What Michigan State Needs to do Better vs. Youngstown State

Michigan State has a perfect record of 2-0, but it's pretty certain that the team itself isn't.

On this edition of the Michigan State Spartans Insiders Podcast, we take a dive into the places where MSU needs to show the most improvement in Week 3 versus Youngstown State and beyond.

You can watch here:

On Monday, Spartan head coach Jonathan Smith also spoke to the media about the victory over Boston College and about the upcoming game with the Penguins. Below is a partial transcript of his opening statement.

Jonathan Smith

“OK, like a typical Monday, just kind of recapping a few things after digesting the film. Obviously, finishing the game we did, well fought.

“I thought it after the game and then watching the tape; great college football game, atmosphere, both teams making plays, responding, obviously came down to the wire.

“I feel like it could be a growth game for us to be able to finish the game we did against a quality opponent. I mean, that quarterback (Dylan Lonergan) was playing at a really high level.

“They happened to respond in the second overtime, away, all of that. So, we're trying to grow off of being able to finish that way. Because a lot of these games, they come down to the wire like that, and we've got to gain some confidence and continue to move forward from the game.

“Offensively, you know, felt a lot to like with Aidan (Chiles) in regards to his effort, quarterback play, decision making, even some of the small stuff that you don't totally see during the game. Checked the ball down, protections (weren't) clean a couple of times and got us out of that. It was pretty good.

“I thought multiple receivers were making some plays there.

“We've got to get better. Two-minute (drill) at the end of the game, got an opportunity with the ball on the 42, two timeouts, game's close to 50 seconds left. We go backwards there.

“We need to tighten up some of our hands in the run game. Holding calls in the red zone backed us up a couple of times. Short yardage, getting stopped. So, there's plenty to improve on.

“Defensively --- Boston College, Coach (Bill) O'Brien, the quarterback, they made it hard schematically. Felt like after the game we needed to be able to make the quarterback more uncomfortable.

“He (Lonergan) did a great job getting the ball out pretty quickly. There wasn't a lot of times he was just sitting there, patting the ball, patting the ball. This thing is coming out pretty quick.”

Sep 6, 2025; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) runs the ball into the end zone in double-overtime at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images | Brendan Mullin-Imagn Images

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