Tag: spartans

Nov 30, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Kyle Monangai (5) leaps into the air as he crosses the goal line during the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images

Kyle Monangai, Rutgers blow out Michigan State 41-14

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Kyle Monangai rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on Saturday as visiting Rutgers finished its regular season with a 41-14 Big Ten Conference rout of Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.

The Scarlet Knights (7-5, 4-5) controlled both sides of the scrimmage line after a slow start, more than doubling the Spartans in rushing yardage and gobbling up 35 minutes of clock. Athan Kaliakmanis added 157 passing yards on 13-of-22 accuracy, along with a touchdown.

Michigan State (5-7, 3-6) was seeking to become bowl-eligible but saw its season end with an emphatic thud. The Spartans managed 13 first downs, and after a promising start on the ground that saw them rush for 99 yards in the first quarter and a half, barely reached 100 yards for the day.

Michigan State initiated the scoring less than three minutes in as Nate Carter ripped off a 26-yard touchdown run. But that was it for the Spartans’ attack until Aidan Chiles found Jack Velling for a 5-yard strike with 7:21 left in the game. Chiles finished 13-of-23 passing for 150 yards.

By then, Rutgers had more than done its damage. It took the lead for good before the midway point of the first quarter behind Monangai’s 7-yard touchdown run and the first of Jai Patel’s four field goals, a 25-yarder.

Antwan Raymond made it 17-7 at the 6:07 mark of the second quarter with a 13-yard scoring jaunt, capping a 94-yard drive. Patel then punched 42 and 30-yard field goals through snow and a stiff wind in the final 90 seconds of the half for a 23-7 advantage.

The Scarlet Knights essentially ended the game’s competitive phase on the first drive of the second half, chewing up 7 1/2 minutes to drive 75 yards. Kaliakmanis finished it off with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ian Strong.

Patel added his fourth field goal, a 29-yarder, with 10:55 left in the game to cap off another seven-minute drive. Raymond tacked on a 5-yard scoring jaunt with 1:57 remaining.

–Field Level Media

East Lansing's Jace Clarizio runs for a gain against DeWitt during the second quarter on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, at East Lansing High School.

Alabama flips RB Jace Clarizio from Michigan State

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Running back Jace Clarizio flipped his commitment from his local team, Michigan State, to Alabama.

The decision, announced by Clarizio on social media Tuesday, comes after the East Lansing (Mich.) High standout visited head coach Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide on Nov. 16.

“Great program,” Clarizio told On3. “Playing on the biggest level. … All the people and coaches I met and interacted with were all great people. The atmosphere was crazy.”

The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder is ranked as the No. 33 running back by On3 and tabbed No. 35 in their industry ranking.

In May, he had verbally committed to the Spartans, where his father, Craig Johnson, was a running back and defensive back who was a member of the 1987 Rose Bowl-winning squad under coach George Perles.

–Field Level Media

Michigan State's Montorie Foster Jr., left, catches a touchdown as Purdue's Kyndrich Breedlove defends during the first quarter on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Michigan State sends Purdue to 10th consecutive loss

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Aidan Chiles completed 15 of 31 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns to help Michigan State earn a 24-17 win over Purdue on Friday in East Lansing, Mich.

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams gained 85 yards on 18 carries for the Spartans (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten), who kept their hopes of bowl-eligibility alive. Nate Carter had touchdowns rushing and receiving as the Spartans ended a three-game losing streak.

Hudson Card went 26 of 46 passing for a season-high 342 yards for Purdue (1-10, 0-8), which has lost 10 straight. Card threw one touchdown pass and one interception.

Trailing by 21 at halftime, Purdue cut Michigan State’s lead to 24-10 with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Devin Mockobee, which finished off a 10-play, 73-yard drive.

Purdue cut the deficit to 24-17 with 13:54 remaining in the game on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Card to Max Klare.

The Boilermakers had three drives to tie the game, but they ended on a punt, an interception and a turnover on downs at their own 47-yard line with more than three minutes remaining.

The Spartans then gained two first downs and ran out the clock.

Michigan State took a 17-3 lead with 7:50 left until halftime on a 3-yard touchdown run by Carter on third-and-goal.

The score was set up after Michigan State’s Maverick Hansen recovered a Boilermakers fumble at the Purdue 33-yard line.

