Cam Edwards wasted no time making Michigan State’s season opener look like his kind of game.
On the Spartans’ first offensive snap, the senior tailback ripped off a 10-yard run and immediately set the tone for what followed. He finished that opening drive with a two-yard touchdown run from the Wildcat, giving Michigan State an early spark and putting his stamp on the debut right away.
By the end of the night, Edwards had handled a true bell-cow load: 27 carries and two catches for 105 scrimmage yards, with 98 coming on the ground and seven through the air. It was the kind of workload that left no doubt about where the Spartans plan to start offensively.
For much of the game, Edwards looked like a back who could keep defenses guessing every time he touched it. He mixed patience with sudden burst, showing the stop-start acceleration that made him one of the most entertaining players on the field. At times, the comparison to watching Kenneth Walker III dice up defenses five years ago felt hard to miss.
Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald fed him early and often in the first half. Edwards carried 14 times for 67 yards before halftime and scored the Spartans’ only touchdown of the game.
But the game also showed the other side of that workload. Edwards appeared to wear down as the night went on, and injuries briefly took him off the field twice.
The first exit came after he broke a big play down the sideline and was steered out of bounds by a defender. Even without obvious contact, Edwards seemed to be limping and ended up missing two drives before coming back. Later, he left again after what looked like the wind being knocked out of him.
Even then, Fitzgerald kept turning to him.
Edwards got 13 more carries in the second half after logging 14 in the opening two quarters, finishing with 27 attempts overall. The production dipped late, though. He added only 31 rushing yards after halftime, and Michigan State’s offense lost some of the rhythm it had when he was fresh and darting through traffic.
That was the clear takeaway from Edwards’ debut: when he was shaking and baking, the offense had life. When fatigue set in, everything slowed down.
Still, it was a strong first showing for a back who figures to carry a major load all season. Fitzgerald wants Michigan State to win with a bully-ball approach, and that plan starts with Edwards. His debut showed the patience, explosiveness and toughness to be the centerpiece of it.
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