MSU football BOLD predictions for 2024; Do Jonathan Smith, Brian Lindgren look better after week 0?

get up it's game week yes we got some bold predictions to kick off this very very joyous time of the year let's go you are locked on Spartans your daily podcast on the Michigan State Spartans part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day college football head coach is a brand new mobile game that is completely free has no ads and is 100% playable offline use promo code locked on CFB all caps inside the game store to receive a free boost of your program begin your coaching Legacy today Spartan friends Spartan family lock on Spartans listeners thank you all so much for tuning in to lock on Spartans your team in green and white five days a week especially as we build up to kickoff on Friday please rate review subscribe comment below your boldest prediction for the upcoming season because folks that is what we're going to start the show with we're also goingon to get into hey that week Zero game that happened in Ireland did that actually make Michigan State's coaching staff look a little better and then a new rural proposal for the spring portal cycle window and then if we have time yeah I'll give you my 12 team playoff bracket that no one will care about but who cares you're gonna get it anyway uh but hey before that if you ever want to reach out locked on Spartans gmail.com is the place to find us all right bold predictions and you know what batting first how about your quarterback like I'll I'll take it from here after after this first one but man before the weekend Aiden Charles he woke up the college football World went a little viral as the kids say I actually don't even know if they say that anymore nevertheless he said if you are a betting person we'll take the over now there was some debate of what he was talking about was it the point total for this FAU game was it just all Point totals or my goodness was he talking about the over under for wins set at four and a half for this season but nevertheless I bet if you asked Aiden record he'd probably you know tell you well both he's a very confident kid as he's shown so right there that's pretty bold for the college football quarterback to get up there and say hey betters out there go ahead and take the over whatever that is so we're gonna start right there okay bold prediction number one we we'll call it yeah I'm taking the over two if you've listened to this show you know my record got back to the early summer has been seven and5 all right for an over under of four and a half win going two and a half wins over the total that's bold but I know that's not what you guys are looking for like you're probably thinking oh whoop do a Michigan State fan thinks are gonna go seven and five real aggressive over there Matt so okay fine I'll Crank It Up on the Scoville meter a little hotter for you right now because my true first number one bold prediction is get ready for this one big noon kickoff comes to East Lancing week five Spartans verse Buckeye and not just Spartans and Buckeyes but 4-0 Spartans versus three and0 Buckeyes yes that's right I'm predicting a nice start to the season for Michigan State and is this going to be a walkover like is this going to be a walk in the park to four and0 no absolutely not like starting with Florida Atlantic I mean yeah Michigan State should win that game but my goodness like just because they're 13-point favorites right now doesn't mean that things can get squirly my God Nevada almost just won is 28 point underdogs things get weird at the start of the season but it's a second and fourth game that will be a little tough the Maryland game I've said long time and it probably will still be true for kickoff that MSU will likely be the underdogs in that game Maryland they return a lot on defense it's going to be a road game that's hard under any circumstance in college football but what I'm finding inspiring for our Michigan State Spartans is that at the time of recording as we go into gameweek for the greater like the the greater portion of college football here Maryland is still picking between three quarterbacks to be their starter the old adage is if you have two quarterbacks well you really don't have one what does that make a three quarterback battle over there in College Park as they are trying to replace a guy that played there for 18 years to leonga vioa Maryland's offense could be off to a slow start all right and then you get prayview A&M I mean me and the first 10 listeners of this show should be able to beat prayview A&M it's the Boston College game again also on the road which make it a little squirly perhaps and they do have a good dual threat quarterback good old ctios over there as good as he is with his legs with his arm he can be a little turnover prone so with that said too their defense over there in Chestnut Hill leaves a little bit to be desired so I think Michigan State can do it I think they can go for and OD of course to be you know that Marquee Big 10 kickoff game you know or high high noon kickoff whatever they call it on Fox these days the Marquee fox show in order to be one of the big guys there well you got to look around the schedule right now the other game that week to keep all eyes on is Georgia at Alabama okay that's a big one but that'll be on ABC he with the family of networks maybe college game day give some shine to the ABC game