With 41 seconds left until halftime, the Spartans grabbed a 24-3 lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Chiles to Carter, which capped off a 10-play, 84-yard drive.

Purdue took the opening kickoff and drove for a 40-yard field goal by Ben Freehill. Michigan State cashed in on its first drive, too, taking a 7-3 lead on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Chiles to Montorie Foster Jr.

The Spartans’ first march went 11 plays and 75 yards.

Michigan State then took a 10-3 lead with 12:07 remaining in the second quarter on a 43-yard field goal by Jonathan Kim.

–Field Level Media

Oct 11, 2024; Logan, Utah, USA; UNLV Rebels wide receiver Ricky White III (11) runs with the ball against the Utah State Aggies at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

No. 24 UNLV aims to stay in conference title picture vs. San Jose State

Posted on | by Field Level Media

No. 24 UNLV doesn’t control its destiny in terms of a Mountain West Conference championship game berth, but a win at San Jose State on Friday night would ensure the Rebels still have a chance.

UNLV (8-2, 4-1 Mountain West) rejoined the College Football Playoff poll on Tuesday and is closing in on its first 10-win season since quarterback Randall Cunningham led the program to its since-vacated 11-2 finish in 1984.

The Rebels need Colorado State to lose one of its final two games against Fresno State or Utah State in order to reach their second straight conference title game and, more importantly, set up a rematch with No. 12 Boise State. UNLV fell to the Broncos 44-20 in last year’s championship.

San Jose State, however, is in a good position to play spoiler themselves. The Spartans (6-4, 3-3) entered last season’s game against UNLV as a slight underdog and ended up winning 37-31.

San Jose State is coming off last Saturday’s home game against Boise State in which it was driving to take a 21-0 lead before the Broncos forced a turnover on downs at the goal line. That kept it a two-possession game, and Boise State quickly woke up from there and ran away with a 42-21 win.

“We were in that game,” Spartans coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I’m encouraged because we’re doing a lot of good things. I feel like we stopped ourselves a lot on offense. We looked at a lot of things to improve on.”

San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget has led the nation in passing yards in consecutive weeks, eclipsing his career high in both games. His 446 yards through the air against Boise State was the most in a game for a Mountain West quarterback this season. Eget replaced Emmett Brown as the starter in October.

The Spartans have the nation’s top receiver this season, as redshirt senior Nick Nash leads the country in both receptions (95) and receiving yards (1,282). San Jose State also has the Mountain West’s second-leading receiver behind Nash in Justin Lockhart, who has 925 yards on 48 receptions.

“They’ve got an elite group of receivers,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “Their quarterback’s playing really well. Schematically, they caused some issues on their alignments with space. We’ve got to do a great job. We talk all the time in our defensive meetings about eliminating explosive plays. They are going to get some, we’ve got to minimize those.”

UNLV is certainly not lacking in the wide receiver department either, as All-American Ricky White III ranks third in the Mountain West with 867 receiving yards and second with 63 receptions. His performance improved mightily following UNLV’s first three games of the season, coinciding with their quarterback switch to Hajj-Malik Williams.

Williams has impressed in his seven games as the starter as well. He leads the team with 646 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground to go along with 1,436 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions through the air.

Mountain West preseason Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Woodard has perhaps been the Rebels’ MVP this season. The linebacker’s 99 total tackles, four interceptions and 3.5 sacks have him on the watchlist for the Nagurski, Bednarik and Butkus awards.

Woodard is also among the national finalists for the Burlsworth award, given to the top player in college football who began their career as a walk-on. Woodard initially played under Odom at Arkansas, Brandon Burlsworth’s alma mater.

–Field Level Media

Michigan and Michigan State players get into a fight on the field as time expires at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.

Big Ten probing postgame fight between Michigan, Michigan St.

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While it wasn’t as dire as 2022, another fight between the Michigan and Michigan State football teams is being investigated by the Big Ten Conference, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said Monday.

In the final moments of Michigan’s 24-17 home win over Michigan State on Saturday, Spartans defensive lineman Anthony Jones and Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland began to scuffle, and both teams left the sidelines as the clock ticked down.

Loveland was seen headbutting Jones with his helmet on, and later in the fracas, Michigan running Kalel Mullings appeared to be stomping on a player at the bottom of a pile.

