How MSU Stars Can Impress in Regular Season Opener

The Spartans will start their season just days from now, and every player is getting ready for their first opportunity to impress against the Toledo Rockets at home.

The thing is, most offensive stars are expected to play well against the Rockets, as they are in a much easier conference in the MAC and should not pose much of a challenge.

Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald calls out to players during football practice on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

So every player who truly wants to impress will need to put up monstrous stat lines, but what stat lines would truly be impressive to see? Just how outstanding must someone be to really make headlines in the season opener?

How Alessio Milivojevic Can Impress

Alessio Milivojevic needs a great start to this season, and something along the lines of his Big Ten average of 200+ yards would be great, but to truly impress, he will need to do far better.

To start, getting around double the 200 mark would be impressive, as he would already be integrated well with his receiver room, but he would also have been able to pick apart a defense he is facing for the first time with the level of skill required to be a star.

Then, he will also need to get his legs going. Nothing insane, but 50 yards rushing on top of the yards thrown would do wonders to improve the eye test.

Finally, if he can lead the team to at least five scores and around 30 points with minimal turnovers, it will be clear that Milivojevic had an impressive first game of the season.

How Chrishon McCray Can Impress

Assuming Milivojevic lands somewhere closer to 200 to 250 passing yards, then Chrishon McCray will not have an immense amount of yards to work with as the team's top receiver, but he will still have a lot.

If he can manage to command 100+ yards or well over half in a game where it is good for Milivojevic to spread the ball out, and especially if he can turn some big catches into multiple scores, it will be a definite conclusion to say that McCray had an impressive season opener.

How Cam Edwards Can Impress

The final star of MSU's offense is Cam Edwards, and he will have a long track record to keep up with in his first game with the Spartans, a record that he could very well improve against Toledo.

Last year, he had several games with over 100 yards rushing, but for him to be impressive and go beyond what he is known to be able to do, he would need to find 125 yards on the ground, which is very possible depending on the game plan that Pat Fitzgerald sets for the team. If he can reach the 125-yard mark and add a score or two on top of it, Edwards will have been able to impress.

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