First road win under head coach Jonathan Smith. Check.

First Big Ten conference win under Smith. Check.

Just a little over a week after an underwhelming first game against Florida Atlantic, Michigan State went on the road and upset Maryland 27-24 in College Park, thanks to a Jonathan Kim game-winning field goal.

The Spartans outplayed Maryland throughout the game, so much so that they won in spite of 10 penalties, three turnovers and allowing 11 third-down conversions on defense.

With the win, Michigan State vaulted to the top of the Big Ten standings with a 1-0 conference record.

Here are some key takeaways from Saturday's game.

For better or for worse, quarterback Aidan Chiles and wide receiver Nick Marsh are the future of the Michigan State program.

It was certainly for the better on Saturday. Chiles made some mistakes, as he accounted for all three of Michigan State’s turnovers. However, that is not shocking considering he is still just 18 years old (for a few more days at least).

Turnovers are something that needs to be limited as the season progresses, but there is no ignoring the positives of what Chiles brought to the Spartan offense against the Terrapins. He completed 62% of his passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns.

His arm strength was the impressive part of his game on Saturday. Chiles’ average completion was for a tad over 15 yards. His two touchdown passes went for 34 yards and 77 yards, respectively. His dime to true freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh on the 77-yard score really showed off his potential and arm strength.

There are some accuracy issues that will shore up with time and experience. For example, Chiles was 3-for-8 on passes that traveled 15 or more air yards, which is better than last week’s 2-for-11 mark on deep passes, however. Still, there is room for improvement.

After one catch in his first career college football game, Marsh went off against Maryland in his second game. He had eight catches on 10 targets for 194 yards and one touchdown. Marsh had the 10th most receiving yards by a Spartan in a single game in program history, and the second most by a true freshman. Eighty of those 194 yards came after the catch.

His most notable reception was his 77-yard touchdown catch on the opening play of a fourth quarter drive to tie the score at 24-24.

“I don’t know how to explain it, the chemistry was just there,” Marsh said about his connection with Chiles. “We practiced for moments like that, and when it came, we were just able to execute.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Marsh only played 11 snaps in the first game against Florida Atlantic. On Saturday, he played 61 snaps. He’s only 17 years old.

Chiles’ and Marsh’s failures and successes will end up defining this rebuild because they will have all the attention and pressure on their shoulders.

“We’re building something special here,” Chiles said on Saturday after the win. “To all the people who didn’t believe in us, stay like that. Keep it that way.”

Let’s be honest, the Florida Atlantic offense did not challenge Michigan State’s defense in Week One. The Owls were rather one-dimensional and there was no threat of verticality. However, MSU's defense looked quite strong in the game.

Maryland presented the complete opposite. The Terrapins have a strong receiving corps. led by Tai Felton, who had 11 catches for 152 yards on Saturday, and a quarterback who is accurate, mobile and has a strong arm in Billy Edwards Jr.

First and foremost, the Spartan defense did a phenomenal job on Saturday of stopping the run. Maryland was limited to 86 rushing yards after running for 248 yards last week against UConn. The Terrapins averaged just 2.8 yards per carry on Saturday.

Through the air, Edwards had success, but he wasn’t able to push the ball downfield enough to give Maryland the win. Edwards averaged 9.7 yards per completion, which was significantly less than what Chiles averaged.

The Michigan State defense has also been in the backfield a fair amount this season so far. Through two games, Michigan State has eight sacks and 17 tackles for loss.

Increased depth and rotation players at all three levels has helped the defense stay fresh, especially late in the game.

“It keeps us fresh and there’s no drop-offs when we have rotations,” linebacker Jordan Turner said.

Transfer running back Kay’ron Lynch-Adams wasn’t necessarily a headline pickup for Michigan State from the portal, though he was expected to come in right away and earn a role.

Despite not arriving until the summer, Lynch-Adams has been a big piece on offense in the first two games of the season. He has been the most productive running back for Michigan State with the ball in his hands.

Against Florida Atlantic, Lynch-Adams had over double the yards that fellow running back Nate Carter had on under half of the carries. Lynch-Adams followed that up with a 10-carry, 46-yard day against Maryland.

While Carter has been the established back in the room since last season, Lynch-Adams has been productive when he’s been out there. The staff recognizes that. Lynch-Adams’ snap count increased from 14 snaps in Week One to 27 snaps in Week Twp.

In these first two games of the 2024 campaign, Lynch-Adams has amassed 19 carries for 147 yards (7.7 yards per carry) and a touchdown.

Lynch-Adams has proven that he was a key addition to the Spartan backfield. There are two solid running backs that Michigan State has at its disposal with Lynch-Adam and Carter. Feeding the hot hand will be key to success in the running game.

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