Week 1 is in the books. Michigan State is 1-0. And we’re on to another week.

That was the team’s message after Friday’s 38-31 win over Utah State, and it was echoed during interview sessions on Tuesday and going forward into Week 2, as the Spartans prepare for a matchup against Herm Edwards and Arizona State on Saturday at 10:45 p.m. ET.

Now that we’ve had some game action, it seems like the perfect time for our first mailbag of the season. Thanks for all the questions and thanks for subscribing to The Athletic. We’ll try to answer as many as possible, and some of the questions that weren’t answered will be discussed in our Michigan State-Arizona State preview on Friday.

So, let’s get into things, shall we?

How big of a factor do you see the heat being in this game? I know Lewerke is from Arizona but I think most of the rest of the team is from the midwest — Teja B.

I think it’ll be a bigger factor than the team anticipates. The Athletic‘s new Arizona State writer Doug Haller spent time talking to former Big Ten football players about traveling to Arizona and playing in the heat. Really interesting read if you have the time. Basically, none of the players were too complimentary of the conditions. Also in Doug’s article, he pointed out that ASU is 9-0 against Big Ten teams in regular-season games at Sun Devil Stadium, and all nine contests unfolded in September, the hottest month on the schedule. When you factor in the late start time, the Sun Devils genuinely see it as an advantage.

Michigan State has downplayed the weather. It’s been hot in East Lansing this week (about 90 degrees and humid) so the team is trying to use the heat here as game prep. It helps when the most important player on the team grew up playing in the heat. Brian Lewerke, a former four-star prospect out of Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, said he’s used to the weather and has been advising his teammates to drink plenty of water.

I plan to do the same.

What’s the biggest concern from Week 1 (meaning which do you think will take the longest amount of time to correct throughout the season):

1.) Lack of push from the OLine to open up the run game for LJ.

2.) Lack of rush from anyone on the DLine besides Willekes.

3.) Defense ill-prepared for high tempo when it was no secret that was Utah State’s gameplan. — Kyle V.

Since you brought up three good points, I’ll address each of them.

1). No doubt this is an area the team needs to improve. Michigan State averaged just 3.93 yards per carry for the night and a lot of the big plays on the ground came on outside runs. You gotta be able to run the ball with consistency if you want to win games and accomplish the things Michigan State wants to accomplish. There’s no question about that.

We’ll see if LT Cole Chewins is out there this week, which should add some stability going forward. But players and coaches have both addressed the lack of push as something to work on. We saw things pick up in the second half, with 129 of MSU’s 165 yards coming in the last 30 minutes or so. But overall, players and coaches weren’t happy with the performance and know it needs to improve.

2). I think the lack of rush has more to do with how quickly Utah State got rid of the ball. It’s hard to generate a consistent pass rush when the ball is already in a receiver’s hands across the middle of the field by the time you get there. I thought sophomore defensive end Jacub Panasiuk did a nice job disrupting a play in the second quarter that essentially led to Khari Willis’ interception. And, as you said, Kenny Willekes looked strong, particularly in the second half. I’m not as concerned about the pass rush, but it’ll be interesting to see how Michigan State fares against Arizona State’s offensive line, which didn’t allow a sack in Week 1.

3). Utah State will probably be the fastest team on the schedule this year. While the game plan was known, players and coaches clearly underestimated how fast-paced USU’s offense truly was, which is why you saw some 12-men-on-the-field penalties. Those are unforced errors that can’t happen.

There were concerns coming into the game that Mark Dantonio teams have trouble with up-tempo offenses, and Michigan State didn’t do much Friday night to dispel those concerns. I’m sure some of MSU’s future opponents will watch film and try to emulate some of the things Utah State did, but that’s easier said than done. Utah State is wired with speed and had all summer to prepare for Michigan State. I don’t think it’ll be that much of a concern going forward.

Is Cole Chewins going to play this weekend? — Dylan K.

I think it depends how he looks this week. He’s been practicing, which is all Dantonio would tell us at his weekly news conference since he doesn’t discuss player injuries with the media. If he looks good in practice, I believe he’ll play. But I don’t expect the coaches to force anything and get him back on the field before he’s ready. They’ll need him 100 percent healthy and ready for conference play, so there’s no need to rush. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Probably not the bold prediction you were hoping for. Apologies.

Connor Heyward rushed five times for 42 yards and two TDs on Friday, and also averaged 21.0 yards on three kick returns. (Mike Carter/USA TODAY Sports)

Will we see more touches to Connor Heyward? (LJ Scott – 23 rushes, 3 catches; Heyward – 5 rushes, 3 KO returns) — Will A.

That would be my guess. It’s interesting, though. Most of us came into the season expecting this to be LJ Scott’s breakout year, the year he crosses 1,000 yards for the first time and becomes the true workhorse back, especially with the transfer of Madre London and graduation of Gerald Holmes. It still very well could be, but that belief might’ve had more to do with the fact that there was little to no experience behind him.

It’s never a bad thing to have two capable running backs, and with Heyward sort of establishing himself in that first game, I expect to see his touches increase. Dantonio said he thought Scott ran hard and played well in other areas despite not breaking off the big run you’d expect to see, but the Spartans are going to ride the hot hand at times this season. In some games, that could, and probably will, turn out to be Heyward.

Will MSU’s offense ever make its way into this century? With a really good receiving corp and a mobile QB, this team seems tailor-made for a spread style offense that would be really good. — Brandon P.

