Michigan State Takes On Nebraska in Big Ten Opener Saturday in Spartan Stadium

Game 4: Michigan State (2-1) vs. Nebraska (3-0)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
Kickoff: 5:01 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Stadium: Spartan Stadium (74,866)
Surface: Natural Grass
Game Notes: MSU | Nebraska
Purchase Tickets: msuspartans .com/tickets

►GAME DAY INFORMATION
Parking: All parking lots will open at 7 a.m. | Parking Map

Game Day Updates: Fans can sign up to receive game day updates from MSU Police and Public Safety this season by texting SPARTANFB26 to 888777. Updates will include safety information, potential game delays, traffic suggestions, etc.

►BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Big Ten Network
Streaming/Mobile: FOX One
Announcers: Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst), Brooke Fletcher (sidelines)
Live Stats: msuspartans.com | Live Stats

Radio: Spartan Media Network | Affiliate Listings
Announcers: George Blaha (play-by-play), Jehuu Caulcrick (analyst), Tre Mosley (sidelines), Dalton Shetler (broadcast host)
Website/Mobile: msuspartans .com/watch, MSU Athletics 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: 20 affiliates listed at msuspartans.com
Satellite: SiriusXM Ch. 176/231 | SiriusXM App Ch. 955
Pregame Show: Begins at 3:30 p.m.

►SERIES INFORMATION
All-Time Series: Nebraska leads, 10-4
Series in East Lansing: MSU leads, 3-2
Last Meeting: Nebraska 38, MSU 27 (2025 in Lincoln)
Current Series Streak: 1 by Nebraska

►HEAD COACHES
MSU Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald
MSU Record: 2-1 (first year)
Overall Record: 112-102 (18th year)
Record vs. Nebraska: 6-6

Nebraska Head Coach: Matt Rhule
Nebraska Record: 22-19 (fourth year)
Overall Record: 69-62 (11th year)
Record vs. MSU: 1-1

►SPARTANS TAKE ON CORNHUSKERS IN BIG TEN OPENER
• Michigan State (2-1) returns home to open Big Ten play against undefeated Nebraska (3-0) on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. in Spartan Stadium. The Spartans fell for the first time this season with a 27-10 loss at No. 3/3 Notre Dame last Saturday night, while the Huskers topped North Dakota, 34-7, in Lincoln. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and streamed on FOX One with Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst) and Brooke Fletcher (sidelines) on the call.

• Nebraska enters the matchup with a 3-0 record after rattling off three consecutive nonconference victories at home to start the season. The Huskers topped Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota in Lincoln before starting Big Ten play.

• Fitzgerald faced Nebraska 12 times during his tenure at Northwestern, collecting a 6-6 record, including a victory over the ninth-ranked Huskers in 2011.

• Saturday's game marks the 15th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Nebraska. The Huskers own a 10-4 advantage in the series, although the Spartans have won the last two matchups in Spartan Stadium in 2021 and 2023. Nebraska topped MSU in Lincoln last season, 38-27. The Huskers hold a slim 5-4 edge in the series in Big Ten games (starting in 2011).

• Michigan State opens its 74th season of Big Ten play on Saturday. The Spartans won the Big Ten in their inaugural season of conference play in 1953 and have won a total of nine Big Ten Championships (1953, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1987, 1990, 2010, 2013, 2015).

• One of the winningest coaches in Big Ten history, Fitzgerald was named Michigan State's 27th head coach on Dec. 1, 2025. Over 17 seasons as the head coach at Northwestern from 2006-22, Fitzgerald won 110 games, while guiding the Wildcats to 10 bowl games, five AP Top 25 finishes and a pair of appearances in the Big Ten Football Championship Game after winning the Big Ten West Division title in both 2018 and 2020. He was named the 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year, and in 2020, won the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year Award after leading the Wildcats to a No. 10 national ranking and a win in the Citrus Bowl over Auburn.

• Fitzgerald's 112 wins rank 12th all-time for a Big Ten football coach, while his five bowl game victories rank tied for 12th among conference coaches.

• Michigan State has 62 newcomers on the 2026 roster, including 32 transfers and 30 freshmen. The Spartans have 49 returning players in 2026, including 16 letterwinners from last season.

