Final words? Nah. I'll throw in my observations, for whatever they're worth:
The good:
I thought the o-line looked much better against a solid defensive MSU d-line.
I thought Tommy also did a much better job of staying in the pocket, rather than floating back out of the pocket. Perhaps that's trust after the first point.
McMullen probably had his best game. He looked quick off the snap. He got great penetration on the 4&1 that set a tone.
Despite no sack, the d-line did a decent job of getting pressure. The MSU line isn't what they were last year, but last year they were simply one of the best lines in football.
Cross ran possessed. He didn't dally, but still had a couple of nice hop steps for lateral movement. Great game for him. Too bad they couldn't get him to 100.
Decent tackling out of the secondary and the linebackers. Jones, for his size, really does a nice job of sticking his nose in there. Cockrell had a rough day in some respects, but he made a nice play on their last third and long.
The negatives:
Biggest coaching head scratcher for me was not getting Cross back in the game on the 2nd last touchdown when we got it to the 2. I can see having Newby in earlier in the drive for the better pass options, and even not subbing after getting to the 2, but after the penalty, I would have liked to see Cross back in. He's the hot hand and the natural fit for a goal line offense. Newby is nursing a bad ankle and had only a few touches. End up getting Cross back in for the 3rd down, where Tommy scored on basically a sweep.
I like the good old fashioned I formation and think it can be productive for this personnel. But I don't see the point of using it in a third and long situation, like we did a couple of times. If everyone knows you're going to throw, and Tommy is more comfortable with operating out of the shotgun, why get cute?
I know the narrative is that the defense was able to get stops when it mattered. I'm not sure I get that. MSU didn't punt in the 2nd half until there was 55 seconds left and they had just run it 3 straight times to run clock. Before that drive it was 4 straight touchdown drives. Granted, the defense made them earn it on several of those - stopping the run and contesting passes - but MSU wasn't getting stopped until the decided to play to our strength to run clock.
I don't also get the narrative that Carter was dominating in his blocking. He had some really good blocks, but he also was thrown around like a rag doll a few times (see the first play on our last drive) or simply missed blocks. Not to pick on the kid, but I thought it was mixed bag.
Still way too many times our linebackers are stuck in no man land between going after the QB and defending a receiver. This was particularly true anytime Cook rolled out. I don't know if that's they way they are being coached or just a product of inexperience.