and then hey you know what fox sure it's not you know unheard of to have both of those Marquee shows at the same campus at the same time have right here in East l in 2021 but hey maybe big noon kickoff after well kind of a very underwhelming non-conference season for Ohio State maybe they don't get enough shine to start the year they might see an undefeated Michigan State team and then hey you know what for a bonus on top we'll give some shine to those Ohio State Buckeyes too so yes bold prediction number one big new kickoff right here in East Lancing number two I think Michigan State ends the season with six All Conference players now we're talking first team second team or third te team we're not talking about honorable mention all right that that wouldn't be bold enough for us but yes six this comes after a year Michigan State just had one player make all conference honors yeah that was that fun of a year last year guys but yes I'm feeling six for this upcoming season the last time they had six well let's just go back a few years 2021 that peach bow winning season of course when you win 10 games yeah you're probably going to get a lot of team or a lot of players on your All Conference teams however if you go back to 2018 the red box bulll year that wasn't necessarily a 10- win season they actually got seven on that uh team as well so maybe it's not as bold as it sounds but let me just rattle off some names here I'm not gonna throw six names on the or you know throw the number six out there and not come up with names we're gonna go special teams first Ryan Eckley the top returning punter in the Big 10 and then Jonathan Kim arguably or maybe not even arguably the strongest leg amongst kickers in the Big 10 now for the positional players Tanner Miller I think he finds his way on there Jack valan I think he's going to find his way on there the two guys from Oregon state that transferred here that are going to produce immediately on the defensive side of the ball Malik Spencer and then for the sixth name I got a feeling that just one linebacker is going to stick whether it is a guy like Cal Halliday a guy that could easily rack up 120 tackles in a season or Jordan Turner a guy that's been catching a lot of eyes in this fall camp and we just recently named a captain to or will Wayne Matthews the old Domin transfer will his impact be enough for this year to be on an all big 10 team I think it's going to be a single linebacker but yeah that's going to be six right there for Michigan State again a year after they just had one guy now I did not name either running backs just because between Nathan Carter and KRON Lynch Adams I think the splits will be too even between the two for anyone to pull away statistically so well they'll both have strong Seasons I don't know if on paper it'll be enough to be on an N Conference team and well yes I did leave off Aiden Charles just because I Ohio State and Oregon just with their offenses alone like that's two spots right there for will Howard and Dylan Gabriel I don't know where the other third spot's gonna go but I I don't know fsu's offense will be that high flying early on for the stats to match up and we'll get to this a little bit in the second segment but yeah that's not to say that I think he's gonna have a horrible season I just think there's still some solid quarterbacks out here in Big 10 country now the third bold take I got for you yeah we're going to go to the young guy we're going to go with Nick Marsh and I think he's going to catch 40 balls this season now that might not seem like a whole lot to you but let's do a little bit of a history lesson now Nick Marsh first and foremost like people have been calling him quote unquote special in this fall Camp okay there's a lot of hype around this former top 150 recruit right guys he's actually the best recruit since arid Burbridge at the wide receiver position that Michigan state has gotten since 2012 now since 2012 how many true freshmen have caught at least 30 balls in their true freshman season if you're an everyday listener you might know this because this will be our third or fourth time saying the stat anyway in the last 12 years only two true freshmen have caught at least 30 balls all right it was Donnie Corley in 2016 and then Cody white in 2017 even through all the good receivers MSU has had true freshman to reach 30 plus catches is a little difficult to ask for so Nick Marsh yeah we're swinging for the fenes we're not just going 30 we're going to go 40 for him so that is the third bold prediction now like I said guys we're gonna be talking about what happened in week zero over in Dublin with dju and hey Michigan State's coaching staff right now they just coached him here or they just coached him over in caralis not too long ago and things went okay does that make Michigan State seem better we're gonna get to that but first I'll actually give you one more bold take this is from my lovely wife if you don't think the last three takes I gave we're good enough well here's this because just this morning I said hey you know I'm doing bold predictions do you have any for Michigan State and she said yes uh Jonathan Smith like the last coach he will leave during the year not under scrutiny or Scandal or anything like that she just simply said he'll get tired of coaching and he'll win a Hawaiian Cruise vacation that he'll want to take in the middle of the season so