3 Keys for MSU Football in Season Opener vs. Toledo
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Kickoff is just one day away for Michigan State football.
The Spartans start the Pat Fitzgerald era on Friday (8 pm ET, FS1) against Toledo. MSU traditionally begins its season on a Friday night -- it's 13-0 in Friday season openers and 11-0 at home since 2011. Here are a couple of things Michigan State must show and do to take down the Rockets, who seem to be a pretty popular upset pick.
'Run the Damn Ball'
Most of the time, the biggest difference between teams in the Power Four and teams in the Group of Six or the FCS is in the trenches. Teams like Michigan State generally shouldn't need to get too fancy to beat teams like Toledo. The Spartans out-rushed Western Michigan 181-29 during the season opener last year, and then out-rushed FCS Youngstown State 174-97 in Week 3.
That was with an offensive line that was also one of the worst in the Big Ten, finishing with the second-most allowed sacks and the fourth-fewest yards per carry. It's a relatively simple concept: if you cannot consistently run the ball against Toledo or some other MAC team, how are you going to run the ball against Notre Dame or Michigan or Oregon?
On paper, MSU's offensive line should be better this year. Michigan State and Fitzgerald really emphasized it in the transfer portal, and it will likely have three starters on Friday who are new transfers. Just how much better is the big question. The Spartan debut of Cam Edwards, who ran for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns last year at UConn, is also certainly anticipated.
Toledo's front seven will also have something to say about the Spartans' run game. It's filled with transfers from Mercer who followed head coach Mike Jacobs. The most notable of the bunch is defensive end Andrew Zock, who was the Buck Buchanan Award winner last season (FCS defensive player of the year). Mercer's run defense ranked 11th in the FCS last year, though it allowed 277 yards on the ground in a 62-17 loss at Auburn.
Answers at WR
Somebody also needs to emerge as a go-to option at wide receiver. Michigan State is likely to utilize a rotation of wideouts on Friday, meaning 6-8 players will be getting meaningful snaps there. The only player whose starting spot is probably secure is Chrishon McCray's. He was MSU's starting slot receiver last year, catching 24 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
Beyond that, it's pretty much anybody's game. Charles Taplin and Rodney Bullard Jr. have been the apparent starters through camp, but the gap between them and the rest is probably pretty small. Some other receivers who could realistically be in the regular playing group include KK Smith, Fredrick Moore, Bryson Williams, Jameel Gardner Jr., Samson Gash, and Braylon Collier.
This first in-game data point will have a big impact on who gets more playing time in the future. The by-committee approach could be an interesting one to take later on in the season, but it might make things easier for quarterback Alessio Milivojevic to narrow down the list of contenders before Big Ten play arrives in a few weeks.
Every team can also benefit from having a clear-cut WR1 who can be targeted at any time. The Spartans had that with Nick Marsh. I truly doubt any receiver on this year's roster can match Marsh's talent, but there is always room for a surprise, such as Marsh's freshman season in 2024.
Force the Throw
Getting Toledo into obvious passing situations is another key. The Rockets are expected to start John Alan Richter at quarterback. He's a fifth-year player who has spent his entire career at Toledo and is finally stepping in as the team's starting quarterback. Richter has just 699 career passing yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception.
Even though Richter is on the older side, he's still inexperienced. He's never appeared in a game against a Power Four team before. There's an intimidation factor that Michigan State's crowd of potentially 70,000+ can have on a quarterback who has never played in an environment that big before.
Getting into those second-and-long and third-and-long situations starts with success on early downs. MSU's front seven will have to quickly neutralize Toledo's run game, which is led by CJ Miller, another Mercer transfer who ran for 957 yards and 14 scores last fall. Opening up a quick lead and making the Rockets play catch-up would also help out.
Richter's inexperience leaves him prone to mistakes, and Michigan State has the athletes in its secondary to take advantage of that. Every player in the Spartans' projected starting secondary has had a multi-interception season before, and four of the five have had at least one three-interception year.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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