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reasons MSU fans aren't panicking when it comes to their QB. "I think there's some good news in the passing game, but the execution was defi- nitely off with the wideouts — no ques- tion," said Graham Couch, a Spartans col- umnist for the Lansing State Journal. "He had receivers in the wrong positions, but he always threw the ball to the right place. Only one interception was his fault, and it was just a bad throw behind [the receiver]; it wasn't the wrong throw to make. "On the final two drives of the game, which ultimately gave them the lead, and the other where they marched down the field and took up seven or eight minutes, he made all the right decisions. There weren't any explosive plays, but there were a number of big throws on third- and-five, third-and-seven." Maxwell threw for 275 yards with a pair of scores and no picks in game two against the Chippewas on the road last Saturday. A major concern heading into this fall was identifying reliable receivers, a group that struggled against Boise State. The Spartans lost their top four receiv- ers from a year ago — B.J. Cunningham (79 catches for 1,306 yards and 12 touch- downs), Keshawn Martin (66 catches for 777 yards and four scores), Brian Lin- thicum (31 receptions for 364 yards) and Keith Nichol (26 snags for 352 yards and three touchdowns). The four players that comprise the depth chart at the two staring positions — soph- omores Keith Humphrey, Tony Lippett and Jeremy Langford, and freshman An- dre Sims — accounted for six total recep- tions for 83 yards in 2011. Lippett had a particularly rough first outing against Boise State. "That game was two or three plays from being a complete blowout," Couch said. "Michigan State really dominated it. If Tony Lippett, who basically gave one in- terception away and fumbled what would Similar to Notre Dame's Tyler Eif- ert, MSU tight end Dion Sims, a 6-5, 280-pound junior, is the team's biggest and best receiving weapon in the red zone. Sims, who is expected to turn pro follow- ing this season, caught 12 passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns in 2011, but had seven grabs for 65 yards against Boise State. He has 10 snags for 113 yards and a score through two games. The offensive line returns four starters, but head coach Mark Dantonio is clearly looking for a better effort from his big men protecting their quarterback moving forward. Maxwell was touched 11 times against Boise State, though he didn't take a sack. Bell racked up an impressive 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns in that game, but had to dig deep. "For [Boise] losing six defensive line- men, [Bell] had to work for it," Couch said. "He wasn't thrashing them. But Bell is a beast. He's clearly a ferocious back. Can he do it against the Notre Dames and Ohio States of the world? Who knows?" What Michigan State will undoubtedly be able to do against any competition is get into opposing backfields. The Spar- tans pocketed a league-high 45 tackles for loss last season and return veteran leader William Gholston (6-7, 278), a surefire first-round draft pick in 2013 at defensive end who compiled 70 tackles, 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage and five sacks in 2011. However, the strongest unit on defense is at linebacker, where the trio of senior Chris Norman and juniors Max Bullough (season-high 89 tackles in 2011) and Denicos Allen cause a lot of trouble. Two-time All-Big Ten cornerback Junior defensive end William Gholston notched 70 total stops, 16 tackles for loss and five sacks last year. Junior Bennie Fowler (6-1, 218) PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN STATE have been a touchdown … if he just sits the game out, they probably win by three or four touchdowns. Another pick was off Larry Caper's hands." emerged as the receiving unit's standout player thus far with 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. ✦ PAGE 2 Johnny Adams opted not to turn pro and is back for his senior season opposite junior Darqueze Dennard. "The defense is ferocious," Couch said. "In the second half [versus Boise] they didn't give up anything. [Boise] just couldn't move the ball." ✦