Though undefeated through three games, MSU's early-season struggles have come in the form of penalties and injuries. 

The Spartans have some of the highest penalty numbers in the country, ranked 132nd out of 133 schools in the NCAA for the most penalties committed, with an average of 107 penalty yards per game.

Against PVAM, the Spartans committed 11 penalties for 102 yards. 

"It was a disappointing performance on our end," MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said Monday. "Just a lot of inconsistencies, technique assignments, and some errors that I felt like we made kind of early in training camp and had gotten fixed."

If the Spartans don’t clean up against Boston College, the Eagles will have the clear advantage. However, if Michigan State can fix some of its penalty problems, it has a fighting chance of starting 4-0 and being nationally-ranked ahead of playing Ohio State at home. 

Smith said he’s mostly hung up on penalties occuring before and after the whistle, such as late-hit personal fouls. He said he's looking for the team to play smarter.

Penalties aren’t the only disturbance Michigan State is experiencing, as injury problems have been another dilemma the Spartans have to confront. 

Seven players have been injured in the first three weeks of the season, a majority of them long-term. On defense, the secondary has particularly suffered. On offense, the right guard position has seen the most turnover due to injury. 

Sophomore Kristian Phillips, MSU's starting right guard entering the season, suffered a season-ending injury against Maryland. On Saturday, sophomore guard Gavin Broscious, his backup, was sidelined indefinitely. 

Sophomore wide receiver Jaron Glover sat out of the PVAM game after exiting the Maryland game with an apparent injury. Smith said the staff views Glover as day-to-day, but he’s optimistic about a potential return to the field.

Amidst the early stages of a program revamp, the Spartans have proved many wrong, but still are faced with concerns: controllable or not.  

MSU correcting its penalty issues and staying healthy could go a long way towards bringing Smith and company closer to where they want to be. It won't get any easier for them after Saturday, though, as Ohio State comes to town Sept. 28 followed by a Friday night road game at Oregon. 

"From here until November, we’re playing some big-time teams, so if we’re not squared away, we're gonna get punched in the mouth," sixth year offensive lineman Tanner Miller said. "We need to be on our P's and Q's so we can go out there and do our thing."

Kickoff Saturday is scheduled for 8 p.m. ACC Network will air the game.