Put up-Recreation Notes: Western Michigan – Michigan State College Athletics

GAME NOTES
• Michigan State improved 11-0 in dwelling Friday evening video games to start out the season since 2011 and 14-2 total in Friday evening video games throughout that very same time span.

• MSU head coach Jonathan Smith is 2-0 in Friday evening season openers at Michigan State because the Spartans topped Florida Atlantic, 16-10, throughout his MSU head teaching debut on Aug. 30, 2024. 

• The Spartans improved to 89-37-3 (.702) all-time in season openers, together with 23-4 (.852) in its final 27 openers . . . as well as, the Spartans are 107-22 (.829) all-time in dwelling openers, together with victories in 26 of the previous 27 years (solely loss: 2020 vs. Rutgers on Oct. 24, 2020).

• MSU has received 25 consecutive dwelling openers towards non-conference opposition, courting again to 1999. 

• Friday was MSU’s second-straight dwelling opener performed within the month of August after final yr’s season-opener on Aug. 30, beating Florida Atlantic . . . the Spartans improved to 10-2 all-time in video games performed in August, with the lone losses coming within the 1998 season opener on Aug. 29, 1998, dropping at dwelling to Colorado State (23-16) and the 2008 openers on Aug. 30, 2008, at California (38-31). 

SERIES NOTES

• Friday’s recreation marked the 18th assembly between Michigan State and Western Michigan and Friday evening’s Victory for MSU was the Spartans’ 14th-straight win over WMU that dates again to 1921 . . . MSU now leads the all-time sequence, 16-2, within the sequence that started in 1908 . . . the Spartans lead the sequence in video games performed in East Lansing, 15-2.

OFFENSE NOTES

• Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles was 17-of-23 passing for 155 yards with one TD move and no INT . . . it was Chiles’ seventh-straight recreation with no less than one TD move courting again to the ultimate six video games of 2024 season, in addition to his 14th profession recreation with no less than one TD toss . . . Chiles additionally ran his streak to 4 video games in a row with out an INT courting again to the ultimate three video games of final season . . . Chiles had a career-high tying 26-yard run within the second quarter to arrange Makhi Frazier’s TD earlier than halftime.

• Sophomore operating again Makhi Frazier made his first profession begin and carried the ball for profession highs of 14 occasions for 103 yards and one landing, marking the primary Spartan operating again with a 100-yard outing since Nathan Carter (present Atlanta Falcons RB) had 118 yards vs. Michigan final season on Oct. 26, 2024 . . . Frazier scored his first TD as a Spartan with a 9-yard scoring scamper within the second quarter.

• Frazier’s 103 yards marks the fifth-straight season that the Spartans had a 100-yard rusher within the season-opener after Kay’ron Lynch-Adams final season, previous Nathan Carter in 2023, together with Jalen Berger in 2022 and Kenneth Walker III in 2021.

• Fellow sophomore operating again Brandon Tullis additionally scored the primary TD of his Spartan profession with a 12-yard run for MSU’s opening rating within the first quarter . . . Tullis completed with seven carries for 53 yards, additionally each career-bests, after simply seven speeding makes an attempt for 20 yards in 2024.

• Redshirt senior operating again Elijah Tau-Tolliver made his Spartan debut Friday evening after transferring from Sacramento State, and he added eight carries for 17 yards. 

• Senior huge receiver Omari Kelly additionally made his Spartan debut in Friday evening’s season-opener, after transferring from Middle Tennessee, and he had seven receptions for 75 yards . . . Kelly had three catches throughout one MSU drive spanning the top of the primary quarter and begin of the second quarter, with two of the three going for first downs . . . on the evening, 5 of Kelly’s seven catches went for first downs, whereas including one rush for 8 yards that additionally went for first downs, giving Kelly six first downs.

• Sophomore huge receiver Nick Marsh had 5 receptions for 32 yards, together with a 7-yard TD catch from Chiles within the second stanza to place MSU forward, 14-0 . . . it was Marsh’s fourth profession TD catch . . . Marsh had a stretch of a catch on three-straight performs within the third quarter.

• Redshirt junior tight finish Michael Masunas tied a career-high with two catches, going for 16 yards . . . each of Masunas’ catches went for first downs . . . his first catch of the evening arrange MSU’s second TD of the evening, as his 8-yard reception obtained the Spartans a primary down on the WMU 7, and Chiles hit Marsh for the 7-yard scoring move on the following play.

DEFENSE NOTES

• The Spartan defensive unit restricted Western Michigan to zero offensive factors and simply 29 speeding yards on 24 makes an attempt, registered 4 quarterback sacks and 12 tackles for loss . . . WMU’s lone rating got here on an interception return late within the fourth quarter.

• MSU’s 4 sacks had been its most since notching seven sacks vs. Nebraska on Nov. 4, 2023.

• The Michigan State protection registered 12.0 tackles for loss to go together with the 4.0 sacks . . . it is the MSU protection’s fourth-straight season opener with 10.0 tackles for loss final yr vs. Florida Atlantic, previous 10.0 vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 1. 2023) and 11.0 vs. Western Michigan (Sept. 2, 2022).

• MSU’s protection recorded a security for the second-straight season-opener Friday evening as redshirt-junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren and junior defensive lineman Jalen Thompson mixed for a sort out for loss for a security, which was the MSU protection’s first security since D’Quan Douse in final yr’s season-opener vs. Florida Atlantic (Aug. 30).

• With the 29 speeding yards allowed, the Spartan protection has held the opposition to lower than 30 yards in two of its final three video games after limiting Purdue to -4 yards speeding in final season’s penultimate recreation on Nov. 22, 2024, in addition to the third time within the final 10 video games after holding Prairie View A&M to simply 17 yards in recreation three final yr on Sept. 14, 2024. 

• WMU’s 217 yards of whole offense was the fewest by the MSU protection since holding PVAMU to 140 yards on Sept. 14 final season. 

• MSU snared one interception Friday evening, marking the second-straight recreation courting again to final yr’s season-finale with no less than one interception and for the third time in final 5 video games and eighth time in final 13 video games since final yr’s season-opener.

• Junior linebacker Jordan Hall spearheaded the Spartan protection with eight tackles, together with a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack . . . the two.5 TFLs tops his earlier career-best of two.0 TFL vs. Minnesota (10/28/23).

• Redshirt-senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III added six stops with 0.5 TFL, and added his first interception of his collegiate profession, which included three seasons at Old Dominion (2021-23); he’s in his second season at MSU . . . with the six stops, Matthews tied his MSU excessive, with six stops vs. Maryland final season.

• Redshirt-senior defensive again Armorion Smith made his first profession begin and was the honorary recreation captain, notching one sort out.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• Ray Guy Award Watch List member redshirt-junior punter/placekicker Ryan Eckley had six punts for a 51.3 ypp common, marking his seventh profession recreation with a 50.0 ypp common . . . Eckley had two punts downed on the 1-yard line, which led to MSU’s security . . . the 2 punts on the 1 had been a part of the 4 punts contained in the 20 . . . Eckley had a game-long 59-yards . . . Eckley additionally dealt with kickoff duties and subject objective duties Friday evening, with 4 kickoffs for a 64.5 ypk common with two touchbacks, and had a 46-yard subject objective as time expired within the first half, crusing simply huge left . . . the 4 kickoffs and one subject objective try had been all the primary of his Spartan profession.

 

• Walk-on senior kicker Blake Sislo made his collegiate debut after transferring to MSU from Davenport, the place he didn’t see any recreation motion, and he break up the uprights on all three of his additional factors for the Spartans Friday evening.