How to Watch Week 2: Michigan State at Maryland
Michigan State football (1-0) didn't have the showing it would have liked to in its first game under Jonathan Smith as it narrowly came away with a 16-10 victory over Florida Atlantic last Friday.
You can chalk it up to whatever you want, but right now, the Spartans prepare for Game 2 against Maryland (1-0), a game that will be much more telling of where Michigan State stands in this early stage of the season.
The Spartans lead the all-time series 10-4 and is 3-2 against the Terrapins in College Park. The two teams last met last season in East Lansing when Maryland conquered Michigan State, 31-9.
Here's how you can watch Saturday's contest:
TV: Big Ten Network
Venue: SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland
Kickoff: 3:40 p.m. EST
Listen: Spartan Media Network
-Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM)/WJIM (1240 AM)
-Detroit: WJR (760 AM)
-Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)
The Terrapins come off a Week 1 win of their own, only theirs was much more promising than that of the Spartans. Maryland obliterated UConn 50-7, putting up 629 yards of total offense.
Based on last week, Michigan State is going to have to play nearly flawless football to come away with the upset in college park.
"It is a challenge because they got talent outside," Smith said on Monday, "they can make you miss, quarterback with a strong arm, who is a willing runner. I think Coach [Michael] Locksley's done it at a high level on that offensive side for a long time. So it's a serious challenge. Different than Week 1. ... Week in and week out, in college football, you're going to have some different challenges, but they present a serious one on that side."
Michigan State is going to have a "next-man-up" mentality at certain positions on Saturday, with the absences of wide receiver Alante Brown and defensive backs Dillon Tatum and Khalil Majeed.
Saturday's contest will be a hige opportunity for Michigan State to make a statement to the rest of the conference that it has arrived and that its poor Week 1 outing was not a determiner of how its season will go.
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