Michigan State left Saturday with a 35-7 win over Eastern Michigan and a 2-0 start to the Pat Fitzgerald era, but the performance came with the kind of uneven stretches that keep a coach busy after the final whistle.
The Spartans opened well, hit a rough patch in the second quarter, then came back out with a sharper third quarter and a handful of strong drives in the fourth. That was enough to pull away, but not enough to hide that this group still has plenty to sort through.
One of the biggest issues showed up in the middle of the game: Michigan State’s defense looked far less settled without Jordan Hall. Eastern Michigan was able to move the ball on the ground in the second quarter, and the Eagles topped 100 rushing yards in the first half.
That was a big reason the game stayed tight at halftime. Hall’s presence matters because he brings the calm and leadership this defense leans on, and without him, assignments slipped and tackles were missed.
Brady Pretzlaff and Kenny Soares Jr. have given Michigan State solid play in the front seven, but they clearly need more help. There’s no reason Eastern Michigan should have been able to average 5.0 yards per carry against MSU, and if Hall isn’t ready for Notre Dame, the situation could get much worse.
On the other side of the ball, Cam Edwards backed up the offseason buzz in a big way. After going for 98 yards on 27 carries in the opener, he answered with a far louder night against Eastern Michigan: 21 carries, 152 yards, and two touchdowns.
Edwards wasn’t just grinding out yards, either. He mixed power with finesse, bounced through traffic, and created runs Michigan State simply didn’t get from its backs last season.
It was the kind of showing that makes the UConn transfer look like a real weapon for this offense.
The one thing Michigan State still hasn’t done is put together a complete four-quarter performance. Week 1 featured a fast start and a strong first half, but a bad third quarter nearly flipped the game before the Spartans finished with the final 11 points in a 30-20 win.
This time, the second quarter went sideways, and Fitzgerald’s frustration showed during his halftime interview on the Big Ten Network. Whatever happened behind closed doors worked.
Michigan State shut Eastern Michigan out after the break and put up 21 second-half points of its own.
Alessio Milivojevic followed the same arc. He was shaky early, then settled in and looked much more comfortable after halftime.
Edwards did the same. The pieces are there, but the Spartans are still searching for a full-game performance that brings everything together.
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 🡒]