Michigan State Football: 5 bold predictions for September

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 2, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans tight end Jamal Lyles (11) celebrates with tight end Josiah Price (82) after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Furman Paladins at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

September is still relatively young, but let’s take a look at the five bold predictions for Michigan State football for the reminder of the month.

I know, I know, we are about halfway through the month of September, but Michigan State football has played just one game and it’s tough to make bold predictions for a contest against Furman.

The Spartans are heading into their biggest matchup of the month against a tough Notre Dame team in South Bend Saturday. No one really knows what to expect out of the team that made an opening drive against Furman look like a cakewalk, taking an early 7-0 lead, and then coasting to a lackluster 28-13 victory.

Will we see a Michigan State offense with a sense of urgency or will Tyler O’Connor and Co. try to slow things down and waste clock like he did against Furman. I’d say the former is the more likely scenario since Mark Dantonio didn’t want to reveal too much about his team in Week 1.

The month is still young for the Spartans will two more games left on the schedule after a way-too-early bye week and here are my bold predictions for the rest of September.

5. Josiah Price finally breaks out

Sep 2, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans tight end Josiah Price (82) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Furman Paladins at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Many people have been waiting for this to happen. After a “breakout” sophomore season in which he caught 26 passes for 374 yards and six touchdowns, it seemed he was trending was up. However, he took a step back in 2015 as a junior, catching 23 passes for 267 yards and six scores, allowing Jake Butt to be named the conference’s best tight end.

Now that he’s a senior, he’s going to be relied upon heavily with a first-year starting quarterback in place, but his first game against Furman left much to be desired. He accounted for a few penalties, silly ones at that, and had just one catch for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Price will be a main target in the next two games against tough defenses in Notre Dame and Wisconsin and the senior will break out of his slump to combine for eight catches for 100 yards and two more scores.

Sep 10, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver C.J. Sanders (3) celebrates after a touchdown in the second quarter agains the Nevada Wolf Pack at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

4. Notre Dame will beat Michigan State in an instant classic

The Michigan State vs. Notre Dame game on Saturday night is one of the toughest to judge. On one hand, you have a 1-0 Michigan State team ranked No. 12 in the country with plenty to prove and on the other, you have a 1-1 No. 18 Notre Dame team that is trying to put the Week 1 Texas loss behind it.

Playing in South Bend is never easy for a visiting team, but the Spartans have had plenty of success there in past years. However, the last time these two teams met, it happened to be at Notre Dame and the Spartans lost on some questionable pass interference calls, losing their only game of 2013.

Each game that is played between these two teams happens to be a classic, or at least it seems that way, and the 2016 matchup will be no different. Notre Dame is a 7.5-point favorite, surprisingly, but the game will go down to the final seconds, ending on a Notre Dame field goal with under a minute left.

It’s tough to pick against the underdog Spartans in this one, but I have MSU losing to Notre Dame in my game-by-game predictions and I can’t waver now. The score might be a little different than what I have there, but I say it’s all tied up at 34 before Notre Dame hits the game-winning three-point try.

Another instant classic.

Sep 2, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Lj Scott (3) carries the ball as Furman Paladins defensive end Connor Jackson (93) defends during the first quarter at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

3. LJ Scott records three 100-yard rushing games

After getting a bulk of the carries in week one, 20-of-25 to be exact, sophomore running back LJ Scott has been named the No. 1 guy on the depth chart. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has seen him play over the past year, leading the team in rushing in 2015 with 699 yards and 11 touchdowns.

During his Spartan career, he’s accounted for 804 yards and 12 touchdowns — that’s just 15 games with — but yet he only has two 100-yard rushing games to his name. That is surprising given the fact that he’s been a workhorse and can put up big numbers with more carries.

Scott ran the ball 20 times for 105 yards and a touchdown against Furman and looked good doing it. The numbers weren’t exactly ‘eye-popping’ but most of his runs were up the middle and he broke dozens of tackles to get over 100 yards.

With Scott now the No. 1 guy instead of a running back by-committee, the pressure will be off for him to go out there and show Notre Dame and then Wisconsin why he was one of the top 100 recruits in the country in 2015.

I imagine Scott will put up 150 against the Fighting Irish on 25 carries and then just over 100 against a tough Wisconsin run defense the week after.

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver R.J. Shelton (12) runs the ball during the third quarter in the Big Ten Conference football championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

2. R.J. Shelton leads team in receiving

Is it crazy to think that a guy who left the game with an injury in Week 1 and didn’t record a single catch will lead the team in receiving for the month of September? Maybe, but R.J. Shelton has that kind of talent. He may have gone catch-less against Furman, but he will be back against Notre Dame as a reliable target for O’Connor.

If Notre Dame is going off the tape versus Furman, you can bet the defensive backfield will be zeroing in on guys like Felton Davis III and Monty Madaris. The two combined for eight catches for 125 yards and a touchdown — O’Connor completed just 13 passes all game for 190 yards.

While Shelton is a known threat, the Fighting Irish might be led to believe that Madaris has overtaken him as the No. 1 receiver. Madaris is explosive and can be a deep-threat or a first-down guy for O’Connor, but Shelton will be the go-to receiver for the rest of the month.

Against Notre Dame, I see Shelton catching eight passes for 80 yards and a touchdown and then another seven for 100-plus against Wisconsin. It will come down to a few yards, but the senior slot receiver will lead the Spartans in receiving and prove why he earned the right to be called the No. 1 receiver after the offseason.

Sep 2, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive back Demetrious Cox (7) block a pass intended for Furman Paladins wide receiver Andrej Suttles (3) during the second half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

1. Secondary becomes strong point of the defense

The ‘No Fly Zone’ making a resurgence in 2016? It’s very possible with the return of Montae Nicholson and Demetrious Cox to the safety positions and a healthy Vayante Copeland who no quarterback wants to throw at. It’s that other cornerback spot that either draws Darian Hicks haters or believers.

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Against Furman, the senior corner was targeted multiple times by quarterback P.J. Blazejowski and he stepped up to the plate. Sure, he was called for a couple of pass interferences, but even Mark Dantonio said that they were questionable, at best. He was stuck to the opposing receiver like glue and even batted one pass down.

You might be saying, “It’s Furman, he’s supposed to stick with the receiver.” In that case, he did his job perfectly, then, didn’t he?

Even if someone struggles in the secondary against Notre Dame or Wisconsin, there are plenty of young, talented defensive backs to fill in. Josh Butler and Tyson Smith are the next in line at cornerback while guys like Kaleel Gaines, Kenney Lyke, Khari Willis and Grayson Miller have all proven to be adequate options in fall camp.

Believe it or not, the secondary is going to be the strong point of the defense for the remainder of the month, especially with Ed Davis back to put extra pressure on opposing QBs. Notre Dame might put up over 200 yards passing, but Wisconsin will struggle through the air.