MSU/FAU
Friday, 8/30
Kickoff: 7:01pm EDT
Spartan Stadium

Parking:
Donor lots open at 2:00pm
Public lots open at 3:00pm

TV:
Play-by-Play: Jason Ross Jr.
Analyst: Brock Vereen
Sidelines: Dannie Rogers

Radio:
Play-by-Play: George Blaha
Analyst: Jason Strayhorn
Sidelines: Jehuu Caulcrick

Hey all! My wife and I started a MSU podcast and are just getting things rolling. Our first episode is out and a 2nd is coming out tomorrow! Would love for anyone to check it out and give it a follow! We actually have a pretty cool guest coming on next week that I think many of you all will be interested in hearing from after Friday's game! Also on Apple Podcat!

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Section 24 (35-40 yd line), Row 49.

If interested, call or text Joe at (313) 671-5953.

Go Green!

Michigan State defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi said that there's been a "work mentality" from his defense ahead of the FAU game.

"We got to prepare, we got a lot of work to do."

More from Rossi and the "tremendous challenge" that the Owls will bring:

Ozan Baris is No. 1 in the Division I Men’s Singles rankings.

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I know he really worked hard and wanted to be in the NFL. He is looking to catch on with another team.

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Michigan State will be competing in the West Palm Beach Classic this year in addition to the Acrisure Classic previously announced.

Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith announced the Scout Team Players of the Week ahead of Florida Atlantic game, via social media. The players highlighted include true freshman wide receiver Jaylan Brown, true freshman defensive end Kekai Burnett, true freshman walk-on offensive lineman Kyler Brunan, redshirt freshman walk-on defensive back Caleb Gash and redshirt senior walk-on wide receiver Zach Gillespie.

Perhaps a new weekly feature from Smith?

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Nick Samac has made the Ravens roster as a center

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The 2024 Paris Paralympics begin today with the opening ceremony. There are always really inspiring stories to come out of the Paralympics. Here's the story of an athlete that has local Mid-Michigan ties.

When competition begins tomorrow (Thursday), keep an eye on St. Johns native and Lansing Community College student Jayci Simon who will compete in Para-badminton.

Simon has acromicric dysplasia (a form of dwarfism) and she will compete in the SH6 (Standing, short stature) classification of the Para-badminton event. Simon is in the SH6 Women's Singles tournament and SH6 Mixed Doubles tournament with her partner Miles Krajewski.

She trains with the MSU club badminton team playing with and against non-Para athletes because she doesn't have a regular coach or a facility to train at.

Here are some links if you want to learn more about Simon's story.

Feature story on Simon:


Athlete bio:

MSU has released its full hockey schedule.

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Article to come.

DJ Uiagalelei playing his Clemson type ball. Kid is horrendous. Shocked how shitty FSU looks.

In terms of playing rotations, Smith said that he and the coaching staff are “getting close” to figuring out who will play the first snaps on offense and defense. No matter who starts the game, though, there are multiple positions where Smith feels comfortable rotating players in and out of the game.

“We talk about 22 starters, which yeah, we’ll throw 22 guys out there, but I feel good that we’re going to play multiple guys in some positions,” Smith explained. “I think about the defensive line. We’re going to rotate through that. We feel five, six guys could rotate in the interior of the (defensive) line. Linebacker, same way. Receiver-wise, we will play more than two or three guys. Even the tight end spot, with (Jack) Velling, (Brennan) Parachek coming along here, Mola’s (Ademola Faleye) had a great camp, Mike (Masunas), you’re going to see multiple guys there. I mean, shoot, you might even see more than just five throughout the game at (offensive) line.”

More:

The time has finally come to officially kick off my weekly and somewhat whimsical series on Spartan Football, the broader college football landscape, math, and a dash of potentially dubious betting advice.

For those who may not be familiar, I have been using my algorithm and simulation methodology for several years now to analyze the football season. Over the years, I derived a couple of methods to find perhaps a few angles when it comes to betting.

As a general rule, I think that my upset bets are the most accurate and potentially lucrative. My recommended bets against the spread are very good over a 7-year span, but the last few years the hit rate has been a bit under .500. I recently added point total bets, but the results there have been extremely mixed. Two years ago, those picks were awesome. Last year they were terrible. I am not sure how this year will go.

I do not actually bet on sports myself, so I do recommend caution. I do this for the pure entertainment value only. But if you see a few things here that support some ideas you already have, let me provide a bit of confirmation bias.

As always, enjoy!

Michigan State's Matt Forbes opens U.S. Open action Tuesday as the first-ever Spartan in tournament.

Of note: Forbes is part of the MSU NIL Collective 'This is Sparta!'

Good stuff here from MSU:

Michigan State men’s tennis freshman Matthew Forbes will open action in the main draw of the 2024 U.S. Open on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, New York, as announced by the U.S. Open Friday.

Forbes is the first Spartan to qualify for the tournament and will face Roman Safiullin of Russia in his first match, as the draw was announced by the U.S. Open.

“It means a lot to me to play in the U.S. Open as a Spartan and be the first Michigan State player to play there, especially since I think I’m one of just four college players in the main draw,” Forbes said. “I think it means a lot to the program and recruiting wise, there’s going to be young kids that see that Spartan head logo and our coaching staff in Spartan gear and hopefully over the next few years and that will be great for our program.”

The Spartan earned the wild card entry by winning the singles title at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys’ 18-Under National Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Aug. 11 at Kalamazoo College’s Stowe Stadium.

“It’s great to have Matthew playing in the U.S. Open main draw, he’s the first from our program and not a lot of college programs get to say they have a guy in the main draw of the U.S. Open,” assistant coach Kazuki Matsuno said to the media on Thursday. “It’s huge for us and huge promotion for us since he’ll be sporting some Sparty gear while he’s there, so people will be seeing Spartan colors there, which is huge for our tennis program and for Michigan State University.”

A TennisRecruiting.net blue-chip recruit, Forbes signed a National Letter of Intent with the Spartans in July. The Raleigh, North Carolina native has an International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors career-high ranking of No. 34 and is ranked sixth in the class of 2024.

Forbes will be accompanied to New York by MSU men’s tennis head coach Harry Jadun, Coach Matsuno, and other members of the Spartan coaching staff, along with his hitting partner, junior Ozan Baris.

John Harbaugh said former Spartan Center Nick Samac has been coming on strong and has earned some first-string reps.

Tyler Linderbaum has been battling various ailments, opening the door for Samac.

“It will be fun to take this team into a hostile environment,” Herman said on Monday. “I certainly respect the heck out of Michigan State and their tradition, their fan base. It’s going to be a really, really difficult place to play.”

“I just remember – this is no offense to their brothers in Ann Arbor but that stadium in Ann Arbor holds 40,000 more people,” Herman said, “and I thought the one in East Lansing was significantly louder and more disruptive for an offense.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren spoke the media on Tuesday and gave us a decent idea on what we can expect against Florida Atlantic on Friday.

Read the article here:

With the passing of Don Wert, here is a list of players, coaches, media, and people associated with the 1968 Tigers who are still living, and the dates others passed


Gates Brown - D Sep 27, 2013
Les Cain - 76 years old
Dave Campbell - 82 years old
Norm Cash - D Oct 11, 1986
Bob Christian - D Feb 20, 1974
Wayne Comer - D Oct 4, 2023
Pat Dobson - D Nov 22, 2006
Roy Face - 96 years old
Bill Freehan - D Aug 19, 2021
Lenny Green - D Jan 6, 2019
John Hiller - 81 years old
Willie Horton - 81 years old
Al Kaline - D Apr 6, 2020
Fred Lasher - D Feb 27, 2022
Mickey Lolich - 83 years old
Tom Matchick - D Jan 4, 2022
Eddie Mathews - D Feb 18, 2001
Dick McAuliffe - D May 13, 2016
Denny McLain - 80 years old
Don McMahon - D July 22, 1987
Jim Northrup - D Jun 8, 20 11
Ray Oyler - D Jan 26, 1981
Daryl Patterson - 80 years old
Jim Price - D Aug 7, 2023
Dennis Ribant - D Apr 24, 2023
Jim Rooker - 81 years old
Joe Sparma - D May 14, 1986
Mickey Stanley - 82 years old
Dick Tracewski - 89 years old
Jon Warden - 77 years old
Don Wert - D Aug 25, 2024
Earl Wilson - D Apr 23, 2005
John Wyatt - D Apr 6, 1998
Mayo Smith Manager - D Nov 24, 1977
Tony Cuccinello 3rd Base Coach - D Sep 21, 1995
Wally Moses Hitting/1st Base Coach - D Oct 10, 1990
Hal Naragon Bullpen Coach - D Aug 31, 2019
Johnny Sain Pitching Coach - D Nov 7, 2006
Julio Moreno Batting Practice Pitcher - D Jan 2, 1987
Ray Herbert Batting Practice Pitcher - D Dec 20, 2022
Bill Behm Trainer - D Sep 28, 2012
John Fetzer Owner - D Feb 20, 1991
Jim Campbell General Manager - D Oct 31, 1995
George Kell WJBK TV - D Mar 24, 2009
Larry Osterman WJBK TV - 89 years old
Ernie Harwell WJR Radio - D May 4, 2010
Ray Lane WJR Radio - 94 years old

FAU +13.5

MSU -13.5

I watched the new documentary, called "Sign Stealer," about Connor Stalions on Netflix this morning. It was definitely told in a way that was much more catered to a non-college football fan that might not have heard too much about the insane depth of the story, which makes sense. To be honest, the documentary did not focus very much about the intricacies of the scheme.

This, frankly, is because Stalions is still dragging his feet about the entire thing. The biggest new piece of information from it was Stalions denying any true involvement with in-person scouting. But here's the weird part -- his side of the story is that he would, in fact, buy tickets to games featuring future Michigan opponents and then transfer or flip the seats to friends and family. After that, Stalions said while talking with the NCAA that those he gave tickets to would film "parts of games" without being directed to do so.

Also worth noting is that Stalions says that is was not him on the sideline of the Central Michigan game last year, but Dave Portnoy claimed that Stalions told him that is was.

Other tidbits include that Stalions received a game ball from Jim Harbaugh after UM beat Iowa in 2022, he appears to think Ohio State hacked him, he rushed the field after Michigan beat OSU and that a friend that Stalions bought tickets for says there is "no evidence" that he filmed games.

The Spartans Illustrated staff predicts Michigan State's record for the 2024 season:

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Rossi:

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Lindgren:

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Miller:

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Carter:

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