After last week Michigan State wasn’t happy with their performance vs Western Michigan. Today is the time to prove that the Spartans are what they claim to be and iron out all their mistakes. After this week it will get real for MSU traveling to Washington and going up against their upgraded offense
Michigan State Jumping out early
The expectation for the Spartans is to score on their first 2-3 drives and be up big after the first quarter. It took a couple of drives before the Michigan State offense found a rhythm and was able to score. That can’t be the case on Saturday afternoon against the Zips. Coach Mel Tucker stressed that the Spartans need to play for a full 60 minutes. That full 60 starts with the first 15 minutes as well. I expect to not even see Payton Thorne and the other starters in the third quarter unless it’s still relatively close.
Avoid Injuries
This is honestly the important thing to watch out for on Saturday. Are there any major injuries? If the answer is no to that question and the Spartans handle business with ease then there’s nothing to worry about. Last week the losses of Xavier Henderson and Darius Snow were a knife to the leadership of the defense. This needs to be avoided against Akron because MSU can’t afford anymore big losses heading into Washington.
Michigan State Chances for Youngsters to Shine
The biggest young addition to the MSU squad that made an immediate impact was Germie Bernard. Bernard is going to be a special talent for MSU heading into the future at WR. Jayden Reed even said that Bernard reminds him a lot of himself. I expect Bernard to have another touchdown tomorrow. The other youngster that might get the opportunity to play is Katin Houser. The 6-3 205 pound freshman from Bellflower, California is a freshman and the future for MSU at Quarterback as well. Houser currently is the third string QB, but could work his way up to being the backup before the season is over. Houser and Bernard are very similar to Thorne and Reed because they both played high school football together. Watch out for that future duo making their debut in the final quarter of the MSU vs Akron game.
Akron Preview
Normally I would spend more time breaking down the opponent, but Akron is a rebuilding football team. Brand new head coach Joe Moorehead picked up his first win last week in the 30-23 OT nailbiter over Saint Francis. Their redshirt junior QB D.J. Irons threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns in the game. The Zips best offensive weapon is Wide receiver Shocky Jacques-Louis who had eight catches for 122 in the win as well and will be interesting to see what he does against the MSU secondary. Running back Cam Wiley led the team in rushing with 84 yards on 21 carries including the game-winning touchdown. On defense LB Bubba Arslanian and DL Victor Jones each had eight tackles and are the leaders of the Zips.
The Zips are really no threat to pull an upset on Saturday afternoon against Michigan State. As long as the Spartans can win big, stay healthy, and look good winning then they will carry some momentum heading into Washington.
Photo Credit: Lansing State Journal
