Michigan State opened its season with a slow start that saw many fans venting on social media during the first half. The Spartans came alive on both sides of the ball in the second half though to take down Central Michigan 31-7 in the team's 2023 season opener to advance to 1-0 on the year.
Noah Kim, in his first start at quarterback for Michigan State, threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, finishing the game 18-for-31. Katin Houser came in late for the final series, but did not complete his lone pass attempt.
Nate Carter added 113 rushing yards on 18 attempts and one touchdown, while Jalen Berger added another rushing touchdown on one of his eight carries for 24 yards.
Through the air, Jaron Glover led the team in yards with 75 on three catches. Christian Fitzpatrick had the game's longest play for 72 yards, while Maliq Carr (eight yards, one catch), Tyrell Henry (25 yards, two catches), and Jalen Berger (30 yards, four catches) all added touchdowns.
Tre Mosley and Carr were the favorite targets for Kim, drawing six apiece. But Mosley only had three catches for 39 yards and Carr just the single catch on the night.
Michigan State's offense finished the game five-for-13 on third down conversions as well and ended the game with 416 total yards of offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, Haladay led the way with 10 total tackles, including one for loss, and added an interception. Jacoby Windmon, Aaron Brule, and Simeon Barrow all notched one sack apiece, while Angelo Grose patrolled CMU's air attack with two pass break ups.
The Spartans held the Chippewas to just three-for-15 on third down attempts and 13-for-25 on passing attempts for 96 yards and 123 yards on the ground on 41 attempts. Bert Emanual Jr. finished the game 11-for-17 at quarterback for CMU with wide receiver Chris Parker adding the lone score, a 12-yard catch with 1:51 left in the first half.
First Half
After the opening kick-off saw MSU's Alante Brown being carted off the field on a medical cart following a tough to watch head hit, Spartan fans were greeted with a 31-yard gain by Nate Carter on the opening play of MSU's drive for the season. The next set of downs saw the game stall out with two straight incomplete passes by Kim. The Spartans managed to take advantage of a Chippewa defender jumping offsides to set up a fourth-and-one in punt formation, but a long snap to Carter to try and convert for a first down instead saw no gain and a turnover on downs.
Central Michigan seemingly marched down the field with ease from its own 34 yard line but stalled out on MSU's eight yard line before a holding call pushed CMU back to the MSU-18. Central threw an incomplete pass on the ensuing third down, but an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Derrick Harmon resulted in a fresh set of downs for CMU. Jacoby Windmon came up big on third down, holding CMU's Marion Lukes to a one-yard gain. The Chippewas went for it on fourth, but Emanuel Jr. slipped on the turf and it was MSU's ball from its own nine yard line.
Both teams would punt on their next two drives as the clock turned over to the second quarter. Michigan State's offense was set up with excellent field position on CMU's 46 yard line and 8:17 left in the half. Kim connected with Tre Mosley for a 23-yard gain but the offense again stalled, this time following a false start penalty by Brandon Baldwin on third-and-12. Kicker Jonathan Kim took the field for his first field goal attempt in East Lansing and connected on the 47-yard attempt to make it 3-0 Michigan State.
Central Michigan quickly stalled out on its next drive on offense and the Spartans took over and pressed their advantage. A 21-yard completion to Nate Carter was aided by a roughing the passer penalty against CMU's Kade Kostus which advanced MSU to CMU's 39 yard line. Four straight rushes up the middle by Michigan State resulted in a turnover on downs after the Spartans chose to go for it on fourth-and-one at Central's 30 yard line.
On their ensuing drive, the Chippewas took just four plays to convert the night's first touchdown. The drive was thanks to two big gains of 17- and 14-yards aided by facemask penalties committed by Brandon Wright and Maverick Hansen of MSU. Central marched 70-yards into the end zone in just 1:20. Tristan Mattson converted the PAT to make it 7-3 CMU.
Michigan State's offense answered even faster, beginning with a 16-yard return on the kick off by Brown who had returned from the locker room following the hit he took to the head on the opening kick. Kim would go four-for-six for 82 yards before Carter punched it in from first-and-goal from the CMU two yard line for MSU's first touchdown of the season. Kim's PAT was good, and the Spartans took the lead to make it 10-7 with just :48 remaining in the half.
The Spartan defense held CMU to a three-and-out and MSU managed to convert one more first down of its own. The drive ran out of time, though, as one final deep ball by Kim with no time remaining fell incomplete in the end zone to send the teams into their locker room at the half.
Second Half
Coming back from halftime, Michigan State's defense initially looked to be struggling. It allowed Central Michigan to convert its first set of downs on fourth-and-one thanks to an illegal substitution penalty. The Chippewas immediately gained another fresh set of downs thanks to a 12-yard scramble by quarterback Emanuel Jr., but two plays later Cal Haladay picked him off for the first Spartan interception of the season.
The MSU offense stalled on its own ensuing drive, incurring a false start penalty on third-and-five at the CMU 42. Kim threw incomplete to Carr and Ryan Eckley again came on to punt. MSU's defense forced a three-and-out on the next series, though, and the offense retook the field.
The Spartans made fast work this time, and, in just six plays, the team marched 55 yards over 2:50 to score. The drive was capped off by a 12-yard rush into the endzone by Berger. Kim's PAT was good, and MSU extended its lead to 10, up 17-7 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
Central was able to convert for a first down on its next drive, but two-straight sacks by Grose and Windmon on second and third downs forced the Chippewas to punt after a media timeout after the end of the third quarter.
The Spartan offense lit up the stadium on the opening play of its next drive to begin the final quarter. Kim connected with Christian Fitzpatrick for a 72-yard completion to the CMU 10 yard line. Two plays later, Tyrell Henry hauled in a monster one-handed catch -- drawing a defensive pass interference penalty as well -- to convert for a Spartan touchdown. After the PAT, Michigan State led 24-7 with 13:26 remaining in the game.
Michigan State commit Andrew Dennis was in the stands to watch the catch as well. He had his own camera angle for the touchdown.
After holding the Chippewas to yet another three-and-out, Michigan State's offense again made quick work from its own 45-yard line. Quick gains of 15 through the air followed by a Kim keeper for seven and a Carter rush for seven and then three got the Spartans to the CMU eight yard line. Then Kim connected with Carr for the final score of the game to make it 31-7 after the PAT and 9:05 remaining.
Despite just over nine minutes remaining in the game, each team would find itself unable to get to the end zone or convert for a field goal again with stalled drives and punts.
MSU's final offensive possession ended as a three-and-out. With Houser in at quarterback, Jordon Simmons lost a yard on the drive's first play with a rush attempt up the middle. Houser was then sacked for a nine-yard loss on second down and a third-nad-long saw him throw incomplete to Fitzpatrick.
With the ball on its own 36 yard line and 2:36 left on the clock, CMU's offense managed to gain 49 yards on its final drive. At the MSU 15, the Chippewas simply ran out of time as Jase Bauer -- in at quarterback for CMU for the final three offensive series -- threw an incomplete pass on the last play of the game.
Michigan State moves on with a victory in its season opener. The Spartans will face Richmond next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Spartan Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
Men's head basketball coach Tom Izzo also stole the hearts of MSU fans watching the television broadcast for this one. After an early announcer focus on football head coach Mel Tucker's contract extension in 2021 and struggles in 2022, Izzo joined the call for much of the second half. Combined with the team's performance on the field, the analysis from the booth was much less critical of Tucker.
Izzo's team's upcoming non-conference schedule was released Thursday by the university.
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