All the excitement and fun from MSU’s opening game last night against Boise State is over. It took almost 12 hours, but my body is finally allowing me to type a normal recap without using caps lock and rambling on about my emotions.

So, what actually happened in the game? MSU won a close game 17-13. It started off bad, as in the first half the MSU offense just couldn’t string together any good drives (with the exception of the first drive), Maxwell didn’t have timing, and the receivers couldn’t catch the ball. However, as the second half wore on the defense stayed stifling and the offense started clicking. MSU pulled out the win.

Even the at the beginning, the tension and excitement was great. Here’s a video I took:

Now it’s time for a new segment on BOTRC, the +/- session. We give + to the good parts of the Spartan’s game, and minuses to the bad parts of the game. Let’s go, starting with pluses.

+

Le’Veon Bell is a beast. 44 carries for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns. Let’s not forget receiving, where Bell also had 6 receptions for 55 yards. That’s 265 all-purpose yards. This “dark-horse Heisman candidate” may not be such a “dark-horse” anymore, considering this play he had. Let’s just call this play the Bell Hop, ok?

BEAST MODE. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Dion Sims. He is the only receiver on the offense I’m truly happy with. He had 7 receptions for 65 yards, including some clutch receptions in the closing drive that allowed MSU to run down the clock on Boise State.

The ENTIRE Michigan State Defense gets a plus. They only allowed Boise State to 206 yards, and only 37 on the ground. Boise State’s offense did not score a single touchdown all game (the only TD scored by the Broncos was a pick six) for the first time since being blanked 58-0 by Washington State in 1997. Boise State senior offensive lineman Joe Kellogg added, “[MSU] is probably the best front seven that I have played against in my 23 starts”. Boom. Everyone on the defense gets pluses.

The Scoreboards I went to the game expecting the scoreboards to be pretty cool, but oh my god were they incredible. Even the two smaller ones were huge, and the little bar that stretches across the north end zone was awesome. It gave the stadium a whole different aura. Here are some photos of the scoreboards I took:

Oh, you want to see the BIG scoreboard?

Yeah. That’s a plus.

Ok, it’s time for the minuses.

-

Tony Lippett for some odd reason can NOT catch a football. The first example of this was when he caught a ball and then somehow couldn’t hang on to it and it bounced right into the hands of a Boise State player. The second time was after a huge reception, in the midst of being brought down the ball popped out. Also, let’s not forget when Lippett rushed for -10 yards and ALMOST fumbled again. NOT GOOD. Definitely a minus game for him.

Poor Tony Lippett, the only minus. I was borderline putting Maxwell as a minus, but he rebounded in the second half.

That’s this week’s recap, stay tuned for posts of us looking at the upcoming game against Central Michigan. Sparty On!