Michigan State didn’t look like a team that had found its rhythm in the first half against Eastern Michigan. By the end of the night, though, the Spartans had turned a tight game into a 35-7 rout and walked away with their second straight win.
The opening 30 minutes were messy enough to raise some questions. Michigan State led only 14-7 at halftime, and Eastern Michigan actually controlled stretches of the game, especially on the ground. But after the break, the Spartans came out with a different edge and completely took over.
Alessio Milivojevic got MSU on the board first, connecting with Frederick Moore on an 18-yard touchdown after a 31-yard punt return by Chrison McCray set the offense up with short field position. Later in the quarter, Michigan State went on an 18-play drive and stretched the margin to 14-0 on a direct snap touchdown run by Cam Edwards. Coach Fitzgerald also made an aggressive call on 4th-and-11 instead of trying a 52-yard field goal, and Milivojevic hit Charles Taplin for 19 yards to keep the drive alive.
Eastern Michigan answered with its best drive of the first half, finishing with a 4-yard touchdown run by Noah Kim to trim the lead back to one score. Michigan State had a chance to add points before halftime, but another dropped catch kept the Spartans from getting into field-goal range.
The numbers from the first half told the story of a team still searching for consistency. Eastern Michigan outgained Michigan State and held a 107-to-60 edge in rushing yards.
The Eagles averaged 5.6 yards per carry, while MSU struggled to tackle and also lost the time of possession battle by more than six-and-a-half minutes. Milivojevic finished the half 9-for-17 for 83 yards, and Edwards had 38 rushing yards on nine carries.
Everything changed in the third quarter.
Edwards broke loose for a 33-yard run to open the half, then later finished another long drive with his second touchdown of the day on a direct snap. That made it three straight Michigan State possessions of at least 12 plays and pushed the Spartans ahead 21-7.
On the next Eastern Michigan possession, Charles Brantley delivered the game’s turning point with a hit stick that forced a fumble after the Eagles crossed midfield. Milivojevic then made the most of the extra possession, finding Taplin on a sharp route for a 38-yard touchdown that made it 28-7.
From there, the Eagles never found any real answer. Jayden Savoury helped Michigan State move back inside the 10 with a 46-yard catch, and after an Edwards fumble gave the Spartans their first turnover of the season, Edwards responded with a 40-yard run on the very next touch. Jaz Patterson finished that drive with a touchdown to make it 35-7, and the starters were done from there while younger players got their first action.
The second-half defensive turnaround stood out most. Michigan State held Eastern Michigan to -6 rushing yards after halftime, a sharp change from the opening stretch. Edwards added the explosive runs the Spartans needed, and Milivojevic showed enough to keep the offense moving, finishing with 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach Fitzgerald is now 2-0 as Michigan State’s head coach, and the Spartans left this one looking a lot better than they did in the first half.
In Other News...
Michigan States Blowout Already Revealed A New Battle To Watch
Michigan States 35-7 win over Eastern Michigan did more than move the Spartans to 2-0 in 2026. It also gave the coaching staff a long look at a roster that was deep enough to keep rotating bodies on both sides of the ball, especially up front, where the offensive line shuffle continued to be part of the story.
Charles Taplin added his first collegiate touchdown to the mix, while several freshmen got their first non-special teams snaps in game action. The bigger long-term takeaway, though, may have come at nickelback, where a new competition is beginning to take shape and could become one of the more interesting depth-chart battles to follow as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Fans Have A New Offensive Debate After Saturdays Surge
Michigan States 35-7 win over Eastern Michigan gave first-year coach Pat Fitzgerald another clean step forward, but it also added a new layer to the conversation around the offense. The Spartans are 2-0, and while Alessio Milivojevic steadied himself after a slow start, the unit looked far more dynamic once the game opened up in the second half. Cam Edwards kept the ground game moving with a big day, showing how much easier things can look when the run game is setting the tone.
Cam Fancher also gave the offense a different rhythm as the backup quarterback, and that change of pace may be the part fans keep circling back to after a comfortable win. Fitzgerald has reasons to feel good about where the team is headed, but the way the quarterback rotation unfolded, paired with Edwards impact and Milivojevics uneven start, left just enough to wonder how this offense will look when the competition gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Finally Gave Fans A Reason For Real Optimism
Michigan State finally had a performance that gave its fan base something sturdier than hope to grab onto, even if it came against Eastern Michigan. The Spartans got more from their key playmakers on offense, with Charles Taplin emerging as a useful young target and Cam Edwards helping energize the ground game. After a stretch of uneven play, the broader point was hard to miss: the pieces looked more connected, and the offense showed signs it could carry some real weight.
The defense still left room for concern after giving up plenty of yardage in the first half, but it did respond better after intermission and added a forced fumble to the mix. That kind of uneven outing is hardly a finished product, yet it was enough to nudge the mood from frustration toward cautious optimism. For a fan base that has been waiting for a reason to believe, this was at least a small but meaningful step in that direction. [Read more 🡒]