Michigan State’s attention may already be drifting toward Notre Dame, but the Spartans have a live problem right in front of them first: Eastern Michigan.
MSU opened the season 1-0 with a 30-20 win over Toledo last Friday, and now it turns to its second straight MAC opponent. The Eagles visit Spartan Stadium on Saturday, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.
ET on the Big Ten Network. And if Michigan State is mapping out where the danger lives on EMU’s roster, there are a handful of names that jump out immediately.
The most obvious one is quarterback Noah Kim, who is heading back to East Lansing after starting five games for Michigan State in 2023. He’s now a seventh-year senior and in his second season as Eastern Michigan’s starter.
Last year, Kim led the MAC with 2,817 passing yards while throwing 18 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. Through two games this season, he’s already piled up 453 passing yards, with three touchdowns and just one pick.
"I just think it's what you see with a lot of guys: he's mature," said Spartan defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, who coached against Kim at Minnesota in 2022. "He's in command of the offense.
He does a good job of audibling. He does a good job calming the o-line down.
He's accurate with the ball. I think where he's taken a step from in his younger career until now is that you can see he values the ball."
Kim’s return carries its own wrinkle, too. Michigan State looks nothing like the program he left behind after the 2023 season, and the roster connection is thin now. Only seven players on MSU’s 110-player roster were teammates with him in East Lansing.
On the perimeter, Eastern Michigan leans heavily on Nick Devereaux. He’s the Eagles’ highest-rated player in the College Football 27 video game at an 83 overall, and the production backs it up.
Devereaux earned All-MAC Third Team honors last season after leading EMU with 510 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Phil Steele also slotted him on the preseason All-MAC First Team.
"No. 2 is a guy that's an all-conference player," Rossi said in reference to Devereaux and his jersey number. "Was all-league last year, all-league this year. They wanna get him the ball vertically down the field."
Eastern Michigan’s backfield has also produced a name that stands out: Amareon Blue. He’s the Eagles’ leading rusher through two games with 23 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown, and he’s added five catches for 34 yards. That’s a notable development because Blue is a second-year player who barely saw the field last season, appearing in only two games and not getting a touch.
It also means he’s been getting work ahead of Braydon Bennett, who arrives with a much bigger résumé than his current usage suggests. Bennett rushed for 1,964 yards and 24 touchdowns at Coastal Carolina from 2020-24, then spent last season at Virginia Tech, where he had just four carries for eight yards across four games. With EMU, he’s logged 12 carries for 47 yards and one touchdown.
In the middle of the defense, Zach Mowchan has become Eastern Michigan’s clear tackling leader. The sixth-year linebacker has 25 total tackles already, including 11 solo stops and 14 assisted. He opened the year with 14 tackles in EMU’s Week 0 win over Sacramento State, then added 11 more in the loss to San Jose State.
That’s a major jump from what he did last year. In 2025, Mowchan finished with 43 tackles in nine games, which placed seventh on the team. If he keeps playing at the same pace Saturday, he’ll be a major obstacle for Michigan State to clear in the second level.
Another key piece on the back end is safety Jason Marshall. He enters the matchup as Eastern Michigan’s second-highest-graded defender, with a 77.5 overall grade and a 79.4 coverage grade. Marshall finished 2025 with 64 tackles, good for third on the team, and he’s already made an impact this season with an interception against Sacramento State and two pass breakups against San Jose State.
Michigan State is looking for more chunk plays after failing to produce anything longer than 26 yards against Toledo, and Marshall will be in the middle of trying to shut that down.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Made An Early Big Ten Statement At USC
Michigan State wasted little time making its presence felt in its Big Ten opener at USC, and the Spartans did it with the kind of complete performance coaches tend to love. Kennedy Bell scored twice, Kayla Briggs added a goal and two assists, and Michigan State controlled the match from start to finish in a 5-0 win that showed just how dangerous this group can be when its attack is clicking.
Bella Schopp was hardly busy, but she still handled the chances that came her way with two saves to post her second clean sheet of the year, part of Michigan States fourth shutout overall. The bigger takeaway for the Spartans is the way they imposed themselves on the road, using sustained offensive pressure to turn an early conference test into a statement result. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Needs A Sharper Week 2 Win Before Notre Dame
Michigan State gets its Week 2 stage set for 3:38 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network against Eastern Michigan, a game that comes with a little extra intrigue for East Lansing. The Spartans are still sorting through the early feel of the season, and this one offers a chance to look cleaner and more decisive before the schedule tightens up, with Notre Dame looming next.
The matchup also brings a familiar face back to town in Noah Kim, the former Spartan quarterback now set to lead Eastern Michigan into his old home. For Michigan State, the focus is less on nostalgia than on tightening up the performance and making sure the game feels settled sooner rather than later, a useful checkpoint if the Spartans want the next week to arrive with more momentum than doubt. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Still Has A Few Position Battles To Settle
Michigan State opened the season with a 30-20 win over Toledo, and there was enough to like in the first look at this team. Alessio Milivojevic handled his debut well, throwing for 247 yards and a touchdown without turning it over, while Cam Edwards gave the Spartans a steady ground presence with 98 rushing yards and a score. For a team still sorting out its identity, the opener offered a useful snapshot of what looks ready and what still needs work.
The bigger takeaway now is that the staff still has a few decisions to make as Eastern Michigan approaches. The evaluative breakdown of the position groups points to some clear strengths, but also to areas where Michigan State can tighten up and get more consistent before the schedule gets more demanding. The Spartans have a win in hand, yet the next step is separating the players and units that merely looked solid from the ones who can really settle the competition at their spots. [Read more 🡒]