Florida Atlantic @ Michigan State preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 11, 2010 ) Michigan State 30, Florida Atlantic 17

THE STORY: No. 17 Michigan State gets another overmatched opponent Saturday in East Lansing. This time, the Spartans will try to win in more dominating fashion. Fresh faces and false starts on the offensive line allowed Youngstown State to stick with Michigan State last week before it pulled away for a 28-6 victory.

Coach Mark Dantonio, who led the Spartans to a school-record 11 wins last season, has made several changes on both sides of the ball heading into this week’s game, including declaring an open competition at left tackle.

Florida Atlantic has plenty of its own concerns on the offensive line. The Owls rushed for just 30 yards in last week’s 41-3 loss to Florida. It was a familiar feeling for FAU, which finished 115th in the nation in 2010 with just 94.3 yards rushing per game.

TV: ESPN2 LINE: Michigan State -32

ABOUT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (0-1): Scoring is going to be the biggest struggle for FAU’s offense, which lost its starting left tackle to injury in the loss to the Gators. That could mean more pressure on first-year starter Graham Wilbert, who threw for only 107 yards in the opener. A new 3-4 defense, though, showed playmaking ability with three interceptions last week.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (1-0): No matter how sloppy the offensive line plays – it committed three penalties in a four-play span in the second quarter last week – the Spartans still have Kirk Cousins to make things look pretty. The senior quarterback hooked up with his favorite target, B.J. Cunningham, eight times for 130 yards against Youngstown State.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Spartans returned just three starters on defense and went without a sack in its opener.

2. Edwin Baker rushed for 183 yards in a 30-17 Michigan State victory over FAU last September.

3. MSU gave up 20 first downs to Youngstown State but Max Bullough looked like an adequate replacement with 15 tackles taking over for last year’s All-American middle linebacker Greg Jones.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 45, Florida Atlantic 13 – The Spartans will have no choice but to get on the same page offensively with all the possession they are bound to see against a team that can’t move the football.