It's officially gameday!!

Join us here for updates from Spartan Stadium and some general discussion about the game

Kickoff is at 7:01 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Michigan State kicks off the 2024 football season versus Florida Atlantic on Friday night (7 p.m. Eastern Time on Big Ten Network).

In an effort to learn more about the Owls, we spoke with Kevin Fielder, a Florida Atlantic alumnus and publisher for EMAW Online, which covers Kansas State for Rivals.

While Kevin covers the Wildcats now, he reported on the Owls for multiple years and still keeps up with the team now. He was able to provide Spartans Illustrated with plenty of insights about FAU.

How has Florida Atlantic head coach Tom Herman tried to stabilize the program? Who are the players to watch on offense and defense? Will this game be competitive? Kevin answers these questions and more below.

FWIW.

Dropping a small roundup of a few high school football game 1 scores, from across the state, that are relevant toward a couple MSU commits and/or targets:

• West Bloomfield beat Chippewa Valley, 42-0

• Frankenmuth beat Goodrich, 22-0

• Orchard Lake St Mary’s beat Portage Northern, 52-19

• Dakota beat Fordson, 38-17

• East Lansing beat Portage Central, 31-7

• Rockford beat Cass Tech, 30-23

• Saline beat Brighton, 41-20

• Birmingham Groves beat U of Detroit Jesuit, 35-14

• De La Salle beat Davison, 21-3

Our staff breaks down today's matchup. What are your final score predictions?

I am concerned about the future of college football and non-competitive football. Teams often open with cream puffs, but the scores are getting more lopsided. I believe the poaching of lower-level teams has led to these lopsided scores. Yes, FSU and Georgia Tech were Close. Mack Brown can recruit but can't coach, so Minnesota and North Carolina were close, same with a proud North Dakota St team and Colorado---BUT

A whopping 14 teams outscored their opponents by an average of 52.4 points to 7.4 points, and I've listed them below. Scholarship limitations served a purpose to make the game competitive; now, I suspect we will only see that when the big boys go head to head.


734 points vs 104 (52.4 points to 7.4 points)

1. Utah 49-0
2. Missouri 51-0
3. Kansas 48-3
4. CMU 66-10
5. UCF 57-3
6. Arkansas 70-0
7. Wake Forest 45-13
8. Coastal Carolina 55-27
9. Toledo 49-10
10. Tulane 52-0
11. Tulsa 62-28
12. UAB 41-3
13. Illinois 45-0
14. Rutgers 44-7