A Michigan State running back hadn’t rushed for a touchdown since 2019.

Then Kenneth Walker III came to town.

The transfer from Wake Forest ended the drought on the first play from scrimmage in the 2021 season opener against Northwestern, breaking loose for a 75-yard touchdown.

Walker continued his rampage, setting the tone early with 2 TDs and 103 yards on the Spartans’ first 2 possessions. He carried the Spartans to a 38-21 win over the Wildcats, giving coach Mel Tucker the season start he’d been looking for and seemingly answering any questions about the solidity of the running back room.

But Walker insists he’s just getting started.

“I thought I played OK, honestly,” Walker said. “I definitely missed a few things that we could capitalize on that I think could have made the game a little bit larger of a margin. Definitely got a lot to work on still, and we’re going to do that this week.”

That’s gotta be music to Spartans’ fans ears, considering Walker had racked up 264 yards and 4 rushing TDs on 23 carries by the final whistle against the traditionally stout Northwestern defense. He is the first Spartans player to score 4 touchdowns in a game since 2010 when Edwin Baker did it in a win against Minnesota, and the first 200-yard rusher since Le’Veon Bell in 2012.

All told, the Michigan State run game cranked out 326 yards on 37 carries. That made life easy for QB Payton Thorne, who added 28 yards to the rushing attack and had an efficient passing day. Thorne, who wasn’t even announced as the Spartans’ starter until just prior to kickoff, converted on 15 of 25 pass attempts for 185 yards and 1 touchdown — and most importantly, zero interceptions.

Michigan State finished with 511 total yards, erasing a lot of bad memories from 2020. The Spartans finished last season with only 640 rushing yards on 239 carries and 2 rushing touchdowns — none by a running back — over their 7 games.

“There [were] a lot of questions about our team,” said Tucker, who welcomed 41 new players this year, 20 of them via the transfer portal. “A lot has been said about who we may be or who we may not be, and I told them that we had an opportunity tonight to tell our version of the story. … That’s what we did.”

Tucker’s plan continues to unfold. He only announced that Thorne would start over graduate transfer Anthony Russo during his pregame radio show.

Saturday was another step in the process. The win is Tucker’s 3rd since taking the helm at Michigan State, with 2 of those now having come at the expense of Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald. Last November, the Spartans beat the previously undefeated and then-No. 8 Wildcats in East Lansing, 29-20.

“We know we had really good spring practices and a very physical camp, and so we’ve just been waiting to show the world what we can do,” Tucker added.

Walker, one of 14 transfers from Power 5 schools, certainly made Tucker look good on Saturday. After the Wildcats closed to within 10 points late in the game, Walker slammed the door with a 6-yard TD run to close the scoring.

Of course, it’s only the first game of the season, and as Tucker said after the game, “we’ve got a lot of football ahead of us and we’re going to keep it in perspective.”

But  running all over last season’s B1G West champion and what was one of last season’s best defenses will turn a few heads, for even the most skeptical.

Was it a fluke, or will this Spartans team and all its new faces continue to roll?

Next week’s opponent, Youngstown State — along with the rest of us — will find out starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11, on the B1G Network.