Haller said Monday he would not pursue criminal charges, which happened in 2022 when a fight broke out between the same programs in the tunnel of Michigan Stadium, leading to criminal charges for seven Spartans players.

“I don’t think that situation (in 2022) should have been a criminal incident, and I don’t think this should be as well,” Haller said. “This is a sportsmanship policy situation, and the conference will look at it. And it’s my wish that the same standard that everyone’s held to, that (Michigan) be held to the same standard. But I do not believe that incident or this incident is a criminal situation.”

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore called the fight “unacceptable” during his press conference Monday and said discipline would be handled internally.

The 2022 fight resulted in a $100,000 fine for Michigan State, the largest in Big Ten history, and an eight-game suspension for Michigan State’s Khary Crump along with four-game bans for six other Spartans players. The players saw their charges reduced in court.

Neither the two head coaches nor the conference commissioner involved in 2022 are still in place. Jim Harbaugh left the Wolverines for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers after winning a national championship last winter; Mel Tucker was fired for cause by Michigan State after a sexual harassment scandal; and commissioner Kevin Warren left the Big Ten to become the president and CEO of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.

Tony Petitti now leads the Big Ten, and Haller explained what he hopes and expects from Petitti’s office.

“We have a new commissioner. We have new leadership in the conference office,” Haller said. “My wish is that the new leadership handles this in a clean slate and treat every school with the same standard.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 21, 2024; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Boston College Eagles running back Treshaun Ward (0) is tackled by Michigan State Spartans defensive back Charles Brantley (0) and linebacker Jordan Hall (5) during the first half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Boston College’s late TD hands Michigan State first loss

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Thomas Castellanos’ 42-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Bond with 1:28 left in regulation propelled Boston College to a 23-19 win over previously unbeaten Michigan State on Saturday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Bond finished with 102 yards on six receptions to lead the Eagles (3-1), catching the game-winning toss over two defenders’ reach and walking untouched into the end zone.

Michigan State (3-1) moved past midfield on the following drive as quarterback Aidan Chiles (17-of-35, 241 yards) completed three straight passes, but his third interception landed in Max Tucker’s hands in the back of the end zone to clinch the win for the hosts.

Treshaun Ward logged 102 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries to lead the Boston College rushing attack.

Castellanos was 10-of-16 passing for 140 yards and the deciding score.

It was a see-saw fourth quarter for the Eagles, as Castellanos had a 1-yard keeper stopped short of the end zone at the end of a 12-play drive. Following the turnover, Michigan State’s 18-play, 89-yard march resulted in a Jonathan Kim 27-yard field goal with 4:12 left.

Kim kicked field goals of 41, 26, 51 and 27 yards for the Spartans, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since 2021.

Ky’ron Lynch-Adams rushed for 61 yards on 15 carries, while Jake Velling caught six passes for 77 yards.

Boston College scored 10 points off turnovers to turn around a 13-6 halftime deficit in less than three minutes early in the third quarter.

After Carter Davis forced Lynch-Adams to fumble the opening kickoff of the second half, Luca Lombardo’s 39-yard field goal made it 13-9.

Amari Jackson intercepted a Chiles deep ball on the ensuing series, and Ward then ran 36 yards up the sideline for a go-ahead score only 2:38 into the third.

After Chiles missed a wide-open Montorie Foster Jr., Kim nailed an impressive 51-yard field goal to conclude an 8-play drive and tie the game at 16-all.

In the opening quarter, Michigan State forced a 3-and-out to begin the game and then capped a 9-play drive with Kim’s 41-yard kick.

Ward rushed four times and made a 4th-and-4 catch out of the backfield to help set up Richard’s 11-yard score on a run to the left with 12:24 left in the first half. Converting on an 11-play, 64-yard drive that spanned 6:08, the Eagles’ lead was 6-3 as Lombardo missed the point-after attempt after a high snap.

The Spartans responded with a 75-yard drive, scoring on a Chiles 1-yard run at 8:10 of the second. Foster’s 40-yard catch over the middle preceded the touchdown.

Kim’s 26-yarder extended the Michigan State lead with 20 seconds left before halftime.

