It was nothing short of a dominating performance tonight in East Lansing on Homecoming night.
The Michigan State Spartans improved to a perfect 5-0 on the 2021 season, manhandling Eastern Kentucky by a 48-31 final score on the backs of an electric performance from wideout Jayden Reed. He was responsible for two touchdowns on the night, including returning a punt 88 yards on the first offensive possession of the evening.
“What you see is what you get,” head coach Mel Tucker said afterwards. “He’s a difference maker for us. He can do it all.”
Of course, Reed has entered the Spartans history books as only the third player in team history to return two punts for a touchdown in a single season, joining the likes of Bill Simpson (1972) and James Ellis (1951).
“It kind of felt like deja vu again,” Reed said. “So it was cool returning it on the first play instead of like the end of the game. It was pretty cool to get in the end zone early.”
Spartans quarterback Payton Thorne would factor into the victory in a big way, throwing for a career high 327 yards and helping the Spartans to the highest total point mark in a single half of a game since 2014.
“I’d say there was a sense of urgency this week,” Thorne said.
The Spartans are off to their best start since 2015, when they began that particular campaign with a perfect 8-0 record en route to a berth in the College Football Playoff. But Tucker won’t let his players get ahead of themselves.
“We’re 5-0 and that’s a good start but we know the most important thing is what we do next,” Tucker said.
– – Quotes via The Detroit News Link – –