►CAM EDWARDS RANKS SIXTH IN BIG TEN IN RUSHING
• Fifth-year graduate transfer running back Cam Edwards ranks sixth in the Big Ten and 22nd in the FBS in rushing with 96.0 yards per game (60 carries for 288 yards). He also ranks tied for eighth in the conference with three rushing touchdowns.

• Edwards ran for 152 yards and two TDs on 21 carries in the win over Eastern Michigan in Week 2; it marked the most rushing yards by a Spartan running back since Kenneth Walker III had 197 against Michigan in 2021.

• In his Spartan debut, Edwards carried the ball a career-high 27 times for 98 yards and one TD in the win over Toledo.

• Edwards, who is on the Maxwell Award Watch List and Doak Walker Award Watch List, currently ranks fourth among active FBS players with 2,978 career rushing yards and fifth with 30 rushing touchdowns.

• Edwards played the last four seasons (2022-25) at UConn and posted career highs for rushing yards (1,240), rushing touchdowns (15), carries (210), receptions (19) and receiving yards (187) for the Huskies in 2025, finishing the year ranked among the FBS Top 25 leaders in six categories (tied for ninth in TDs with 16; tied for 13th in rushing TDs; 15th in rushing yards; 17th in rushing yards per game; 22nd in all-purpose yards; 23rd in yards per carry).

►QUARTERBACK ALESSIO MILIVOJEVIC RETURNS AT QB FOR THE SPARTANS
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic has started the last seven games for the Spartans, including the final four games of the 2025 season and the first three of this season.

• Milivojevic has completed 66 percent of his passes (47-of-71) for 540 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in the first three games of the season.

• Overall in nine games of action as a redshirt freshman in 2025, Milivojevic connected on 64 percent of his throws (111-of-173) for 1,267 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. In his four starts, he completed 58 percent of his passes (79-of-136) for 986 yards and seven touchdowns.

►TWO-TIME CAPTAIN JORDAN HALL LEADS SPARTAN DEFENSE
• Senior linebacker Jordan Hall, who is the first Spartan linebacker to be named a captain in back-to-back years since Joe Bachie (2018-19), is back to lead the defense in 2026. After missing Week 2 with an injury, Hall returned to the starting lineup at No. 3 Notre Dame and led the Spartans with 13 tackles. He ranks tied for second on the team with 17 tackles in just two games, including 1.5 TFLs (4 yards).

• Hall entered 2026 as a first-team All-Big Ten preseason selection by Phil Steele. He was also named to preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award (best defensive player), the Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker) and the Wuerffel Trophy (premier community service award in college football).

• Hall recorded a career-high 88 tackles last season, including 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a pass break-up, to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.

►ELI COENEN OFF TO STRONG START ON THE DEFENSIVE LINE
• Fourth-year defensive lineman Eli Coenen, a transfer from Illinois, is off to a strong start to his Spartan career. He was named the Spartan Defensive Player of the Week with three tackles, an 11-yard sack and a pass break-up vs. Toledo, and earned the honor for the second week in a row after recording four tackles with two sacks against Eastern Michigan in Week 2. Coenen currently ranks tied for first in the Big Ten with his three sacks. As a team, the Spartans rank tied for seventh in the conference with seven sacks.

Cam Edwards action photo at Notre Dame.

LAST TIME OUT: NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 27, MSU 10

►GAME RECAP
Michigan State trailed by just seven points at halftime, but ultimately fell at No. 3 Notre Dame, 27-10, last Saturday night in primetime at Notre Dame Stadium.

The Spartans were outscored in the second half, 10-0, after heading into the locker room down 17-10. MSU fell behind 10-0 early, but responded with 10 points in the second quarter to make it a one-score game heading into the second half.

Senior captain linebacker Jordan Hall led the Spartans with 13 tackles, while Tre Bell, Devin Vaught, Dion Crawford and Eli Coenen posted five tackles apiece.

Redshirt sophomore Alessio Milivojevic was 9-of-17 passing for 123 yards with two interceptions. Redshirt freshman tight end Jayden Savoury led the Spartan receivers with three catches for 30 yards and fifth-year wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr. had two catches for 66 yards.

