Dave is already mad about a game that has not happened.

[bumper music fading] You are listening to 100.9 The Mitt. Lansing sports, all day, every day.

I am going to be honest with you people. I woke up this morning and remembered Michigan State actually has to play football this weekend, and for about five seconds I wished we could go back to arguing about the press conference.

That is not healthy.

None of this is healthy! This entire offseason has been a stress test for people who care too much about a football program that has not given them peace in years.

It is Grambling State week.

Exactly. That should be calming. That is the whole problem. This should be a game where we spend twenty minutes on which young receiver got snaps, take two calls from guys in Okemos who want to complain about parking, and move on with our lives. Instead I am sitting here thinking, what if this is the first crack in the spaceship?

Spaceship?

Yes. Because we did not hire a normal football coach. We launched a concept.

I refuse to sit here and pretend this is a matchup breakdown. I am not going to insult the audience. Michigan State should win. Michigan State should have better players. Michigan State should be able to run the ball, tackle, get lined up, and send everyone home before the fourth quarter gets weird.

That is exactly why people are nervous.

Yes! Because if it is not that, then what are we doing? What are we doing? We spent three weeks hearing about clarity and process and role definition. Fine. Show me a clean huddle. Show me eleven guys lined up. Show me a punt returner who knows the ball is coming down. I am not asking for 1999 Florida State. I am asking for basic household chores.

The funny thing is, I agree with almost all of that.

Of course you do. I am right. I am just louder.

Let me try to bring some football into the room without killing the mood. There are players I genuinely want to watch. Cam Edwards is the big one. He is the best player on the roster. If he looks explosive and physical, that changes the way everyone feels about the offense, even if the rest is uneven.

Cam Edwards should be treated like the emergency generator. If the lights flicker, hand him the ball.

Jayden Savoury is my favorite curiosity. Redshirt freshman tight end, not supposed to be the guy yet, but clearly the staff sees something. If he is flexed out, moved around, used on seams or crossers, that is one of the first signs Mansour is not just talking about role-specific offense. He is actually doing it.

I like a big tight end who makes everybody on the internet suddenly become a personnel expert. One catch and people will be posting “12 personnel revolution” before the extra point.

Tre Bell is another one. They see him as a slot corner with real run-fit and blitz utility. That is interesting. That is not a normal fan conversation, but it matters. If he is triggering downhill or showing up on pressures, that is a staff using traits.

I want one hit. Not targeting. Not reckless. Just one legal hit that makes the stadium go, okay, who was that?

Braylon Collier getting snaps would be another good sign. Same with Piwowarczyk. Walk-on, strong, Flint-area kid, thumping SAM role. Those are not the names that sell tickets, but those are the names that tell you whether this staff actually means it when it says everyone gets evaluated from zero.

If a walk-on from Flint makes the first big special teams tackle of the Mansour era, The State News will write eight hundred words before midnight.

Line three, Ron in Grand Ledge.

Dave, I am trying not to be negative, but if this game is 10-7 in the second quarter, I am going to say things my wife will not appreciate.

Ron, that is not negativity. That is pattern recognition.

It could be 10-7 in the second quarter and still be fine.

No. Stop. We are not doing “technically fine.” Technically fine is how bad football programs negotiate with themselves.

I just want to watch one opener and not start Googling coordinators.

There it is. That is the whole show. Thank you, Ron.

We do need to say something about Leo Hannan. He does not need to be great. He does need to look like the staff did not put too much on him. The first thing I am watching is tempo, body language and whether the easy throws are actually easy.

I want the first pass to be so boring that I resent having watched it. Five-yard completion, no drama, everyone claps, we all move on. Give me the most normal completion in Big Ten history.

The mistake would be trying to prove the hire with the first script. They do not need to show the whole offense. They need to show the offense has a floor.

Yes. The floor. Thank you. I have been begging this program for a floor since about 2019.

Line five, Avery on campus.

I am a student and honestly everyone I know thinks this is insane but also way more interesting than hiring some random 52-year-old guy from another school.

Avery, I respect that because you are young enough to still believe interesting is good.

I did not say good. I said interesting.

That is basically the Week 1 slogan.

Also people are weirdly excited for Savoury. Like I heard two guys at Conrad's talking about tight end usage and I was like, what has happened to us?

That is what happens when a fan base runs out of peace. It starts scouting redshirt freshmen at lunch.

Prediction?

Michigan State wins. I will say 35-10. But I am not predicting happiness. Happiness has to be earned. If this team looks clean, I will say so. If it looks like a TED Talk wearing shoulder pads, I will also say so.

I will go 38-13. Cam Edwards touchdown, Savoury flashes, Tre Bell gets one pressure, and the defense gives up one drive that creates a 40-minute Monday segment.

That is the most Michigan State prediction possible.

[bumper music up] More after the break. You are listening to 100.9 The Mitt.