Good question. The coaching staff clearly wanted to establish the run early in the season opener. I don’t necessarily blame MSU for the strategy since Utah State ranked 116th nationally against the run last season. That’s what the tape showed. It just seemed like they were waiting for one of those runs up the middle to break out for a big gain but, obviously, it never happened.

Coaches don’t like to reveal the entire playbook in the first game, so I expect to see some more creativity sprinkled in here and there as the season progresses. We did see the offense start to open up more in the second half with some of those options late in the game and a bit of trickery on the two-point conversion to Felton Davis III. I also think more RPOs mixed in there would benefit this offense, too. To your point, the personnel is there to make it happen. However, for the most part, I expect the staff to stick with what it knows.

Utah State put the pressure on QB Brian Lewerke all night last Friday in East Lansing. (Mike Carter/USA TODAY Sports)

Would you agree that the o-line struggling in both pass protection and run blocking is the biggest concern moving forward for this team? If not, what would you say is the biggest concern? — Austin R.

I think it’s certainly the most glaring issue at this point. We’ve mentioned some of the run-blocking concerns earlier, but pass-blocking needs to improve as well. Lewerke was sacked three times and faced constant pressure throughout the game against Utah State, a blitz-heavy team that was able to create different looks. Again, Chewins should help in this department, but until we see what this group looks like as a whole, we can only go off of what we see on the field.

Arizona State defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales is in his first season with the team after coming over from San Diego State. Since there isn’t much tape on ASU with a new staff in place, Michigan State players and coaches have been watching film of San Diego State’s defense, which ranked 11th in total defense under Gonzales a year ago. The Sun Devils racked up nine (!!!) sacks in their Week 1 win over UTSA and did a good job mixing in different looks, dropping defensive linemen into coverage at times and coming at the Roadrunners from a number of angles. It’ll be a good test for the offensive line, for sure. We’ll see how it plays out.

How will the secondary fare against N’Keal Harry? What’s Dantonio’s track record against game-breaking WRs like him and how will it impact the rest of the defensive game plan?

— Owen K.

What a monster opening game for N’Keal Harry, huh? He hauled in six receptions for 140 yards and two equally spectacular touchdowns Saturday night. Clearly hasn’t skipped a beat after recording 82 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017. Anytime you go up against a talented 6-foot-4 receiver who has breakaway speed and can make things happen after the catch, it’s going to be a tough matchup.

Here’s what ASU coach Herm Edwards had to say about Harry:

“It’s important to him to play well. He loves the competition. He loves the spotlight. He doesn’t run to the shade. He likes the light on him and he likes to perform in big-time situations.”

Harry has the look of a future early-round draft pick, and played like it Saturday night. I haven’t been around long enough to know how MSU has performed in the past against big-time playmakers at wide receiver, but secondary coach Paul Haynes said the team will throw different looks at Harry to try to limit the damage, which is easier said than done.

It seemed like Butler continued to get burned against Utah State, and they continued to play him. Do you think we will see some of the younger guys play, or will they let Butler continue to play? I like Butler, but it seemed every time they ran a slant, Utah completed it, and it was to Butler’s side. — Dean Y.

I was initially surprised the coaching staff didn’t rotate other guys in at corner, but I guess it’s hard to do when you look up and Utah State is already lined up for another play. The pace really affected some of the things Michigan State wanted to do.

I think more than anything, though, the Aggies really attacked the middle of the field with those slants and intermediate routes. It seems like the defense had sort of a bend-don’t-break mentality Friday night, so the coaches were OK with giving up yards as long as they limited the big play and made Utah State work to string long drives together. Josh Butler might’ve been picked on a few occasions, but that’s to be expected when you lose a top corner like Josiah Scott.

The defense as a whole didn’t allow too many passing plays for big gains, and Haynes said he thought Butler played well considering what he was asked to do. He’s listed as the starter again this week, but Haynes said he expects redshirt freshman Shakur Brown and sophomore Tre Person to get some time Saturday. We might see a few other guys mixed in there, depending on how the game progresses.

I thought LJ looked good on the screen passes, especially that one where he paused let the linemen do their work then cut down the field for a big gain. To me, this shows that it really was the guards and tackles who were problematic not so much him. Is this assessment correct or am I viewing things through a hopelessly hopeful prism? — David W.

I know I’m new here, but the patience LJ showed on that play looked eerily similar to a certain former MSU running back playing in the AFC North (well, sort of playing. Not at the moment). I thought he did a really nice job letting the play develop in front of him there.

To answer your question, I think that’s a fair assessment. We discussed the offensive line a little earlier, but you just didn’t see too many open running lanes up the middle Friday night. I’m interested to see where Football Outsiders ranks MSU’s Week 1 offensive line production. They use some advanced statistics that show the effectiveness of every FBS offensive line, and we’ve looked at some of the rankings for Michigan State in past stories. The Spartans didn’t rate well as a run-blocking unit last season. I expect the numbers to show more of the same when they’re released this week.

The good news, at least early on, is that teams learn a lot after Week 1. It sounds like a simple concept, but after months of practicing against your own teammates every day, actual game action gives you a sense of the things that need to improve and what other teams are looking to exploit. We’ll see if the offensive line is able to bounce back this week.

(Top photo: Mike Carter/USA TODAY Sports)