►SPARTAN PLAYERS OF THE GAME
• Offensive Playmaker: #3 Gr. WR Rodney Bullard Jr. (2 catches for 66 yards, 53-yard reception)
• Defense: #5 Sr. LB Jordan Hall (13 tackles, 0.5 TFL for 1 yard)
• Special Teams: #37 Gr. PK Liam Boyd (32-yard field goal; three touchbacks)

►SCORING SUMMARY
• On the first play from scrimmage, CJ Carr connected on a 61-yard pass to Micah Gilbert to the MSU 14, but Bell made a touchdown-saving tackle, and the Spartans didn't allow another first down on the drive and held the Irish to a 25-yard field goal.

Notre Dame took advantage of a short field after a partially blocked punt, going 41 yards on 11 plays – including two fourth-down conversions – to go up 10-0 on a 2-yard TD run by Nolan James Jr. with 4:31 left in the first quarter.

The Irish attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-13 near the end of the first quarter, but only gained 12 yards, giving MSU good field position at midfield. The Spartans capitalized by going on a 12-play, 36-yard drive that resulted in a 32-yard Liam Boyd field goal, trimming the UND lead to 10-3 at the 10:05 mark in the second quarter.

Notre Dame extended its lead to 17-3 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Aneyas Williams with 4:46 remaining in the half that capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive.

On MSU's next series, Alessio Milivojevic connected on a 53-yard reception to Rodney Bullard Jr., who made a diving catch to set up MSU in the red zone at the UND 15-yard line. After the call was upheld following a video review, Cam Fancher ran for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 17-10 with 3:21 left in the half.

The Irish forced a punt on MSU's first series of the third quarter, then took 9:43 off the clock on a 17-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal by Spencer Porath to give UND a 20-10 advantage.

Notre Dame increased its lead to 27-10 with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard rushing TD by Carr. The scoring run was set up by two long pass receptions to Gilbert for 28 yards and 39 yards on the four-play scoring drive.

►OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was 9-of-17 for 123 yards passing, with his streak of four straight games with a TD pass coming to a halt.

• Graduate quarterback Cam Fancher scored the first TD of his Spartan career with his second quarter 15-yard rushing score . . . overall, it was Fancher's 10th rushing TD of his collegiate career . . . Fancher finished with two rushes for 18 yards and the one TD . . . Fancher's 15-yard TD scamper was the MSU offense's longest scoring run of the season . . . Fancher now has five career rushes for 28 yards and a TD as a visiting player in Notre Dame Stadium, as he had three rushes for 10 yards in 2022 while at Marshall in the Thundering Herd's 26-21 upset of No. 8 Notre Dame on Sept. 10, 2022.

• Graduate wide receiver Rodney Bullard Jr.'s 53-yard reception in the second quarter to set up an MSU score was the longest reception of the season and the second-longest of his MSU career behind a 71-yarder at Minnesota (11/1/25) . . . Bullard finished with two catches for 66 yards . . . Bullard now has at least one catch in 30 of 43 career games . . . he also has multiple receptions in all three games this season as part of the fourth time in his second season as a Spartan, as part of the 24th time in his career.

• Redshirt freshman tight end Jayden Savoury led MSU with three catches, going for 30 yards . . . Savoury now has three or more catches in all three games, with a total of 11 receptions for the season, after just one catch in four games last season . . . Savoury has 30+ yards receiving in all three games.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Fredrick Moore had two catches for 13 yards . . . Moore has multiple receptions in two of the three games, with three catches in the season opener vs. Toledo.

►DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Michigan State held Notre Dame to a season-low 27 points, nearly 20 points below its season average of 46.5 points per game entering the game after 41 points vs. Wisconsin in the season opener and 52 points last week vs. Rice.

• Senior linebacker Jordan Hall led MSU's defense with a game-high 13 tackles, the second-most of his career, behind his career-high 15 tackles vs. Boston College (9/6/25) . . . it was Hall's fourth career outing with double-digit stops, and first since 10 at Minnesota (11/1/25).

• Graduate cornerback Tre Bell posted a season-high five tackles, adding a pass break-up . . . the PBU was Bell's second of the season and he now has at least one pass break-up in four of his last six games played . . . Bell has 15 pass break-ups for his collegiate career.

• Redshirt junior safety Devin Vaught logged five tackles and has a team-leading 18 for the season.

• Senior linebacker Dion Crawford posted five tackles, marking the second straight game with five or more tackles after his season-high seven stops last time out vs. Eastern Michigan.

►SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Graduate placekicker Liam Boyd split the uprights with his sixth field goal this season with his second quarter field goal from 32 yards out . . . Boyd is now 6-of-7 on the season, including 3-of-3 from 30-39 yards . . . Boyd also made one PAT and is now 7-of-7 for the season.

• Boyd also had three kickoffs for a 65.0 ypk average with all three going for touchbacks . . . Boyd now has at least three touchbacks in all three games, with a total of 13 through the three games.

• Junior punter Rhys Dakin had four punts for a 45.2 ypp average with a long of 57 yards, along with a 56-yard punt and two inside the 20 . . . the 57 and 56-yard punts were his second and third-longest punts of the season, respectively, behind his season-long 59-yarder vs. Eastern Michigan . . . Dakin now has three punts of 50+ yards this season, as part of 29 career punts of 50+ yards.

• Dakin's two punts inside the 20 were a season-high and he now has at least one punt inside the 20 in all three games and four total for the season . . . both punts inside the 20 were also inside the 10, as he now has at least one punt inside the 10 in all three games, now with four on the season . . . Dakin now has 16 punts inside the 10 for his collegiate career, as part of 51 career punts inside the 20.

►STAT LEADERS
Michigan State:
Rushing – Gr. Cam Edwards (60 carries for 288 yards, 4.8 avg., 3 TDs, 96.0 ypg)
Passing – R-So. Alessio Milivojevic (47-of-71, .662, 540 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 180.0 ypg)
Receiving – Gr. Rodney Bullard Jr. (12 receptions for 182 yards, 15.2 avg., 1 TD, 60.7 ypg)
Tackles – R-Jr. S Devin Vaught (18 tackles, 1 TFL)

Nebraska:
Rushing – Fr. Jamal Rule (38 carries for 329 yards, 8.7 avg., 5 TDs, 109.7 ypg)
Passing – Sr. Anthony Colandrea (53-of-77, .688, 692 yards, 8 TDs, 1 INT, 230.7 ypg)
Receiving – Jr. Jacory Barney Jr. (15 receptions for 210 yards, 14.0 avg., 2 TDs, 70.0 ypg)
Tackles – 5th DB Dwayne McDougle III (16 tackles) and Sr. DB Jamir Conn (16 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 PBU)

►MSU-NEBRASKA SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's game marks the 15th all-time meeting between Michigan State and Nebraska. The Huskers own a 10-4 advantage in the series, although the Spartans have won the last two matchups in Spartan Stadium in 2021 and 2023.

• During the 2021 season in Spartan Stadium, the Green and White rallied to defeat the Huskers in overtime, 23-20, as Matt Coghlin's 21-yard field goal sealed the comeback win. Trailing 20-13 late in the fourth quarter, Jayden Reed returned a punt 62 yards for a TD to tie it at 20, sending the game into overtime.

• Nebraska topped MSU in Lincoln last season, 38-27. MSU took a 21-14 lead with 2:37 left in the third quarter, but the Huskers responded with 24 unanswered points to go up 38-21 in the eventual 11-point win.

• The Huskers hold a slim 5-4 edge in the series in Big Ten games (starting in 2011).

►MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA TO HONOR MEMORIES OF MIKE SADLER AND SAM FOLTZ
• Michigan State and Nebraska will honor the memories of Mike Sadler and Sam Foltz prior to the game on Saturday. The coin toss will feature the commemorative Big Ten coin honoring Sadler and Foltz that is used when Michigan State and Nebraska play. Sadler and Foltz were both tragically killed in a car accident on July 23, 2016, while working a kicking camp near Waukesha, Wisconsin. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the tragic accident.

On the field, Sadler was a master of his craft and one of the greatest and most productive punters in program history. In the classroom, he achieved an ever rarer feat, becoming the first student-athlete at Michigan State to earn Academic All-America honors four times. A two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, Sadler earned first-team All-America accolades during MSU's Big Ten and Rose Bowl Championship season in 2013. He was posthumously inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. Foltz was named the 2015 Big Ten Punter of the Year for the Huskers.

