Michigan State’s 35-7 win over Eastern Michigan had a little bit of everything, but the biggest takeaway was simple: the Spartans settled in after a shaky start and took control fast.
Noah Kim came back to East Lansing on Saturday hoping to help the Eagles pull off an upset, but Michigan State had other ideas. Pat Fitzgerald’s team went into halftime with a 14-7 lead, and whatever was said in the locker room clearly did the trick. The Spartans came out and buried Eastern Michigan 35-7 to move to 2-0.
The offense was a mixed bag early, but the ground game carried the day. Cam Edwards turned in the kind of breakout performance Michigan State was looking for, running 21 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
That gave him 150 rushing yards on the day and put him at the top of the Big Ten rushing race. As a team, the Spartans piled up 258 rushing yards and more than 5.0 yards per carry, with Brandon Tullis adding 37 yards on four carries in garbage time and Jaziun Patterson chipping in three carries for 23 yards and a touchdown.
Marvis Parrish had a quieter afternoon, finishing with 11 yards on four carries.
At quarterback, Alessio Milivojevic wasn’t perfect, but he steadied himself after a rough second quarter. He finished 12-of-20 for 170 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 60 percent completion rate, and bounced back in the second half with a long scoring strike to a freshman wide receiver. Cam Fancher also gave Michigan State a useful look, going 6-for-6 for 44 yards while showing he can handle backup duties and bring a running element to the position.
The pass catchers had some bright spots, though the group didn’t fully match the production of the run game. Charles Taplin had his first real breakout with 65 yards and a touchdown, and Jayden Savoury backed up his strong Week 1 showing with another solid game.
Fredrick Moore caught an early touchdown, but didn’t add another reception after that. Braylon Collier made his first appearance and finished with two catches for 23 yards.
Rodney Bullard and Chrishon McCray were held to five combined catches for 36 yards, which wasn’t enough from the top two receivers.
Michigan State’s offensive line took some time to settle in, but the second half looked a lot more like the group the Spartans wanted to be. Trent Fraley stood out throughout the game, taking on multiple defenders and fighting for extra yards on several snaps. Even the reserves kept the pressure on late, helping power Tullis’ fourth-quarter work.
Defensively, the line set the tone. Kenny Soares Jr. lived up to the billing with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack, while Eli Coenen was a force inside with four tackles and two sacks, giving him three sacks through the first two games. Ben Roberts and Anelu Lafaele also drew praise, Keahnist Thompson picked up a half-sack in his first start, and Derrick Simmons made an impression in limited action.
The linebackers had a rougher first half, with missed tackles and bad reads helping Eastern Michigan stay in the game. But Brady Pretzlaff and Dion Crawford responded after halftime and helped Michigan State slam the door.
The two combined for 15 tackles, Caleb Wheatland added four off the bench, and DiMari Malone also got on the field. The Spartans were clearly missing Jordan Hall.
The secondary also had its issues early, especially with missed tackles and some poor angles to the ball, but the overall result was strong. Eastern Michigan’s receivers finished with just 12 catches for 87 yards against Michigan State’s defensive backs. Tre Bell, Nikai Martinez, and Devin Vaught all played well, and Charles Brantley had a decent bounce-back game even with a few missed tackles.
Special teams didn’t have a heavy workload, but the Spartans still got a few useful moments. Chrishon McCray’s 31-yard punt return gave Michigan State strong field position on a scoring drive, Rhys Dakin pinned Eastern Michigan deep on one of his two punts, and Liam Boyd was perfect on five extra points after going 4-for-5 in his debut. He didn’t attempt a field goal.
All told, it was a strong enough afternoon for Michigan State, especially once the Spartans found their footing after halftime.
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