For the first time since 2018, Michigan State football will host Central Michigan to kick off the 2023 regular season.
Head Coach Mel Tucker has made it a point to remind the team what happened the last time the Chippewas came to East Lansing, as they did not make it easy on Mark Dantonio’s Spartans five years ago.
“We showed the players the last time that Central came here and really tied down some highlights and commentary after the game to make sure everyone understands the challenge at hand,” Tucker said. “And I think it's I think it's good to get to play an in-state school and it's gonna be a dogfight.”
While Michigan State’s offensive line enters this season much healthier than last year, the unit will have to be wary of a Chippewa defense that returns the bulk of their 2022 performers.
“They do a good job of mixing the coverages and fronts,” Tucker said. “They have some really good pressure packages on first, second and third down. They’re well coached, they’ve got some active guys on the front seven, and they can lock guys up in one on one situations. They have good players.”
This will be the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs as MSU leads the series by five wins with a record of 8-3 against CMU.
MSU has an undefeated record at home on Friday nights since 2011, rattling off eight straight wins in the 12 year span.
Tucker has decided to keep Central on their toes entering Friday night, having yet to announce the starting quarterback for the Spartans. Redshirt junior Noah Kim and redshirt sophomore Katin Houser have been at the forefront of the conversations since former starting quarterback Payton Thorne transferred out in the spring.
For the Chippewa’s, they return two QBs who saw extensive action last year in redshirt sophomore Jase Bauer and redshirt freshman Bert Emmanuel Jr. The Spartan’s pass rush struggled in the back half of last season and will have to be dialed in to both quarterbacks come gametime. The return of fifth year linebacker Jacoby Windmon from suspension, who led the team in sacks with 5.5 in 2022, and a healthy redshirt senior defensive end in Khris Bogle should bolster the front seven as well as the secondary that also struggled mightily last season.
The Spartans suffered from a lack of consistent points from the kicking unit last year as well, but that area of the team underwent a major overhaul over the offseason as North Carolina graduate transfer kicker Johnathan Kim will be attempting extra points and field goals for MSU to start the season.
As the Spartans aim to look past a very disappointing 5-7 season last fall, Central will open up a 2023 schedule that gives Michigan State no favors in hopes for an easier turnaround. The oddsmakers currently favor MSU, but the green and white will need to stay on their toes in order to begin a challenging fall on a positive note.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on FS1.
