Spartans Travel to Miami to Face No. 24 Hurricanes Saturday

Game 3: Michigan State (2-0) at No. 24 Miami (1-1)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 18
Kickoff: 12:06 p.m. EDT
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla.
Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium (64,767)
Surface: Natural Grass
Tickets: hurricanesports.com
Live Stats: hurricanesports.com | Live Stats

TV: ABC
Mobile: WatchESPN | ESPN App
Announcers: Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), Katie George (sidelines)

Radio: Spartan Media Network | Affiliate Listings
Play-by-Play: George Blaha
Analyst: Jason Strayhorn
Sidelines: Will Tieman
Website/Mobile: msuspartans.com/MSU Spartans app/Tune In radio
Flagship Stations: Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM)/WJIM (1240 AM); Detroit: WJR (760 AM); Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)
Affiliates: 30 affiliates listed at msuspartans.com
Satellite: Sirius (Ch. 106), XM (Ch. 196), SiriusXM app (Ch. 958)
Pre-game Show: Begins at 10:30 a.m.

All-Time Series: Miami leads, 4-0
Series in Miami: Miami leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Miami 26, MSU 20 (1989)
Current Series Streak: 4 by Miami

COACHES:
MSU Head Coach: Mel Tucker
MSU Record: 4-5 (second year)
Overall Record: 9-12 (third year)
Record vs. Miami: 0-0

Miami Head Coach: Manny Diaz
Miami Record: 15-11 (third year)
Overall Record: 15-11 (third year)
Record vs. MSU: 0-0

FIRST-AND-10 –
• Michigan State brings a 2-0 record into its matchup at No. 24 Miami on Saturday, Sept. 18 at noon in Hard Rock Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ABC, with Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst) and Katie George (sidelines) on the call. The Hurricanes are 1-1 following a home-opening victory over Appalachian State last Saturday, 25-23. MSU won at Northwestern, 38-21, in the season opener and topped Youngstown State, 42-14, in Spartan Stadium in Week 2.

• Saturday's game marks the fifth all-time meeting between Michigan State and Miami, and the first since 1989, when the No. 2 Hurricanes beat the Spartans, 26-20, on Sept. 30, 1989, in East Lansing. The Hurricanes lead the series, 4-0. MSU fell at Miami in 1982, 1959 and 1945 in the three other meetings.

• Four of MSU head coach Mel Tucker's nine wins as a head coach have come against AP Top 25 opponents (No. 11 Northwestern and No. 13 Michigan at MSU; No. 25 Nebraska and No. 24 Arizona State at Colorado). Tucker is 4-4 overall against AP Top 25 opponents (2-2 at Colorado; 2-2 at MSU). He became the first Spartan head coach to defeat a ranked team (AP No. 11 Northwestern) in his first home win.

• The Spartans have scored 80 points in their first two games (38 vs. Northwestern, 42 vs. Youngstown State), the most to start the season in a two-game span since 2007 (83 points). MSU is currently second in the Big Ten and 26th in the FBS in scoring offense, averaging 40.0 points per game.

• Michigan State has scored a touchdown on its first play from scrimmage in both games this season. Against Northwestern, junior transfer running back Kenneth Walker III raced 75 yards to the end zone on his first carry as a Spartan, while Payton Thorne found Jayden Reed on a 75-yard touchdown pass against Youngstown State. Dating back to 1944 when school single-game play-by-play records are available, Walker's 75-yard TD marked the first time Michigan State has scored on its first play from scrimmage to start a season.

• The Spartans racked up 595 yards of total offense against Youngstown State, their highest output since compiling 662 yards at Indiana on Oct. 18, 2014. MSU has put together more than 500 yards of total offense (511 vs. Northwestern) in back-to-back games for the first time since 2014 (Oct. 11, 532 vs. Purdue; Oct. 18, 662 vs. Indiana). After two games, Michigan State ranks second in the Big Ten and ninth in the FBS in total offense (553.0 ypg).

• MSU's resurgent rushing attack ranks second in the Big Ten and sixth in the FBS, averaging 299.0 yards per game. The Spartans accumulated 326 rushing yards at Northwestern – the first time MSU put up more than 300 rushing yards in a game since 2014 (330 yards at Indiana) – and had 272 yards on the ground against Youngstown State. MSU is averaging 8.0 yards per carry, third best in the FBS.

• Quarterback Payton Thorne completed 15-of-21 passes for 280 yards and a career-high four touchdowns against Youngstown State in his first career start at home. Thorne is 30-of-46 passing (.652) for 465 yards and five touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season. He currently ranks second in the Big Ten and 12th in the FBS in passing efficiency with a 186.0 QB rating.

