Utah State at Michigan State
Utah State is a perfect opening game for the Spartans. Good enough to be taken seriously, but not strong enough to pose a real threat.
The Aggies have 19 starters back from a 6-7 campaign last year. They are typically a lower-tier bowl type team and will be this year too.
With 19 starters back, I expect Mark Dantonio to stick to a vanilla game plan to get his guys back into rhythm before the game against Arizona State next week.
If he does, the game will be close for a quarter, maybe two. Spartans pull away in the second half to win 45-17.