How Much Weight Does MSU’s Week 2 Contest Carry?
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Michigan State's Week 2 matchup with Boston College is going to be a big one, as it will provide a lot of clarity as to whether this team has the makings of one that has taken a leap from last season.
It's a game that the Spartans almost have to win, but it won't exactly make or break the season. However, much still rides on it, and if Michigan State can play a relatively clean game, it should come away victorious and head into next week 2-0.
On this latest episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, our Aidan Champion discusses the weight this game carries, breaking down different outcomes and what they would mean for this Spartan team.
You can watch the episode below:
Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith addressed the media on Monday.
Below is a partial transcript of his presser:
Jonathan Smith
Q: How much do you want to put on tape and not put on tape when it comes to the non-conference schedule?
Smith: "We don't put a ton of stock into it, to be honest with you. We're trying to play as well as we can. And to me, if you can do that, what you practiced in training camp, getting ready for, that's what you're putting on display in the first few weeks.
"Now, each week, you're playing a different opponent, there's some schematics that go into that, strategy of new schemes or we're showing some different looks. But there's not a ton of -- especially, offensively, defensively, like, 'Hey, we're not going to call it this week so that we can use it next week.' There's a little bit of that, but not much."
Q: What did you learn from last year's loss to Boston College that you can use on Saturday?
Smith: "You got to play for four quarters. These games are won in the fourth quarter. It came down to that, execution at the end of the game. That particular one, yes, but there's multiple other ones throughout the season when we had opportunities to finish the thing (in) different ways -- offense, defense, special teams even.
"That particular one, both sides. We could have got a stop last year but didn't do it. Had the ball at the end of the game, couldn't finish it And so, yeah, that's a learning lesson that happens multiple times, but I knew we'll be watching some of that tape because of the continuity staff-wise, schematics. We'll be watching some of that."
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