3 Big-Game Candidates for MSU Against Boston College

For Michigan State to leave Spartan Stadium this coming Saturday with a 2-0 record and a victory against Boston College, a couple different players are going to have to have some big-time performances.

The Spartans played well enough to potentially win in Chestnut Hill last season, but a late BC touchdown and four turnovers doomed them, with the Eagles ultimately winning, 23-19.

With Michigan State now looking for some revenge in front of a home crowd, these are three guys that have the potential to step up and have a big day on national television.

TE Jack Velling

Even though Velling only had one catch for three yards in Week 1 against Western Michigan, he can certainly serve as one of Aidan Chiles' top options in the pass game against Boston College.

Why? Because he had a big game against the Eagles last season. Velling had six receptions for 77 yards in this matchup in Chestnut Hill, which both tied his eventual season highs.

Another reason is that Velling is just now starting to get healthy again. He had missed some time during fall camp with a foot injury, which could help explain his limited role against WMU.

LB Jordan Hall

Hall is already coming off a fantastic start to his 2025 campaign. He had the third-most total tackles in a game in his career with eight, but also had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Pro Football Focus gave Hall the best grade on Michigan State's defense among those that played at least half of the snaps.

Even though Hall's role last year was more like a backup's, he still had a pretty solid showing against Boston College, too. He made four tackles, which tied his season-high, and made three of them unassisted. One of those was also a tackle for loss, his only such play he made all season.

It also helps that Boston College struggled to run the ball in Week 1, which can help play into Hall's role as the starting middle linebacker.

WR Nick Marsh

Now, Marsh is a threat every single game that he suits up for, but this could be a game where the sophomore phenom really gets going.

Marsh had a quieter day against Western Michigan, hauling in five receptions for 32 yards. He did score, but we didn't really see Marsh used like the downfield threat that he is. That means there's only a matter of time before Michigan State truly unleashes him.

Additionally, Week 2 is where Marsh had his coming-out party last year. In that game against Maryland, the then-true freshman racked up 194 yards to help the Spartans steal a game against the Terrapins.

There's also only one team on MSU's schedule that didn't have to deal with Marsh last fall: Boston College. He missed that game due to injury and could only watch his team lose a tight one that he could've been the difference in.

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