If Payton Thorne is ready to take his starring role to another level, it could begin on Thursday.
Thorne, coming off a regular season in which he earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors while helping lead Michigan State to a 10-2 record and a berth in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, needs to take more of the lead in the Spartan offense.
He’s still surrounded by a quality supporting cast, but he will be without sensational tailback Kenneth Walker III, who opted out of the postseason in order to focus on NFL preparation.
Thorne might not have as much firepower in the run game in his back pocket, but a full chorus of wide receivers will be with him for the first time since the first half of the Michigan game, with Jalen Nailor back from a hand injury and Jayden Reed having recovered from a leg injury which caused him to miss part of the Ohio State game and slowed him in the regular season finale against Penn State.
Thorne and the receivers will be throwing against a Pittsburgh defense that has a great pass rush but has been soft at ties times in the back seven against the pass. All the more reason for Thorne to harness this opportunity and take his game, and impact, up a notch when the No. 10 Spartans face No. 12 Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl at 7 p.m (ESPN), at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
And you get the sense that Thorne is well aware of his rising place in determining how well the Spartans will play on Thursday and in the near future.
“To win a bowl game like this is something you can take with you and build on,” Thorne said, Tuesday. “We're not satisfied with just getting here. We're not just satisfied with winning this in terms of down the road but to send your seniors out the right way, New Year's Six bowl, and then (as) I was saying to start a freshman legacy.”
Actually, the work on that positive note started back in April during spring ball as Thorne was cementing the starting job. He followed through by completing 209 of his 339 passes for 2,886 yards and 24 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.