Saturday, September 13
East Lansing, Mich.
3:30 PM
Michigan State University
3-0 , 0-0
41
vs
24
Youngstown State
2-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Youngstown St.
3
7
7
7
24
Michigan St.
7
10
14
10
41
Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Michigan State Improves To 3-0, Beats Youngstown State, 41-24
9/13/2025 7:22:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to open a 21-point lead en route to a 41-24 win over Youngstown State at Spartan Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans improved to 3-0 with the victory and will open Big Ten play next Saturday at USC. Youngstown State, ranked No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll, fell to 2-1.
Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 22-of-29 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown, while running eight times for 76 yards. Redshirt senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver had four carries for 37 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and sophomore running back Brandon Tullus had four carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Nick Marsh had a season-high six catches for 94 yards, all in the first half, and senior tight end Jack Velling also had a season-high six receptions for 70 yards.
The Spartans accumulated a season-high 444 yards of total offense in the win.
Redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III led the defensive unit with 10 tackles, while junior linebacker Jordan Hall had four tackles and a sack and senior defensive back Ade Willie and redshirt junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren had three tackles apiece.
"Well, 3-0, we'll obviously take that," said MSU head coach Jonathan Smith. "It's kind of what I told the team, though: we got more to us. Credit to Youngstown State. I thought some schematics gave us a couple of issues, especially on defense.
"We're going to go back to work, similar to what we're doing each week. Digest this tape and look at some things. We know what's coming in regard to this conference, starting conference play next week. The road trip, the team we're playing, all of that's coming, and we want to take tomorrow for sure to make sure we're looking at our tape and getting better."
SCORING SUMMARY
Although Youngstown State (2-1) took an early 3-0 lead on a lengthy 15-play, 65-yard opening drive that took 7:39 off the clock, Michigan State responded with a 10-play, 82-yard touchdown march on its first series, capped by a Rodney Bullard Jr. 8-yard reverse that made it 7-3 MSU with 1:13 left in the first quarter.
Michigan State went up 14-3 with another touchdown on its second series of the game, going 87 yards on 12 plays over the course of 6:37, as Makhi Frazier rushed into the end zone for a 1-yard score at the 8:07 mark in the second quarter.
The Penguins scored their first touchdown of the game on their third series, sparked by a 66-yard rush by Jaden Gilbert to the MSU 1-yard line that led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Gilbert two plays later, cutting the Spartan lead to 14-10 with 5:59 left in the first half.
Armorion Smith recorded his first interception as Spartan right before halftime, and MSU took advantage of the turnover with a 24-yard Martin Connington field goal as time expired in the first half.
In the third quarter, Omari Kelly nearly returned a punt for a touchdown for 83 yards, the 10th-longest in MSU history, but was stopped at the YSU 4-yard line. MSU converted on the next play with a 4-yard rushing TD by Brandon Tullis to take a 24-10 lead.
The Spartans then went up 31-10 at the 6:55 mark in the third quarter on Michael Masunas' 28-yard touchdown grab in the end zone on their next possession.
Youngstown State trimmed its deficit to two touchdowns at 31-17 after Penguin QB Beau Brungard converted on fourth-and-goal for a 3-yard touchdown pass to RK Dandridge with 1:17 remaining in the third.
MSU went back up 17 points on Connington's second field goal of the game, this time from 27 yards out with 8:44 left in the fourth.
Youngstown State cut the lead down to 10 points, 34-24, when Brungard connected with Kylon Wilson on a 19-yard run-and-catch for a touchdown, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive over 5:39.
The Spartans took over with 3:04 left in the game and closed out the scoring on a 22-yard touchdown run from Elijah Tau-Tolliver with 1:48 left in the game, making it 41-24.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Jonathan Smith is the first MSU head coach to start 3-0 in his first two seasons.
This marks the first time MSU has started 3-0 in consecutive years since doing it three seasons in a row from 2005-07 (John L. Smith in 2005-06; Mark Dantonio in 2007).
UP NEXT
Michigan State opens the Big Ten season at USC on Saturday, Sept. 20 in Los Angeles. Kickoff is set for 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT and the game will be televised on FOX.
The Spartans improved to 3-0 with the victory and will open Big Ten play next Saturday at USC. Youngstown State, ranked No. 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll, fell to 2-1.
Junior quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 22-of-29 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown, while running eight times for 76 yards. Redshirt senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver had four carries for 37 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and sophomore running back Brandon Tullus had four carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Nick Marsh had a season-high six catches for 94 yards, all in the first half, and senior tight end Jack Velling also had a season-high six receptions for 70 yards.
The Spartans accumulated a season-high 444 yards of total offense in the win.
Redshirt senior linebacker Wayne Matthews III led the defensive unit with 10 tackles, while junior linebacker Jordan Hall had four tackles and a sack and senior defensive back Ade Willie and redshirt junior defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren had three tackles apiece.
