He showed a good burst, and he was explosive. It was exactly what we were seeing in practice and what he showed on film at UConn.
"He's a good player. He works hard, and he cares. He's a really good teammate and he's very unselfish. He just does what we ask him to do. So, we just need to keep him healthy and he's going to be a very productive player for us."
Trust the math
Coming into the 2023 season, there was a long list of unknowns about the Michigan State Spartans. Two of the areas of uncertainty were special teams and coaching decisions. Some of those questions were at least partially answered on Friday night.
Special teams were a pleasant surprise. Redshirt freshman punter Ryan Eckley was solid in his debut, averaging 43 yards per punt in three attempts. In the return game, sophomore Tyrel Henry was equally solid.
But perhaps the most refreshing surprise was the 47-yard field goal from redshirt senior and North Carolina transfer kicker Jonathan Kim to get the Spartans on the board in the second quarter.
Following the game, Tucker was asked if the coaching staff considered going for it on fourth-down-and-17 instead of attempting the long field goal with a new kicker. Interestingly, Coach Tucker explained that he just trusted his player and... the math.
"We follow the analytics as best as we can," Tucker explained. "So, if (the analytics say that) it's a go, then we'll go for it. If it's not and we're in range, then we will kick the field goal ... So that's why we did that. And (Jonathan Kim's) got a huge leg. So, it wasn't a matter of if he could get it there."
However, when asked about the decision to use a shotgun formation and to go for it twice on fourth-and-1 (both of which failed), Coach Tucker gave a more evasive answer.
"It's late," Tucker joked. "We don't have enough time for all of that. So maybe (we can talk about that) another time. We didn't get those, and we need to be able to get those. We talked about that and that's an area where we need to improve."
Tucker also implied that the media should ask offensive coordinator Jay Johnson about those decisions the next time there is a chance talk to him.
What comes next
For now, the Spartans are looking forward to the next challenge. Next week, the Richmond Spiders from the ranks of the FCS will be visiting East Lansing.
"Now we have to turn the page and get ready for the next one," Tucker said. "It's just one game. I told them: 'This is not the end; this is just the beginning. It's a new season, (it's a) new team, (we're) 1-and-0, (it's a) good start. Now let's take the next step. Let's build.' Typically, you make the most improvement with a team between the first and second game, so that's what we're going to look to do."
Kickoff for next week's game against Richmond is set for 3:30 p.m. at Spartan Stadium The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.