Michigan State’s injury pileup is putting a handful of familiar and unfamiliar names in the spotlight for Saturday’s matchup with No. 25 Northwestern, but the headliner might still be the guy carrying the ball.
With Cam Edwards lost for the season, Jaziun Patterson has stepped into the RB1 role and given the Spartans a jolt. He backed that up last week against Illinois, piling up a career-high 119 scrimmage yards - 93 on the ground and 26 through the air - while scoring four total touchdowns.
Patterson runs with real force every time he touches it, and after that breakout, he looks like the most likely offensive spark for a Michigan State team that needs one. Northwestern’s run defense enters the game allowing 147.2 rushing yards per contest, good for 14th in the Big Ten, and its 4.43 yards per carry allowed ranks 15th.
Up front, Michigan State will have to adjust for the first time this season. Starting left tackle Ben Murawski is out, which means the Spartans are expected to move starting right tackle Rakeem Johnson to the left side and insert Robert Wright Jr. at right tackle.
That combination isn’t brand new for MSU, which has shuffled its tackles at times this year. Wright has played 164 offensive snaps this season, but this will be his first start for the Spartans.
He was Georgia Southern’s starting right tackle last season before transferring to East Lansing, and according to Pro Football Focus, he has gone 999 career offensive snaps without a penalty.
Another player worth watching on the edge is Kenny Soares Jr., a former Wildcat who spent his true freshman season under Fitzgerald at Northwestern and then stayed through the first two years of the David Braun era. Soares has been Michigan State’s most consistent edge presence this season, with 18 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and an interception. He’s also come agonizingly close to more production, including the play against Notre Dame when he had CJ Carr wrapped up for a sack before Carr escaped and helped the Irish convert a fourth down.
The secondary is going to be stretched thin, too. Corners Tre Bell, Charles Brantley, Tyran Chappell and Keshawn Williams have all been ruled out, leaving backup fifth-year senior NiJhay Burt in line to start.
The other corners likely to see the field are Jeremiah Favorite and KJ Deriso. Favorite and Deriso were effectively the last corners standing by the end of the Illinois game, when Burt was unavailable.
That was Deriso’s first meaningful defensive action, while Favorite has logged double-digit snaps in each of the last two games and has held up well for a true freshman thrown into the fire.
At linebacker, the depth chart has been hammered even harder. Jordan Hall, Brady Pretzlaff and Caleb Wheatland are all out, which makes Dion Crawford especially important if he’s able to go after leaving the Illinois game with an injury of his own.
His absence from the availability report suggests he will play. Behind him, Cam Stodghill and DiMari Malone are the likely next men up after seeing most of the late-game snaps against Illinois.
Linebacker depth looked like a strength for Michigan State coming into the season, but halfway through the fall, it’s being tested in a big way.
In Other News...
Michigan State Is Sending A Clear Message About Pat Fitzgerald's Fire
Pat Fitzgeralds run-in with the officials during Michigan States game against Illinois quickly became more than a sideline flare-up, and the fallout has been as notable for what it says about the Spartans as for the gesture itself. After a disputed offsides call, Fitzgerald made a middle finger gesture toward the officials, then later apologized for it at a press conference, trying to move the conversation back to the football side of things.
What stands out is how Michigan State has chosen to frame the episode. Athletic director Dan Bartholomae publicly backed Fitzgeralds passion and enthusiasm, saying he appreciated the energy he brings to the team, a clear sign the program is not looking to turn one heated moment into a larger issue. For a team trying to establish its identity, that kind of support sends a message about the edge Michigan State wants on its sideline, even if the details of how the league views the incident still linger in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Has A New Plan To Fix A Frustrating Game Day Problem
Michigan State is trying a new approach to one of the more familiar game-day headaches around Spartan Stadium: getting students to stay in their seats until the final whistle. Dan Bartholomae, the schools new athletic director, has rolled out a program that gives students free cover and free pizza at a popular local bar after football games, a simple incentive aimed at making the end of home games feel more appealing.
The move is part of a broader push to improve the student section atmosphere and tighten up the in-stadium energy that can fade late in games. Bartholomae has also talked about increasing resources for the football program to help it compete at a higher level, and this small but noticeable step shows he is already looking for practical ways to make the whole day experience better for fans. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Just Entered A Big Ten Recruiting Fight Up Front
Michigan State has added another intriguing name to its board up front, extending an offer to Illinois offensive lineman Ben Coleman, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound hybrid tight end and blocker who has already drawn attention as a highly rated four-star recruit. Colemans size and versatility make him the kind of prospect that can fit a few different offensive visions, and his profile suggests he is well beyond the early stages of the recruiting process.
For the Spartans, the offer puts them into a wider Big Ten-level battle for a lineman whose reputation has grown quickly in Illinois and beyond. Coleman already has other programs involved, and his combination of physical tools and position flexibility is exactly the sort of trait that can make a recruiting race feel crowded fast, even before the serious decision-making starts. [Read more 🡒]