• Junior running back Kenneth Walker III, a transfer from Wake Forest, is having a dynamic start to the season. He had a record-setting debut as a Spartan, rushing for a career-high 264 yards – the seventh-highest total in school history – while scoring a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Spartans past Northwestern. It marked the most rushing yards by a Spartan in a debut wearing the Green and White. Walker became just the second Spartan to record more than 250 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the same game (Eric Allen, school-record 350 yards and four TDs vs. Purdue on Oct. 30, 1971). In limited action against Youngstown State, Walker still rushed for 57 yards and one TD on just seven carries (8.1 avg.). He currently leads the FBS in yards per carry (10.7) and ranks second nationally in rushing TDs (5) and fourth in rushing (160.5 ypg); both of those marks also lead the Big Ten.

• Redshirt junior Jayden Reed ranks second in the Big Ten in yards per catch (27.2) and all-purpose yards (168.5 ypg) and third in receiving (122.5 ypg). Reed caught four passes for a career-high 181 yards against Youngstown State; two of those catches came for 160 yards in the first half alone (75 yard TD on first play of the game; 85 yard TD in second quarter). Reed has six 100-yard receiving games in his career (four at Western Michigan in 2018; two at MSU). He also tallied a career-high 264 all-purpose yards (181 receiving, 32 kick return, 48 punt return) against YSU.

STAT LEADERS–
Michigan State:
Rushing – Jr. Kenneth Walker III (30 carries for 321 yards, 10.7 avg., 5 TDs)
Passing – R-So. Payton Thorne (30-of-46, .652, 465 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs)
Receiving – R-Jr. Jayden Reed (9 catches for 245 yards, 27.2 avg., 2 TDs)
Tackles – Sr. S Xavier Henderson (17 tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 PBU)

Miami:
Rushing – Jr. Cam'ron Harris (30 carries for 128 yards, 4.3 avg., 1 TD)
Passing – R-Sr. D'Eriq King (43-of-63, .683, 379 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs)
Receiving – R-Jr. Charleston Rambo (12 receptions for 86 yards, 7.2 avg., 0 TDs)
Tackles – Jr. Gurvan Hall Jr. (18 tackles)

MSU/MIAMI SERIES NOTES –
• Saturday's game marks the fifth all-time meeting between Michigan State and Miami, and the first since 1989, when the No. 2 Hurricanes beat the Spartans, 26-20, on Sept. 30, 1989, in East Lansing.

• The Hurricanes lead the series, 4-0. MSU fell at Miami in 1982, 1959 and 1945 in the three other meetings.

A QUICK GLANCE AT NO. 24 MIAMI (1-1) –
• The 24th-ranked Hurricanes (AP) are 1-1 on the young season after then-No.14 Miami 44-13 lost to No. 1 Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta before holding off upset-minded Appalachian State, 25-23, in Miami's home opener last Saturday, the first of four straight home games for the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium.

• In the win over App State, the Hurricanes and Mountaineers went back-and-forth, with App State taking a 23-22 lead with 5:48 to go, but freshman kicker Andy Borregales split the uprights from 43-yards out with 2:04 to play for a 25-23 lead and the Hurricane defense held off a last-ditch effort by App State. Redshirt senior quarterback D'Eriq King was 20-of-33 passing for 200 yards and rushed 19 times for 79 yards, while junior running back Cam'Ron Harris added 91 rushing yards on 18 carries with one TD. Freshman running back Donald Chaney Jr. added four rushes for 21 yards and a TD.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Charleston Rambo and senior wide receiver Michael Harley had five catches apiece, with Rambo tallying 52 yards, while Harley had 27 yards. Freshman wide receiver Keyshawn Smith had a team-high 70 receiving yards on four catches.

• Junior safety Gurvan Hall Jr. led the Miami defense with a game-high tying 10 tackles, while junior defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera had a game-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Amari Carter had the game's lone interception, adding a TFL. The Hurricane defense also forced an App State safety on a botched snap on a punt.

• Borregales' 43-yard game-winning field goal was one of three field goals on the night, as he hit from 27 yards in the 2nd quarter and a 38-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter. He also had a 35-yard attempt blocked in the second quarter.