"Well, 3-0, we'll obviously take that," said MSU head coach Jonathan Smith. "It's kind of what I told the team, though: we got more to us. Credit to Youngstown State. I thought some schematics gave us a couple of issues, especially on defense.
"We're going to go back to work, similar to what we're doing each week. Digest this tape and look at some things. We know what's coming in regard to this conference, starting conference play next week. The road trip, the team we're playing, all of that's coming, and we want to take tomorrow for sure to make sure we're looking at our tape and getting better."
SCORING SUMMARY
Although Youngstown State (2-1) took an early 3-0 lead on a lengthy 15-play, 65-yard opening drive that took 7:39 off the clock, Michigan State responded with a 10-play, 82-yard touchdown march on its first series, capped by a Rodney Bullard Jr. 8-yard reverse that made it 7-3 MSU with 1:13 left in the first quarter.
Michigan State went up 14-3 with another touchdown on its second series of the game, going 87 yards on 12 plays over the course of 6:37, as Makhi Frazier rushed into the end zone for a 1-yard score at the 8:07 mark in the second quarter.
The Penguins scored their first touchdown of the game on their third series, sparked by a 66-yard rush by Jaden Gilbert to the MSU 1-yard line that led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Gilbert two plays later, cutting the Spartan lead to 14-10 with 5:59 left in the first half.
Armorion Smith recorded his first interception as Spartan right before halftime, and MSU took advantage of the turnover with a 24-yard Martin Connington field goal as time expired in the first half.
In the third quarter, Omari Kelly nearly returned a punt for a touchdown for 83 yards, the 10th-longest in MSU history, but was stopped at the YSU 4-yard line. MSU converted on the next play with a 4-yard rushing TD by Brandon Tullis to take a 24-10 lead.
The Spartans then went up 31-10 at the 6:55 mark in the third quarter on Michael Masunas' 28-yard touchdown grab in the end zone on their next possession.
Youngstown State trimmed its deficit to two touchdowns at 31-17 after Penguin QB Beau Brungard converted on fourth-and-goal for a 3-yard touchdown pass to RK Dandridge with 1:17 remaining in the third.
MSU went back up 17 points on Connington's second field goal of the game, this time from 27 yards out with 8:44 left in the fourth.
Youngstown State cut the lead down to 10 points, 34-24, when Brungard connected with Kylon Wilson on a 19-yard run-and-catch for a touchdown, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive over 5:39.
The Spartans took over with 3:04 left in the game and closed out the scoring on a 22-yard touchdown run from Elijah Tau-Tolliver with 1:48 left in the game, making it 41-24.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Jonathan Smith is the first MSU head coach to start 3-0 in his first two seasons.
This marks the first time MSU has started 3-0 in consecutive years since doing it three seasons in a row from 2005-07 (John L. Smith in 2005-06; Mark Dantonio in 2007).
UP NEXT
Michigan State opens the Big Ten season at USC on Saturday, Sept. 20 in Los Angeles. Kickoff is set for 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT and the game will be televised on FOX.
Team Stats
YSU
MSU
Total Yards
339
444
Pass Yards
242
270
Rushing Yards
97
174
Penalty Yards
22
10
1st Downs
14
23
3rd Downs
6
6
4th Downs
3
1
TOP
29:54
30:06
1st Quarter
YSU 3, MSU 0
YSU - Lastovka,Andrew 28 yd field goal 15 plays, 65 yards, TOP 07:39
YSU 3, MSU 7
MSU - Bullard Jr.,Rodney 8 yd run (Connington,Martin kick), 10 plays, 82 yards, TOP 06:01
2nd Quarter
YSU 3, MSU 14
MSU - Frazier,Makhi 1 yd run (Connington,Martin kick), 12 plays, 87 yards, TOP 06:37
YSU 10, MSU 14
YSU - Gilbert,Jaden 1 yd run (Lastovka,Andrew kick), 4 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:08
YSU 10, MSU 17
MSU - Connington,Martin 24 yd field goal 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 01:14
3rd Quarter
YSU 10, MSU 24
MSU - Tullis,Brandon 4 yd run (Connington,Martin kick), 1 plays, 4 yards, TOP 00:04
YSU 10, MSU 31
MSU - Masunas,Michael 28 yd pass from Chiles,Aidan (Connington,Martin kick) 6 plays, 64 yards, TOP 03:32
YSU 17, MSU 31
YSU - Dandridge,RK 3 yd pass from Brungard,Beau (Lastovka,Andrew kick) 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:59
4th Quarter
YSU 17, MSU 34
MSU - Connington,Martin 27 yd field goal 11 plays, 71 yards, TOP 06:11
YSU 24, MSU 34
YSU - Wilson,Kylon 19 yd pass from Brungard,Beau (Lastovka,Andrew kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:39
YSU 24, MSU 41
MSU - Tau-Tolliver,Elijah 22 yd run (Connington,Martin kick), 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 01:16
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
22
TD
1
YDS
270
INT
1
Players Mentioned
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QB
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K
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RB
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LB
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WR
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WR
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TE
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LB
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DB
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RB
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RB
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DL
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DB
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