Michigan State beats Eastern Michigan 35-13, and somehow nobody knows how normal to feel

Welcome back to Locked On Spartans. I’m Will Hunter. Shane Sheehan is here. Michigan State beats Eastern Michigan 35-13. The Spartans are 2-0. Shane, I am going to say something dangerous.

I think that was a mostly good football game.

You are already doing it. You are doing the thing where you say “mostly” because you know the third quarter happened and you’re trying to protect yourself from people sending you clips.

But yes. Mostly good. Weirdly irritating. But mostly good.

That feels right. Because if I tell you before the game that MSU wins by 22, holds Eastern to one rushing yard, gets three interceptions, Cam Edwards goes over 200 from scrimmage, and Leo Hannan throws two touchdowns, you take that and go home.

If I tell you that inside the game they went three-and-out to start, had a scoreless third quarter, gave up a 75-yard touchdown on the first play after halftime, and Hannan threw the freshman pick everyone was afraid of, you go, “Okay, so did we learn anything?”

We learned Cam Edwards is ridiculous. That’s the main thing. I don’t need a committee on that. I don’t need to call the analytics department. He looks different.

Nineteen carries, 152 yards, touchdown. Three catches, 50 yards. And it felt like every time they remembered he was on the team, something good happened.

That was Mansour’s most honest answer after the game. He was asked if they got away from Cam and he basically said yes, easiest answer of the day.

I appreciated that. Because the worst coach answer there is, “We’re always trying to take what the defense gives us.” No. Sometimes the defense is giving you a reminder that your best player should touch the ball.

And I do not want that to become a weekly fan obsession where every incomplete pass is “why didn’t Cam get it?” But today, yeah, you could feel it. First quarter, fourth quarter, he was the offense’s oxygen.

Let’s talk Hannan. Twenty of 29, 213, two touchdowns, one interception. He ran it eight times for 31. He took one sack. What was your gut reaction?

He was fine. And I mean fine in a positive way. That sounds insulting because sports talk has ruined the word, but for a redshirt freshman in his second start, fine is good.

He had the throw to KK Smith where I made a noise in my living room. Like, actual noise. That was a real throw. That was not “scheme got him open by 11 yards.” He put it in there.

The pick was bad. It just was. Didn’t see the underneath linebacker. You can dress it up however you want, but that is the throw people worried about when Mansour named him QB1.

What I liked is he didn’t spiral. And that sounds like a small thing until you watch young quarterbacks who do spiral. He came back and played the game. That’s not nothing.

Also, Mansour protected him without babying him in the press conference. He said it was a mistake. He said it shouldn’t be thrown. But he didn’t do the performative “we’ll get that fixed” coach voice where you can tell he’s mad and wants everyone to know he’s mad.

The press conferences are becoming a thing. I know that sounds very media-brained, but they are. Reporters are getting answers. Fans are getting explanations. Players are not getting embarrassed.

It is very weird that one of the early strengths of the coach is “he is good at press conferences,” but that is part of why they hired the guy, right? Communications background. PR. He knows how the quote machine works.

And honestly, after the last few years, I do not hate having a coach who can talk to the public without making everyone feel worse.

Defense. One rushing yard allowed. That’s insane.

One rushing yard is a video-game stat in the wrong direction. Dion Crawford had four TFLs. Kenny Soares had three. Jordan Hall had three and a sack. Ben Roberts had two and a sack. Tre Bell got the pick-six. Nikai Martinez picks one in the end zone. Nijhay Burt basically mosses a receiver for another pick.

There was a lot to like.

And yet, 304 passing yards.

Yeah. There it is.

I don’t know what to do with that. Noah Kim played a very weird game. He was under pressure all day and somehow turned into prime “throw it away on time” guy. But there were also just too many completions. Too many easy completions. And the 75-yarder was gross.

That is why I am not ready to say the defense is fixed. The front looks real. The run fits look real. The slot usage with Tre Bell is already paying off. But the coverage stuff is still living in that “we’ll see” bucket.

And that’s fine. It’s Week 2. We’re allowed to have buckets.

Braylon Collier. Six catches, 81 yards, touchdown.

That’s the one I’m trying not to be annoying about. Because last week was the long touchdown. This week it’s six catches. He looks like a player they trust. He’s not just a fun young guy they toss a gadget to. He looks like he might be a real part of the offense.

Jayden Savoury had six catches too, but 37 yards and a drop. Better involvement than last week, not exactly the mismatch breakout yet.

Which is fine. That’s what development looks like. It’s not always a movie trailer.

Last thing, and we are not doing the Notre Dame preview today because that’s its own episode. But the big-picture feeling through two weeks?

They don’t look like a joke. That’s where I am.

I know that sounds like a low bar. It is a low bar. But the whole country was ready for this to be a joke immediately. Through two weeks, it is not. It is imperfect. It is weird. It is maybe fragile. But it is not a joke.