“You have to play up — make them play up; don’t play down,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Make them play up to championship-type level of play, and I thought that’s what we did.”

Senior quarterback Kirk Cousins was 16-for-21 for 183 yards and two touchdowns, as sophomore running back Le’Veon Bell led MSU with 14 rushes for 69 yards and one touchdown.

Leading Spartan receivers, senior wide receivers Keshawn Martin had seven catches for 72 yards and B.J. Cunningham had five receptions for 73 yards — making him MSU’s all-time leader receiver with 153 catches. In addition, Martin’s 72 yards puts him beyond the 1,000-yard career receiving yards mark.

After preventing the Owls from getting a first down on their first possession, MSU went for 51 yards for its first touchdown of the game. Junior running back Edwin Baker — who had nine carries for 50 yards — closed with a nine-yard carry for the touchdown at 10:43 left in the first quarter.

Florida Atlantic followed up with a 53-yard kick return, but a five-yard false start penalty kept the team away from a first down.

Junior defensive tackle Jerel Worthy — who sacked Florida Atlantic quarterback Graham Wilbert in the first quarter — said compared to MSU’s first game, the defensive line was more consistent throughout each play and didn’t hesitate as much. Although MSU’s defense performed better, Worthy said its success could be attributed to the Owls’ offense.

“It gives you a lot more opportunities to know that you can penetrate the line of scrimmage at an easier pace,” he said. “You can just play your game and play your gap and play fast.”

MSU got a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with a 12-play 73-yard drive for its second touchdown. Bell finished the drive at 1:44 with a two-yard carry after rushing 45 yards during the possession.

With sophomore quarterback Andrew Maxwell — who completed 6-of-9 passes — starting second quarter, MSU’s lead grew when junior kicker Dan Conroy made a 50-yard and a 41-yard field goal to make the score 20-0.

Closing out the first half, Cousins finished up with a touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Dion Sims on a play offensive coordinator Dan Roushar said is “by far (MSU’s) most efficient play.” The Spartans had four plays in 23 seconds for 43 yards on their final drive of the half.

The Spartans remained dominant on offense into the second half — consistency they lacked in their first game — and took a 34-0 lead with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter.

Cousins threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Garrett Celek — who caught his third-career touchdown.

With the score at 37-0 during Florida Atlantic’s next possession on what would have been its second first down, the Owls fumbled the ball with less than nine minutes remaining. Redshirt freshman cornerback Jeremy Langford snatched the ball and returned it for a 37-yard touchdown for the game’s final points.

“As we go forward, you’re always trying to find your identity as a football team, and you’re identity has to be shown over a period of five, six, seven, eight, nine games probably, as you get deep into your season,” Dantonio said.

“So while it was a great win, our next test is down at Notre Dame this next week, so we have to be fundamentally sound. We have to do things well down there, and we have to build our identity.”