Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 31-7 win over Central ...

1. That second half rescued the vibe and showed a little something. But MSU's offense still has a lot to prove.

EAST LANSING – Give Michigan State credit for growing into this game. But, man, the Spartans’ 31-7 win over Central Michigan on Friday night didn’t necessarily inspire confidence that MSU is up for what’s ahead.

But at least the red flags (and yellow ones) that were out in full force in the first half — along with a few boos — can be put away for the time being.

Maybe MSU’s offense will be OK. But we’ll have to see it against someone other than a Mid-American Conference opponent that wore down as the Spartans’ defense took away the Chippewas’ spirit.

Nothing came easy for a long while Saturday night. Quarterback Noah Kim, named the starter a week ago he revealed afterward, was off the mark more than he was on target for most of the first half. The targets he was supposed to be able to count on — Maliq Carr and Tre Mosley — dropped passes they should catch. The Spartans were stuffed on two fourth-and-1s, both with Kim in shot gun and the running back deep behind him. Uninspiring calls that fit a concerning half.

"Nervous energy," Mel Tucker blamed for the rough start.

MSU stayed with Kim until garbage time, which, along with when he was told he was the starter, were signs he’s the quarterback for right now, more than this being an ongoing competition with Katin Houser. Tucker confirmed it afterward.

Still, he can’t have too many more first halves like that.

"Over the course of time, he won the job," Tucker said of Kim. "This is his fourth season. He knows the offense. We feel like he can go in and run the offense. … He's very talented."

MSU’s offensive numbers turned out pretty good, better than their overall performance. Because what happened to CMU in the second half is a story as old as time for MAC teams that don’t have the size or depth to give 60 minutes of grit.

But, if you’re MSU, given where you were just before halftime, you’ll take it. You’ll take Kim finishing 18-for-31 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing an interception. You’ll take eight different receivers and tight ends catching passes. You’ll take Carr bouncing back with a fabulous touchdown catch in the back corner of the end zone. You’ll take finding out you’ve likely got a feature running back in Nathan Carter, who finished with 131 yards on 18 carries. You might even ride him a little more next time.

You’ll take it. Because for quite a while, 31-7 didn’t seem like a plausible outcome.

2. Jaron Glover might have saved MSU’s night – and Noah Kim

Whatever good comes out of this MSU football season, it began with a 32-yard over-the-shoulder catch by redshirt freshman Jaron Glover with just over a minute left in the first half Friday night. 

MSU badly needed someone to make a play. Kim needed it. He was one more overthrow away (or receiver drop) from boos raining down on the Spartans as they went into halftime trailing Central Michigan 7-3. 

That throw by Kim and catch by Glover on third-and-3 from MSU’s 33-yard line might have rescued the Spartans and their quarterback. I don’t know if Kim starts the second half if the first half hadn’t ended the way it did, though Tucker said afterward that they weren't considering making a change.

Glover, a 6-foot-1 receiver from Sarasota, Florida, followed up his first catch with another terrific grab (on a great throw by Kim), this time high-pointing a deep pass, bringing it in with a defender on him, a 33-yard play that put the Spartans at the CMU 2-yard line. Nathan Carter took it in from there, 10-7 MSU, the vibes changed, the home-crowd hostility alleviated.

Maybe MSU’s defense would have taken hold of the game either way. Maybe Kim and the offense would have found a rhythm even without spark at the end of the first half, as the Chippewas wore down. Maybe. We’ll never know. Glover’s two big catches — two of his three on the night — changed the game.

3. MSU’s defense did the job on a night it was needed

It’s too early to say the Spartans will be fine defensively this season. Taking control against a one-dimensional Mid-American Conference opponent does not mean you’ll be able to handle what Washington is going to bring to East Lansing in two weeks. 

But that second-half performance should at least keep hope alive. 

MSU allowed three first downs and 35 yards after halftime — before garbage time — stopping the Chippewas on all eight second-half third-down attempts. They got a handle on the quick feet of CMU quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr., who’s a difficult dude to bring down. Cal Haladay’s interception off an Angelo Gross tipped pass ruined a promising CMU drive early in the third quarter. It was curtains from there.

MSU’s defense kept giving the ball back to the Spartans’ offense until that struggling unit got going. That’s complementary football, you might say, the defense carrying the day. There hasn’t been a lot of that around here over the past three years. 

The tests are going to get tougher soon. But MSU’s defense passed this one. 

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.