if you wanted Off the Wall bold predictions just come on swing by the house and I'm sure my wife will give you a little more than that but yes guys again we will get to the dju conversation but first need to talk your ears off about ultimate college football head coach the great new app now why is it great well for a few reasons uh guys it's atree 100% playable offline and it is free to play locked on Spartans fans I want to take a moment to give you a heads up on a brand new mobile game that I think you're going to love as much as I do say it again ultimate college football head coach in this amazing game and simulation you get to step into the shoes of a head coach and lead your college football program to Glory could you imagine actually being the head coach of your Michigan State Spartans for recruiting players to hiring coaching staffs to overseeing training camps and handy and handling school scholarships you contr control every crucial detail of your program it's all in your hands will you be able to handle the pressure again it's completely free has no ads and is 100% playable offline you can play on the go as you want and when you want to guys when you go in and use the code locked on CFB all caps inside the game store you will receive a free boost to your program make sure to take advantage of this perk as it will get your team off to a strong start to download the game just visit ultimate-fx today and before getting back into the action here hey thanks a lot for making lockdown Spartans your first listen every single day now go MOS on over make locked on college football your second listen our guy Spencer McLaughlin he's going to take you through all the ins and outs of week one the top storylines it's going to be a great show every single day over there again locked on college football part of the locked on podcast Network so week zero starts off with the bang Georgia Tech they beat they stunned Florida State 2421 I'm sure you saw the game and we're not going to talk about why the yellow jackets won or go through the whole game the conversation that affects Michigan state is well J oui young the transfer quarterback that started at Clemson went to Oregon State and then Florida state did not look too great uh 19 of 29 okay so solid slash line there 193 yards passing two big completions in their third touchdown drive but uh how about this for a fun little stat 13 of those 19 completions were thrown five yards or less that is per Cole kubelik and then guys ESPN showed this graphic too at halftime he's throwing 12 of 14 passing my goodness gracious he must be on fire well they also added this on the graphic negative .1 yards through the air was the average that his balls traveled he was a screen passing Merchant out there when they asked him to throw the ball down the field which which wasn't a lot because I don't think they trusted him to do so it did not go that great so Point Blank he was not great uh he was hardly even good that's not what you necessarily want not just out of you know a top Top Flight transfer quarterback but a guy that was well formerly ranked number one overall coming out of high school and look we're not going to make a referendum on dju after one game because well I he's also had years prior to this we've seen him be just well okay at Clemson um and sure you could look at Clemson when he was there and say well they went 11 and three well they went 10 and three when he was over at Clemson but uh if you think those records are because of dju Point BL this isn't disrespectful you just didn't watch or you have a horrible memory um he didn't transfer out of Clemson to go to Oregon State in Corvalis because that's like a college football Mecca over there no disrespect to the Beavers um he he transferred because well in the ACC Championship game he got immediately benched for a true freshman and would you look at that Clemson looked markedly better under him and he realized uhoh I gota go find another one of them starting jobs somewhere else because I just lost mine finally now how is this relevant you may know this guys you probably do know this dju at Oregon state was coached by Jonathan Smith by Brian lingren and look hey they went eight and four last season under dju close to beating Washington too that's right the only team that legitimately played in the national title game last year without the help of stealing signs like if you want a moral Victory right there they came close to beating Washington too never nevertheless pretty solid season over in Corvalis with a pretty average Quarterback so that's punching above their weight they made it work out you know without the defense that Clemson had so I had a little tweet you know this is what I do on college football Saturdays I sit there I ignore my wife I ignore my children I just pop tweets off my phone I said I'm willing to give Jonathan Smith the Mel Tucker extension right now based on what we have seen from dju now that was just a snarky way of saying wow Jonathan Smith must have been a really good coach if he generated some pretty good results with dju as his quarterback and it's not just dju as his quarterback we'll explain here right now but two things that I saw from that game that I also want to elaborate on the first one we're gonna set this up with an email by listener Nicholas he writes in is it just me or is this abysmal performance by DJ Making Jonathan Smith