• King is 43-for-63 (.683) on the season with 379 yards (189.5 ypg), with one TD and two INTs, all coming in the Alabama game. Harris leads the Miami ground game with 30 carries for 128 yards (4.3 ypc/64.0 ypg) and one TD. Rambo has 12 receptions for 86 yards (7.2 ypc/43.0 ypg), while Smith has a team-best 110 yards on eight catches (13.8 ypg/55.0 ypg).

• Hall tops the Hurricane defense with 18 tackles (13 solos, five assists), while sophomore cornerback Tyrique Stevenson has 14 stops (eight solos, six assists) and a team-high three pass break-ups.

• Borregales is 5-for-6 on field goals, with his 43-yarder his season long. He also is 3-for-3 on PATs.

• Redshirt junior punter Lou Hedley has punted 11 times for a 42.7 ypp average with a long of 54-yards, with seven inside the 20.

• Miami head coach Manny Diaz is in his third season leading the Hurricanes and has a 15-11 record.

LAST TIME OUT: MSU 42, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 14 –
• Michigan State improved to 3-0 all-time against Youngstown State with the 42-14 victory over the Penguins on Saturday . . . MSU also won 55-17 in 2013 and 28-6 in 2011.

• Michigan State improved to 103-22 all-time in home openers, including victories in 24 of the past 26 years.

OFFENSE
• Michigan State has scored a touchdown on its first play from scrimmage in both games this season. Against Northwestern, junior transfer running back Kenneth Walker III raced 75 yards to the end zone on his first carry as a Spartan, while Payton Thorne found Jayden Reed on a 75-yard touchdown pass against Youngstown State . . . dating back to 1944 when school single-game play-by-play records are available, Walker's 75-yard TD marked the first time Michigan State has scored on its first play from scrimmage to start a season . . . before the season opener, the last time MSU scored on its first play from scrimmage was on Sept. 25, 2010, against Northern Colorado, as Edwin Baker had a 5-yard run following an interception on UNC's first possession that gave MSU first-and-goal from the 5.

• Michigan State collected 595 yards of total offense (323 passing, 272 rushing) . . . MSU had 511 yards vs. Northwestern in Week 1 . . . it marked the first time MSU had compiled 500 yards of total offense in back-to-back games since 2014 (Oct. 11, 532 vs. Purdue, Oct. 18, 662 vs. Indiana) . . . it was also the most total yards of offense in a single game for the Spartans since Oct. 18, 2014, at Indiana (662).

• Michigan State had 408 yards of total offense in the first half, the first time it had more than 400 total yards in the first half since Sept. 1, 2007 (438 vs. UAB).

• Payton Thorne completed 15-of-21 passes for 280 yards and a career-high four touchdowns . . . it marked the first time a Spartan quarterback threw four TDs in a game since Brian Lewerke vs. Northwestern in 2017 . . . Thorne also had 19 yards rushing on three carries (6.3 avg.) . . . last Saturday was Thorne's first career home start in Spartan Stadium and the third of his career (2-1 record).

• Jayden Reed caught four passes for a career-high 181 yards . . . Reed had two catches for 160 yards in the first half alone (75 yard TD on first play of the game; 85 yard TD in second quarter) . . . it marked the first time an MSU receiver had more than 150 yards receiving in the first half since Tony Lippett in 2014 vs. Jacksonville State (4 catches for 167 yards) . . . Reed has six 100-yard receiving games in his career (four at Western Michigan in 2018; two at MSU) . . . Reed also tallied a career-high 264 all-purpose yards (181 receiving, 32 kick return, 48 punt return).

• Jordon Simmons had his first career 100-yard rushing game with 121 yards on 16 carries (7.6 avg.).

• Graduate transfer (Temple) quarterback Anthony Russo made his Spartan debut and was 5-of-7 passing for 43 yards . . . he also rushed three times for 10 yards.

DEFENSE
• Xavier Henderson led the team in tackles for the second game in a row with eight stops . . . he also had a 4-yard sack and an acrobatic interception in the second quarter . . . it was Henderson's third career interception.

• Jeff Pietrowski had four tackles, including 1.5 for losses (8 yards) and a 5-yard sack, in his first career start at defensive end.

• Jacub Panasiuk collected two tackles for loss (9 yards) . . . he has 23 TFLs in his career.

Spartans Travel to Miami to Face No. 24 Hurricanes Saturday

Game 3: Michigan State (2-0) at No. 24 Miami (1-1)

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Players Mentioned

Xavier Henderson

Jacub Panasiuk

Jeff Pietrowski Jr.

Jayden Reed

Anthony Russo

Jordon Simmons

Payton Thorne

Kenneth Walker III