Michigan State is heading to Madison without the one player who has carried its offense most of the season.
Tailback Cam Edwards has been ruled out for the rest of the 2026 season after suffering a knee injury, leaving the Spartans short-handed for their Week 5 trip to face Wisconsin. Edwards exited on a cart in Michigan State’s loss to Nebraska in Week 4 and was later seen on crutches. What initially looked serious has now been confirmed by head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who said Edwards will miss the remainder of his debut season in East Lansing.
Edwards had been the most reliable and explosive piece of Michigan State’s attack through the first three-plus games. He totaled 339 yards of offense and four touchdowns, with 304 of those yards coming on the ground. On 64 carries, he averaged 4.8 yards per attempt and scored three times, giving the Spartans a clear bell-cow runner.
The drop-off behind him has been obvious. Jaziun Patterson has 26 carries for 100 yards, while Marvis Parrish has 18 carries for 56 yards. Edwards was the centerpiece, and the numbers make that impossible to miss.
He also stood out as one of the few consistent positives in an offense that has struggled to find any rhythm. Michigan State managed just 23 points over its last two losses, against Notre Dame and Nebraska, and produced only 424 total yards in those games combined.
Edwards did a lot of his damage after contact. According to Pro Football Focus, 222 of his 304 rushing yards came after first contact, and he forced 14 missed tackles. His 40-yard run remains the longest rush by a Spartan this season.
With Edwards sidelined, Patterson and Parrish are expected to move to the top of the running back depth chart. It also puts more attention on Devon Spalding, Michigan State’s current running backs coach and a former Wisconsin running backs coach from 2023-2025, as he prepares for a game against his old program.
The timing couldn’t be much worse for the Spartans. Wisconsin’s run defense has been stout, and Michigan State now has to travel into Camp Randall Stadium without its best rushing threat. That places even more on quarterback Alessio Milivojevic as the Spartans try to keep the offense moving.
For Wisconsin, the news is a boost as it tries to win a fourth straight game. Mike Tressel’s defense now gets a Michigan State offense that has lost its top weapon at the worst possible time.
In Other News...
Johnny Davis Is Giving Wisconsin Fans Reason To Believe Again
Johnny Davis is back in the kind of form that once made Wisconsin fans believe he could be a future pro star. The former top-10 NBA draft pick has opened his run with Korfez Basket in the Turkish Basketball Super League by turning in strong performances, including a 31-point, 12-rebound game, and the early numbers point to a player looking much more comfortable on the floor.
Over a three-game sample, his shooting efficiency has improved, his assist-to-turnover ratio looks better and his defensive activity has picked up as well. It is a promising stretch for a player whose path to this point has been bumpy, and it gives Badgers fans a reason to keep an eye on what comes next, even if the bigger question of whether this becomes an NBA return is still unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Earned A Huge Road Win And Got No Respect After
Wisconsin left Beaver Stadium with a road win that should have carried real weight, especially against a Penn State team playing in front of its home crowd. The Badgers did enough to leave with the result, and in a game like that, the opponent usually has no choice but to acknowledge what happened on the other sideline.
Instead, Penn State head coach Matt Campbell spent his postgame news conference dwelling almost entirely on his own teams mistakes. He pointed to missed chances, a touchdown given up after a player slipped, and a long list of opportunities Penn State failed to convert, while Wisconsins performance barely got a mention. For the Badgers, it was a reminder that a hard-earned win does not always come with the respect it deserves. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin May Already Have Its Most Reliable Weapon Off The Bench
Through four games, Darrion Dupree has gone from a depth option to one of Wisconsin footballs most dependable answers on offense. He has already led the team in rushing yards in a recent game and has chipped in as a receiver, showing the kind of versatility that can change how the Badgers structure their snaps. Even with a dropped pass in one outing, he kept producing, and his ability to force missed tackles has made him look like more than just a change-of-pace runner.
That matters for a Wisconsin offense still sorting through other moving parts, with Abu Sama dealing with injuries and Malachi Coleman searching for steadier production. In that kind of mix, Duprees emergence gives the Badgers a back who can stay on the field and handle different jobs without much drop-off. For a team looking for reliable offense, the bench may already be hiding one of its most useful weapons. [Read more 🡒]