Eastern Michigan is not the point. Looking normal again is the point.

Welcome back to Locked On Spartans. Week 2 is Eastern Michigan, and I am going to say something that sounds dismissive but is not meant that way. This episode is not really about Eastern Michigan.

It’s about whether Michigan State can act normal for two consecutive Saturdays. That is where we are as a people.

Exactly. The Grambling game was a relief because it did not become a meme. The danger this week is not that MSU fans should be terrified of Eastern Michigan in a vacuum. The danger is that we all know this program has found ways to turn manageable games into spiritual emergencies.

I need a boring first half. I need a boring 24-3 halftime score. I need Leo Hannan to throw the ball to the correct jerseys, Cam Edwards to look like the best player on the field, and nobody to make me tweet “why is this happening?” before 1:15 p.m.

The players I’m watching are not necessarily the stars. I want to see whether Braylon Collier gets more real receiver work after that explosive touchdown. I want to see whether KK Smith keeps doing the possession-receiver stuff that helps the offense stay on schedule. I want to see if Jayden Savoury gets a few early designed touches, because they talked him up, started him, and then he didn’t really get loose.

I want to see Tre Bell hit someone in the slot and make the broadcast talk about him. I want more Michael Richard. I want to see Piwowarczyk get in and do Flint-area walk-on linebacker stuff that makes everyone irrational.

And I want to see the run fits cleaned up. Grambling’s option offense is not the same as what MSU is going to see later, but the 165 rushing yards were not invisible. It is okay to enjoy the shutout and still ask for sharper perimeter defense.

Also, Notre Dame. We have to mention it. They lost to Miami. Then they lost to Wisconsin 50-48. They’re out of the rankings. The Week 3 game has gone from “please survive South Bend” to “oh no, Notre Dame is wounded and furious and somehow that might be worse.”

That makes Eastern Michigan feel like a staging week. You want to come out of it healthier, cleaner, and with Hannan stacking another positive game. This is not about impressing the playoff committee. It is about building enough evidence that when you walk into Notre Dame, the players believe what they are being asked to do.

My nightmare is a 20-10 game in the fourth quarter where everyone starts pretending they’re calm while their phone is vibrating with group texts. My dream is that we are arguing about the backup quarterback by the middle of the third because the starters are done.

Reasonable. Final question: what would actually concern you?

Turnovers from Hannan, offensive line leakage, Savoury still invisible, and the defense giving up annoying rushing yards that let Eastern hang around. I don’t need perfect. I need not annoying.

That’s the Week 2 thesis: do not be annoying. Michigan State is 1-0. The experiment has a pulse. Now stack a second normal Saturday.