looks so good for making DJ look like a competent quarterback yes 100% because you know what it isn't just dju who was like an average maybe slightly above average on a good day at best quarterback that they had good results with if you go to Oregon State the year prior 10 and three season like just a remarkable year over in Corvalis that is very hard to do it's even harder with the quarterbacks that they had for That season when anyone like to take a guess as to who their quarterbacks were for That season and no it wasn't CJ Stroud by any stret to the imagination it was Ben goldbranson and chance Nolan those two guys combined for 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions guys they won 10 games with two raas playing quarterback like at just at a baseline level that's good coaching that is punching above your weight that is taking a pile of mud and making a sule out of it no disrespect to Mr Nolan or Mr goldbranson but man that's pretty impressive to do that must mean that you're really good at scheming up plays and I understand we had a little Dialogue on this beautiful Sunday about how we're excited for Brian lingren and then Oregon State fans who certainly are just over the Jonathan Smith departure they got a little fired up on Twitter they said well the reason we went 10 and three in 2022 is because we had a really strong defense yes they did they had the best defense in the Pack 12 but also you were in the upper half for scoring like it wasn't like your offense was averaging 15.9 per 15.9 points per game like ours in East Lancing was last year so yes it's going to get better here in East Lan and yes it was fine in Corvalis it was actually pretty good in Corvalis with the group of quarterbacks that were hardly fine I even had one guy reach out saying oh Bengal Branson and chance Nolan you mean the guys that those guys recruited I'm sorry I very sympathetic to the Oregon State fans you are not in Tuscaloosa or Athens Georgia do you know how hard it is to recruit anyone to your program like that's probably the best they could have done and they still turn it into a 10 and three season followed by an eight and4 regular season with dju so yes Baseline it's going to get better for Michigan State but just as a whole it's a pretty good coaching staff that we have coming in right now now the second lesson I also got from this game too and the this is going to break test us a little bit okay this is going to stop us from saying oh my God that now we're going to go 10 and two this year like no no no that was also a good lesson in how important offensive line play is okay there was a marked difference between the offensive line of Georgia Tech and Florida State Florida State they got 3.2 yards per carry half of that was on the offensive line play and half of that was because well they stopped respecting the pass and they were loading the box at the end the game anyway Georgia Tech running the ball with no problem 5.3 yards per carry okay Oregon State 4.8 combined yards per carry in the last two seasons that's also a big reason why they were a strong team so how fast can offensive line play start getting strong here in East laning I will it be this season well I'm not sure that's going to be the story of the year if if the offensive line can click this quickly under jimo then well yeah then seven five might be on the lower end of what you can expect this year but man it also helped make dju a little more comfortable last season as well so what helps a quarterback as much as coaching as much as scheming well an offensive line that allows for comfort and a run game to evolve so yes as I'm watching that game over in Dublin I I did feel a little better about our situation I've always felt good about Jonathan Smith I've always felt pretty good about Brian lingren half because of what they shot at Oregon State and the other half being like I the only way to go is up around these parts if we could just throw that out again but yeah I I did find that uh comforting uh on my couch on Saturday now other quick thought uh you got a few of these comments um is it concerning that dju beat out Aiden Charles last year then like oh wow like Aiden Charles he must not be up to Snuff if he couldn't beat out dju I saw a few Michigan fans tweet about that because what else is there to do on a Saturday other than get upset that Michigan State fans are pretty optimistic about their coach I don't know that that whole dialogue seemed to rub that fan base the wrong way but again they claimed they're very happy this whole off season after their very legitimate National Title regardless no I don't think that is a strike against Aiden Charles okay Aden childes came here as a fourstar out of high school he he wasn't a top 10 recruit right and dju well we have dogged him I I think I've been fairen saying that he's been fine he's been okay okay as a three-year starter transing somewhere and you got a kid that's 17 going on 18 coming in like that that's going to be hard to unseat even just a fine starter as just green as he was uh coming out of high school so no I don't use that necessarily as a strike against Aiden Childs but that's just my two cents I maybe I'm just a crazy Sparty over here all right guys we got more to get to an interesting change that might be happening in college football but first need to talk your ears off about Five Hour Energy my goodness gracious do you ever