It was a crazy night for Michigan State football, and extremely validating for a team that needed a ‘culture win’ to show that things are, in fact, changing in East Lansing. It was stressful, and it wasn’t perfect, but the Spartans hung in against Boston College and earned their revenge in a double overtime thriller in Spartan Stadium.
Below, we put together our five takeaways from a huge night for the Spartans.
1. Aidan Chiles has arrived
Everyone knows Aidan Chiles has talent. That’s obvious if you watch him for even one play. Last year, that talent was often stifled by untimely mistakes, with turnovers or negative plays erasing a lot of the positives. In week one against Western Michigan, Chiles looked more confident, but it didn’t translate to stats. Last night against Boston College, Chiles finally broke through for a big, clutch game. Despite being under near-constant pressure, Chiles stayed calm in the pocket throughout the night and tossed four touchdowns without turning the ball over once. He also, of course, hit the game-winning pass in double-overtime seconds after rushing for the tying score, giving him five touchdowns on the night.
After a bumpy start last season, the Aidan Chiles era feels like it has officially arrived in East Lansing.
2. Ryan Eckley isn’t just a good punter, he’s a weapon
Point blank, Michigan State doesn’t win this game without Ryan Eckley. Every time the Spartans’ offense stalled out, Eckley was able to flip the field and pin Boston College, who were having their way on offense, back near their end zone, giving the defense a lot of margin for error they desperately needed. Near the end of the game, the Spartans were forced to punt on fourth and one after a frustrating series, and for the third time already this season, Eckley pinned his opponent on the one-yard line. He’s a weapon in a way punters usually aren’t. He actually might be, pound-for-pound, the best player on this team. He’s at least in the conversation with players like Nick Marsh. He’s that good.
3. The offensive line continues to have struggles with pass blocking
Honestly, this game probably shouldn’t have gone to double-overtime if the Spartans could have mustered a little more of a pass block for Aidan Chiles. Four sacks and seemingly facing pressure on every play is not going to be good enough once the Spartans get into Big Ten play, and they will need to find some answers immediately. While the sacks weren’t great, to be fair to the offensive line, the run defense was fantastic on the night.
4. Martin Connington was a major relief at kicker
Last week against Western Michigan, MSU was forced to play a former Division II kicker after their top two kickers were banged up. Their top kicker, Martin Connington was back on Saturday, and it was huge relief, and a key to the win for the Spartans. This was a close game the whole time, and in order to keep pace with BC, they couldn’t afford any missed kicks. Connington was 2-for-2 on the night, including a massive 50-yard field goal that looked like it could have been good from sixty yards if needed. I know this is my second takeaway about special teams, but in a game like this, that ends up being the difference.
5. Culture change at Michigan State?
It has been a rough few years for the Spartans. From the Mel Tucker saga, to the interim year, to a rocky first year under Jonathan Smith, last night felt like a must-win in a lot of ways. A loss would have been rough this early. Boston College applied a lot of pressure, and the Spartans had multiple chances to fold, but kept fighting until finally breaking through in the second overtime. In games like this last year, the Spartans would either shoot themselves in the foot, or basically give up halfway and get blown out. That was not the case last night. It feels like a program-changing win in East Lansing.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Five takeaways from Michigan State football’s 2OT win over Boston College
Reporting by Andrew Brewster, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
