Columnist Graham Couch grades Michigan State's performance in the Spartans' 30-20 win over Toledo on a scale of 1-10.
There were elements of MSU's offense Friday that were impressive, beginning with two double-digit play, will-imposing, variety-featuring scoring drives to take a 10-0 lead. Running back Cam Edwards looks like the real deal. The offensive line had some really strong moments run blocking. Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was pretty efficient, while also making throws that take some arm talent. The Spartans' third quarter, however, was less inspiring. And they had several negative plays throughout the game in and near the red zone that forced them to settle for field goal attempts.
But when the Spartans needed to move the ball to score, they did so. Milivojevic and receiver Rodney Bullard were an especially good pairing late. And a number of receivers looked capable of helping this team. In all, 26 first downs and 43 minutes of possession tell the story of an offense that had the upper hand, even if they didn't fully take advantage of it.
If you take away Toledo's two long scoring plays — a 60-yard pass and 71-yard run — the Rockets didn't do a whole lot against MSU's defense. But those two busts are on the books and, in another game, might have been the difference. The Spartans allowed just 10 first downs and 1 of 9 third- and fourth-down conversions. They had two sacks, six tackles for loss, an athletic tip and interception by Kenny Soares. They also had strong stands late — a short-yardage tackle behind the line of scrimmage by Devin Vaught on third down deep into Toledo territory, and, as the Rockets threatened later, MSU made nice plays on first and third down to force a long field-goal attempt that missed.
MSU's special teams units were among the stars of the night — none bigger than fifth-year senior transfer kicker Liam Boyd, who made field goals from 32, 42, 48, 35 and 51 yards out, the last of which sealed the game for the Spartans. The 48- and 51-yarders were career highs. His only miss, from 54 yards out, was blocked off the edge. Both Boyd's consistency and his length were impressive. Punter Rhys Dakin, an Iowa transfer, punted once for 44 yards, pinning Toledo at its own 8-yard line. And MSU was good in the return game, too, where Chrishon McCray made hay on punt returns, with three for 30 yards, and Nebraska transfer Kenneth Williams returned a kickoff 47 yards — right after Toledo's first touchdown — setting up another Boyd field goal for a 16-7 lead.
I really liked most of the game offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan called, including the two-minute drive at the end of the first half and the call to go right back to Chrishon McCray on a third-down pass moments after McCray fumbled. That might seem like a small thing, but can be important keeping a guy's head straight. There was one slow-developing draw play to Cam Edwards that went for a loss on a key down and a couple other plays Sheridan was upset with himself about. But this was a good start.
Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi's alternating defensive back blitzes paid off with a sack in the first half. Toledo's two long touchdowns weren't on Rossi. Those were player mistakes — a cornerback misreading the situation on one and two players in the same gap on the offer.
Special teams coach LeVar Woods' units had a heckuva debut. And I agreed with the big decisions Pat Fitzgerald made, including going for it on 4th-and-1 from the Toledo 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter with the Spartans trailing 20-19. Even if that hadn't resulted in a touchdown pass, Toledo would have been pinned deep. About the only negative on the coaching front was the drop in level of play from the Spartans coming out of the locker room at halftime. But the response after falling behind 20-19 on that 71-yard run also says good things about the mental state of this MSU team.
RELATED: Couch: 3 quick takes on MSU football's 30-20 season-opening win against Toledo
Outside of two big mistakes by MSU's defense, this was as good an opener as the Spartans have had since the Kenneth Walker game in 2021 at Northwestern. There's plenty to correct. And plenty that's promising. The top end of MSU's roster might actually be OK. But there are also a few guys the Spartans can't afford to lose. And that's a little scary.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State football grades for the Spartans' performance against Toledo
