Michigan State gets a second straight chance to clean things up against a MAC opponent, and the headline attraction is easy to spot: Noah Kim is coming back to East Lansing.
The Spartans are 1-0 and will host Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 3:38 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.
MSU is paying the Eagles $1.5 million for the game, the second of two “buy” games on the schedule. Eastern Michigan enters at 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the MAC.
Kim’s return gives this one its most obvious storyline. He started the first five games of Michigan State’s 2023 season and spent four years in the program from 2020-23 before transferring to Coastal Carolina for 2024, where he was the backup. He then moved on to Eastern Michigan and has been the starter there since.
“A lot of my knowledge of football came from Michigan State under [former offensive coordinator] Jay Johnson,” Kim said during MAC Football Media Days, via WILX. “I give a lot of credit for just teaching me the game of football.
I've met some of my best friends, my roommates there. There's a lot of love for Michigan State and stuff like that.”
There doesn’t appear to be much heat attached to Kim’s return, and there are still a few familiar faces around him. The closest tie may be Spartan linebacker Caleb Wheatland, a transfer from Auburn who shares a hometown with Kim in Centreville, Va., and the two were childhood friends.
As for overlap on the current roster, only seven Michigan State players were around during any part of Kim’s time in East Lansing: safety Khalil Majeed, tight end Jay Coyne, linebacker Jordan Hall, tight end Brennan Parachek, safety Caleb Gash, wide receiver Jack Yanachik and EDGE Jaxson Wilson.
Kim isn’t the only former Spartan making the trip back. Eastern Michigan defensive back Caleb Coley played at MSU from 2022-24, long snapper Reeves Taylor was on the 2024 roster and offensive guard Cole Dellinger spent the first three years of his career with the Spartans from 2023-25.
Beyond the reunions, Michigan State has a clear football problem to solve: getting off to a faster start after halftime and stretching the margin. Against Toledo last Friday, the Spartans opened the third quarter with first-and-10 at the Rockets’ 34-yard line, but a sack killed the drive and a 54-yard field-goal try was blocked.
Toledo answered with a six-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that pulled the Rockets within one score. Outside of that sequence, the Spartans mostly kept the game under control, but Toledo’s other two touchdowns came on explosive plays of 60 and 71 yards.
That’s the kind of game script Michigan State has seen before in these early-season MAC matchups: solid control, but not quite the separation you’d want. Eastern Michigan looks like a step down from Toledo, so anything that feels “acceptable” for MSU probably means a bigger cushion than what it had in Week 1.
The first few drives of the third quarter could tell the story. With Notre Dame looming in Week 3, Michigan State’s staff would likely love to get a lead into the three- or four-score range early enough to get as many players on the field as possible and keep the starters fresh.
Explosive plays remain another key piece. Toledo stayed within striking distance because of its two long touchdowns, while MSU managed only two plays of 20 yards or more. The longest was a 26-yard catch by Rodney Bullard Jr.
Pat Fitzgerald said the lack of deep shots was largely a product of Toledo’s safeties sitting well off the line of scrimmage.
Even so, Michigan State quarterback Alessio Milivojevic didn’t need to force anything. Most of what the Spartans completed came underneath, but he still finished with 247 passing yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.
Still, the ability to create a big throw or a chunk run matters. Those plays can flatten the gap when MSU eventually runs into a more talented opponent, just as they did for Toledo a week ago.
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Michigan State got the season started on the right foot with a win over Toledo, but the next trip to the field brings a far less familiar challenge in Eastern Michigan. The Eagles come in with a handful of players who can shape a game in different ways, starting with quarterback Noah Kim, along with receiver Nick Devereaux, backs Amareon Blue and Braydon Bennett, linebacker Zach Mowchan and safety Jason Marshall.
For the Spartans, Kim adds an extra layer to a Week 2 test that already asks plenty of a team still settling in after its opener. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi pointed to Kim and Devereaux as key pieces in Eastern Michigans offense, a reminder that this is more than just an in-state matchup on the schedule. It is the kind of game where familiarity can cut both ways, and where Michigan State will have to be sharp against a group that knows how to make opponents work for every yard. [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 🡒]