Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith pumps brakes on overreacting to opening win

EAST LANSING – Tanner Miller snapped the ball and then created a massive opening up the middle at the left hash.

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams took the handoff and sprinted through the hole for a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Michigan State a 16-0 lead.

That brought Spartan Stadium fans to their feet, at least those who already found their seats. Inclement weather resulted in a delay opening gates to spectators and lines outside the stadium remained – especially for the student section – until late in the first half. Those who weren’t inside when Lynch-Adams crossed the goal line didn’t witness a single point scored by the home team.

Michigan State topped Florida Atlantic 16-10 on Friday night in a stressful opener under first-year coach Jonathan Smith.

“Game ones, you’re going to learn a lot about your team and we’ve got a lot to work on,” Smith said. “What I did learn and was pleased with is that there’s a response in this group. We are going to play for four quarters. You win the game in the fourth quarter and we were able to do that.”

Season openers can be sloppy and that was the case for the Spartans, with a new staff and schemes and 61 first-year players on the roster. Michigan State committed three turnovers, 12 penalties for 140 yards and was a mess in the red zone. It was far from a clean performance but Smith, now in his seventh season as a head coach, pumped the brakes.

“I do think a little bit about Week 1 is kind of overreaction Saturday,” he said late Friday night. “The first impression, right, this is the first time that team’s out there. Well, then you begin to label, oh, they’re good on this side, they’re not good on this side. These guys can go to the playoff, these guys are out. It’s overreaction Saturday. We go back to work.”

So, no panic. That’s the measured approach but doesn’t quiet concerns about the product on the field. It was a shaky debut for quarterback Aidan Chiles, who completed only 10 of 24 passes for 114 yards, two interceptions and rushed for a score.

“I’m taking full responsibility for everything that happened today,” Chiles said amid frustration. “You always want to come out and play good football and do what you’ve got to do and I felt like I tried to do that and didn’t do what I’m used to doing. I play football for a living and I didn’t come out and perform to my best today.”

Chiles showed flashes of his talent but wasn’t sharp in his first college start. Amid an attempted revival for an offensively starved program, the sophomore needs other playmakers to stand out.

“He wants to play better,” Smith said of Chiles. “Well, I think the other 10 guys on offense want to play better. We’ve got to help the guy out.”

Smith’s Oregon State squad had the No. 1 red zone offense in the nation last season, scoring on 41 of 42 trips. The Spartans finished 1-for-4 in the red zone on Friday with a pair of turnovers while struggling to pound the ball inside the 20. Wipe out Lynch-Adams’ 63-yard score, he and starting running back Nathan Carter combined to average just 3.1 yards per rush.

“We’ve got to be able to run the ball and make the thing physical,” Smith said. “That will help red zone offense.”

On the other side of the ball, Michigan State’s defense keyed the season-opening win under new coordinator Joe Rossi. The Spartans limited the Owls to 248 yards and 3-for-13 on third down.

“We talk about response all the time,” defensive back Angelo Grose said after a team-high 12 tackles with an interception. “When things ain’t going our way, how are we going to respond, how are we going to go out there and still do what we need to do? I feel like we really emphasized that and that’s what we went out there and did.”

Although Michigan State’s defense got the stops needed to secure a win, penalties were a major problem. Starting safety Malik Spencer was disqualified for targeting and linebacker Jordan Turner avoided the same outcome after a review for his hit on Florida Atlantic quarterback Cam Fancher. And there were other errors to correct.

“We want to play with some aggression, but we’ve got to have some technique at the same time,” Smith said. “It’s not just, oh, it was a late hit. We got a horse-collar here, we’ve got to be smart around the sideline.”

Michigan State accomplished its overall Week 1 goal by picking up a win but needs to regroup quickly for the start of Big Ten play. The Spartans hit the road to face Maryland, which rolled to a 50-7 victory against UConn in the opener.

“We’re probably going to go in there with disgust,” Chiles said of watching film from the season opener. “We don’t want to go in there and watch that. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do, we didn’t do what we know we can do. It’s a new week, we get another opportunity. We won the game, go us, and we get to come back and do it again.”