just need that little boost well hey if you are up on Saturday you need a little boost to get to midnight to watch Hawaii take on Delaware State well yet you might have found yourself ripping a Five Hour Energy Shot or maybe you were sleeping on the couch because you didn't have a Five Hour Energy Shot get in the zone with Five Hour Energy they give you the feeling of alertness and energy you need to get in the zone hey maybe rip one of those before kickoff this Friday in East Lancing especially if you're going to the game the defense needs you on third downs and guys with zero sugar and a convenient portable size it is the perfect pickme up for getting stuff done the 5H Hour Energy website has flavors Galore like watermelon tropical burst grape Berry and there is a flavor for everyone try them all on the site you even have the option to build your own 12 or 24 pack you choose the flavors and it is delivered right to your door if you go to 5our energy.com that is the number five hour energy.com and get some 5 Hour Energy Products today you can use my promo code locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order this offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions the code is not good on subscription orders so go to Five Hour Energy today all right back into the mix here before the weekend this bubbles up too that okay hey the spring transfer portal window the one that kind of jobbed Michigan State a little bit they still benefited from it it was n a total net loss but a lot was to do about the spring transfer portal window well it's going to be proposed that college football is going to get away with it this is from the Yahoo sports story onic quote The Proposal will will oh if I could speak correctly The Proposal would eliminate the April window if players enter the portal outside the established Windows they are not eligible to play immediately at their next school barring the granting of an NCAA waiver the change would come on the heel of another alteration in the portal Windows limiting window from uh 45 to 30 days now I will say this there's a lot of chatter amongst like coaches and staffs out there that like this will never actually pass because even if it does pass well it's gonna be lawsuits Galore by any players that actually want to transfer in the spring but just play along with me in this Fantasy Land here that hey this actually does get pass and this does happen that is uh probably some good news and look I I'm all for player empowerment I think it's great that they're finally getting paid taking advantage of nil what they do on the field I may maybe I'm overstepping here but I I don't think it's out of line to ask that maybe a little power starts coming back to like the coaches and the teams because uh man we got a really good lesson at this off season uh what could happen with seemingly 247 free agency um guys like Gino vandemar Simeon Barrow Derk Haron okay in winter portal cycle they throw their names in and then what does Michigan State do well they get them back sure some of it was recruiting some of it was let's not kid ourselves some nil ponying up more money to keep these guys happy great awesome you're on a roster welcome back to East Lancing for another two or three months before the spring window opens up and look whether it was nefarious or not whether they knew that they were going to just fleece Michigan State and leave no matter what or if it was a situation where they weren't planning on it but hey School a and school B called them up saying hey we're going to double that salary you just got regardless of what it is that puts teams in a really bad spot Jonathan Smith the whole coaching staff they go into the season or the spring cycle thinking great well our defensive line room's fine don't got to recruit any portal players for that this is all fun and well and then what what what what's that U-Haul doing in front of Barrow and Harmon's apartment over there what's going that's just not but guys Point Blank that is just not fair not just to Michigan State this isn't the only school this ever happens at to any campus out there I don't fault any college coach for wanting to leave the college game kind of just like Boston College's head coach Jeff Hayley did to take the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator job like it is ridiculous so limiting the spring portal window just making free agency we'll use air quotes on that free agency just in the winter I think is healthy for everyone involved players still get to be empowered they can still transfer just in a window that makes sense for everyone like it it again Michigan State benefited from it too okay they got Arizona State cornerback Ed Woods at the very last second they got nikai Martinez from UCF like it they have gotten good players in the spring portal cycle but oh boy was a rug pulled out from under them with the likes again of Gino vanark and Simeon Barrow Derek Harman I'm not mentioning Jayden Mangum because he never entered in the winter so different story there as far as like pulling a fast one um but nevertheless let's just limit it to one window for the sake of all of our sanity right now I I think hopefully you guys can agree on that I I don't know I I don't think I'm asking too much here again all for player empowerment but this has gotten a little out of hand with the 247 free agency all right to end this show guys we're I'm