►A GLANCE AT NEBRASKA (3-0)
• The Cornhuskers tote a 3-0 overall record to East Lansing for Saturday's Big Ten opener for both teams. While Saturday is Nebraska's first Big Ten battle, the Huskers are 2-0 against Mid-American Conference teams, beating Ohio, 49-21, in the season opener on Sept. 5 and Bowling Green on Sept. 12, 56-7, before rolling to a 34-7 win over North Dakota, ranked No. 6 in FCS.

• Husker senior quarterback Anthony Colandrea was tabbed the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14 for his performance in the Bowling Green game, completing 20-of-24 passing for 224 yards and a career-high four TDs. Colandrea then added to that with a 15-of-21 passing for 195 yards and a TD last Saturday vs. North Dakota, adding four rushes for 19 yards, including a 10-yard TD run to open the scoring on the Huskers' first possession.

• Freshman running back Jamal Rule had 15 carries for 119 yards and two TDs vs. North Dakota, surpassing the 100-yard mark for the second straight game. Rule scored on a 3-yard rush in the first quarter and added a 55-yard scoring scamper on Nebraska's first play of the second half.

• Nebraska is third in the B1G and 11th in the FBS in scoring offense (46.3 ppg), while ranking fifth in the conference and 16th in the country in scoring defense (11.7 ppg).

• The Husker offense is second in the league and 10th in the nation in total offense (520.7 ypg), ranking third in the B1G and 12th in the FBS in rushing offense (263.0 ypg), along with 10th in the league and 50th in the nation in passing offense (257.7 ypg). Nebraska is one of five teams in the B1G and one of 31 teams in FBS with a perfect 100 percent in red zone offense, scoring on all 12 trips to the red zone with 11 TDs and one FG.

• Defensively, the Huskers are sixth in the conference and 11th in the country in total defense (225.7 ypg), as well as third in the B1G and seventh in the FBS in passing yards allowed (118.0 ypg) and seventh in the league and 45th in the nation in rushing defense (107.7 ypg). Nebraska's defense has only allowed one rushing TD so far this season.

• For the season, Colandrea is 53-of-77 passing for 692 yards and eight TDs, while adding 18 carries for 75 yards and two TDs. Colandrea is second in the B1G and ninth in the FBS in points responsible for per game (20.0), as well as fifth in the league and 15th in the nation in passing TDs (8), ninth in the B1G and 49th in the FBS in passing yards/completion (13.1), along with 12th in the conference and 52nd in the country in passing yards/game (230.7).

• Rule has rushed for 329 yards on 38 carries with five TDs, averaging 8.7 ypc and 109.7 ypg, ranking second in the B1G and FBS in rushing yards/carry and second in the conference and seventh in the country in rushing yards/game. He is also third in the league and seventh in the nation in rushing TDs.

• Junior wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. has 13 catches for 175 yards and two TDs, ranking 12th in the B1G and 57th in the FBS in receptions/game (5.0), as well as 18th in the league and 73rd in the nation in receiving yards/game (70.0), along with tied for 13th in the conference and tied for 54th in the country in receiving TDs (2).

• Defensively, fifth-year defensive back Dwayne McDougle III spearheads the Huskers with 16 tackles (nine solo, seven assists), while senior defensive back Jamir Conn and junior defensive back Donovan Jones both have 12 tackles each, along with both having 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.

• Jones adds three pass break-ups and one interception, ranking tied for third in the B1G and tied for 12th in the FBS in passes defended (4), ranking tied for sixth in the league in passes defended/game (1.33). Jones and fellow junior defensive back Rex Guthrie are tied for seventh in the conference and tied for 36th in the country in interceptions (1).

• Senior defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel is tied for sixth in the B1G and tied for 73rd in the FBS in tackles for loss (1.0 pg), one of 11 Husker defenders with at least 0.5 TFL and one of nine with at least 0.5 sacks.

• Senior placekicker Kyle Cunanan is 2-of-4 on field goals with a long of 40 yards, and both misses have come from 50+ yards, along with 19-of-19 on PATs.

• Fellow senior placekicker John Hohl handles kickoff duties and has 24 kickoffs for a 62.0 ypk average with 11 touchbacks and one out-of-bounds.

• Sophomore punter Archie Wilson has six punts for a 39.5 ypp average, with a long of 49 yards, with two inside the 20 and inducing five fair catches.

• Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is in his fourth year leading the Huskers, logging a 22-19 ledgers in Lincoln, as well as posting a 69-62 overall record in 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach.