In what appears to be a new tradition, Jonathan Smith will recognize top players from each game.

Against FAU-

Defense: LB Cal Haladay
Offense: RB Kay'ron Lynch-Adams
Special Teams: LS Kaden Schickel
Lineman: DT D'Quan Douse

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EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 4 Michigan State women's soccer continues its six-game homestand on Thursday, Aug. 29 against Ole Miss (2-1) at 7 p.m. and against No. 15 Xavier (4-0) on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m at DeMartin Stadium.

Both games will stream on B1G+.

FIRST TOUCH
The Spartans (2-0-1) are coming off a 1-0-1 showing last week, earning a 2-2 draw at DeMartin Stadium with then-No. 8 Arkansas on Aug. 22 before a 3-0 shutout over Ohio on Aug. 25. Graduate forward Mackenzie Anthony and sophomore midfielder Bella Najera notched goals against the Razorbacks, while Meg Hughes had a brace against Ohio and Anthony scored her second goal of the weekend in the final 40 seconds against the Bobcats. Junior midfielder Emerson Sargeant assisted on three of MSU's five goals last week, earning a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week on Aug. 27.

MSU's No. 4 ranking by the United Soccer Coaches is its best ranking in program history, topping its previous best of No. 6 from 2022.

SCOUTING OLE MISS
Ole Miss is led by second-year head coach Molly Rouse, who holds a 9-8-3 record with the Rebels. The Rebels are 2-1-0 this season, most recently falling to then-No. 10 Memphis, 2-1, on Aug. 25. Freshman Kayla Keefer leads the Rebels in scoring with seven points from a trio of goals and an assist in 2024.

Ole Miss is the second of two SEC opponents MSU will play this season. The Spartans have not won a match against an SEC opponent since a 5-1 win over Kentucky in East Lansing on Sep. 5, 2004.

Thursday's match will be the first all-time between the Spartans and Rebels.

SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier is led by first-year head coach Dean Ward. The Musketeers sit at a perfect 4-0-0 through the first two weeks of the season, most recently earning a 3-0 win over Dayton on the road on Aug. 25. Emma Flick and Olivia Lawson lead the Xavier in scoring with seven points each.

The Musketeers will be the third ranked opponent in the first five games of 2024 for the Spartans.

Despite playing each other for the first seven varsity seasons of MSU soccer, the Spartans and Musketeers have not met since Sept. 10, 1992, which was a 2-1 win for MSU on the road. The series, which dates back to 1986, is tied at 3-3-1. MSU is 2-1-0 in East Lansing against Xavier.

UP NEXT
MSU hosts Queens on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. and Loyola Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. in its final non-conference contests. Both games will stream on B1G+.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

It's officially gameday!!

Join us here for updates from Spartan Stadium and some general discussion about the game

Kickoff is at 7:01 p.m. on Big Ten Network

Football is back, and so are takeaways!

It wasn't the prettiest game, but the Jonathan Smith era at Michigan State starts with a win. From a strong performance by the defense to some mistakes that need to be cleaned up, I broke down some of the takeaways from Friday's game.

You can read them here:

Wow- too many penalties for sure. Chiles left a lot to be desired with his inaccurate passes.
This will hopefully be a learning experience because Maryland will be a very difficult opponent.

I know he's an 18 year-old and teenagers say dumb things, but I was surprised by this comment when he said it. Not because of its boastful nature but because I've always thought references to gambling by players/coaches are taboo.

A conspiracy theorist might argue as follows. Chiles says "take the over" publicly but privately he's told family/friends to take the under. Heck, in a different setting, his comment could even have caused the over number to edge up. Then, based on his performance yesterday, one could argue he was trying to ensure the under.

Of course, I don't believe any of that. But there are a lot of conspiracy theorists out there.

I trust Coach Smith has told Chiles and teammates never to mention anything about the spread or over/under.

I wrote a thousand words in the wee hours of Saturday morning on why Spartan fans should follow Jonathan Smith's lead in not freaking out after tonight's game. Rip it to shreds if you want. Or take some of it to heart. Or do whatever you want.

Bit of a surprise. Most were expecting Alex Orji for the entire offseason.
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Last night WMU lined up to kick a field goal
The ball was snapped to the holder, who flipped the ball over his shoulder to the place kicker, who ran for a first down.

The question I have, when the holder got the snap, his right knee was on the ground.
By rules, if a knee hits the ground, the play is dead.
Why was that not the case for the trick play?

1. I like what Tom Herman is building at FAU; he has something to prove if he wants to return to the next level.

2. FAU went to USF's homecoming last year and spanked them 56-14, shortly after USF gave Alabama all they could handle.

2. FAU nearly upset Illinois 23-17 on the road in 2023.

3. Defense travels, and FAU was good defensively in 2023. It has many returning players and a quick front seven.


What bodes well for MSU:

1. FAUs lose their top two rushers, and several new players are learning the offensive scheme.

2. Their leading receiver, LaJohntay Wester (108 catches), bolted for Colorado, and they struggled to find dependable receivers this fall.

3. QB Cam Fancher is a turnover machine: 21 TD passes but 17 interceptions in the last two years at Marshall. He is a real dual-threat QB, however, and can hurt you with his feet.
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Fancher: 2023: 202 of 308 for 2,162, eleven touchdowns, and eleven interceptions. 2022: 131 of 235 for 1,558 yards with ten touchdowns and six interceptions.

4. Nate Carter and Kay'ron Lynch Adams could have big days running, especially in the red zone.

​

Obviously, most people are going to focus on the offense and what needs to be improved there. But take some time before the Saturday slate and read my thoughts about how the defense prevented humiliation in Week 1.

Read here:

Jonathan Smith:

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Kay’ron Lynch-Adams, Angelo Grose, Khris Bogle:

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Aidan Chiles:

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Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is 1-0 to begin his tenure in East Lansing, but it didn't come easy.

The Spartans narrowly defeated Florida Atlantic to kick off the 2024 campaign by a final score of 16-10. The Spartans' play was sloppy throughout the game — leaving points on the board, turning the ball over and amassing 12 penalties for 140 yards.

Smith knows there is a lot to fix, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, but the defense stood tall against the Owls (outside of the penalties) and the head coach was proud of the way his entire team competed for 60 minutes of football.

"Obviously, you try to win the game and we got that done, so pleased with that," Smith said following the victory over FAU. "I do think the crowd was awesome. (The crowd) actually impacted the game — I look at us defensively, some of those stops, third down, fourth down, crowd noise, the energy into it. So, really appreciate everybody coming out and helping us there. Game one, you're going to learn a lot about your team, and we've got a lot to work on. What I did learn and what I was pleased with is that there's a response in this group. We are going to play for four quarters, to win the game in the fourth quarter, and we were able to do that."

More:

I'm pumped for Week 1 to get going.

I'm interested in watching North Carolina vs. Minnesota and North Dakota State vs. Colorado tonight.

There are a bunch of other great games this weekend including Miami vs. Florida, Clemson vs. Georgia, USC vs. LSU and more.

Let's hear what games everyone is going to be watching this weekend...

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The men's and women's cross country teams open the 2024 season at the Jeff Drenth Memorial in Shepherd, Michigan, hosted by Central Michigan on Friday, Aug. 30.

The Jeff Drenth Memorial is named after the late Jeff Drenth, brother to MSU's former Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Walt Drenth. Jeff, who passed away while training in 1986, is a member of the Central Michigan University Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame. .

The USTFCCCA Regional Rankings were released on Monday and the Spartan women are ranked second in the Great Lakes Region, while the men are ranked fifth. In the national rankings, the women stand at No. 18, while the men are just outside the Top 30. Seniors Makenna Veen and Andrew Nolan were named to the Big Ten Athletes to Watch list.

The Spartans will run a variety of young runners and veterans to open the season. Following the Jeff Drenth Memorial, Michigan State will host the Spartan Invitational, sponsored by Auto-Owners Invitational on Sept. 13.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Full recap is up on the homepage now. Michigan State got the victory with a few exciting highlights in the game, but plenty of issues to clean up heading into early Big Ten action on the road next week.

I am concerned about the future of college football and non-competitive football. Teams often open with cream puffs, but the scores are getting more lopsided. I believe the poaching of lower-level teams has led to these lopsided scores. Yes, FSU and Georgia Tech were Close. Mack Brown can recruit but can't coach, so Minnesota and North Carolina were close, same with a proud North Dakota St team and Colorado---BUT

A whopping 14 teams outscored their opponents by an average of 52.4 points to 7.4 points, and I've listed them below. Scholarship limitations served a purpose to make the game competitive; now, I suspect we will only see that when the big boys go head to head.


734 points vs 104 (52.4 points to 7.4 points)

1. Utah 49-0
2. Missouri 51-0
3. Kansas 48-3
4. CMU 66-10
5. UCF 57-3
6. Arkansas 70-0
7. Wake Forest 45-13
8. Coastal Carolina 55-27
9. Toledo 49-10
10. Tulane 52-0
11. Tulsa 62-28
12. UAB 41-3
13. Illinois 45-0
14. Rutgers 44-7

Spartans Illustrated exclusive:

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Our staff breaks down today's matchup. What are your final score predictions?

Just one player listed on Michigan State's availability report: defensive lineman Avery Dunn.

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Yay or nay?
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