V-Cast: Is Michigan State ahead of schedule after win at Maryland?
College Park, Md., – The hundreds of Michigan State fans in the stands for the first Big Ten game of the Jonathan Smith era had a lot to smile about as their team rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to post a 27-24 victory over Maryland on a late field goal by Jonathan Kim.
Afterward, SpartanMag staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk stepped onto the field at Seccu Stadium to reflect upon the significance of the victory for the Spartans in the Big Ten opener against a quality opponent in Maryland in the latest V-Cast.
V-Cast Topics
Aidan Chiles has bounce-back game: This was by no means a game that was free of mistakes for sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles, but he played a central role in this win for Michigan State, and his resilience late in the game was as impressive as his 363 passing yards and three touchdowns. Both head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren predicted a bounce-back game for Chiles after a forgettable Michigan State debut last weekend against FAU. Chiles had the bounce back his team needed and made critical plays late in this game to orchestrate a comeback One of the biggest was the 77-yard throw to freshman wideout Nick Mash that tied the game 24-24.
Michigan State is ahead of schedule: The Spartans are thin at several positions after injuries to several contributors during the first two weeks of the 2024 season, but this win over a talented Maryland team is critical from a big-picture perspective. Given the difficulty of the Spartan schedule from late September through October, this was a win that the Spartans really needed to give themselves a chance to be bowl eligible at season’s end. Nobody in the Spartan locker room is talking about that right now, as they are focused on the process. This game, however, probably provides a better indication of where Michigan State is as a football team than last weekend’s game against FAU, where the Spartan offense couldn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
Cleaning up to do: Coming off this win, the Spartans have a lot to clean up as they return to non-conference play against Prairie View A&M next weekend. The offensive line struggled to overcome the loss of starting right guard Kristian Phillips, who is like out for the season according to Jonathan Smith. That means Michigan State needs to bring back-up Gavin Broscious up to speed. Broscious struggled in his first career start as a Spartan, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise given his lack of experience and the fact that his first start came on the road. He wasn’t the only Spartan offensive lineman that needs to be better. Right tackle Ashton Lepo also needs to be better. Both of those guys should get a chance to work on themselves next weekend.
