3 Up, 3 Down: Michigan State dominates Richmond, moves to 2-0

Michigan State moves to 2-0 on the young season after a fully-dominant, 45-14 victory over Richmond on Saturday night in East Lansing.

Here are three positive and three negative takeaways from what we saw from the Spartans in this one:

Three Up

1.) Noah Kim Shines

In his second career start, Noah Kim improved upon last week's performance in just about every way. The redshirt junior got off to a quicker start, was mostly accurate throughout the game and showed off the speed and mobility that Tucker talked about in the lead up to the season.

Kim threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns while completing an impressive 18-of-22 pass attempts (82%). He added 21 yards on six carries, and showed good escapability on a few scrambles. It's still a small sample size, but based on what we've seen through two weeks, it looks like Tucker and his offensive staff made the right decision on their 2023 starting quarterback.

2.) Pass Rush and Run Defense

Michigan State's defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all game against Richmond. The Spartans had a whopping seven sacks on the day, five of which came in the first half alone. Give credit to MSU's secondary as well, as a couple of those were coverage sacks. Defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton did a nice job dialing up pressure from multiple different areas and players, and it was effective.

MSU was equally strong against the run, as they limited the Spiders to just 75 rushing yards and 2.6 yards per carry. The Spiders had no answers for the Spartans in the trenches, and that was reflected in the fact that Richmond finished with just 193 yards of total offense.

3.) Nathan Carter's 3 TDs

It was feast of famine in the run game for Michigan State, but once again starting tailback Nathan Carter had a big day. The UConn transfer finished with 111 yards on 19 carries, and found the end zone three times for the Spartans.

As a whole, we would have liked to see MSU's offensive line get more of a consistent push, especially in the interior, but Carter was able to pop a handful of long runs. Michigan State had 162 rushing yards total and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Those number won't 'wow' anybody, particularly against an opponent like Richmond, but overall the Spartans seemed to improve in the run game from last week.

Three Down

1.) Intermediate Pass Defense

In a lopsided game like this, we're nit-picking to find the negatives. With that said, Richmond found a soft spot in MSU's defense in the intermediate pass game (5-15 yards downfield). While the Spiders had limited success offensively throughout the night, when they moved the ball it was usually on short throws to receivers and yards after the catch.

Richmond quarterback Kyle Wickersham completed 16-of-22 pass attempts, but only threw for 102 yards. Like I said, we're nit-picking here, and you can't cover the whole field. Understanding that, the intermediate pass defense is an area that the Spartans can improve going forward.

2.) Jalen Berger Injury

Unfortunately, Michigan State did not escape the blowout victory injury-free. Redshirt junior tailback Jalen Berger was injured in the first quarter on just his second carry of the game. He limped to the sideline and later walked to the locker room with help from a trainer.

Berger was ruled 'Out' at halftime, and was seen on MSU's sideline in the second half in street clothes and a walking boot. Hopefully, the walking boot was just a precautionary measure and not indicative of something more serious. Another of the Spartans' running backs, Jaren Mangham, has been listed as 'Questionable' through the first two weeks of the season. As the meat of Michigan State's season arrives next week, the health of the Spartans' backfield can be called an area of concern right now.

3.) Two Spartan Fumbles

The Spartans pitched a shutout through three quarters, but that came to an end early in the fourth when senior running back Jordon Simmons fumbled and Richmond's Aaron Banks scooped up the loose ball and returned in 47 yards for a touchdown.

It's a tough break for Simmons, who has struggled to earn playing time for most of his MSU career. After the fumble, Michigan State turned to redshirt freshman Davion Primm, who ran for 17 yards on four carries before he fumbled as well. Richmond converted that into another touchdown with a short field.

This speaks to what's behind Carter in MSU's backfield with Berger and Mangham questionable going forward. I suspect Mangham will be able to play next week against Washington, but it's hard to trust the guys lower on the depth chart based on the lack of ball security today.

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