Miami's Manny Diaz: Michigan State football 'playing as well as anybody in the country'

Manny Diaz made it abundantly clear he’s been watching Michigan State football film.

Of course, he only needed to see 23 seconds’ worth of two games to point out the obvious.

“It is unique to see a team that scored on the first play of each game…,” Miami’s coach said Monday, pointing to 75-yard touchdowns by the Spartans to open wins at Northwestern and Youngstown State. “It catches your attention.”

His other observation, which has been plainly evident through two full games? The 2-0 Spartans are “a much different team from what they were a year ago.”

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That is clear with the U-turn in offensive production — posting 40 points a game to rank 26th in the Football Bowl Subdivision while ranking sixth in rushing yards (299 a game) and ninth in total yards at 553 — as well as the intensity Diaz sees in coach Mel Tucker’s revitalized defense.

MSU is coming off Saturday’s 42-14 trouncing of lower-division Youngstown State and a season-opening Big Ten road win at Northwestern, 38-21. The Spartans and Hurricanes kick off at noon Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on ABC.

“Michigan State is starting the season as well and playing as well as anybody in the country. They've been dynamic,” Diaz said. “The numbers you bring up on offense, defense — really in all three phases — kind of catch your eye, blowing people out in the first half of games versus a good Northwestern team and then just definitely outclassed Youngstown State this past weekend.”

Diaz pointed to the job running backs Kenneth Walker III and sophomore Jordon Simmons have done in driving that run game behind an offensive line Pro Football Focus College graded as the second-best in the nation in Week 2. Miami’s coach also pointed to the ability of receivers Jayden Reed, Jalen Nailor and Tre Mosley to get open in the secondary and tight ends Connor Heyward and Tyler Hunt “that can really attack you.”

But Diaz reserved his highest compliments for quarterback Payton Thorne. The sophomore threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns while running for another score Saturday, and he displayed strong game management (185 yards and a touchdown passing, 28 yards rushing) against Northwestern.

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“I really think the quarterback is making it all go,” Diaz said of Thorne. “He's got ability with his arm, and he's also got ability with his feet. He'll pull zone reads and is a threat to run the ball from the scramble. So it's going to be a great challenge for our defense. …

“You have to prepare for it all, right, because they have great balance because they can beat you running, throwing or with the quarterback run game. There's not a lot of teams that have the ability to do all three.”

The Hurricanes (1-1) fell out of the USA TODAY/AFCA Coaches Poll on Sunday following their 25-23 home escape against Appalachian State. Quarterback D’Eriq King went 20 for 33 for 200 yards through the air with no touchdowns and no interceptions but ran 19 times for 79 yards. That came after Alabama thoroughly dissected Miami in the opener, 44-13.

Diaz said his offense needs to be prepared for a “tough, physical, hard-nosed” MSU defense.

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“So it's gonna be imperative for us to be able to match their toughness, physicality, and be assignment-sound to make sure we can pick up all the stuff that they throw at you,” he said. “They do a nice job on third down with their disguises and try to mess around with your pass protections. Just a great challenge.”

Much of what Diaz’s scouting of the first two games, he said, renders moot much of what the Spartans put on tape during their 2-5 season in Tucker’s debut. Some of that is due to the personnel MSU added, some due to the coaches getting to make a better imprint on their players after going through Year 1 of a program change during “the extraordinary nature” of a pandemic.

Ultimately, though, with one lasting impression from what he’s seen.

“We knew even in our summer scouting reports that the first two games would really tell the story of who we'd be playing,” Diaz said. “And obviously it's told the story that we got a good team coming in.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Miami's Manny Diaz: Michigan State 'playing as well as anybody'