First post in forever. Western Michigan game.

It's been a long time since I wrote in this blog. I'm still not sure if I'm entirely feeling it, but here's a shot.

We are already one week into the football season. The Spartans opened up last week with a workmanlike 35-10 win over Bowling Green. At least it was a much better performance than last year's season opener against Furman, a game MSU sleepwalked through (though they did win. But it was a harbinger of the disaster to come).

Today MSU takes on Western Michigan. The Broncos were 13-1 last year and just came off an impressive performance on the road against USC, in which WMU ran for over 250 yards and put up 31 points against a team that is allegedly top five in the nation. This game could be a litmus test for MSU. Are they improved from last year's disaster? Or are they where they left off last season. We shall see.

The WMU game aftermath

What is the takeaway from last night's mainly lackluster, mistake-filled opening day 37-24 win over Western Michigan?

On the positive side, the Spartans escaped with a win and do not appear to have suffered any major injuries. It also looks like Madre London, L.J. Scott, and Gerald Holmes could and should be a formidable trio of running backs. The front seven looked very strong on the defensive end, as well.

But the negatives last night somewhat outnumbered the positives, and I hope, and I assume, that we can chalk this up to a combination of first game cobwebs and a case of looking ahead to Oregon. It was also quite clear that the play calling was purposely vanilla.

Credit must be given to Western Michigan, who in the biggest game that Waldo Stadium has ever seen, played their hearts out. Their skill players were just as good as advertised. Terrell is an outstanding quarterback who rarely let the pass rush get to him, has a quick release, and uncanny accuracy. The Broncos' receivers are athletic and fast. This team should make some noise in the MAC and challenge for the title.

I've been guilty of overreacting positively and (mostly) negatively to opening weekend football games. Exhibit A being the 2013 season, when I was darned near ready to throw in the towel on the season. This year, I'm determined not to make that mistake and trust that the coaching staff will make the necessary tweaks and adjustments for next week's much steeper challenge against Oregon.

If adjustments are not made and the team plays with the level of malaise I witnessed last night--particularly in the second half--the Oregon game could get ugly. I don't think that will happen, though. I fully expect the Spartans to come out next Saturday with a fire, passion, and focus that wasn't quite there against Western Michigan.

Until proven otherwise, I'm maintaining an attitude of positivity. Mark Dantonio has earned, and deserves, my trust and faith.

MSU/WMU pre-game post

Here's a quick post before the MSU/Western Michigan game starts, about a half hour from the point I've begun typing this.

The Spartans don't have any easy non-conference games this season. All four of the teams they play-- Western, Oregon, Air Force, and Central Michigan--played in bowl games last season. Oregon, of course, played in the national championship game, and strangely enough, Western Michigan and Air Force played each other in a bowl game, with Air Force prevailing.

Western comes into this game with a potent offense featuring some excellent skill players. The quarterback , Zach Terrell (3443 yds in 2014 with 26 TD and only 10 INTs, 67.9 completion percentage) is in his 3rd season and is already 22 years old. Jarvion Franklin, the starting running back, has been compared to Le'Veon Bell, and wide receivers Daniel Braverman, Kendrick Roberts, and Corey Davis are good players. The Broncos also have an experienced offensive line.

Western may be able to put some points on the board in this game and hang with the Spartans at least through the end of the first half and maybe into the third quarter, but the Spartans should have too much depth for them and wear down Western in the second half. The score should be somewhere in the neighborhood of MSU 38, WMU 20.

It'll be interesting to see just how good MSU's defense is. Will there be any noticeable differences in schemes with Harlon Barnett as co-defensive coordinator.

There are still question marks with the Spartans. Jeremy Langford is gone and Madre London, L.J. Scott, Gerald Holmes, and Delton Williams are most likely challenging each other for the starting position--though Delton Williams, with his difficulties over the off-season, is a wild card. The receiving corps is also a puzzle. Aaron Burbridge should have a good year, but what of Macgarrett Kings, A.J. Troup, R.J. Shelton, and DeAnthony Arnett? Presumably, they will all be ready to roll, but who knows.

Well, there's my two-bit, half-hour analysis. The game is about to start.

Worst fears confirmed (Michigan State 26, Western Michigan 13)

The offense was more putrid than I ever could have imagined.

MSU's offensive ugliness, combined with the weather delay that pushed the game well past midnight, plus the Big Ten Network losing its feed for several minutes, made me simply turn the game off in the second half and watch Breaking Bad instead.

Then I went to bed after checking the score on my phone. I'd had enough. Call me a terrible fan, but I couldn't subject myself to the horror show anymore.

Where does one start with this offense? The receivers look like they haven't progressed from last year. In other words, they still can't catch a ball to save their lives.

The best catch of the day was Kurtis Drummond's one-handed interception of a WMU pass. In fact, MSU's defense outscored the offense, 14-12.

Andrew Maxwell has a great arm, but I think I can beat him in a sprint. He also still seems to think that every pass has to look like a Max Scherzer fast ball. Connor Cook, on the other hand, is a good scrambler with some speed but his passing ability is closer to Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn from the movie Major League.

On a positive note, the defense was excellent. But unless the offense improves to at least respectability, this team is looking at another 6-6 season.