Friday, August 29
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
1-0 , 0-0
23
vs
6
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Western Michigan
0-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Western Michigan
0
0
0
6
6
Michigan State
7
14
2
0
23
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
Michigan State Beats Western Michigan, 23-6, in 2025 Season Opener
8/29/2025 11:02:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State scored three touchdowns in the first half and opened its 2025 season with a 23-6 win over Western Michigan on Friday night before a crowd of 71,657 at Spartan Stadium.
Sophomore running back Makhi Frazier carried the ball 14 times for 103 yards and one touchdown, while sophomore running back Brandon Tullis had seven carries for 52 yards and one touchdown as Michigan State finished the night with 181 yards on the ground.
Junior linebacker Jordan Hall led the defense with eight tackles, three solo, while adding one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III added six tackles with a half for loss, including his first career interception, while redshirt junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren had five tackles and a half for loss and senior defensive back Malik Spencer had five tackles, including one for loss.
The Spartan defensive unit limited Western Michigan to just 29 rushing yards on 24 attempts, registered four quarterback sacks and 12 tackles for loss, and did not allow the Broncos offense to score. WMU's lone score came on an interception return late in the fourth quarter.
"I'll start with what I kind of told the team – proud of the team, finding a way to win a game," said MSU head coach Jonathan Smith, who improved to 2-0 in season openers at Michigan State. "Obviously, kind of a tale of two halves. Shout out to (redshirt junior punter) Ryan Eckley, that punt unit, (freshman long snapper) Jack (Wills), making his first start as a snapper, that was an effective play of our punt group there.
"I do think defensively, that was a pretty good effort, and it helped our crowd. I thought our crowd was great tonight. The energy – student section was packed. I mean, it was a great atmosphere and always appreciate Spartan Nation supporting us like that."
MSU is now 11-0 in home Friday night games to start the season and 13-0 overall in its Friday night season openers during that time span.
SCORING SUMMARY
Michigan State opened the game's scoring on its first drive of the season, going 74 yards on 10 plays while taking 5:42 off the clock, capped by Tullis' first career touchdown from 12 yards out.
The Spartans went on another lengthy drive on their second series to take a 14-0 lead with 10:43 left in the second quarter. Nick Marsh caught his first touchdown of the season with a 7-yard grab in the end zone to complete a 10-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 5:59.
Michigan State went up 21-0 on Frazier's 9-yard touchdown run with 1:58 remaining in the first half. Frazier's first career score was set up by Chiles' 26-yard scamper down the sideline, equaling his longest rush as a Spartan.
MSU's defense turned Western Michigan over on downs on the first series of the game, then forced four-straight punts before Wayne Matthews III recorded his first career interception with 10 seconds left in the half. The Broncos had just 89 total yards of offense in the first half.
The Spartan defense scored the first points of the second half for MSU, as Alex VanSumeren and Jalen Thompson teamed up for a safety at the 8:01 mark; the safety was set up by Ryan Eckley's punt that was down at the 1-yard line.
Western Michigan got on the board late in the fourth quarter when Broncos safety Tate Hallock, a former Spartan, had a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:51 to play in the game.
UP NEXT
Michigan State hosts Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. The game will be televised on NBC.
"Now, you got to move forward, take a deep look at this tape," said Smith. "There will be a ton to improve on and learn from, and then you know this is the first game where you got your game film out there – so offense, defense, special teams and next opponent, they're going to take a deep look at it, and so we got to find the flaws and clean some things up. But overall, you found a way to win the game and now we look to work and improve on it."
Sophomore running back Makhi Frazier carried the ball 14 times for 103 yards and one touchdown, while sophomore running back Brandon Tullis had seven carries for 52 yards and one touchdown as Michigan State finished the night with 181 yards on the ground.
Junior linebacker Jordan Hall led the defense with eight tackles, three solo, while adding one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III added six tackles with a half for loss, including his first career interception, while redshirt junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren had five tackles and a half for loss and senior defensive back Malik Spencer had five tackles, including one for loss.
The Spartan defensive unit limited Western Michigan to just 29 rushing yards on 24 attempts, registered four quarterback sacks and 12 tackles for loss, and did not allow the Broncos offense to score. WMU's lone score came on an interception return late in the fourth quarter.
"I'll start with what I kind of told the team – proud of the team, finding a way to win a game," said MSU head coach Jonathan Smith, who improved to 2-0 in season openers at Michigan State. "Obviously, kind of a tale of two halves. Shout out to (redshirt junior punter) Ryan Eckley, that punt unit, (freshman long snapper) Jack (Wills), making his first start as a snapper, that was an effective play of our punt group there.
"I do think defensively, that was a pretty good effort, and it helped our crowd. I thought our crowd was great tonight. The energy – student section was packed. I mean, it was a great atmosphere and always appreciate Spartan Nation supporting us like that."
MSU is now 11-0 in home Friday night games to start the season and 13-0 overall in its Friday night season openers during that time span.
SCORING SUMMARY
Michigan State opened the game's scoring on its first drive of the season, going 74 yards on 10 plays while taking 5:42 off the clock, capped by Tullis' first career touchdown from 12 yards out.
The Spartans went on another lengthy drive on their second series to take a 14-0 lead with 10:43 left in the second quarter. Nick Marsh caught his first touchdown of the season with a 7-yard grab in the end zone to complete a 10-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 5:59.
Michigan State went up 21-0 on Frazier's 9-yard touchdown run with 1:58 remaining in the first half. Frazier's first career score was set up by Chiles' 26-yard scamper down the sideline, equaling his longest rush as a Spartan.
MSU's defense turned Western Michigan over on downs on the first series of the game, then forced four-straight punts before Wayne Matthews III recorded his first career interception with 10 seconds left in the half. The Broncos had just 89 total yards of offense in the first half.
The Spartan defense scored the first points of the second half for MSU, as Alex VanSumeren and Jalen Thompson teamed up for a safety at the 8:01 mark; the safety was set up by Ryan Eckley's punt that was down at the 1-yard line.
Western Michigan got on the board late in the fourth quarter when Broncos safety Tate Hallock, a former Spartan, had a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:51 to play in the game.
UP NEXT
Michigan State hosts Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. The game will be televised on NBC.
"Now, you got to move forward, take a deep look at this tape," said Smith. "There will be a ton to improve on and learn from, and then you know this is the first game where you got your game film out there – so offense, defense, special teams and next opponent, they're going to take a deep look at it, and so we got to find the flaws and clean some things up. But overall, you found a way to win the game and now we look to work and improve on it."
Team Stats
WMU
MSU
Total Yards
217
336
Pass Yards
188
155
Rushing Yards
29
181
Penalty Yards
21
35
1st Downs
10
20
3rd Downs
4
4
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
23:13
36:47
1st Quarter
WMU 0, MSU 7
MSU - Tullis,Brandon 12 yd run (Sislo,Blake kick), 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 05:42
2nd Quarter
WMU 0, MSU 14
MSU - Marsh,Nick 7 yd pass from Chiles,Aidan (Sislo,Blake kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:59
WMU 0, MSU 21
MSU - Frazier,Makhi 9 yd run (Sislo,Blake kick), 6 plays, 54 yards, TOP 02:25
3rd Quarter
WMU 0, MSU 23
MSU - 0 yd safety
4th Quarter
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WMU 6, MSU 23
WMU - Hallock,Tate 32 yd interception ()
Game Leaders
CMP
17
TD
1
YDS
155
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DL
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