just going to walk you through my 12 team college football playoff bracket as week one is upon us I I I know that maybe you don't even care about this but screw it I made one before the weekend I want to share it and I will get out in front of it right now I never even had Florida State in my bracket to begin with so no this is not skewed based on week zero I I I did take Florida State minus 10 and a half I thought they would have no problem beating Georgia Tech but through the length of that season I had concerns about how much they lost on that defensive line and it turned out that's very legitimate because they got bullied uh anyway regardless enough about the seminal here my four Buys so the four teams that are going to be winning their power four championships number one seed Georgia number two seed Ohio State number three seed Utah and guys winning the ACC this goes against my better judgment like this is like you've adopted a dog eight times you brought him back to the shelter all eight times because every single time even though you're told by the shelter staff that things have gotten better he's going to be nicer you've spent so much money on training it's going to be just great you got him a bunch of toys that'll change his behavior too even though you've been told all that and have lied to yourself about that all eight times there you go back to the night time to the shelter and that dog I'm talking about right now I can't believe I'm doing this is Miami like I think Miami is gonna win the ACC again this goes against my better judgment all that they have shown Us in the last 15 to 20 years is complete inaptitude but I'm not that inspired by the rest of the AC to be honest I only have one other ACC team in my bracket but man Miami I do like what they return on defense they do have a lot of talent and I can't wait to get burn on this one but yeah that's my fourth Buy Miami anyway the other uh what would that be let's do the math here eight teams that I have in my bracket five Seed Oregon I think they win the regular season matchup against Ohio state but I think Ohio State pops them back in the Big 10 championship game regardless five Oregon versus number 12 Memphis that would be your group of five qualifier really wanted to put Appalachian State in there but I'm too much of a coward I think the sun belt's just going to be too hard for a lot of teams and I can see them getting one two three losses in that run there so it's gonna be Memphis for me number six Texas versus number 11 Oklahoma State that's right I don't know if we're going back to the first segment of doing both predictions but Oklahoma State they return a lot on both sides of the ball and I think their schedule is very manageable number seven Alabama versus number 10 here's my other ACC team this is more offthe wall than Oklahoma State I think Virginia Tech I'm liking Virginia Tech I think their schedule is very manageable so hey there you go go hokeys they return a lot on both sides of the ball guys I believe they're top 15 in the nation both on offense and defense for how much production they return so fire up hokes you've made the college football playoff and my last first round game number eight Old Miss versus number nine maou love what Old Miss did in the transfer portal this year I mean my goodness gracious Walter Nolan I believe the guy's name is from Texas A&M he's just the start of the number one transfer Hall in the nation so yes I think Old Miss gets it done and makes the college football playoff now the second round think Oregon beats number four Miami I'm sure that'll go well with everyone down there in Coral Gables Number Six Beats number three Utah number two oh State beats number seven Alabama and then number one Georgia beats number eight Old Miss we're going to go to the semifinals here Georgia I have them beating Oregon and then Texas I have beating Ohio State and Ryan day well he gets shoved into a Canon immediately after this game and shot to Mars by all the donors over there at Ohio State they will be living and it will be Georgia Over Texas for the national title that's what I got right now another prediction I even think this is a bold prediction but as I'm building this bracket I'm sitting there thinking I I don't think there's a single team that is undefeated going into the college football playoff like Georgia yeah I got them as my one seed they have a gauntlet of a schedule I I could even see them having two losses and I that sounds crazy two losses and still being the number one seed with a schedule that strong and a team that strong they'll show it on the field too I I think it's going to happen like that so yes I again I I don't know how h of a take that is I I can't imagine it's that spicy but I just don't think anyone's going to have a zero in the Lost column come college football playoff time so folks thank you very much for listening to all that I just wanted to share my work with everyone before I just became Mr hey Told You So when Virginia Tech makes a college football playoff wanted to show my work here so guys thanks a lot hopefully we're GNA have some fun guest this week we're trying to work a few out right now but hey until then guys if it happens in E Lancing you know where to hear about it it's right here locked on Spartans your team in green white five days a week see you all later on it's game week let's celebrate it love you all go green