–Field Level Media

Michigan State's Nathan Carter runs for a touchdown against Prairie View A&M during the second quarter on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Balanced Michigan State dismantles Prairie View A&M 40-0

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Aidan Chiles passed for 173 yards — more than Prairie View A&M’s 150 total yards — and Charles Brantley returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in Michigan State’s 40-0 victory on Saturday at East Lansing, Mich.

Brantley’s play is the first 100-yard interception return for a score in Michigan State history.

The Spartans (3-0) finished with 458 yards of total offense behind Chiles, who completed 12 of 19 passes with a touchdown and no interceptions before reserve Tommy Schuster was inserted in the third quarter.

Schuster completed 8 of 10 attempts for 97 yards.

Nate Carter rushed for 91 yards on eight carries with a touchdown.

Ten Spartans caught at least one pass.

Aziah Johnson had two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown and Montorie Foster Jr. had four receptions for 37 yards.

The win over Prairie View (1-2) in the first meeting of the programs improved Michigan State’s record to 9-0 against FCS teams.

The Panthers were limited to 27 yards rushing on 27 attempts behind Michigan State’s 10 tackles for loss, including three sacks.

Jordan Turner led the Spartans with seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and a sack.

Michigan State’s offense scored on all but one of its seven possessions.

Chiles’ 6-yard touchdown run and his 17-yard scoring strike to Johnson capped Michigan State’s first two possessions and put the Spartans ahead 14-0 with 7 seconds left in the first quarter.

Carter rushed for a 60-yard touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the half in the possession before Brantley’s interception return.

The interception occurred on Cameron Peters’ pass into the end zone on a first-and-10 play at the Michigan State 27.

Peters completed 9 of 17 passes for 123 yards and the one interception.

Trejon Spiller caught seven of those passes for 91 yards.

Michigan State’s first two possessions in the second half resulted in field goals of 33 and 23 yards made by Jonathan Kim.

Schuster scored the last touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 3:49 remaining.

–Field Level Media

Sep 7, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles (2) rolls pit top pass during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Michigan State giving FCS Prairie View A&M ‘full attention’

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Michigan State will be focusing on improvement Saturday without looking past visiting Prairie View A&M in a non-conference home game.

The Spartans (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) are coming off a come-from-behind 27-24 victory last Saturday at Maryland and are aiming for their first 3-0 start since 2021 when they host the FCS Panthers.

“There’s no such thing as a trap game,” Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith said Monday when asked whether there’s concern about looking ahead to the Sept. 21 game at No. 24 Boston College. “These guys will have our full attention. We respect every opponent that we play.”

The Panthers (1-1, 0-1 SWAC) rallied three times and held on for a 37-31 road win over Northwestern State last Saturday. Prairie View totaled 468 yards of offense, including 280 passing yards from Cameron Peters, who also tossed two touchdowns.

Michigan State hopes to build off its 493-yard offensive performance against the Terrapins. Even though quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 24 of 39 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns, Smith said there’s room for improvement, especially after Chiles threw three interceptions.

“His decision-making in this one, I didn’t think was improved from game one to game two,” Smith said of Chiles. “Couple of those interceptions, just inaccuracy. He’s got to get his feet set to do it. And again, this kid’s competitive. He’s battled. I thought he improved from week one to week two and look forward to seeing his growth throughout the year.”

Another area the Spartans hope to clean up is penalties. After totaling 12 penalties for 140 yards in the season opener, Michigan State had 10 for 100 yards against Maryland. The Spartans are tied for 129th of 133 FBS teams at 11 penalties per game and next-to-last at 120 yards penalized per game.

“The goal is not to play penalty-free,” Smith said. “I’m not asking them to do that. We need to fly around once in a while, but it needs to be in between the whistles, playing full speed and with great technique, but double digits back-to-back, not good enough.”

Prairie View also had problems with penalties in its two games, committing 21 for 213 yards. The Panthers had several late in the game that nearly cost them against Northwestern State.

–Field Level Media

Michigan State's Aidan Chiles communicates with teammates against Florida Atlantic during the first quarter on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Michigan State adjusting to new leadership ahead of clash vs. Maryland

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Michigan State and Maryland took different routes last week to reach the same destination: a season-opening win.

Up next is a chance to make an early statement in Big Ten play when the Spartans (1-0) visit the Terrapins (1-0) on Saturday in the conference opener for both teams in College Park, Md.

Michigan State managed a sloppy 16-10 home win over Florida Atlantic last Friday in Jonathan Smith’s first game as the Spartans’ head coach. Smith’s squad committed three turnovers and was flagged 12 times for 140 yards.

Michigan State did not score over the game’s final 2 1/2 quarters amid a shaky showing from quarterback Aidan Chiles, who also made his Spartans debut after spending last season with Smith at Oregon State. Chiles completed 10 of 24 passes for 114 yards without a touchdown and was intercepted twice.

Smith said the sophomore signal-caller was more upbeat at Monday’s practice.

“He’s a competitive kid, and (Friday) was frustrating for him,” Smith said. ” … (He) understands that we’ve got to grow, we’ve got to learn, and he’s all about doing that. He’s aware, too. It’s not just all on him, but he’s got some plays that he could make.”

Chiles will direct Michigan State’s offense against a Maryland defense that forced a trio of turnovers last Saturday in the Terrapins’ 50-7 rout of visiting UConn.

Saturday’s game also revealed that Billy Edwards Jr. will be Maryland’s starting quarterback for the time being. Coach Michael Locksley had been mum about the Terrapins’ primary signal-caller amid a three-player quarterback battle throughout preseason camp.

Edwards, who entered Saturday with three career starts over his first two seasons, went 20-of-27 passing for 311 yards and tossed a pair of touchdowns without turning the ball over.

Locksley said that Edwards, a redshirt junior, exudes a veteran presence that elevates the play of his teammates.

“Billy has some natural leadership abilities,” Locksley said. “He kind of stays even-keeled, which you like to see out of a quarterback.”

Maryland has defeated the Spartans in each of the last two seasons, including a 31-9 win at Michigan State last year. Michigan State leads the series 10-4 going back to 1944.

–Field Level Media

MSU football coach Mel Tucker pictured Tuesday, March 14, 2023, during the first day of spring practice at the indoor football facilty in East Lansing.

Mel Tucker’s appeal denied, Michigan State closes investigation

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Former Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker had his appeal denied Thursday in the university’s sexual harassment investigation into his actions toward an activist and rape survivor.

Michigan State hired an outside attorney, Courtney Bullard, to hear Tucker’s challenge that the school’s resolution officer and an outside investigator exhibited bias against him in the process.

Bullard upheld the resolution officer’s decision, leading the university to consider the matter closed.

“Based on the facts outlined in the record, the (Resolution Officer) had a reasonable basis for each of the challenged findings,” Bullard wrote. “The RO’s Decision is upheld. This decision is final.”

Bullard denied Tucker’s assertion that there was no evidence of unwanted sexual contact with his accuser, Brenda Tracy.

Tucker was fired in September amid an investigation into sexual harassment allegations involving Tracy, a sexual assault awareness speaker.

While Field Level Media’s policy is not to name alleged victims of sexual harassment or assault, Tracy agreed to be identified last year when she provided documentation in an interview with USA Today.

The final verdict from the initial report said: “In sum, considering all available evidence, the Resolution Officer finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Respondent subjected Claimant to unwelcome conduct based on sex when he FaceTime video called Claimant without a shirt on; when he attempted to meet up with Claimant alone following the Spring Game; and when he non-consensually masturbated and used graphic, sexual language on a phone call with Claimant.”

Tucker appealed Michigan State’s ruling in October that he violated the university’s sexual misconduct policy, claiming not only a bias against him but also that new evidence would show he was being falsely accused.

Tucker provided texts and an affidavit from the cousin of Tracy’s late friend and booking assistant, claiming they would show Tracy was plotting to get money out of the accusation. But Bullard wrote that not only was the information submitted two weeks after Tucker’s hearing, it would not have affected the final decision.

“It’s been a 13 month long nightmare, but the MSU RVSM process is finally over,” Tracy wrote Thursday on X, formerly Twitter. “Tucker was found responsible for sexual harassment & exploitation and today his appeal was denied. Thank you to those who believed me and supported me through this. I appreciate you.”

Michigan State fired Tucker for cause, costing him about $80 million remaining on a 10-year contract he was given in November 2021.

Tucker had a 20-14 record as Michigan State coach. He was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2021 when the Spartans went 11-2.

–Field Level Media